HRM MODULE – 3 RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PROCESS TEST-INTERVIEW-PLACEMENT-INDUCTION

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HR Planning

The recruitment and selection process is a series of hurdles aimed at selecting the best candidate for the job.

Defining Recruitment

•Recruitment is the process of locating and encouraging potential applicants to apply for existing or anticipated job openings.

•It aims at

–Attracting a large number of qualified applicants who are ready to take up the job

–Offering enough information for seekers to self select themselves out

•Recruitment policies and procedures

–Organisation to establish and document the same •Internet technology and specialization trends are changing how candidates are attracted and how searches are conducted.

Constraints and Challenges in Recruitment

•Poor image of the company

•Attractiveness/unattractiveness of the job

•Budgetary support

•Organisational policies

•Policies of the Government

Factors affecting recruitment1. External factors affecting recruiting:

•Looming undersupply of specific skills like programmers & financial analysts•Increasingly fewer “qualified” candidates•Political & legal considerations(Eg: reservation of jobs for SC,ST,OBC,etc is a political decision)

2. Internal factors affecting recruiting:•Co’s recruitment policy•The available resources, types of jobs to be recruited and choice of recruiting methods again depends o Co. going for expansion or decline in growth.

1. Decide what positions you’ll have to fill through personnel planning and forecasting i.e. Assess the Number and Nature of vacancy

2. Build a pool of candidates for these jobs by recruiting candidates through sources- Internal / External

3. Have candidates complete application forms and perhaps undergo an initial screening interview.

4. Use selection techniques like tests, background investigations, and physical exams to identify viable candidates.

5. Decide who to make an offer to, by having the supervisor and perhaps others on the team interview the candidates.

Where?When?How?

What Cost?Who Should?

Job?Level?Skill ?

Salary?How to Attract?

AudienceMessageMediaCost

Features

Corporate Image Only Positive Image

OrRealistic Image

Sources of Recruitment

•Internal Sources: Those who are already working in the organisation Merits of Internal Sources •Economical •Reliable •Data available(Foreknowledge of candidates’ strengths and weaknesses)•More accurate view of candidate’s skills•Candidates have a stronger commitment to the company•Less training and orientation required•Employee satisfaction and motivation(Increases employee morale)

Demerits of Internal Sources •Limited Choice •Lead to infighting sometimes•Failed applicants become discontented

External Sources: Refers to all kinds of recruitment out side of the organisation.

Merits of External Sources•Wide choice •Injection of fresh people

Demerits of External Sources•Expensive •Time consuming •Uncertainty

Methods of Recruitment 1.Internal methods a)Promotions and transfers from within b) Internal Job posting within the organisation(Publicizing an open job to employees often by literally posting it on bulletin boards or Intranet and listing its attributes. Examination of HR records may be done for potential candidates.) c)Employee Referrals(when employees recommend successful referrals, they are paid monetary incentives called “finders fee”)d)Re-hiring former or retired employees(Advantages: their performance is already known & also clearly know the firm and its culture but Disadvantages:They may have less-than positive attitudes,Rehiring may sent the wrong message to current employees about how to get ahead)

2. Direct methods –Campus recruitment (Recruiting goals amy be to determine if the candidate is worthy of further consideration, to attract good candidates

–Walk-in

3. Indirect methods –Advertisements (The Media: selection of the best medium depends on the positions for which the firm is recruiting. Medias can be Newspapers,Trade and professional journals, Internet job sites,etc)

Constructing an effective ad Wording related to job interest factors should evoke the

applicant’s attention, interest, desire, and action (AIDA) and create a positive impression of the company

Ad Design Company logo Creative Illustrations Creative Wordings Size of the Ad. White Space around the ad Job title – Enlarged/Bold

Information About the Job Job Title Duties and Responsibilities Salary and Benefits Location

Information about the Company Company Profile Products/ Services / Market Customers

Applicant Qualifications Education – Essential / Preferred Experience Skills Personality – Aptitude Salary History

Methods of Recruitment

4.Third party methods

–Placement/Commercial employment Agencies/recruitment consultants(Reasons for using an agency can be when a firm doesn’t have an HR department and is not geared to doing recruiting and screening or the firm has found it difficult in the past to generate a pool of qualified applicants or the firm must fill a particular opening quickly or the firm wants to cut down on the time it’s devoting to recruiting)

–Employment Exchange

Executive recruiters (headhunters) or Special employment agencies retained by employers to seek out top-management talent .•Alternatives to recruitment –Overtime –Temping (Benefits of Temps are they are paid only when working, are more productive, No recruitment, screening, and payroll administration costs involved but they have lack of commitment to firm)-Offshoring/Outsourcing White-Collar and Other Jobs abroad

Advantages of Internet recruitingCost-effective way to publicize job openingsMore applicants attracted over a longer periodImmediate applicant responsesOnline prescreening of applicantsLinks to other job search sitesAutomation of applicant tracking and evaluation

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Recruiting via the Internet

Figure 5–9

Marital Status Number of Children -

Dependents Religion – Caste Social – Political Affiliation

Evaluation of Sources of Recruitment •Time Lapse Data (TLD)

–It is the time lag between the date of requisition for manpower to the actual date of filling up of vacancies

TLD = Recruitment days + Selection days + Acceptance days + Reporting days

Employers use a variety of methods to calculate the no. of applicants they must generate to hire the reqd. no. of new employees.

