Recruitment and Selection: A Guide to Hiring

Recruitment and selection involves attracting and selecting the best candidates for vacancies that arise.

Recruitment:

Process from identifying that the business needs to employ someone up to the point where applications have arrived at the business.

When an employee leaves a job or a business starts up or wants to expand. The recruitment process gives the business an opportunity to consider future requirements.

Vacancy arises – job analysis – job description – job specification – job advertised – application forms and short listing – interviews and selection – vacancy filled.

Job Analysis:

Identifies and records the responsibilities and tasks relating to a job.

Job Description:

Outlines the responsibilities and duties to be carried out by someone employed to do a specific job.

Job Specification:

Document outlining requirements, qualifications, expertise, physical characteristics, and more for a specified job.

Functions of Job Description:

• Given to candidates so they know what the job entails.
• Allows job specification to be drawn up.
• When someone is employed, it will show how they are carrying out the job.

May include:

• Conditions of employment (salary, working hours…)
• Training offered.
• Opportunities for promotion.

Job Specification

Requirements will usually include:

• Level of educational qualifications.
• Amount of experience and type of experience.
• Special skills, knowledge…
• Personal characteristics e.g. personality.

Advertising Vacancy

Advantages:

• Saves time and money.
• The person is already known to the business and their reliability, ability, and potential are known.
• The person knows the organization’s way of working and what is expected of them.
• Can be motivating for workers seeing promotions.

Disadvantages:

• No new ideas or experience come into the business.
• May be jealousy and rivalry amongst existing employees.

External Recruitment:

When a vacancy is filled by someone who is not an existing employee and will be new to the business.

Types:

• Local newspaper
• National newspaper.
• Specialist magazines.
• Recruitment agencies.
• Centers run by the government.

Interviews

Looks at:

• Applicant’s ability to do the job.
• Any personal qualities that are an advantage or disadvantage.
• General character and personality.

Some businesses include a selection process:

• Skills test.
• Aptitude test – aims to show the candidate’s potential to gain additional skills.
• Personality test – if they are able to work under stress…
• Group situation test.

Advantages:

• More flexible in hours of work.
• Easier to ask employees just to work at busy times.
• Easier to extend business opening.
• Less expensive.

Disadvantages:

• Less likely to be trained because workers see the job as temporary.
• Less likely to be promoted because they have not gained the skills.
• More difficult to communicate with them.

Training

• Introduce a process or new equipment.
• Improve efficiency.
• Decrease supervision needed.
• Decrease the chance of accidents.

Induction Training:

Introduction given to new employees, explaining activities, customs, and procedures and to fellow workers.

Advantages:

• Helps employees settle.
• Means workers are less likely to make mistakes.
• May be legal requirements to give at the start of training.

Disadvantages:

• Time-consuming.
• Wages are paid but no work is being done.
• Delays the start of the employee commencing the job.

Advantage:

• Ensures some production from the worker whilst they are trained.
• Costs less.
• Training is specific to the needs of the business.

Disadvantages:

• The trainer will not be as productive as usual.
• The trainer may have bad habits which are passed on.
• May not be recognized training qualifications outside the business.

Off-the-Job Training:

Being trained away from the workplace, usually by specialized trainers.

Advantages:

• A broad range of skills are taught.
• The business will only pay for the course and it will not lose the output of the worker.
• Often uses specialists who have up-to-date knowledge of the business.

Disadvantages:

• High costs.
• Means wages are paid but work is not done by the worker.
• Additional qualifications mean it is easier for the employee to leave and find another job.