Recruitment and Selection

Dr Lesley Mearns

Introduction

• Recruitment and Selection are linked

• Both are directed towards obtaining

suitably qualified employees

• Recruitment lays the foundations on

which selection builds

• Both require different skills and

expertise

ACAS

• Recruiting people who are wrong for the organisation can lead to increased labour turnover

• Increased costs for the organisation, and lowering of morale in the existing workforce.

• Such people are likely to be discontented, unlikely to give of their best, and end up leaving voluntarily or involuntarily when their unsuitability becomes evident

Recruitment and Selection (Bratton and Gold 2007:239)

• Recruitment is the process of generating a pool of capable people to apply for employment to an organisation.

• Selection is the process by which managers and others use specific instruments to choose from a pool of applicants a person or persons more likely to succeed in the job(s), given management goals and legal requirements.

Recruitment – Defined (Hook and Foot 2002)

• All activities direct towards locating

potential employees

• The attraction of applications from

suitable applicants

Aims of Recruitment

• To obtain a pool of suitable candidates for vacant posts

• To use and be seen to use a fair process

• To ensure that all recruitment activities contribute to company goals and a desirable company image

• To conduct recruitment activities in an efficient and cost-effective manner

Considerations of Recruitment

• Legal

• Moral

• Business

Recruitment Policy

• A statement of intent on behalf of the

company

• Outlines standards

• Overall goal of recruitment

• Equal opportunities statement

• Could – give preference to suitably

qualified internal applicants

Selection

“to choose the best person for the job”

Aims and Objectives of selection process

• Gather as much relevant information as possible

• Organise and evaluate the information

• Assess each candidate in order to:

– Forecast performance on the job

– Give information to applicants to that they can decide

whether or not they wish to accept an offer of

employment

Collecting Information

• Short listing from information on application forms and CVs

• Interview

• Tests

• Biographical/extended application form

• Assessment centre

• References

Interviewer Errors • The halo effect – dress, physical attraction,

handshake, confidence

– Interviewers will make their minds up quickly and spend

the rest of the interview trying to justify their choice

• Snap Decisions

– Make their minds up quickly and refuse to change them

thus limiting the range of information available

• Hiring People like oneself

• Stereotyping eg) Students are irresponsible, lazy

and drink too much

Interviewer Errors • Making Assumptions

– Women will bear the major responsibility for child

care

• Gathering Insufficient or Irrelevant information

• Contrast Effect

– Because other candidates are boring or in appropriate

then the next one is automatically ideal

Solution?

• Structured Interviews

• More than one interviewer

• Only trained people involved in interviews

• Allow sufficient time for interviews

Retention

• The ability to keep, in particular talented employees

• Talent management

• Labour turnover is inevitable but it if is too high organisations could face a loss of corporate knowledge and failure to meet business objectives (CIPD 2008)

Retention

• More than 30 services into and out of Birmingham were cancelled 22nd October 2012, following weeks of similar disruptions caused by staff shortages.

• “The challenge is that it takes over 12 months to recruit and train a driver, yet we will lose drivers after three months if they choose to go elsewhere,” Richard Brooks (London Midland’s commercial director)

Retention • Voluntary turnover rates have declined

perhaps due to the financial crisis

• Skill shortages still emerge even in a period of economic uncertainty

• Turnover rates vary – industry, occupation, geographical location

– highest levels are typically found in retailing, hotels, catering and leisure, call centres and among other lower paid private sector services groups

Retention

• Problems arise when:

– skills are scarce

– recruitment is expensive

– Where it takes time to fill a vacancy

• The more valuable the employees in question eg) where individuals have specialist skills or where they have developed strong relationships with customers - the more damaging the resignation, particularly when they move on to work for competitors

Retention

• In industries where it is relatively easy to identify and train new employees quickly and at a low cost, it is possible to sustain high quality levels of service provision despite having a high turnover rate eg) Mcdonalds Restaurants

Retention

• Some employee turnover is good for the

organisation eg) introducing ‘new blood’

Retention Problems

• Causes:

– Poor recruitment and selection – both employee and employer

– Badly designed or non-existent induction programmes

– Expectations are not effectively managed eg) raised too high during the recruitment process but are not delivered

Action

• CIPD:

– Job previews – be realistic

– Make line managers accountable

– Train and develop line managers and support them

– Career development and progression

– Consult employees

– Be flexible – working hours, domestic considerations

Action

• CIPD:

– Avoid the development of a culture of 'presenteeism' – Employees feel obliged to work longer hours in order to management.

– Job security

– Treat, and be seen to treat, employees fairly – eg) perceived unfairness in the distribution of rewards

– Defend your organisation – against headhunters

http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2003-06-06/

CIPD Talent Recruitment and Retention

• http://podcasts.cipd.co.uk/resources/podcasts/CIPD-Talent-Strategies-Podcast-Episode-24.mp3

Activity 2

• In groups discuss different ways of learning

– What motivates you to learn?

– How do others affect your learning/ability to learn?

– Is there a difference between group learning and individual learning?

Activity 3

• Complete the learning styles questionnaire.

• Discuss your findings with your group

– Are you surprised with the definition of your learning style? Explain your reasons

– What sort of learning techniques help you to learn?

– How will your learning style influence the type of employee you will be?