Recruiting Yield Pyramid Historical arithmetic relationships between recruitment leads

and invitees, interviews and offers made, and offers made and offers accepted

Used to calculate the number of applicants they must attract to hire the required number of employees

Defining Selection •Selection is the process of picking individuals who have

relevant competency to fill jobs in an organisation

•Purpose is to choose the individual who can most successfully perform the job, from the pool of shortlisted candidates from recruitment

“Past Behaviour / Results are the ONLY Indicator (s) of the Likely future Behaviour

“Selection is a TWO WAY Process” Decision-making exercise Purpose is to hire the person(s) best able to meet the needs of

the organization

The importance of selecting the right employees Organizational performance always depends

in part on subordinates having the right skills and attributes.

Recruiting and hiring employees is costly. The legal implications of incompetent hiring

The liability of negligent hiring of workers with questionable backgrounds

Position to be filled Acceptability and

appropriateness Ability of the staff Administrative ease,

resources needed, time…. ‘RELIABILITY’ and ‘VALIDITY’

Are there ways that managers can ensure that the decision achieves the desired outcome? (time and time again) Yes, use HR Tools which are Reliable & Valid

1. Reliability Degree to which selection tool(Can be a test or an

interview)measures the same thing consistently time & time again. The consistency of scores obtained by the same person when retested with the identical or equivalent tests.

Are the test results stable over time?

2. Validity Relationship between selection tool and appropriate criterion What a selection technique measures and how well it measures Must be proven and relevant to job

Eg: keyboarding skills for data entry clerk

Job analysisAdvertisement

Application blank/formPreliminary/screening interview

Selection test/written testGD

InterviewSelection decision

Medical examinationRef checks

Initial Job offerAcceptance/rejection letter

Final offer letter/letter of appointmentinduction

Application blank (Issuing special application form to fill up to seek certain relevant data related to the advertised job , this data is subsequently verified during Interview)

Screening Interview (involves Collecting the resume, Checking the eligibility, Screen out the obvious misfits for reasons that did not appear in the application forms, Sometimes also referred as Courtes y Interview)

Types of selection Tests: 1. Intelligence Test/IQ test –To check mental ability, understand instructions and make judgments –To check memory, vocabulary, Reading comprehension tests, numerical ability, fluency,

data sufficiency, data interpretation, Clerical comparing and checking tests, etc

2. Aptitude Test –To check the aptitudes towards the job

3. Personality Test –To check the traits, personality factors & Screen out bad or dishonest

employees Tests that use projective techniques and trait inventories to measure basic

aspects of an applicant’s personality, such as introversion, stability, and motivation.

Reduce turnover by personality profiling

Disadvantage of personality test Personality tests—particularly the projective type—are the most

difficult tests to evaluate and use.Advantage of personality test

Tests have been used successfully to predict dysfunctional job behaviors and identify successful candidates for overseas assignments.

There are various tests designed to assess a candidate’s personality like the “Big Five”

1. Extraversion(The tendency to be sociable, assertive, active, and to experience positive effects, such as energy and zeal).

2. Emotional stability/neuroticism(The tendency to exhibit poor emotional adjustment and experience negative effects, such as anxiety, insecurity, and hostility.)

3. Openness to experience(The disposition to be imaginative, nonconforming, unconventional, and autonomous.)

4. Agreeableness(The tendency to be trusting, compliant, caring, and gentle).

5. Conscientiousness(achievement and dependability).

4. Psychological Tests Few egs are Paper-and-pencil honesty tests. These are Psychological tests designed to

predict job applicants’ proneness to dishonesty and other forms of counterproductivity. Measure attitudes regarding things like tolerance of others who steal, acceptance of

rationalizations for theft, and admission of theft-related activities 5.Work samples

Actual job tasks are used in testing applicants’ performance. Work sampling technique

A testing method based on measuring an applicant’s performance on actual basic job tasks.

6. Leadership Quality Tests (Group or Team based tests)7. Case Analysis test (To test analytical and logical ability)8. Online tests/Web-Based (Online) testing includes Telephone prescreening Online problem solving tests

Eliminates costly and inefficient paper-and-pencil testing processes. Allows for role-playing by applicants. Use of computer-based scoring eliminates rater bias. Provides immediate scoring and feedback of results to applicants. Can be readily customized for specific jobs.

9. Interest tests Personal development and selection devices that compare the

person’s current interests with those of others now in various occupations so as to determine the preferred occupation for the individual. These tests r particularly useful for students considering many careers

10. Achievement tests Test that measure what a person has already learned—“job

knowledge” in areas like accounting, marketing, or personnel.

