It is widely believed that employees are the most important asset that an organization can have. Presently, the value that organizations place in having an effective and efficient workforce have surpassed many other considerations that were previously thought as fundamentally important to the wellbeing and survival of an organization (Pynes 2004, p. 26). The precinct for this kind of thinking is that employees are central in determining the financial performance and reputation of an organization. Employees are the main link between the organization and its customers, and also between the organization and the community (Billsberry 2008, p. 8).
It, therefore, follows that the process of recruitment and selection of employees must be comprehensively undertaken if organizations are to benefit from these crucial assets. This paper seeks to come up with steps that should be followed in the recruitment of senior and junior members of staff.
Studies have revealed that effective recruitment and selection strategies result in enhanced organizational outcomes. According to Rioux & Bernthal (1999), “the more effectively organizations recruit and select candidates, the more likely they are to hire and retain satisfied employees” (p. 1). Consequently, these two processes have a direct impact on both organizational performance and employee retention. Recruitment is the process of identifying and drawing prospective employees from within or outside an entity to begin appraising them for future employment (Billsberry 2008, p. 12). The selection process entails collecting and evaluating information about prospective employees’ qualifications for the specified job openings with the aim of hiring individuals who hold the right mix of skills and abilities.
Steps in the Recruitment of Personnel Manager
An American company by the name of USPC wants to recruit a human resource manager to lead the human resources component of a new entity to be established in Thailand. The personnel manager will be in charge of at least 70 members of staff, including 12 marketing staff, 30 sales staff, and 25 distribution staff. However, this organization has never undertaken any recruitment exercise outside the US. The situation is compounded by the fact that no benchmarks exist on how the company should execute the recruitment process. It is indeed true that organizations modify their recruitment processes and requirements to the particular positions they are seeking to fill (Rioux & Bernthal 1999, p. 2).
Since the organization is interested in a Thai national to fill the post of the human resource manager, a more reasoned strategy would be to contract specialized professionals or recruitment consultants who will assist the company to identify the best human resource executive in the market (Roberts 1997, p. 37). Recruitment consultants are mostly used when the organization wants to make a senior appointment that needs specific skills or abilities (Goldsmith & Nickson 1997, p. 28). Since the post of personnel manager is senior, recommendations can be made for the company to use selection consultants rather than registers or search consultants. Selection consultants have the advantage of having adequate knowledge of the local scene. They are also known for their professionalism and unsurpassed knowledge of how and where to advertise the position (Roberts 1997, p. 38).
The kick starts the recruitment process, the company must work with the chosen local selection consultant to develop a detailed brief of the desired candidate (Roberts 1997, p.38). A comprehensive job analysis of the post must be carried out to ensure all the necessary requirements are included in the brief. Afterwards, the selection consultant must initiate the essential requirements for advertising the post. The risk of making an incorrect decision in this stage can be disastrous (Goldsmith & Nickson 1997, p. 28).
It should be the function of the recruiting agency to place the advertisement in the right media at the right time since doing the opposite will result in either a poor response by inappropriate candidates or a large response by immaterial candidates. In addition to using the right media at the right time, the agency should always ensure that it uses the right verbiage and frequency of advertising to get the right kind of response (Goldsmith & Nickson 1997, p. 29). An important step in preparing to advertise for the post is determining and evaluating all potential sources of recruits (D’Annunzio-Green et al 2004, p. 45). The advertisement should undoubtedly be able to draw the attention of most suitable candidates in addition to motivating a response.
After advertising, the selection consultant must prepare to receive applications and resumes of potential candidates for the post in addition to screening these applications to identify candidates who meet the minimum requirements (Roberts 1997, p. 38). To make it easier, the selection consultant may develop precise pre-screening questionnaires and post them together with the job advertisement. The consultant must spend a considerable amount of time, preferably a couple of days, to review the application and resume of each candidate because of the seniority of the position. To narrow down the candidates’ pool, the consultant should be concerned with applications that fit the advertised position. In essence, the recruiting agency should focus its attention on the top candidates for the post (Peterson 2006, para. 2).
The use of selection consultants to perform pre-screening exercises has a definite advantage in that most consultants have adequate knowledge of what is required in the field. Pre-screening also helps the recruiting consultants to be more efficient with their time in addition to considerably reducing the number of candidates they will have to contact.
