Module: Managing the Human Resource Unit: Resourcing the Organisation Lesson: Recruitment and Selection © 2016 Arden University Ltd. All rights reserved. Arden University Limited reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in these learning materials. No part of any learning materials may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University Limited.Recruitment and Selection Recruitment and Selection Following on from the last lesson, in this lesson we look at the actual recruitment and selection process, from planning to fill a vacancy through to attracting the right candidates and selecting the right person for the job, whilst bearing in mind key legislation and good practice. The recorded lecture introduces you to some of the key methods and processes involved in recruitment and selection. The Powerpoint slides at the end of the lesson provide a summary of the lesson’s key points and useful diagrams. The further and wider reading indicated at the end of each lesson will enable you to think critically about the concepts and ideas that have been introduced to you in the lesson notes and recorded lecture. Lecture Introduction Recruitment and selection are important activities for the HR professional, with staff turnover in a recession being 13.2% and resignations at 7.9% in the UK (2011, XpertHR, 2012). However, in line with what we have discussed in the last lesson, Personnel Today (2012) reports that ‘What's interesting are the niche areas that are seeing much stronger growth than the national average. In every month this year, the engineering and IT and computing sectors have seen solid increases in the number of workers recruited for permanent roles.’. In this lesson, we move on from how to plan for future employment requirements, organising work and job design to the physical activity of recruiting and selecting candidates for roles identified. It is important to note, however, that whilst recruitment and selection are two activities that are often undertaken at the same time, they are distinct. Recruitment is considered to be ‘the process of finding and engaging the people the organisation needs’ (Armstrong, 2012, p220) or the ‘practices and activities carried out by the organisation with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees’ (Barber, 1998, quoted by Redman & Wilkinson, 2009, p64) whilst selection is the actual choice of successful applicant. Given what we discussed about employer branding at the end of the last lesson, it could be argued that most organisations are continuously recruiting since they want to be an employer of choice, regardless as to whether they have current vacancies or not. Another important consideration in the recruitment and selection process is legislation. Legislation regarding recruitment and selection is different across the world and also changes on a regular basis as countries update and make amendments to Acts in force. Therefore, it is recommended that you ensure that you keep yourself abreast of legislation within the countries that you practice. Some links are advised in this lesson, along with legislative trends and general recruitment and selection requirements. For UK practitioners, ACAS is a good source for recommended practice guides to ensure that © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedrecruitment practices comply with legislative requirements. Their guide to recruitment and selection is available here: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1339 For USA practitioners, see The United States Department of Labor at: http://www.dol.gov/ Recruitment and Selection Planning How can Recruitment be Strategic? Remember where we last discussed the skill scope of applicants and how that relates to the levels of autonomy in particular that an organisation wants its employees to have, and also whether it is following a cost leader or differentiation strategy? The diagram from Stewart & Brown below shows the cost and differentiation strategy along the bottom axis and whether an organisation is looking for staff for a role that requires the applicant to undertake repetitive tasks cheaply, or whether they need further ‘soft’ skills such as being able to use their initiative, work autonomously, etc. as required by the organisation’s differentiation strategy. Figure 1.223 – HR Strategies Stewart & Brown’s diagram shows that the potential pool of applicants for roles can be internal or external to the organisation and that, whether advertising internally or externally, the message for potential new hires is different (Stewart & Brown, 2010). Where the requirements are more specific, the potential pool of applicants is also shown to be smaller than where the required skills are more general or easier to learn and a larger number of people will be able to develop the specific skills required from the job. For many positions such as customer service, attitude may be more important than, say, keyboard skills. Consideration of the ‘employer brand’ is also key here. If an organisation does not want a reputation for hiring and firing then the bargain labourer strategy is not going to be appropriate and the organisation would need to look to adopt a loyal soldier or committed expert approach, © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reserveddepending on the skills required. As with a ‘best-fit’ approach to HR, it is important that HR policies and strategies are in line with each other through all activities undertaken. The Recruitment and Selection Process Figure 2.224 – Recruitment and Selection Process The first stage in the recruitment process is the defining of requirements. This needs to be undertaken whilst looking to the external and internal environment. Even if it is a replacement vacancy because someone has left, it is useful to consider the external environment, the organisation’s objectives and strategic direction and to determine whether the role requirements may have changed or are likely to in the future. Is this role a long-term vacancy or now a shorter-term one? Have the skills required to complete the role changed or are they likely to change in the future? When? It is this recognition that jobs and tasks can change which increases the importance of a person specification within the recruitment process (Beardwell & Claydon, 2010). Flexibility, if you remember, is increasingly important to many organisations and, as such, more generic skills tend to be found in job profiles. There is also a tendency