Introduction
Recruitment is basically a business activity that comprises all the processes that are involved in the identification, attraction, and selection of individuals either from within or without the organization to fill pre-identified job positions. Basically, the recruitment process involves a number of activities which includes identification and attracting of potential candidates, evaluation of the latter and ultimate selection of suitable candidates for the job (Cohen, 2009:9). This paper therefore presents an overview of the recruitment and selection process in the organization and an in-depth analysis of all the activities involved therein.
Importance of recruitment
Ideally, the recruitment and selection process is a crucial element of personal and development activity in all organizations. Irrespective of their size, structure or orientation organization tends to hire new people or maintaining employees’ current positions via recruitment and selection (Notes, 2009, Para 2). According to Chermack & Swanson, 2008: 132), effective recruitment and selection process and decision provide ideal means for the organization to ensure that there is an adequate supply of labor. In order for an organization to effectively and efficiently perform the organizational activities thus enabling it to meet its objectives it must seek adequate and quality human resources. In addition, recruitment provides the organization with a leeway of obtaining new work force; the latter of which poses as a potential source of new skills and a point of adjusting attitudes and cultures in the organization. Recruitment and the related set of activities are crucial in that they aid the organization in obtaining the right number of people to perform the tasks and activities in the organization and meet the predetermined goals and objectives with absolute effectiveness.
Skills expertise form one of the most important element of the organization and a major determinant of the organizational success or failure. If an organization is a stead ahead of the rest in the industry in terms of skills and expertise, it is bound to have a competitive edge over the others (Matt, 2009, Para. 4). Effective recruitment and selection strategies in the organization enable the organization to attract the right such skills and expertise the right people to apply or the job and selection of the best candidates from the applicants as well as training and orientating the hired individuals to successfully induct them into the organizations systems, policies, procedures, and practices (Chermack & Swanson, 2008: 131). Consequently, getting the right people for the job to a great extent influences the employee’s relations. While an effective selection and recruitment process enhances such relations, the opposite has a great likelihood of derailing the later.
The recruitment process and decisions
In most organizations, the decisions that concerns recruitment are made by the human resources department. However, line managers, supervisors, and subordinate participate in making the hiring process through identification of employment needs on behalf of the HR and recommending such decision (Nisha, 2008, Para. 4). For instance, subordinates who feel overburdened by work may suggest to the supervisors the need for additional workers who in return recommend hiring to the absolute decision making organs in the organization i.e. the human resource department and other top managers (Kelly, 2001: 6). In an ideal industry, the human resource department upon identification of an employment need and subsequent making of the employing decision advertises the positions to be filled either internally or externally, shortlist the possible candidates for the job, carry out interviews and screening on the latter and if they feel satisfied with the candidates in the first contact, they send them over to the line managers for further screening and interviews (Paul, 2009, p.12). Consequently, the managers make decision concerning who is suitable for the position and hence make returns to the human resources who make the final hiring decision and enter into a contract with the employees.
Classification of recruitment
An organization can either recruit internally or externally. Internal recruitment is the recruitment in which the organization limits the existing job vacancy only for its existing workforce. In fact, internal recruitment opens opportunities for employee promotion as well as offering them a chance to develop new skills within the organizational context (Sarah, 2008, Para. 4). The sources of internal recruitment includes, transfers, promotions, hiring the services of retired employees, reengaging the retrenched employees, upgrading, demotions, and considering dependants and relatives close to a deceased employee (Paul,2009, p.7).
External recruitment on the other hand involves the organization seeking to fill the emerging job vacancies with individuals from without the organization hence the advertisements are accessible and open to applications from individual outside the organization. According to Matt (2009, p. 8), external recruitment is applied when the organization intends to expand its current work force and acquire new skills. The sources of external recruitment includes press advertisements, hiring from education institution, placement agencies, and outsourcing employment exchanges programs labor contractors unsolicited applicants employees referrals and recruitments at the gates of organization or factories (Sarah, 2008, Para. 15).
