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HRM Module

MBA Programme

Lesson 2 Unit 2

Lesson Objectives
Appreciate the Recruitment and Selection planning process Understand how to attracting the right candidates Knowledge of the different selection methods available Understanding and consideration of legislative requirements and especially those pertaining to Equality, diversity and discrimination

Difference between Recruitment and Selection:


the process of finding and engaging the people the organisation needs (Armstrong, 2012,220) or the practices and activities carried out by the organisation with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees
(Barber, 1998, quoted by Redman & Wilkinson, 2009, 64)

Recruitment is considered to be

Selection is the actual choice of successful applicant.


However, it could be argued that most organisations are continuously recruiting since they want to be an employer of choice, regardless as to whether they have current vacancies or not.

Resourcing the Organisation


Recruitment and Selection are important activities for the HR Professional The HR Professional needs to consider: how to plan for future employment requirements, organising work and job design How to recruit and select candidates for roles identified. Legislation that is applicable For UK practitioners, ACAS is a good source for recommended practice guides. It is important that you check legislation relevant to your country of operation when planning recruitment!

How can Recruitment be Strategic?

How can Recruitment be Strategic?


Different messages for internal and external candidates Can be small pool of potential applicants and therefore need to consider how and where to recruit - strategy. For many positions such as customer service, attitude may be more important than say keyboard skills. Consideration of the employer brand is also key here when deciding strategy - bargain labourer strategy or a loyal soldier or committed expert approach depending on the skills required and organisational approach to human resources. As with a best-fit approach to HR, it is important that HR policies and strategies are in line with each other through all activities undertaken.

The Recruitment & Selection Process


The first stage in the process is the defining of requirements.
Consider if role needs to be changed.

Is this role a long term vacancy or now a shorter term one?


Have the skills required to complete the role changed or are likely to change in the future? When? It is this recognition that jobs and tasks can change which increase the importance of a person specification within the recruitment process
(Beardwell & Claydon, 2010).

The Recruitment & Selection Process


Flexibility increasingly important More generic skills tend to be found in job profiles. Tendency for a role profile which defines the overall purpose of the role rather than a specific job description Job / role descriptions and person specifications increasingly common Type of vacancy decisions contract, temporary, part time, full time; and the type of person someone who can learn new skills easily, someone who may also have the skills which it is anticipated the role will require in the future for example.

Defining Requirements
Armstrong (2012) suggests
role profile should give the overall purpose of the role, position within the organisation and key responsibilities or results areas person specification concentrates on the knowledge that the person needs to have and skills and abilities they need to be able to effectively carry out the role now and in the future.

The latter two may include behavioural competencies which will reflect the organisations values. May highlight qualifications and experience that the applicant needs to have sometimes broken down into desirable and essential. Competency model for recruitment is popular because it is objective although there is little evidence that it is more successful in ensuring that the right applicant is finally selected according to Markus et al, 2005.

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Defining Requirements
Legislation within the UK advises that all people specification requirements need to be objective under the Equality Act (2010). They cannot ask for experience, skills or knowledge which cannot be justified and which would preclude protected groups of people from applying Under UK legislation, employers are required to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are able to apply for many jobs which have a physical aspect to them too. Similar legislation exists in other Western nations and further information about Equal Opportunities legislation within the USA can be obtained from the EEOC website at http://www.eeoc.gov/. Much of the legislation that European countries abide by has originated from the Europe Union but because some of this has required member countries to incorporate the legislation within their own legislative frameworks, there can be some anomalies in how it has been interpreted and implemented across member countries.

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Attracting the Right Candidates


3 stages: Analyse recruitment strengths and weaknesses consider
where those candidates look for vacancies and what attracts them to apply for positions with organisations May need to review pay and benefits, how Security of employment development and career opportunities, location etc and how this fairs in comparison with the competition.

Analyse the requirement ensure job profile and


specification updated Contract type consider where the best candidates are likely to come from

Identify Sources of Candidates


internal, former employees, referrals, spec applications on file

What are the organisations key attraction factors in comparison to competitors their strengths and weaknesses?

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Internal or External Candidates?


Advantages Internal Recruitment Cheaper and quicker to recruit Disadvantages Limits the number of potential applicants

People already familiar with the business and how it operates Provides opportunities for promotion with in the business can be motivating Business already knows the strengths and weaknesses of candidates External Recruitment Outside people bring in new ideas Larger pool of workers from which to find the best candidate People have a wider range of experience

No new ideas can be introduced from outside the business May cause resentment amongst candidates not appointed Creates another vacancy which needs to be filled Longer process More expensive process due to advertisements and interviews required Selection process may not be effective enough to reveal the best candidate

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External Sources of Candidates


Need to ensure advertise in the right places for staff. broad skill scope and potential large pool of applicants, can advertise in general places eg the local newspaper or a relatively cheap jobs website and restrict the geographical advertising to the local area. If requirements are more specific and smaller pool of skills, more cost effective to target advertisements eg industry press, specialised websites or head-hunters and may need to advertise further afield. More expensive in terms of advertisement costs, it does save time from having to sift through, and reject numerous applicants who do not have the pre-requisite skills.
May use combination of methods - objective is to attract good candidates and that it happens as quickly as is required by the organisation as cheaply as possible (Armstrong, 2012). Additional cost incurred in getting it right does have to be compared to cost of getting it wrong and perhaps having to repeat the process

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The CIPDs 2009 compared to 2008 Employers Choice of Recruitment Methods.