now for a role profile which defines the overall purpose of the role (Armstrong, 2012) rather than a specific job description which details the tasks that will be undertaken on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Consideration of these factors enables a job / role description and person specification to be drawn up (Armstrong, 2012; Beardwell & Claydon, 2010) and for decisions to be taken regarding the type of vacancy – contract, temporary, part-time, full-time, and the type of person – someone who can learn new skills easily; someone who may also have the skills which it is anticipated the role will require in the future, for example. © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedStaffing in the 21st century is considered in the following journal article (Ployhart, 2011) and considers why recruitment should be a key strategic role in organisations staffing for the future. Staffing in the 21st Century Take a look at the following role profiles / job descriptions and person specifications. What specific skills and general skills are required? How do they vary between the different types of role? Think about the type of organisation that has the vacancy and how they have determined the role / responsibilities. Are any thinking about future requirements? Job Description Receptionist and Person Specification Job Description and Person Specification, Contact Centre Operator, Police Contact Centre Management Accountant Marketing Manager Defining Requirements Defining what an organisation wants to recruit is therefore generally detailed within a role profile / job description and a person specification, although as can be seen from the examples, the format that this can take does vary. Armstrong (2012) suggests that the role profile should give the overall purpose of the role, position within the organisation and key responsibilities or results areas, whilst the person specification concentrates on the knowledge that the person needs to have and skills and abilities they need to be able to effectively carry out the role now and in the future. The latter two may be broken down into behavioural competencies which will also reflect the organisation’s values. It may also highlight qualifications and experience that the applicant needs to have. This competency model for recruitment is popular because it is objective, although there is little evidence that it is more successful in ensuring that the right applicant is finally selected, according to Markus et al., 2005. Their full report can be accessed at: Confounded by Competencies Legislation within the UK advises that all people-specification requirements need to be objective under the Equality Act (2010). An organisation that specifies that a person needs to have five years’ recent experience has to be able to justify this as it may exclude women returning to the workplace from having a family, for example, from being able to apply. Another example would be specifying that a person must be able to undertake a physical activity, which could preclude disabled applicants. Under UK legislation, employers are required to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are able to apply for many jobs which have a physical aspect to them too. © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedSimilar legislation exists in other Western nations, and further information about Equal Opportunities legislation within the USA can be obtained from the EEOC website at: http://www.eeoc.gov/. Much of the legislation that European countries abide by has originated from the European Union but because some of this has required member countries to incorporate the legislation within their own legislative frameworks, there can be some anomalies in how it has been interpreted and implemented across member countries. Do check the legal requirements and industry guidance in the country where you are based and / or are operating. Attracting the Right Candidates Having established what type of person you want and the role that you need to fill, giving consideration to your HR strategy with regard to recruitment and your employer brand, the next step is to attract candidates for your vacancy. Armstrong (2012, p221) advises that there are three stages to this process: ‘Analyse recruitment strengths and weaknesses’ – Especially where there are skills shortages, consideration needs to be given as to where those candidates look for vacancies and what attracts them to apply for positions with organisations – importance of the employer brand is evident here. The organisation may need to review its pay and benefits, how secure employment is with the organisation, development and career opportunities, location, etc. and how this fares in comparison with the competition. What are the organisation’s key attraction factors in comparison to its strengths and weaknesses? As with marketing, whereby an organisation needs to determine what customers’ needs and desires are within a labour market that is the job hunter’s market, a similar situation arises and the organisation needs to sell itself to attract the best candidates. ‘Analyse the requirement’ – Ensure that you have considered the job profile and specification, updated it given the environmental analysis, considered the type of vacancy that ideally you want to offer (contract type) and considered where the best candidates are likely to come from in terms of geography, educational establishments graduating from, organisations may already be employed within, etc. Refer back again to the company /employer brand and the strengths and weaknesses identified. ‘Identify Sources of Candidates’ – Internal, former employees, referrals, spec applications on file are all worth looking at at this stage before looking externally. Internal or External Candidates? This is an age-old question and there are not necessarily any right or wrong answers, just what is right for the organisation at that time, given the environmental conditions that it is operating within. Internal candidates – these obviously have the benefit of knowing the organisation, how it operates, the culture, etc. and probably how the tasks undertaken by the job role fit with other roles within the organisation. External candidates – can bring experience from other organisations and the organisation can benefit from fresh perspectives. The table below summarises some of the advantages and © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reserveddisadvantages of each