The job search process
The job search process is a series of steps that are involved from the time one realizes a need of a certain job to the time he or she finally get the job and accept the job offer. The process is composed of six distinct steps although they vary with individuals’ specific needs, job goals, and the nature of the job in question. Such include self assessment, developing job objectives, developing the resume and the covering letter, coming up with a job search strategy, preparing for, and attending to the interviews and accepting the job offer upon selection if at all the latter is consistent with one’s employment objective.
Selection
In a recruitment process, selection starts with short listing and ends with the final selection, once the decision on who are suitable for the job has been made. A number of tools are utilized by the employers in the selection process. Such includes, resumes, application letters, application forms certificates, testimonials, letters of recommendations, aptitude tests, IQ tests personality tests oral interviews among other (Sarah, 2008, Para. 9). The type of tools used varies from one organization to another and the type of the job in question. However, organizations have exhibited a great degree of homogeneity in the utilization of tools. For instance, the resume and the cover letter are the fundamental tools for short listing the applicants for the interviews, presentation of certificates, and undertaking of other tests. In order to shortlist, human resource screens and evaluates the application forms, cover letters and resumes put forth by the applicants with an objective of ascertaining the applicants who meet the minimum job requirements in terms of skills, experiences, academic qualification, and other appealing characteristics of the applicant in line with the specifications in the position’s advertisement. To make the short listing more accurate and efficient, organizations have resorted to highly computerized evaluation of the application forms. Online resumes have also become common in the selection process in order to select applicants who proceed to the next selection stage.
Aptitude tests
Irrespective of the fact that aptitude tests are rarely used as lone tool of selection, they (together with IQ and personality test) are used to decide who fill positions in the organizations. Consequently, aptitude tests refer to short questionnaires with diverse questions that are administered to the applicants with limited time to test their thinking ability, sharpness, aptness in critical thinking among other skills. The questions in the test may either be open question or structured with options from which the candidate is to choose the answer he or she feels more appropriate to the respective question (Accel- team, 2009: Para 3).
Interviews
In the context of the selection process, an interview is an organized forum in which the employers meets with each candidate for the position and administers structured questions; an equivalent of question and answer session. Use of interview is very common in many organizations. According to a research report published in Myrna (2009, p.13), it was revealed that of all the organizations included in the survey almost a unit utilized interviews at some time during recruitment and selection. However, research revealed that interviews are an extremely common tool of selection in cases of external selection. In fact, use of interviews in internal employment was low (27%) compared to 98% in cases on external recruitment (Myrna, 2009, Para. 7).
Legal issues surrounding recruitment
The labor laws require that employers be acquainted i.e. have knowledge and ability to explain and fully adhere to legislations related to the contract of employment, equal opportunities or rather discrimination free employment practices which bars the employer from discriminating candidates or applicants on the basis of their race ethnicity, nepotism line, sex, physical appearance, disability health status among other causes of bias and hallow effects, the health and safety of employees and applicants, terms of contract (terms and conditions of employment) as well as professional ethics governing recruitment and the legal implication of breaching such ethics (Chartered institute of personnel and development, n.d, Para. 6).
Conclusion
Recruitment and selection is critical to the organization just like human resources. In fact, the quality of human resources is a direct outcome of the recruitment and selection process. As such, recruitment process begins with identification of vacancies existing in the organization until the employees are finally inducted into the organization as new employees. Irrespective of the fact that the hiring decisions are made by the HR, line managers, supervisors, and subordinates contributes to the recruitment and selection process. Ideally, there are basically two sources of employment which includes both the internal and external sources. The Job search process forms an integral part of the recruitment process since it is a potential source of recruitment. Logically, Selection begins with short listing and ends when the employees are finally obtained. The latter employs diverse tools and approaches including resumes, application forms, and interviews personality tests among other application which varies from one organization to the next. Finally, the selection and recruitment process must uphold to the legality of employment and selection including the equal opportunity laws of contracts, anti-employment discrimination laws among others.
Reference
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