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Recruitment Methods consider


e-recruitment - this includes both recruiting through the organisations website and the use of social media such as Linked In and Facebook. Skill set of the role that they need to fill. How likely is it that internal candidates will have the skills required to undertake that role? Equally, is there anybody already employed who is likely to want to apply for that job and could easily re-train? HR Strategy - If recruiting for a bargain labourer or free agent and not concerned about employee loyalty or development then your recruitment process is going to be external. If wanting loyal soldiers or committed experts, unless it is an entry level post or you require new blood, look internally first. Some organisations must advertise all, or a percentage of, vacancies externally so do ensure that you are complying with legislation and regulations that apply to your country of operation.

Dependent upon the reason for the vacancy, organisations can also give consideration to hiring part time, temporary or freelance staff.

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Recruitment Documentation and Process


Need to consider paperwork 1. What information to give candidates about the role / organisation and whether that will be with an application pack or available online to view 2. Whether candidates will have the opportunity to discuss the vacancy prior to application 3. How you want to receive applications letter, CV, application form and if the latter what design of form? 4. What criteria you are looking for from CVs or application forms 5. Selection methods 6. Cost 7. Compliance with recruitment legislation The objective is to attain a pool of candidates from which the organisation can choose to review further for the vacancy identified yet to discourage unsuitable applicants from applying.

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Shortlisting
sift through the applications. Check against role and organisational requirements for yes, nos and possibles. Criterion needs to be objective as possible to avoid judgements being Armstrong (2012) suggests that criteria be classified into essential, very desirable and desirable to enable easier candidate selection for the next stage. It has also been known for potential employers to compare the results against an ideal candidate profile which may include subjective criteria or responses given to questions which may have been asked relating to scenarios or the candidates values and beliefs if these have been included in the application process (Beardwell & Claydon 2010, Armstrong 2012).

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Shortlisting
Online applications popular: Does remove subjectivity but relies on criteria being specified correctly and that the applicant has completed the application as completely as possible using your key words. Tend to be poorly completed

The objective of sifting and shortlisting is to bring the number of candidates to be taken to the next stage down to a reasonable number.
Beyond shortlisting, there are still a number of selection techniques available for an organisation to choose from. The CIPD as part of their Recruitment, Retention and Labour Turnover Survey 2009 included an analysis of the most popular selection methods.

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Interviewing
Usually a face to face discussion - are different formats. One to one interview and panel interviews. Biographical - ask questions about the contents of the CV / application form or the key competencies of the job. Could ask questions to determine a persons behaviour. They can be structured ask specific questions of all candidates or unstructured where different questions may be asked usually around the contents of the application form / CV to elicit further information from the candidate. Unstructured - criticism as interaction is not standardised, can focus on competencies and behaviours. However, skilled interviewer can undertake this objectively and preferably with a second person present to avoid biased decisions - can be very effective. Structured interview behavioural and situational and rely upon a candidates response to incidents and scenarios to determine whether they are likely to be effective in the workplace.

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Tests
More objective than interviews. Applicants can be tested for a range of competencies, aptitudes, intelligence and personality Consider What you want to know? Is a test likely to be successful in achieving that? How important criteria testing for is? Aptitude tests establish a persons knowledge and skill and their capacity for verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, spatial reasoning and mechanical reasoning important if little experience (Armstrong, 2012, 232).

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Tests
Ability tests enable the interview to determine how well a person can undertake the job that they have applied for eg give a presentation, type a report, analyse some figures. Personality tests Consider how important is personality Who decides what aspects of personality are more important, how and why? Different theories about personality and therefore different tests too. Beardwell & Claydon (2010, 175) suggest that the argument over the effectiveness and usefulness of personality testing is around 4 issues, the extent to which personality is measurable, the extent to which it remains stable over time and across situations, the extent to which characteristics can be identified as being necessary or desirable, the extent to which completing a questionnaire can determine this.

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Assessment Centres
Group of participants undertake series of tests and exercises under observation with a view to the assessment of their skills and competencies, their suitability for particular roles and their potential for development (Beardwell & Claydon, 2010). Allows a more comprehensive assessment of potential employees than interview and testing alone but they are expensive Armstrong (2012) cites research by Schmidt and Hunter in 1998 which suggests that they are less effective at predicting performance than using intelligence testing with a structured interview.