source: Figure 3.06 – Internal –v– External Sources of Candidates. Source Tutor2u, 2012 External Sources of Candidates If an employer needs to look externally, they need to ensure that they advertise in the right places for staff. Where there is a broad skill scope and potential large pool of applicants, employers can advertise their vacancies in ‘general places’ such as the local newspaper or a relatively cheap ‘jobs’ website and restrict the geographical advertising to the local area. If their requirements are more specific and the target pool of skills is much smaller, then employers will find that it is more cost- effective to target their advertisements and, as such, industry press, specialised websites or head-hunters may be used to ensure that those with the prerequisite skills and knowledge are targeted and invited to apply and the employer may need to advertise further afield. Whilst this may be more expensive in terms of advertisement costs, it does save time from having to sift through, and reject, numerous applicants who do not have the prerequisite skills. And, as an attractive employer, you would probably want to write to each unsuccessful individual and advise them of their application status too. Many organisations use a combination of methods but the objective is to ensure that you attract good candidates and that it happens as quickly as is required by the organisation, as cheaply as possible (Armstrong, 2012). HR Magazine (2011) reports that the average cost per hire is now over £5,000 in the UK and it is evident that UK organisations are diversifying and using different strategies to find new staff. However, the additional cost incurred in getting it right does have to be compared to cutting corners, perhaps not securing the right candidate and either having to repeat the process or have someone less than ideal in post. © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedThe CIPD undertakes regular research looking at the recruitment methods that organisations have used in the previous 12 months. Below are their findings from 2009 with a comparison to 2008. Figure 4.227 – Recruitment Methods The full report is available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/recruitment_retention_turnover_annual_survey_2009.pdf CIPD Recruitment Retention and Turnover Survey 2009 Take a look at their full Talent Management Survey from 2011, available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hr-profession/profession-map/professional-areas/resourcin... With the increase in social media, the use of e-recruitment has also grown in recent years. This includes both recruiting through the organisation’s website and the use of social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook. Cheap, quick – but how effective is it? Consider the review by the Institute for Employment Studies’ HR website at the following address: http://www.employment-studies.co.uk/news-press And review the CIPD’s podcast on the use of social media within recruitment, available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/podcasts/60-social-media-risk.aspx © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedCIPD Social Networking and HR The organisation also needs to consider the skill set of the role that they need to fill. How likely is it that internal candidates will have the skills required to undertake that role? This is where having a good record of everyone’s qualifications and experience, regardless of the role that they have been recruited for, on file is useful. Equally, is there anybody already employed who is likely to want to apply for that job and could easily retrain? If you are recruiting for a ‘bargain labourer’ or ‘free agent’ (Stewart & Brown, 2010) and are not concerned about employee loyalty or development, then your recruitment process is going to be external, whereas if you are wanting ‘loyal soldiers’ or ‘committed experts’, unless it is an entry-level post or you require ‘new blood’, the organisation will probably look internally first. Some organisations must advertise all, or a percentage of, vacancies externally, so do ensure that you are complying with legislation and regulations that apply to your country of operation. Dependent upon the reason for the vacancy, organisations can also give consideration to hiring part- time, temporary or freelance staff. Read more about the different methods that can be used to attract candidates in the core text: Armstrong’s Handbook of HRM Practice (2012) pages 222–226 and the advantages and disadvantages to different recruitment methods. And read about how T-Mobile have adopted e-recruitment and incorporated this with an employer branding approach. Case Study T–Mobile Recruitment Documentation and Process Before advertising any vacancy either internally or externally, consideration needs to be given to the recruitment process that the organisation plans to undertake for that specific role and also the documentation and paperwork that will be necessary, including: What information to give to candidates about the role / organisation and whether that will be with an application pack or available online to view Whether candidates will have the opportunity to discuss the vacancy prior to application How you want to receive applications – letter, CV, application form, and – if the latter – what design or form? What criteria you are looking for from CVs or application forms Selection methods – see the next page Cost Compliance with recruitment legislation The two most popular ways of inviting applications is by application form and CV, although e- © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedrecruitment enables a type of application form to be completed online. Read more about attracting applicants and receiving applications in ACAS’ Recruitment and Induction advice booklet at: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1339 ACAS Recruitment and Induction The objective is to attain a pool of candidates from which the organisation can choose to review further for the vacancy identified yet discourage unsuitable applicants from applying. Think about vacancies that you have applied for. Were you given information about the vacancy and / or the organisation? How useful was this in helping you to decide whether you wanted to work for the organisation? Did it help you decide whether the job role was for you? Think about times where you have applied using both a CV and an application form. Which method did you find quicker? Which