Human Resource Management Dersi 3. Ünite Özet

Introduction

Building a strong team and a competitive organization relies on recruiting and selecting the right employees. However, when qualified workforce is needed for the complex job positions, the recruitment and selection process must be managed precisely. Recruitment and selection efforts and applications are simpler for basic jobs, but the process for the complex jobs in a safety and security critical or costly working environment is very difficult and challenging. Recruitment can be described as all the required efforts to source and attract people who are involved in a qualified candidates pool for the best choice. Selection is to choose the most suitable and best matching candidate from the pool. This choice is made based on the accurate assessment of the job performance of the candidates by considering their strengths and weaknesses. As an expensive process, recruitment can have a negative effect on the profitability of the organization.

Recruitment and Selection Process

Human resources department and line managers are responsible for the recruitment and selection process. During the personnel selection process, social and legal requirements should be considered as well as the individuals and the organizations. Organizational image, career development opportunities, income levels, good location are some of the expectations from the applicant’s viewpoint. Systems, processes, and strategies for better recruitment and selection can be achieved by firstly designing and maximizing the size and quality of the applicant pool.

Planning of the Recruitment and Selection Activities

Before going into the core recruitment activities, some options to alternate recruitment activities can be mentioned.

Alternative Recruitment Options

The organizational policies and strategies influence the available options. Some of the options can be listed as those below:

Promoting: The existing employees can be promoted by training and motivation for additional responsibility in the working environment.

Redeployment: To Redeploy an employee with required skills from another part of the organization can be another option.

Overtime working: This option can be run for a short term.

Flexible working: If the work is less intensive than what is planned, part-time or reduced working hours may be a good alternative.

Analyzing the Job for Recruitment and Selection Needs

Job analysis would be seen as a cornerstone of the human resources management activities.

Job analysis aims to define the following:

• The role purpose,
• Tasks and responsibilities of the job performer,
• The skills, knowledge and abilities for effective performance,
• Performance measurement objectives.

There are some methods which are used commonly for job analysis:

• Observation: While a jobholder is doing the job, everything is recorded.
• Diaries and logs: This is a very useful method to have the details about the job.
• Job analysis interviews: These interviews are carried out with the jobholder by asking and talking about the job or tasks.
• Critical incident technique: This technique focuses on the collection of information about critical incidents that are related to success and failure in a job.
• Repertory grid: It is a highly skilled activity including good or poor job performance.
• Checklist/inventories: A list of the tasks about performance and ranking is developed, and the jobholder is asked to put them in order.

Job Description and Person Specification

Job description and person specification are the core activities of the recruitment and selection process.

It specifies job involvement and identifies the job to meet organizational requirements.

Job title, Location, department and business areas, The grade of the job, The overall purpose of the job, The title of the person to whom the jobholder reports, The tile of the employee who reports to the jobholder, The main duties and responsibilities of the position in detail, Other related information about the position, The date of issue.

Person specification is used to advertise the job for the potential applicants seeking further information. Generally, the following common items are described in the specification.

• Skills required to perform the job such as planning, communication and teamworking,
• Knowledge requirements such as computer familiarization, statistical handling, report writing,
• Experience related to the position and past jobs,
• Educational qualifications, professional qualifications, technical skills,
• Special requirements such as shift work, physical demands of work.

Recruitment

Reaching the suitable candidates and creating an image to motivate them to apply for the job is very important.

Recruitment from Inside or Outside of the Organization

The decision about the form of the recruitment, i.e., from the inside or outside of the organization, is determined by the needs and requirements of the operational environment, training scope and duration, career strategies, laws and regulations, labor agreements. Developing and competing organizations may prefer to recruit their future human resources from outside. Qualified employee needs can be met from the outside of the organization.

New Trends in Recruiting

Job vacancies can be reached from all over the world by using the internet and networking applications.

Online Recruiting Online recruiting is the easiest way to reach open positions globally and to advertise a job for qualified people.

Gamification of Recruiting Some companies are using gamification to attract their potential candidates by game mechanics to facilitate various organizational functions.

Social Media and Recruiting Current working people and potential candidates are using social media.

Video Résumés Video résumés can be described as short videotaped messages in which candidates present themselves to the attention of potential recruiters.