Figure 6–4

Interviews •It is the oral examination of the candidate •Assess the verbal ability of the candidate •Assess the appearance, facial expressions, body language and conduct etc •Make judgment on candidate’s enthusiasm and motivation level •To check KSA not covered in tests or if tests are not conducted •To clarify mind of the candidate

Types of Interviews :•Directive or Structured Interview (Use of predetermined checklist of

questions and specific format)•Non directive and Unstructured/unpatterned interview (No specific

format, Questions are open ended, This can get you into trouble as questions are made up during the interview)

•Situational/ behavioral Interview (How candidate react to hypothetical situations and what type of behaviour candidate exhibit )

•Panel Interview (Candidates meet a panel of interviewers)•Group Interview (Group of candidates simultaneously interviewed) •Stress interview (Interviewer attempts to find how applicants would

respond to aggressive, rude and insulting rapid fire questions intended to upset the applicant)

Omitting / Stretching employment period False Diplomas Self Employment / ‘Consultant’ claims Exaggerated Achievements Fudging compensation details

“70% of candidates state facts, not as they are, but as they assume will look impressive”

Why do you want to leave your present employer?

Tell us something about yourself Why do you want to join us? Why should we hire you over others? Where do you see yourself after five years? What are your career achievements? Why do you think you are suitable for the job? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What is your present cost to your company? What compensation do you expect?

Reasons for preemployment medical examinations: To verify that the applicant meets the physical

requirements of the position To discover any medical limitations you should take

into account in placing the applicant. Certain jobs require clear vision, acute hearing,

high stamina, clear tone of voice etc To establish a record and baseline of the applicant’s

health for future insurance or compensation claims. To detect communicable diseases that may be

unknown to the applicant. Carried by the doctor referred by the company or

any physician of choice of the candidate

Extent of investigations and checks Reference checks (87%) Background employment checks (69%) Criminal records (61%) Credit checks (35%)

Reasons for investigations and checks To verify factual information provided by applicants. To uncover damaging information. Information on character or any particulars given in the

application by the candidate or any other details

Sources of information for background checks: Former employers Current supervisors Written references

Figure 6–7

(Verify that the applicant has provided permission before conducting reference checks)Candidate Name:

Reference Name: Company Name:

Dates of Employment: (From: and To:)

Position(s) Held: Salary History:

Reason for Leaving:

Explain the reason for your call and verify the above information with the supervisor (including the reason for leaving)

1. Please describe the type of work for which the candidate was responsible.

2. How would you describe the applicant’s relationships with coworkers, subordinates (if applicable), and with superiors?

3. Did the candidate have a positive or negative work attitude? Please elaborate

4. How would you describe the quantity and quality of output generated by the former employee?

5. What were his/her strengths on the job?

6. What were his/her weaknesses on the job?

7. What is your overall assessment of the candidate?

8. Would you recommend him/her for this position? Why or why not?

9. Would this individual be eligible for rehire? Why or why not?

Other comments?

Source: Society for Human Resource Management, © 2004.

Knowledge of the Applicant Leniency Only positive information

Mental Agility MA ____ Dependability & Reliability DR ____ Vigor VG ____ Urbanity UR ____ Co-Operation & Consideration CC ____

Hiring Decision

–Line manager at the appropriate level makes the final decision

–Issue of letter of intent

–Acceptance

–Appointment letter

Placement •Placement is the actual posting of the selected candidate to a specific job•Assigning specific rank and responsibility •Decision taken by the line manager at the appropriate level •The new recruit is on probation for a period of time and performance is

assessed very closely

Induction/orientation •It is the process of introducing the new employee to the organisation and its

policies, procedures and rulesFamiliarize new employee to job and work unitHelp employee to understand values, beliefs, and acceptable behaviours•Organisations conduct induction/ orientation programmes, which may be from

two days to a week •What are they oriented with: –Company, its history, its current position, rules regulations etc –Daily routine, various offices, rest room, cafeteria etc –Attachment with various departments for half a day or one day and

introducing to staff etc and guidance from senior members of the organisation

–Organising of lectures, films and issue of handbooks, diary etc

Objectives of placement & induction:

1. Removing concerns and fears: New recruit is a stranger and not sure what he is supposed to do.

Induction programme clarifies and assists in removing the concerns to make him effective to perform his duties and tasks

2. Creating a good impression about the organisation: To make the new comer feel at home, develop a sense of pride in

joining the organisation, adapt to the new demands of the job, to get along with people and culture and to leave a good impression about the company

3. Act as a valuable source of information: Facilitate to go through the rules, regulations and various other

handbooks

HR Department Responsibilities

•Keep a track of joining date of the new recruit •Prepare the induction programme in consultation with line

managers in advance •Remind the HoD of the date of joining, fix appointment •Receive the new recruit •Give essential information about the company through films or

presentations, take him around the company, introduce to important people

•Organise the introductory meeting with the HoD •Brief him of the induction programme •Put him through the programme and follow it up