method do you prefer, and why? How easy do you think it was for the employing organisation to find the information needed from your application and CV to enable them to make a decision about whether to progress your application? Which method do you think they may prefer, and why? Selection Methods If we refer back to the diagram which shows the recruitment and selection process below, we can see that various methods can be utilised to determine whether the candidate is likely to be right to fill the role and work for the organisation. © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedFigure 5.229 – Recruitment and Selection Shortlisting The first step is to ‘sift through the applications’. Generally, the application forms and / or CVs are sifted through and candidates’ details checked against the role and organisational requirements for ‘yes, no, and possibles’. Again, to avoid future accusations of unfairness or discrimination, it is important that the criteria assessed against be as objective as possible and avoids the person sifting having to take an implicit judgement, on, say, a behaviour characteristic that is required. For example, qualifications are easy to check but whether a person really is keen and enthusiastic, less so. Biographical data is used here and is data that relates to the criteria against which initial selection will be made. Armstrong (2012) suggests that criteria be classified into essential, very desirable and desirable, to enable easier choice of candidates to be selected for the next stage. All applicants need to meet the essential criteria but if there are still too many to take through to the next stage, then the list can be reduced further by looking at the very desirable and desirable criteria pre-specified. It has also been known for potential employers to compare the results against an ‘ideal candidate profile’, which may include subjective criteria or responses given to questions which may have been asked relating to scenarios or the candidate’s values and beliefs, if these have been included in the application process (Beardwell & Claydon, 2010, Armstrong, 2012). One reason behind the popularity of online applications is that the computer can screen responses for key words and phrases and effectively undertake a shortlist for you. As © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedBeardwell & Claydon advise (2010), it does remove subjectivity but it does rely on the criteria being specified correctly – just think of how many similar words can describe that you are enthusiastic, for example, and also that the applicant has completed the application as completely as possible. Whilst very quick, the online application often does not allow the candidate as much time to think about their responses and so they may miss valuable experience by mistake. The objective of ‘sifting’ and ‘shortlisting’ is to bring the number of candidates to be taken to the next stage down to a reasonable number. Beyond shortlisting, there are still a number of selection techniques available for an organisation to choose from. The CIPD, as part of their Recruitment, Retention and Labour Turnover Survey 2009, included an analysis of the most popular selection methods. Figure 6.229 – Selection Methods The full report is available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/recruitment_retention_turnover_annual_survey_2009.pdf CIPD Recruitment and Retention Annual Survey, 2009 The reason for having a range of selection methods is to ‘assess the suitability of candidates by predicting the extent to which they will be able to carry out a role successfully’ (Armstrong, 2012, p229) but selection methods are only as good as they are designed to be. You can read more about the different methods in Armstrong’s handbook, but the key ones are covered in the pages which follow. Using an appropriate range of selection methods can increase the probability of selecting the right candidate (Highhouse, 2008). His journal article about the benefits of objective assessment methods over a manager’s intuition can be found at: http://blogg.hrsverige.nu/wpcontent/uploads/2010/04/Stubborn1.pdf Recruitment – A Stubborn Reliance on Intuition and Subjectivity in Employee Selection © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedThink about a job role with which you are familiar. What essential and desirable skills, knowledge and competencies would you say someone applying for a similar role should have? Analyse why you have decided why it is essential or desirable. Interviewing This is usually a face-to-face discussion, although different formats can be followed, such as one-to-one interviews and panel interviews. The format can follow a biographical nature (Beardwell & Claydon, 2010) and ask questions about the contents of the CV / application form or the key competencies of the job. They could ask questions to determine a person’s behaviour. They can be structured – ask specific questions of all candidates – or unstructured, where different questions may be asked, usually around the contents of the application form / CV to elicit further information from the candidate. Interviewing is a skill and, whilst much criticism has been levelled at unstructured interviews because the interaction is not standardised, unstructured interviews undertaken by a skilled interviewer and which focus on competencies and behaviours objectively, preferably with a second person present to avoid biased decisions, can be very effective. Within a structured interview format, two popular interview techniques are ‘behavioural and situational’ (Beardwell & Claydon, 2010, p175) and rely upon a candidate’s response to ‘incidents’ and ‘scenarios’ to determine whether they are likely to be effective in the workplace. Check out the brief video explaining the difference between the different types of interviews at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrDONsoVoXE Tests More objective than interviews are tests. Applicants can be tested for a range of competencies, aptitudes, intelligence and personality (Armstrong, 2012; Beardwell & Claydon, 2010). Before deciding if to test and if so, what to test, consideration needs to be given as to what it is you want to find out, whether a test is likely to be successful in achieving that, and how important that criterion is. For example, it may be useful when recruiting a trainee architect to determine if they have spatial awareness, which can be tested for. Would you need to