Recruitment & Selection

The process of finding new staff for a company, from advertising jobs to signing

contracts, needs to be well run if it is not to waste valuable company time.

Choosing the right person for a hob depends, to a large degree, on getting the

right procedures and documents in place.

Recruitment is from the point when the organisation decides it needs to

employ somebody up to the point where a pile of completed

application forms has arrived in the post.

Selection begins when the HR department sort through that pile of

applications and it ends when the newly appointed

employee turns up on their first day at work.

The HR department must plan ahead, identify and fill job vacancies.

Why might a vacancy arise?

Worker/s may be due for retirement

Worker/s may leave for other reasons

Worker/s may be promoted

A business expansion may create new jobs

Stages in the Recruitment Process

Below are the typical stages in the recruitment process of a medium to large

company (they may differ slightly from business to business). A small company

may well not follow all the same procedures.

1. The manger if the department with the vacancy

consults the HR manager. They draw up 2 key

documents – the job description and the person

specification.

2. The job advertisement is placed in the local paper.

After the application deadline had passed, application

forms and CVs are checked to remove obviously

unsuitable people. The rest of the applications are

compared to the person specification to arrive at a

shortlist for interview.

3. The candidates are interviewed and may be given a

test of some kind to do (aptitude, personality and

intelligence tests, presentations etc). The job is

offered to the most suitable candidate. If no candidate

Job description & person

specification

Job advertisement

proves suitable the job will be re-advertised).

Unsuccessful candidates are notified.

4. The successful candidate’s references are checked.

If any problems arise the job may be offered to the

met most suitable person from the list. If all their

references are fine a time is set for the new person to

start.

5. A contract and some training time are arranged.

The performance of the new staff member will be

monitored through an appraisal system – manager and

worker will agree on targets for a set period and then

review the results.

Job Description lists all the duties an employee must carry out in that

particular job describes what the job involves.

Job title Basic details

Location of job

Brief outline of what the

employer does

The organisation is selling itself to the job

applicants. If it looks like a successful

place it will attract netter applicants

Main purpose of the job Are the essentials of the job description

that all applicants need to know aboutDetailed list of main tasks

required in the job

Standards that the job holder

will be required to achieve

Pay & other benefits Needed as attractions to draw in good

quality applicantsPromotion prospects

The person to whom the job

holder reports

Give the applicant a clearer idea of how

this job fits into the organisation

The person/s who report/s to

the job holder

Person Specification

describes the kind of person who is needed to carry out a

particular job. Usually a seven point plan is used to write a

person specification;

1 Physique, health & Includes personal smartness, dress sense, voice,

Interview candidates

Check references

Contract & training

appearance hearing, eyesight as well as general health

2 Attainments What educational qualifications such as GCSE’s,

NVQ’s, A-Level’s, degree, does the job require?

3 General intelligence How ‘bright’ do you need to be to do this job?

4 Special aptitudes What special skills does a person need to do this job?

It could be skills with words or numbers for example.

5 Interests Firms will often look for people with lots of interests

& hobbies

6 Disposition What kind of personality is needed to do this job?

7 circumstances e.g. the job may require the person to live nearby or

be prepared to travel

Advertising the Job

The job advertisement contains details of the position to be filled and where to

apply. The job description and person specification are used to draw up the job

advertisement.

Adverts can be internal or external

o Internal – only circulated within the business in order to give existing staff

the chance to apply

o External – published in appropriate places (local, nation or specialist

newspapers. Also possibly sent to Job Centres and recruitment agencies)

Advertising internally can be quicker and less expensive than from outside. It

also improves morale as staff realise that promotion is possible. Another benefit

is that the internal candidate knows the organisation and so can learn the new job

very quickly. The drawback is however that no ‘new blood’ is introduced which

could lead to fewer new ideas. The benefits of external candidates mean that

there will be a much wider range of people from whom to choose, showing

everyone that the organisation is an Equal Opportunities employer.Job advertisements should contain;

oName of the employer & what the employer does

label manufacturer, computer programming etc

oJob title

should state what the job requires the person to do

oType of person required

qualities, qualifications and experience

oPay, hours & perks

oPlace of work & indication of any travelling required

oHow to apply

should state whether applicants should write in, phone or email for an

application or send a CV

SELECTION

Having received all the applications a shortlist must be drawn up, eliminating

those who don’t meet the person specifications – they may be regarded as too

inexperienced or overqualified.

The Interview

At an interview the interviewer can;

Check whether the interviewees communication skills are up to the

required standard

Assess the interviewees social skills

Check their physical appearance (regarded as important for some jobs –

receptionist, sales force).

See how confident the interviewee is

Discuss information on the application form

Judge whether the interviewee will work effectively with colleagues in the

department

The interviewee can;

Discuss future prospects – promotions

Check the working conditions

Ask about training and other opportunities

Judge the friendliness or otherwise of existing staff

See the facilities available

Selection Tests

Some firms run a series of tests to help decide which of the short listed applicants

is most suitable for the post. These tests may be designed to assess a candidate’s

intelligence, personality or aptitude.

1. Intelligence tests

Designed to check applicant’s mental abilities. May involve testing verbal

and numerical reasoning.

2. Personality tests (psychometric)

Try to discover an applicant’s personality, attitudes and beliefs in an

attempt to find out whether they will fit happily in to the company. A

common psychometric test is a DISC TEST – Dominance Influence

Steadiness Compliance. An example of a DISC question is below; the

candidate has to state which statement is most like him/her and which is

least like him/her

A I am very persuasive Most Least

B I see myself as a gentle person Most Least

C I am a very modest type Most Least

D I often come up with original ideas Most Least

3. Aptitude tests

Are set if the employer wants to see the applicant carrying out the sort of

tasks involved in doing the job. E.g. an applicant for a clerical post may be

required to carry out tests involving word processing or the use of the

telephone.

References

It is common practice for employers to ask applicants to provide 2 references,

usually from previous employers and reputable personal acquaintances.

Legal & ethical issues when recruiting

Employers should act fairly by never discriminating on sexual, racial or

disability grounds. The organisations recruitment advertising must not

discriminate against anyone.

The way in which people are selected for shortlist for interview and the manner of

the interview itself must be carried out ethically – interviewers must be fair and

not choose a candidate for personal reasons.

It is equally important that the applicant does not tell lies or mislead on the

application or CV. To do so could lead to dismissal.

APPOINTMENT

Once the applicant has been selected by the interview panel and has accepted the

position offered a contract of employment is drawn up. This contract contains

the following information;

Ending the appointment

Employees may be made redundant. This occurs when their jobs are no longer

needed by the firm (possibly due to changes in work practice or production

methods or changes in demand for the firm’s goods and services. Staff may

receive some redundancy pay, the amount depending on factors such as their

length of service, age and rate of pay.

An employee can be dismissed where there is a good reason to do so. Typical

situations when this may occur include, stealing the firms goods, continued

employment would be illegal (lorry driver lost licence) or conduct at work

(drunkenness, violent behaviour). An employee will be given verbal warnings

followed by written warnings before being dismissed. All employees have

protection against unfair dismissal.

CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

Job title ..............................

Employers name .......................... Employees name .........................

Starting date ............................... Hours of work .............................

Pay and pay intervals ................... Holidays and holiday pay ..............

Sickness and sickness pay ............ Pension details ............................

Length of notice required ............. Disciplinary rules .........................

The recruitment and selection process can be a long and expensive one so HR

department staff need to be careful and thorough when employing people.