Topic 1 – Recruitment and

Selection

Higher Business Management

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Learning Intentions / Success Criteria

Learning

Intentions

Recruitment

and

Selection

Success Criteria

Learners should be able to describe and explain the following

aspects to do with recruitment and selection:

• costs and benefits of internal and external recruitment

• differentiation between internal and external recruitment

• selection methods and the costs and benefits of methods of

selection, e.g. application forms, CVs, interviews, use of

testing

• elements of workforce planning e.g. skills analysis of

current staff, staffing forecasts to meet demand, planning

internal and external supply of staff

• implications and benefits of flexible working on the

organisation. 2

Recruitment

Recruitment - encouraging people to apply for a

job vacancy.

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Internal Recruitment

The job vacancy is only

advertised within the

organisation and therefore

only those people already

working for the

organisation can apply for

it.

Examples:

• Staff notice board

• Organisation’s intranet

• Internal e-mail to all or

selected staff

• Company newsletter.

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Advantages/Disadvantages of Internal

Recruitment Advantages

• Job vacancy can be filled quickly.

• Employees are already known by the

organisation and their ability to do the

job.

• Employees feel more valued and can

become more motivated and

productive if given the chance of

promotion.

• Money can be saved on advertising a

job, recruiting, selecting and training,

thereby increasing profitability.

• Existing employees are already

familiar with the policies, procedures

and culture within the organisation

and therefore do not need to be given

guidance on this.

Disadvantages

• The opportunity to gain new ideas

from a new employee is lost and this

could mean that new solutions to

problems are not discovered.

• An existing employee with the correct

skills or ability for the job might not

be available, therefore the position

may remain unfilled.

• There might not be that many existing

employees that can apply for the

position.

• If a candidate is recruited internally,

this will consequently create another

vacancy within the organisation.

• Conflict amongst existing employees

competing for the job might exist. 5

External Recruitment

The job vacancy is

advertised both within

and outwith the

organisation and

therefore anyone

(whether an existing

employee or not) can

apply.

Examples:

• Job centre

• Newspaper adverts

• Websites, such as

Monster or S1 Jobs

• Recruitment

agencies.

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Advantages/Disadvantages of External

Recruitment

Advantages

• People with

new ideas can

be brought

into the

organisation.

• Can attract

large

quantities of

applicants.

Disadvantages

• Existing employees who apply but do not

get the job may feel unvalued and

therefore lose the motivation to work hard.

• It can be expensive to advertise in a range

of external places. For example, the cost of

advertising a vacancy in a national

newspaper is expensive.

• No matter how good the selection methods

are, because the person is unknown, there

is a chance that the wrong person could be

chosen.

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Selection

Selection - choosing the best person for a job.

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Methods of Selection

1. Application forms/CVs

2. Assessment centres

3. Testing

4. Interviews

5. References

6. Trial periods

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1. Application Forms/Curriculum Vitae

(CVs)

Application forms

A document produced by

the employer, containing

questions that applicants

answer to provide details

of their skills, experience

and qualities.

Curriculum Vitae (CVs)

A two page document

listing a person’s work

experience, qualifications

and personal experiences.

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2. Assessment Centres

• Assessment centres allow an organisation to see applicants undertaking a

variety of tasks in different situations and scenarios and can sometimes take

place over a couple of days.

• Many large organisations have assessment centres where they get

applicants to take part in role play exercises, team building activities and

make presentations.

• Applicants may have to undertake tests during the assessment centre. At all

points during the assessment centre, the organisation will be watching each

applicant carefully and making a note of their communication, team work

and problem solving skills.

• Assessment centres are common in the aviation industry and airlines

recruiting, for example cabin crew, will often carry out an assessment

centre to help them in the selection process.

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Advantages/Disadvantages of

Assessment Centres

Advantages

• Allows an organisation to really

scrutinise applicants over a longer

period of time.

• Assesses how applicants interact

with others.

• Assesses how applicants react to

role-play scenarios that mimic

real work situations.

• Reduces the chance of interviewer

bias as the results are a true

reflection of each applicant’s

abilities and not jus what one

manager thinks.

Disadvantages

• A venue will need to be

hired, if an organisation

doesn’t have its own

assessment centre, which is

expensive.

• Several managers will need

to be sent to the centre to

conduct and supervise the

tests, losing production

time.

• Such tests require careful

planning and preparation, all

of which takes time. 12

3. Testing

• A variety of test can be carried out to help in the

selection process.

• Each test will assess a different aspect of the

applicant’s abilities or skills and can confirm what the

applicant has written on their application form or CV.

• Tests can be expensive to carry out and are time-

consuming.

• They need to be carried out carefully because, just

like exams, people can perform worse than expected

because of the pressure and stress imposed on them.

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Types of Testing

• Psychometric/psychological tests

• Aptitude tests

• Intelligence/IQ tests

• Medical tests

• Attainment tests

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Psychometric/Psychological Tests

• Interviews allow the organisation to meet the

applicants, ask the questions and find out

whether or not they are suitable for the job

vacancy.