test the same from an accountant? What about an experienced architect? Especially if someone has little or no experience, aptitude tests can also establish a person’s knowledge and skill and their capacity for ‘verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, spatial reasoning and mechanical reasoning’ (Armstrong, 2012, p232). Ability tests enable the interviewer to determine how well a person can undertake the job that they have applied for and usually take the form of a test similar to the work that they will undertake, e.g. give a presentation, type a report, analyse some figures. Personality tests are an area where there are greater questions that surround the use of © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedtesting within the selection process. How important is personality and who is to say that one personality type is better than another within an organisation? There are different theories about personality and therefore different tests too and, whilst the results can be interesting and free from biased opinions that could be generated at an interview. Beardwell & Claydon (2010, p175) suggest that the argument over the effectiveness and usefulness of personality testing is around four issues: ‘the extent to which personality is measurable, the extent to which it remains stable over time and across situations, the extent to which characteristics can be identified as being necessary or desirable, the extent to which completing a questionnaire can determine this’. A guide to selection tests is available at Jobsite at: http://www.jobsite.co.uk/career/advice/psychometric_tests.html Assessment Centres This is where a ‘group of participants undertake a series of tests and exercises under observation with a view to the assessment of their skills and competencies, their suitability for particular roles and their potential for development’ (Beardwell & Claydon, 2010). This allows a more comprehensive assessment of potential employees than interview and testing alone but they are expensive, and Armstrong (2012) cites research by Schmidt and Hunter in 1998 which suggests that they are less effective at predicting performance than using intelligence testing with a structured interview. References These are used to confirm information about candidates but the extent to which they can be relied upon can vary, with Armstrong (2012, p234) suggesting that they are only useful for factual information – opinions are opinions. It is suggested that telephone references may be more reliable as past employers may feel more confident revealing information that is not in writing as ‘references that contain [what the individual feels] is false or unsubstantiated statements that damages the reputation of the individual’ can result in court action for damages, as can references where it can be shown that they are not factually correct. Choosing Appropriate Selection Methods and then the Successful Candidate The HR Guide gives a good overview of many of the selection methods, and also tests that can be undertaken as part of the selection process and how to select appropriate tests at: http://www.hr-guide.com/selection.htm Briefly, the advantages and disadvantages of the key methods are: © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedFigure 7.212 – Selection Methods Advantages and Disadvantages Substantial research has been undertaken on the appropriateness of the various selection methods available and their effectiveness at predicting future job performance. © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedDakin and Armstrong in 1989 reported on the meta-analysis of that research to date and undertook further research in New Zealand, concluding that interviewing is a poor predictor of future job performance in comparison to some of the more objective selection methods available. Many recruiters, however, prefer to incorporate interviewing into the selection process as this also gives them an opportunity to ‘gauge’ the individual and consider fit into the organisation in terms of personality and connection. They therefore recommend that, if interviews are to be kept as part of the selection process, recruiters need to improve their interviewing skills. Their article can be accessed here: Selection Methods as Predictors of Performance http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1076&context=marketing_paper... The HR professional needs to ask: Figure 8.212 – Selection Method Considerations Whilst there are advantages and disadvantages to each method, those that you will choose will, in part, be determined by your recruitment objectives. For example, if an organisation fit is more important than a person fit, you will probably undertake psychometric testing, whereas if skills are more important, a practical skills test might be undertaken. ACAS has a good guide on the different methods and how to ensure that you are being objective in using the range of selection methods too. http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1340 UK visitors will also find guidance to ensure compliance with legislation throughout the recruitment and selection process and also when pre-employment medicals are useful / required. The CIPD also has a factsheet (2011), available from here: CIPD Factsheet Making the Decision Whichever selection methods are used, it is essential that when comparing candidates and their results, fair and objective methods are used. Some organisations rank the candidates; some rank but give weightings to different assessments dependent upon the characteristics / skills etc. that they are seeking most. Again, refer to ACAS and the CIPD to review a range of © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedmethods that are available whilst ensuring that, whichever methods you choose, you remain within the law whilst ensuring that every possible step has been taken to recruit the best candidate for the job! Many organisations leave obtaining references until they have made their choice and make an offer of employment ‘subject to satisfactory references’. Most offers of employment are also made subject to satisfactory completion of a probation period, which enables both the employee and employer to ensure that the right decision has been made. Take a look at the lecture from IU Southeast about recruiting for identified vacancies at: Whilst it does make reference to US programmes to encourage and assist organisations to recruit unemployed people, recruit more people, etc., similar