Selection

Selection is a process of phases in which candidates have to be examined throughly. In this process, information about individuals is collected and evaluated. Selection as a process can be discussed in two sections: The first one is about the definition of the individual differences required for the selection of the candidates who are highly likely to be successful in the job. The Second one is about bringing the individuals and the job together.

Selection Methods

Selection method is fair, defensible, cost-effective, and feasible in the context of system evaluation. The advantages for the selection process can be listed as the following.

• Reduction in potential costs,
• Developing globalization and workforce environment,
• Objective selection by advanced information technologies,
• Improving the efficiency of the selection systems by automation.

Selection Tests and Interviews

There are two main principles having a role in the selection procedures of the qualified workforce

• Individual differences between people in their aptitudes, values, skills and other personal qualities should be considered
• Future behavior of the people should be at least somehow predictable. All the selection activities should serve the future performance of the candidate.

In selection, assessment efforts provide data as inputs used to predict future outputs. Without objective measurement, all predictions about an individual’s performance can cause subjectivity or prejudice.

Specification of Passing Score, Selection Rate and Success Rate

Selection rate is ratio of the quantity of the open position to the quantity of the candidates who applied for the job. Success rate can be useful in two areas. First, it is used to identify employees who can improve quality as a digital indicator of successful employees in selection. Second, it will provide information about the newly developed selection system.

Selection Tests Test is basically defined as a measurement tool or procedure. A Psychological test is used to measure individuals’ intelligence, character, abilities, interests, attitudes, and values.

Attainment Tests The attained skill level in a particular area is assessed in a standard way. The tests are commonly used in relation to educational assessment rather than in occupational assessment.

Educational Testing Educational testing is used to hire professionals or students in educational fields as teachers or educational managers.

Aptitude Tests Psychometrics tests and measurements are performed for mental purposes of the selection activities. The main measurement objective is to have information to understand an individual and so being to be able to predict his/her behavior for future potential actions.

The potential benefits of using psychometrics can be listed as the following:

• Maximizing organizational performance by improved accurate selection,
• Improving employee retention by better balance between individuals and jobs,
• Better financial and cost effect by avoiding poor recruitment decisions,
• Optimizing people’s capacity by focused activities,
• Better career management by matching individual aspects and organizational opportunities.

Trainability Tests Trainability tests are designed and used for a framework where there is a definite and distinct course of training to be undertaken before a job performance.

Interest Inventories Interest inventories play a role when preferences are examined for particular types of activity and develop measurement scales can be used for occupational groupings.

Personality Measurement Personality refers to the individual’s dynamic cognitive structures and coordinated mental processes identifying emotional and behavioral reactions to their environment.

Interviewing

Interviews are conducted to have a personal contact with the candidate. Three main objectives of a good interview can be listed as

1. Evaluating the candidates accurately and fairly for the best individual(s) who will add most value to the job,
2. Interacting with candidates professionally and courteously so they want to work in the organization,
3. Guiding the candidates to understand job details so they can decide working in the organization.

Interviewers make some mistakes when evaluating the candidates during the interview. The problems mostly depend on the human factors. Here are some problems and errors emphasized by Yueng.

• Interviewers rate very high when they like the candidate: Interviewers tend to like candidates who share a similar background and personality and interests.
• Interviewers fall into “halo effect”: They may tend to rate high candidates who have charm and good interpersonal skills for every task required in the job.
• Interviewers fall into “horns effect”: They may tend to have some negative views about the candidate when evaluating because of some reasons.
• Interviewers heavily focus on the CV and track record: They tend to rate more highly the candidate who has formed the right background and gained the necessary experience in similar organizations The good CV and track record are structured by the candidate regarding the job specifications.

Competency Based Interview

Research shows that competency-based interviews, also called the capability-based or behavioral interviewing, are more effective than unstructured interviewing to find the best candidate for the open job positions.

Assessment Centers

An Assessment center is a combination of the various selection tools and methods. Generally, it includes work samples, simulations, interviews, and psychometric tests.

Induction of the Candidates

After all selection activities, decision making has to be completed to choose the right candidates for the job position. Selected employees become ready to be assigned to their positions after having medical checks and getting an approval in the case of authority related job positions.