• They also allow the applicant to ask questions

to see whether or not the vacancy is for them.

• Sometimes applicants might be asked to do a

short presentation in the interview, using

presentation software. 15

Aptitude Tests

This test assesses the natural abilities and

personal skills for the job, e.g. a prospective

customer services assistant roleplaying a

scenario with an angry customer and assessing

literacy and numeracy skills.

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Intelligence/IQ Tests

• These assess the mental capability of the

applicant.

• Questions in these tests centre on problem

solving and thinking skills, numeracy and

literacy.

• Each applicant is given a score at the end of

the test which can be compared to other

applicants.

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Medical Tests

A doctor or nurse examines each applicant for

any medical issues or concerns that may impact

upon their ability to perform the duties of the

job, e.g. the fire service, armed forces, etc.

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Attainment Tests

This allows an applicant to demonstrate their

skills, e.g. ICT skills by completing a typing test.

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4. Interviews

• Interviews allow the organisation to meet the

applicants, ask the questions and find out

whether or not they are suitable for the job

vacancy.

• They also allow the applicant to ask questions

to see whether or not the vacancy is for them.

• Sometimes applicants might be asked to do a

short presentation in the interview, using

presentation software. 20

Types of Interviews

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One-to-

one

interviews

One interviewer interviews all of the short listed

applicants and then makes a decision on who to

select.

Successive

interviews

Several interviewers who interview each candidate

separately. Unfortunately, it will mean for the

applicant that they have a number of interviews to

attend!

Panel

interviews

A panel interview is when an applicant is interviewed

by several people at one time. Each person on the

interview panel asks a number of questions and each

member has a final say in who is selected.

Advantages/Disadvantages of

Interviews

Advantages

• Interviews find

out how an

applicant reacts

under pressure.

• Interviews give

an indication of

the applicant’s

personality and a

character.

Disadvantages

• Some applicants can train

specifically for interviews and say

what the interviewers want to hear

but may not be the best person for

the job.

• Interviews can be highly stressful.

This means an organisation may

miss out on quality employees

who underperform in the pressure

of an interview.

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5. References

• This is using references, or information from

referees.

• These are used to confirm that the candidates is

who they say they are, and that they are reliable.

• References are usually requested from previous

employers and/or someone else with authority,

such as the head teacher at the candidate’s school.

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6. Trial Periods

• This involves an applicant being employed for a short

period of time, a day, a week or longer, before they

are offered the position permanently, to make sure

they are capable of doing the job, and that they are

reliable and trustworthy.

• This avoids an organisation making a mistake by

offering a job to someone who isn’t suitable, and

potentially having to go through lengthy discipline

and dismissal procedures.

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Elements of Workforce Planning

Workforce or human planning enables an

organisation to ensure that they have the correct

employees in place at the right time to meet the

needs of the organisation.

• Skills analysis of current staff

• Staffing forecasts to meet demand

• Planning internal and external supply of staff

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Skills Analysis of Current Staff

Analysing what needs to be done in an

organisation and attempting to match suitably

qualified and skilled staff to achieve the

organisation’s objectives

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Staffing Forecasts to Meet Demand

• It involves monitoring changes and trends in the labour market to establish changes in employment patterns.

• It is essential to be able to identify and estimate which employees will be required in the future and whether changes to existing staff levels, contracts and working practices need to be made.

• Considering the skills that will be required to carry out future job roles and then developing the appropriate training programmes to meet these requirements.

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Planning Internal and External

Supply of Staff

• Internal recruitment is when the business looks

to fill the vacancy from within its existing

workforce.

• External recruitment is when the business

looks to fill the vacancy from any suitable

applicant outside the business.

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Flexible Working Practices

Terms of contract Permanent

Temporary

Fixed-term

Casual

Working hours Full-time

Part-time

Flexi-time

Job-share

Mode of work Office-based

Homeworking

Teleworking

Hot desking

Different working practices that organisation might

operate include:

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Advantages of Flexible Working

Practices (Organisation)

• Short-term contracts can be used to employ staff only when they are needed

(especially useful in businesses where demand for their goods/services is

seasonal). In addition, organisation can buy in specialist skills for short-

term projects without incurring the need for training/re-skilling of their

existing staff.

• Organisations can retain workers whose personal circumstances have

changed (e.g. new mothers/fathers) rather than lose the knowledge and

skills of these experienced workers. Consequently, there is no need to

recruit and train new employees.

• Fewer employees in the office results in savings in terms of less work space

is needed meaning less rent, electricity costs, etc. Fewer employees also

means less equipment, furniture, etc. has to be purchased.

• By increasing the choice of working methods to suit employees’ lifestyles,

the organisation will benefit from better morale, motivation, productivity

and less absenteeism. 30

Disadvantages of Flexible Working

Practices (Organisation)

• It can be difficult to offer training and staff

development to all part-time workers.

• It is not always easy to ensure health and

safety in the home environment.

• It is harder to organise and control a large

number of part-time workers.

• There may be difficulties in communication.

• Impact of flexible working practices.

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