schemes do exist in other Western countries. For the same role as before, which selection methods would you recommend an employer use to select the right candidate? What are the advantages and limitations of the methods chosen with regard to that role? Recruitment and Selection Case Study This case study is based on a real recruitment and selection problem which HR consultants reviewed. The situation: Recruitment For many years, Parkland School relied on a single recruitment method: to advertise all teaching positions in a specialist newspaper publication called TES (Times Educational Supplement). Basic advertisements were placed in this publication one time, and interested candidates were instructed to contact the school to request an application package. The application package included the following information: A letter detailing how to apply for the job. A brochure about the school. © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedAn application form. Additional information was sometimes enclosed, but this depended on the department head advertising the vacancy. Additional information could include: Information about the current staff in the department. Examples of departmental projects (e.g., the head of the German department included information about student exchanges and visits to Germany that students and faculty had taken). A copy of the school development plan for the next three years. Other schools in the area also used TES for recruitment, but in addition, they placed advertisements in a local newspaper and on a website for teaching vacancies. Some schools even launched a page on their school website to enable candidates to download all of the application information. Selecting the Right Candidates Candidates submitted an application form, along with contact information for two people who could provide references, and returned the information to the appropriate department head. Once the closing date had passed, three staff members reviewed the applications independently and graded them A, B or C (where A is the highest mark and C is the lowest) based on the candidate’s ability to meet the selection criteria. The panel would then convene to discuss the A-rated application forms and agree on a list of candidates who would be invited to attend a selection day. The staff members assessing the applications were usually teachers from the relevant subject area. Training was not offered to panel members to help them to select the best candidates. Before selection day, references would be requested for all candidates. Copies of the references would be provided to interview panel members; employment offers were contingent on the receipt of satisfactory references, if they had not been received beforehand. Selection days usually involved four to five candidates, depending on how many applications had been received. The days normally followed the following agenda: 09:00 Welcome from the Principal. 09:30 Tour of the campus. 10:00 Informal interviews lasting approximately 20 minutes per candidate. © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reserved11:30 Lunch in the staff canteen. 12:30 Formal interviews lasting approximately 30 minutes per candidate. 14:30 Panel convenes to make decision. 15:00 Panel contacts the successful candidate and offers him or her the position. The agenda shows that the organisation relied on two selection methods for all of their teaching vacancies – an informal and formal interview. The first (informal) interview was led by the Principal and an administrator; this was used to learn basic information about the candidate and to review the information on the application form. The second interview was more detailed and explored a wide range of issues with the candidates. The panel consisted of the following staff members: Principal HR Manager Department head Senior teacher Due to time constraints, panel members were usually unable to meet in advance, so they developed their interview questions independently. Although the Principal chaired the interviews, they were rarely carried out in the same manner and there was not a high level of consistency with the questions. No formal scoring system was used. At the end of the interviews, there was a panel vote to see which candidate should be offered the job. This often led to a heated debate about candidate strengths and weaknesses Candidates usually remained at the school until a decision was reached so they could be informed personally of the outcome. If they were unable to wait for the outcome, they were phoned later that day with the decision. Unsuccessful candidates received some brief verbal feedback, but were not asked for comments on their interview experience. Unsuccessful candidates would sometimes contact the school and ask for further written feedback; this was usually provided by the Principal. You are the HR consultant and have been asked to evaluate the school’s recruitment and selection methods. What would you advise the HR Manager and the Principal? © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedImproving the Recruitment Methods Your suggestions might include: To continue to advertise teaching jobs in TES in line with local and national competitors, but to also advertise in the local newspaper which has a weekly jobs supplement and high readership in the area. Use technology as a recruitment method which could contain relevant information about the organisation and the actual vacancy. E-applications could then be accepted, although it is considered good practice to allow candidates the option to print and mail the completed application form. Monitoring of the success of the different recruitment methods. Internal recruitment, especially for promotional vacancies, to encourage talented staff to remain with the school as part of an overall retention strategy. Enhancing Selection Methods Candidates for teaching vacancies to deliver a brief teaching session while being observed. Teaching observation (ability testing) would enable assessment of the following knowledge and skills: Relationship with students. Delivery style. Innovation in teaching methods. Communication skills. Subject knowledge. © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedAbility to engage students. Ratings system to be used to assess performance in the teaching exercise and to give examples (where possible) to justify their score. Students could have input into the selection process by either sitting on the interview panel