The interviewing process follows immediately. It should be the function of the selected recruiting agency to communicate with each candidate and arrange for a face to face interview (Peterson 2006, para. 4). The interview process should focus on the candidate’s ability to provide direction, inspiration, manage processes, experience and vision in leadership (Messmer 2001, para. 2). The selection consultant should make detailed notes on each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to the job requirements. The notes should be used at the end of the interviewing process to select a list of the most qualified candidates that may be engaged in subsequent interviews.
After the recruiting agency is convinced that it has initiated adequate interviews to come up with the right candidate for the post, it should provide the company with a shortlist of about 3 or 4 recommended candidates, typically accompanied by a detailed report on each of the selected candidates (Roberts 1997, p. 38). It should be the duty of the company’s management to select one of the forwarded names for the post of the personnel manager.
Steps in the Recruitment of Marketing, Sales, and Distribution Staff
To begin with, the personnel manager should conduct a comprehensive job analysis to identify the key requirements of each job – marketing, sales and distribution. It is imperative to note that this step will determine the success or failure of later steps in the recruitment process (Goldsmith & Nickson 1997, p. 32). The personnel manager must, therefore, ensure that he comes up with a detailed brief of the competencies and educational levels required for each category.
The manager should bear in mind that he can only utilize external recruitment strategies since the company is new in Thailand. In practice, external recruitment can be done through employee referrals, write-ins, employment agencies, or advertisement in newspapers, professional magazines and the internet (D’Annunzio-Green et al 2004, p. 17). Due to the fact the company is setting a new base, the manager should utilize newspapers, professional magazines, and the internet since these communication mediums have the capacity to elicit a wider response (Rioux & Bernthal 1999, p. 2). As earlier mentioned, it is critically important to use the right advertisement media at the right time.
The selection process kicks in after the lapse of a specific period of time meant to allow potential candidates to respond to the advertisement. The selection process typically entails several steps, with “applicants being removed from the applicant pool once they are deemed unsuitable for the position” (D’Annunzio-Green et al 2004, p. 17). However, this phase must begin with the review and evaluation of candidates’ application forms and resumes. The applicants possessing the necessary characteristics and experience should proceed to the interview stage.
The interviewing methods used must allow the personnel manager and potential candidates to engage in a two-way exchange of critical information. As such, the interviewing process may take place via video-conferencing, face-to-face communication or over the telephone. Here, a recommendation can be made to the personnel manager to conduct a face-to-face interview with the candidates as this method will enable the manager to comprehend some of the most innate attributes of the candidates. This type of interviewing method can also be used to effectively administer fact-based questions, opinion-based questions, open-ended questions, problem-solving questions and behaviour-based questions (D’Annunzio-Green et al 2004, p. 18).
Consequently, the manager will be able to get less biased responses from the candidates since the information provided surpass personal opinions held by the candidates. However, the face-to-face interview takes a considerable amount of time to administer. Afterwards, the personnel manager should compare all the key competencies of the interviewed candidates based on a rigorous evaluation to come up with the best employees to fill the positions.
The fact that recruitment and selection processes are time-consuming and costly engagements cannot be denied (Roberts 1997, p. 32). In the same vein, recruiting and selecting competent personnel has remained a challenge for many organizations, big and small. Indeed, the competition for talented and competent employees is getting tougher each day. This situation has often led to disastrous consequences occasioned by ineffective hiring strategies. To deal with instances of workplace disruption, inadequate productivity, increased stress levels and decreased morale, human resource practitioners must always endeavour to use well-structured recruitment and selection strategies (Pynes 2004, p. 25).
List of References
Billsberry, J 2008. Experiencing Recruitment and Selection. New York: Wiley. Web.
D’Annunzio-Green, N., Maxwell, G.A., & Watson, S 2004. Human Resource Management: International Perspectives in Hospitality and Tourism. Cengage Learning EMEA. Web.
Goldsmith, A.L., & Nickson, D 1997. Human Resource Management for Hospitality Services. Bedford Row, London: Cengage Learning EMEA. Web.
Messmer, M 2001. Interviewing for Leadership Positions. Web.
Peterson, B 2006. How to Pre-Screen and Interview Candidates. HR Group International. Web.
Pynes, J.E 2004. Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations, 2nd Ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Web.
Rioux, S.M., & Bernthal, P 1999. “Recruitment and Selection Processes: A Survey Report.” HR Benchmark Group, Vol. 2, Issue 2. Web.
Roberts, G 1997. Recruitment and Selection: A Competence Approach. CIPD Publishing. Web.