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Obtaining References
Used to confirm information about candidates. Suggested that telephone references may be more reliable references that contain [what the individual feels] is false or unsubstantiated statements that damages the reputation of the individual can result in court action for damages as can references where it can be shown that they are not factually correct.

Choice of Methods
Method, choice, will, in part, be determined by your recruitment objectives. Eg if an organisation fit is more important than a person fit, you will probably undertake psychometric testing whereas if skills are more important, a practical skills test might be undertaken.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Selection Methods


Method Interviews Advantages Determining social skills and verbal communication Obtaining supplementary information and answering questions that other selections methods have raised Can assess job knowledge Can help to choose from equally qualified candidates Determining compatibility with manager and co-workers Allows the applicant to ask questions Can be used to gather other important information Personality Tests Reveal more information about applicants abilities and interests Can identify interpersonal traits that may be needed for the job Difficult to measure personality traits and to define them Experience may have more of an impact on performance than personality Disadvantages Risk of subjective evaluations being made Interviewers often make their decision in the first few minutes Interviewers can have an idea as to the type of person that will be successful which is subjective rather than objective Negative information could be given more weight than positive Not as reliable as tests as a predictor of performance

Applicants can adjust their responses to match what they believe the
organisation is looking for Applicants may be similar Lack of support for validity of their use Cognitive / Highly reliable and high validity for wide range of jobs Non-minorities typically score above minorities which can impact on equality of selection process Aptitude Tests Combination of tests shows higher validity than individual tests

Can be administered in group settings


Lower cost than personality tests Work Sample Highly reliable / Ability Tests High content validity Relevant to the job role Difficult to fake proficiency Usually no special equipment or resources required

Differences between men and women in their abilities can also impact
on equality of selection process Can be costly as only one applicant at a time can undertaken Useful for jobs where tasks can be completed in a short period of time so less useful in occupational areas where this is not the case Cannot measure aptitude of an applicant for undertaking the job role if new to the job or other aspects of the job that are not being tested

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Making the Decision


Compare candidates using objective and fair methods Can rank or can give weightings to requirements that are most important ACAS and CIPD review range of methods that are available whilst ensuring that whichever methods you choose, you remain within the law and ensure that every possible step has been taken to recruit the best candidate for the job! Many organisations leave obtaining references until they have made their choice and make an offer of employment subject to satisfactory references. Most offers of employment are also made subject to satisfactory completion of a probation period which enables both the employee and employer to ensure that the right decision has been made.

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Equality, Diversity and Discrimination


Compliance with legislation at all stages of the process. Discrimination is the process of judging people according to particular criteria (Beardwell & Claydon, 2010, 197) and is usually considered where people consider that criteria to be unfair.

Discrimination can occur throughout the employment relationship, and will be addressed again in the next lesson, the employment relationship starts with recruitment and selection.

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Equality, Diversity and Discrimination


Diversity, according to the Oxford Dictionary (2012) means different and that variety exists and as implied above, it can be taken to mean more than ethnic origin, age, sex etc but could also include personality where there is no physical difference but a personality difference (Mullins, 2010). European legislation offers protection for certain recognised groups or strands of diversity age, sex, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation which means that if anyone believes that they have been unfairly treated due to one of these reasons, they have a legal right to challenge and seek legal redress. UK incorporates much of this into the Equality Act 2010 Are other groups of people who are not offered legal protection in the same way although it is suggested that there may be some protection through human rights legislation under indirect discrimination (Beardwell & Claydon, 2010). Much of the western world has legislation relevant to equality, diversity and preventing discrimination. Ensure that you remain current in your knowledge in the countries that you operate within.

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Why equality and diversity is important?


1. Social Justice It is the right thing to do

2. Business Case Better for the business


3. Legal Case Compliance with the law

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The HR Practitioners Role in Recruitment


Depends on how organisation splits responsibilities between line managers and HR: HR largely responsible, line manager involved in final decision HR practitioner takes more of a consultative role and assists line managers often taking an active role in the selection to ensure that a fair process is being applied. HR needs to determine the likely availability of skills for the organisation against projected future skill needs .

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The HR Practitioners Role in Recruitment


The HR practitioner needs to plan ahead Be thinking about succession planning and how and when employees can be trained and developed to acquire the skills which they will, or may need in the future HR practitioner needs to predict how employees currently employed within the organisation may move.
Retirement, maternity leave partners may find work in other geographical areas, sickness, caring responsibilities at home etc

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The HR Practitioners Role in Recruitment


HR practitioner must determine availability of suitable candidates and where they are likely to be now
Assess the effectiveness of different recruitment methods Assess time taken to recruit Assess number of quality applications Assess employee turnover Assess effectiveness of not just recruitment but induction and how many new starters leave

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Thank you
In the next lesson we will look at the employment relationship from the offer of employment

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