or feeding back following the observed teaching exercise. By including them on the panel, they could also ask their own (pre-vetted) questions – this would show applicants that the opinion of students is valued – the culture of the school. A more structured approach to interviews – advance meetings to agree questions / areas to question and to look at applications for areas where key issues may want to be explored further. Training for those involved in the selection process. Scoring of candidates’ responses to interview questions and note taking of answers. Consideration of psychometric testing in addition to ability testing. Equality, Diversity and Discrimination Figure 9.214 – Selection Method Considerations Throughout the lesson on Resourcing the Organisation so far, there has been mention of compliance with legislation at all stages of the process. © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reserved‘Discrimination is the process of judging people according to particular criteria’ (Beardwell & Claydon, 2010, p197) and is usually considered where people deem that criteria to be unfair. For example, within an employment situation, choosing one applicant over another because of their gender, their age, etc., and therefore one of their characteristics has disadvantaged them, as opposed to a lack of ability. Whilst discrimination can occur throughout the employment relationship, and will be addressed again in the next lesson, the employment relationship starts with recruitment and selection. Discrimination can be either direct (treated less favourably than another has or would be treated in a comparable situation due to one of their characteristics directly) or indirect (where there was no intentional discrimination. Here, the criterion appears to be neutral but would actually discriminate against an individual or a group of people unless the criterion can be justified.). The Human Rights Commission (2012) clarifies this with the following definition: ‘Indirect discrimination will occur where a person imposes, or proposes to impose, a requirement, condition or practice that has, or is likely to have, the effect of disadvantaging people with a protected attribute, and that is not reasonable’. Beardwell & Claydon (2010, p205) give an excellent example of the case of Noah v Derosiers t/a Wedge, which demonstrates the difference. ‘A Muslim woman applied for a job as a stylist in a hair salon but she was rejected because she wore a headscarf and the salon owner argued that all stylists should display their own hair. The Muslim woman claimed direct discrimination on the basis of her religion, but the employment tribunal ruled that there was no evidence of direct discrimination because the owner of the salon would have rejected a non-Muslim who wore a headscarf. She also claimed indirect discrimination because the salon owner’s rule of no headscarves would affect Muslim women more than non-Muslims since it is a dress code observed by Muslim women only. In this claim she was successful because the salon owner failed to justify the requirement that stylists display their hair at work.’ Diversity, according to the Oxford Dictionary (2012) means ‘different’ and that variety exists and, as implied above, it can be taken to mean more than ethnic origin, age, sex, etc. but could also include personality, where there is no physical difference but a personality difference (Mullins, 2010). European legislation offers protection for certain recognised ‘groups’ or ‘strands’ of diversity – age, sex, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, which means that if anyone believes that they have been unfairly treated due to one of these reasons, they have a legal right to challenge and seek legal redress. There are other ‘groups’ of people who could also argue that they are discriminated against but are not offered legal protection in the same way, including those who are short, thin, fat, have an accent, have piercings, etc., although it is suggested that there may be some protection through human rights legislation under indirect discrimination (Beardwell & Claydon, 2010). Much of the Western world has legislation relevant to equality, diversity and preventing discrimination. Ensure that you remain current in your knowledge in the countries that you operate within. Why equality and diversity is important Three reasons: © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedSocial Justice Moral obligation to treat all employees and within a recruitment situation, all applicants, fairly. Fairly does not necessarily mean the same; it means that each applicant has an equal opportunity to gain the position on their merits. Decisions should be made without prejudice or stereotyping; the individual should be assessed on their merits rather than pre-judging them based upon personal attitudes and opinions of groups of people or individuals who share characteristics with them. For example – people from Newcastle or London. In the recruitment process, this would mean that an applicant is chosen based upon their merits and ability to do the job. Business Case Fairness ensures that talented individuals are not overlooked for jobs and employees are fully utilised. There is also an argument that a more diverse workforce leads to a more diverse customer base and therefore a larger market. Not limiting who you would welcome applications from means a larger pool of talent to choose from and, of course, it leads to a positive company image – employer branding. Legal Case Organisations can also face legal redress if their recruitment practices do not comply with legislation and the onus is on the employer to demonstrate, where needed, that their practices are fair, all individuals are provided with equality of opportunity and are selected according to their merits. Discrimination in recruitment is unlawful unless it can be objectively justified or falls within an exempt position. For example, advertising for female-only staff for a ‘victim of domestic violence female hostel’ would probably qualify because of being a position where trust may be important. The HR Practitioner’s Role in Recruitment What might the HR practitioner’s role be in recruitment and selection for an organisation? The HR practitioner can take one of several roles within the recruitment process dependent upon how an organisation has determined responsibility for recruitment within the organisation. Some organisations leave much of the recruitment to the HR