Employers Criteria for Hiring A New Employee

Shahnam Taheri

Financial Analyst and Productivity Management Consultant

Sh_ taheri@hotmail.com

Introduction

What are employers looking for employees in today’s job market? A few years ago, knowledge and

skill were the prerequisite to employment in most companies. Today, companies are seeking a new

breed of employess: one who has the knowledge and skills required to do the job, flexibility and most

important engagement and behaviour as a productive citizen in organization.

With economic global competition, many plants were closed in western countries and then reopened

in overseas like china and India. Many employees were laid offs and they learned that loyalty was no

longer rewarded. Greg Keenan and Brian Miller ask “Are there Canadian Companies that have not

succeeded because of productivity? Unfortunately, yes.” They mention about a Canadian company,

Webi, where its management team discovered that their company can improve its productivity

without access to huge amounts of capital.(7) McShane writes “It is not easy for employers to snap

their finger and simply get employees to do more”(p.46).

Therefore, the employee engagement, team working in organization by using a good human

resource management as well as improving technology are the only ways to increase labour

productivity in Canadian Companies. Many cases studies explain in details how efforts should be

done in order to improve employee engagement and firm performance outcomes such as sales and

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profitability and reduce the other negative outcomes such as absenteeism, customer complaints by

improving labour productivity.

As Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton write; “Successful organizations need employees who will

go beyond their usual job duties, providing performance that is beyond normal expectation .In today’s

dynamic workplace, where tasks are increasing done in teams and where flexibility is critical,

organizations need employees who will engage in “good citizenship” behaviours, such as

making constructive statements about their work group and the organization, helping others on their

team, volunteering extra job activities, avoiding unnecessary conflict, helping others on their

team, volunteering for job activities, unnecessary conflicts, showing care for organizational property,

respecting the spirit as well as the letter of rules and regulation, and gracefully tolerating

the occasional work- related impositions and nuisances. Organizations want and need employees

who will do those things that aren’t in any job description. And evidence indicates that organizations

that have such kind of employees always outperform those that don’t.” (5, 13)

1-Productivity as an index of success measurement

Productivity in an organization measures a ratio of the value of its output over its inputs.

To improve productivity, managers must find the ways to produce more outputs with fewer inputs.

In above article, writers mention the Webi improved its productivity by small investment and good

human resource management.” The company built a road on the east side of the property and

installed a new door. Now the raw materials come in the east door and finished skips go out the other

end. That has helped cut in half the amount of time it takes to fabricate a skip” (7)

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2-Human Resource Management &Productivity

The foundation of success in productivity is culture and climate in organization.” All managers with

HR responsibilities play an important role in creating and maintaining the type of organizational

desire. Having a positive culture earns critical acclaim, and has positive impact on both retention and

recruitment.”(3, 42) “The major factors influencing the climate of an organization are management’s

leadership style, HR policies and practices, and amount and style of organizational communication”

(2, 8)

Employees’ skills and motivation are two factors that HR managers can improve by planning and

executing strategic Hr management system.

“Employee ability, competence in performing a job, can be improved through a hiring and placement

process that selects the best individuals for the job. Motivation refers to do the best possible job and

maximum effort to perform assigned tasks. Motivation energizes, directs, and sustains human

behaviour.”(4, 20) Wage- performance system, good leadership, employees’ participation in decision

system will increase motivation for doing better job and higher productivity.

Human resource management can affect productivity through different tools of incentives. Incentives

include remuneration, wage, salary ,bonus systems and also the system of employee performance

appraisal, promotion and career advancement. By organization structure we mean the distribution of

decision rights (autonomy/decentralization) between managers and workers, job design (e.g. flexibility

of working, job rotation), team-working (e.g. who works with whom) and information process in

organization. Suitable structure can improve both productivity and effectiveness in the organization..

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3-INFLUENTIAL FACTORS ON PRODUCTIVITY

A complex mosaic of individual, social, and organizational variables determines employess

productivity organizational behaviours. For example, personality, attitudes, needs, leadership style

which must be consistent with the social context of organization. In other words organization

culture must be recognizing, encouraging, and rewarding motivation in employees for being more

productive.

In addition HR management system may provide the key link between satisfaction and performance.

Recent research suggests that, when performance is defined of organizational

citizenship behaviours, the correlation between satisfaction and performance is much stronger. We

can mention the following factors affecting productivity:

Select and recruit right people for right job

Improving quality of work life in organization

Creating an organizational climate for innovation and creativity

Creating a suggestion system

Regular training workshops for employee

Suitable wage and performance system

Suitable system for promotion

Another link to HR role in productivity is social exchange theory. This theory identifies the

conditions under which people feel obligated to reciprocate when they benefit from some person’s or

some entity’s action. These actions include any benefits that a company offers to their employees.

Benefits could include child care, professional development, and workout facilities, counselling, and

tuition reimbursement.”(3)

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4-SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

In a business environment, productivity improvement is essential for long run success. Through

Leader ship, suitable HR policies, managers can reduce costs, reduce waste, create an innovative

climate and employees’ empowerment.

Improving conditions for employees and leaders during work so they can engage in both mission and

strategic direction give the company to gain competitive advantage and success.

Leaders are responsible to create an environment for employees’ engagement around the core values

and goals of company as well as they feel they are citizen of their work place.

Increasing employees’ motivation and their satisfaction through training, work- incentive program

can promote better productivity through satisfied, effective, efficient and loyal workers. The nature

of motivation and effectiveness among employees is the way by which modern human resource

management is done.

The objective of all employee engagement and organizational citizenship initiatives are improved

firm performance. Human Resource Managers have an important role in productivity in any

organization directly by selecting and recruiting skilled people and indirectly by improvement the

quality of work life for employees. Flexible benefits management systems can affect employees

‘productivity. Managers should remember HR systems and issues influence productivity

level, profitability in their organizations. In fact, there is a direct relationship between

progressive human resource management and productivity management, which includes creating a

climate and a culture or work environment that is conducive all people in organization towards

achieving the goals of the company as well as the employees.

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WORKS CITED

BOOKS

1-Belcourt, Bohlander, Snell, and Sherman. “Managing Human Resources”, Nelson Thomson

learning, 2002.

2-Gary Dessler, Nina D. Cole, Patricia M. Goodman, Virginia L. (Gini) Sutherland” Fundamentals of

Human Resources Management in Canada”, Pearson, Toronto, Ontario, 2004.

3-John W. Newstorm and Keith Davis. “Organizational Behaviour, Human Behaviour at Work.”

Tenth edition, McGraw-Hill companies, 1997.

4-Luis R. Gomez-Mejia, David B. Balkin, Robert L.Cordy. “Managing Human Resource” New Jersey,

Prentice Hall, 2001.

5-Steven L. McShane. “Organizational Behaviour”, fifth edition, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2004.

6-Stevens P. Robbins and Nancy Langton “ Organizational Behaviour” Third edition, Pearson,

Printice Hall, Toronto, 2003.

NEWSPAPER

7-Greg Keenan and Brian Milner, “Productivity that starts on the shop floor”, The GLOBE AND

MAIL, Monday, New Liskheard, Ont. And Toronto-June.28, 2010.

8- Greg Keenan and Brian Milner, “The Productivity Challenge: Productivity that starts on the shop

floor”, The GLOBE AND MAIL, Monday, New Liskheard, Ont. And Toronto-July.09, 2010..

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