Recruitment and Selection

This is the process of filling an organisations job vacancies by appointing new staff. Job descriptions and person specifications are drawn up at the beginning of the process

Person Specifications

These set out the qualifications and qualities required in an employee. These refer to the person and not the post.

They include:

• Educational and professional qualifications required
• Character and personality needed
• Skills and experience wanted

Job Description

These relate to the position available. They list the duties and responsibilities associated with a specific job

They include:

• The title of the post
• Employment conditions
• Some idea of tasks and duties

Internal Recruitment

Internal recruitment is where a business looks to fill a vacancy from existing staff

Advantages

• Employee has awareness of a firms culture
• Candidates may not need induction training
• Provides promotion for workers
• Avoids expensive advertising
• Selection can be easier as know about candidates

Disadvantages

• Limited skill base
• May not be as high quality as external candidates especially for senior jobs

External Recruitment

External recruitment is where a business looks to fill a vacancy from individuals outside the organisation

Advantages

• Can attract a more diverse group of candidates who bring fresh ideas to the business
• Increase in variety of skills

Disadvantages

• Can be very expensive
• Know less about the candidates

Methods of External Recruitment

There are a number of methods:

• External advertising – the business advertises for the employee directly
• Headhunting firms – these firms identify suitable candidates from competitors for a fee
• Job centres Employment agencies – match jobs and candidates for a fee
• Training schemes (government) this is lower risk and cheaper

Recruitment Process

Overview of Process

• Position is advertised externally / internally
• Send out application packs
• Receive candidate applications by closing date
• Candidates applications are compared against the person specification those with the best fit are invited for interview
• At interview the job description is used to form the basis of the questions

Selection / Selecting the Best Employee

There are several methods you can use to determine whether an applicant is suitable for the job or not:

Application Forms/CV's

• An application form provides information in a standard format. This allows a business to collect information from job applicants in a systematic way, and to assess objectively a candidate's suitability for a job, therefore making it easier to shortlist candidates for interview.
• CVs include similar information (details of the individual, their qualifications, their experience and why they are suitable for the job), but give candidates the opportunity to sell themselves in their own way. They do not have the restrictions of fitting information into boxes like an application form. A CV is usually accompanied by a letter of application.

Interviews

• Interviews are the traditional and still the most popular method of selection, but they are not necessarily the most effective in indicating how well an individual will perform in a job. This is because interviewers tend to be swayed by appearance and personality, and are often overly influenced by first impressions.
• Interviews are the most popular form of selection
• They can involve one or more interviewer
• They are a relatively cheap method
• They can be unreliable as they don’t give a valid picture of how someone will perform on the job

Psychometric Tests

• Psychometric tests may measure aptitude, personality or interests:
• Aptitude Tests - these measure how people differ in their ability to perform or carry out different tasks. (these are the type you are most likely to find at the first stage of a selection process).
• Personality Tests - these measure how people differ in their style or manner of doing things, and in the way they interact with their environment and other people (personality).

Assessment Centres

• Some companies run a series of extended selection procedures, called assessment centres, each lasting one or two days or sometimes longer. Usually, these are after the first round of interviews and before the final selection, but they may also be used as an initial selection process. They are commonly held either on employers' premises or in a hotel and are considered by many organisations to be the most objective and accurate method of selection. This is because a number of different assessors get to see you over a longer period of time and have the chance to see what you can do, rather than what you say you can do, in a variety of situations.