department and the appropriate line manager gets involved in the process when it comes to final selection stages. In other organisations, the HR practitioner takes more of a consultative role and assists line managers in determining tasks and job roles and advises in the recruitment © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedprocess, often taking an active role in the selection to ensure that a fair process is being applied. A longer-term perspective of the HR practitioner’s role, however, is determining the likely availability of skills for the organisation against projected future skill needs as reviewed above. Here, the HR practitioner needs to be planning ahead and, for roles which can be filled internally, they, along with appropriate line managers, need to be thinking about ‘succession planning’ and how and when employees can be trained and developed to acquire the skills which they will, or may need in the future to undertake not only their current role, given how it may change, but also any future roles that they are suitable to be considered for within the organisation (succession). This requires the HR practitioner to also predict how employees currently employed within the organisation may move. Retirement and maternity leave are probably the easiest to predict, but then partners may find work in other geographical areas, requiring families to move. Sickness, caring responsibilities at home, etc. can all impact on how available staff are for work. There are advantages and disadvantages to all recruitment methods, and the HR practitioner must determine the most appropriate method for that vacancy, given the nature of the role that they are seeking to fill, the availability of suitable candidates and where they are likely to be placed. The attractiveness of the organisation and its geographical location can also impact on the recruitment methods used and therefore HR practitioners often assess the effectiveness of different recruitment methods, which is why you often see a ‘Where did you see this vacancy?’ question on application forms. Effectiveness is measured in terms of time, quantity and quality. Time – how long it took from advertising to having a new employee start, quantity – number of applications received, and quality – the quality of applications received, etc. (Stewart & Brown, 2010). Further and Wider Reading In addition to the reading recommended within the lesson: Essential Reading Armstrong M, 2012, Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, Kogan Page Part 3 Chapters 18; 19; 20 Wider Reading Armstrong M, 2010, Essential Human Resource Management Practice, Kogan Page Chapter 12 pp 186–197, Chapter 20 Beardwell J & Claydon T, 2010, Human Resource Management: A Contemporary Approach, 6th ed, Prentice Hall Chapters 4 and 6 © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedFrench & Rumbles, 2010, Leading, Managing and Developing People, 3rd ed, CIPD Chapter 9 available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/01F95685-76C9-4C96-B291-3D5C D4DE1BE5/0/9781843982... Martin et al., 2010, Human Resource Practice, 5th ed, CIPD Chapter 5 available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/194F086A-6EE1-451C-B72AD3C7CFECC435/0/9781843982... and Redman T & Wilkinson A, 2009, Contemporary Human Resource Management: Text and Cases, 3rd ed, Prentice Hall Chapter 3 pp 74–85; Chapter 4 Summary Summary References ACAS, 2012, Selecting the Best Candidate, available online at: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1340 , accessed 13/2/12 Armstrong, 2010, Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, 12th ed, Kogan Page, London Banfield & Kay, 2008, Introduction to Human Resource Management, Oxford University Press, Oxford Boxall & Purcell, 2000, Strategy and Human Resource Management, Palgrave, London Boudreau, 1996, Human Resources and Organization Success, CAHRS Working Paper Series, Cornell University ILR School CIPD, 2009, Recruitment, Retention and Turnover Annual Survey 2009, available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/recruitment_retention_turnover_annual_survey_2009.pdf Dakin & Armstrong, 1989, Predicting Job Performance: A Comparison of Expert Opinion and Research Findings, International Journal of Forecasting, Volume 5, Issue 2, 1989, 187–194, available online at: http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1076&context=marketing_paper... Department for Business Innovation and Skills, Employment Act 2008, available online at: http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/employment-matters/strategies/employment-act-2008 accessed 09/02/12 Gilmore & Williams, 2009, Human Resource Management, Oxford University Press, Oxford Henderson, 2011, Human Resource Management for MBA Students, 2nd ed, CIPD HR Magazine, 2011, UK talent acquisition costs rise to £5,311 per hire, compared to £2,226 in © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reservedUS, HR Magazine 16th December 2011, available online at: http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/news/1020605/talent-aquistion-costs-rise-uk-gbp5-311... HRM Guide, 2012, The Concept of HRM, HRM Guide, available online at: http://www.hrmguide.co.uk/introduction_to_hrm/concept-of-hrm.htm accessed 19/08/12 Mullins, 2010, Management & Organisational Behaviour, 9th ed, Prentice Hall, Harlow Oxford Dictionary, 2012, Diversity, available online at: www.oxforddictionaries.com Personnel Today, 2006, Line managers given increasing responsibility for HR roles: Work practices, Personnel Today, 8th March 2006, available online at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/role-line-managers-hr.aspx accessed 6/9/2012 Personnel Today, 2012, Recruitment Activity Slows due to Employer Caution, Personnel Today 12/6/12, available online at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/recruitment-overview.aspx Redman & Wilkinson, 2009, Contemporary Human Resource Management: Where have we come from and where should we be going? International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol 2, No 2, pp 183–203 Stewart & Brown, 2010, Human Resource Management, 2nd ed, Wiley & Sons Storey, 2007, Human Resource Management, 4th ed, Palgrave, London Tutor2U, 2012, Recruitment Methods, Tutor2U.com, available online at: http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/people_recruitment_methods.htm accessed 13/02/12 Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org) © 2016 Arden University Ltd. ALl rights reserved