RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS

INTRODUCTION
      Recruitment and selection are the process of locating and encouraging potential applicants to apply for existing or anticipated job openings. Certain influences restrain (the freedom of) managers while choosing a recruiting source such as: image of the company, attractiveness of the job, internal policies, budgeting support, government policies etc.
      Companies generally rely on time lapse data, yield ratios, surveys etc., to evaluate the sources of recruiting carefully.
WHAT IS RECRUITMENT?
      Recruitment is the process of locating and encouraging potential applicants to apply for existing or anticipated job openings. It is actually a linking function, joining together those with jobs to fill and those seeking jobs. Recruitment, logically, aims at
      (i) attracting a large number of qualified applicants who are ready to take up the job if it's offered and
      (ii) offering enough information for unqualified persons to self-select themselves out (for example, the recruitment ad of a foreign bank may invite applications from chartered accountants who have cleared the CA examination in the first attempt only).
 Constraints and Challenges
      In actual practice, it is always not easy to find and select a suitable candidate for a job opening. The recruiter’s choice of a communication medium (e.g. advertising in a trade journal read by the prospective candidate) may not be appropriate. Some of the bright candidates may begin to view the vacancy as not in line with their current expectations (e.g. challenging work, excellent rewards, flexible schedules and so on).
      The most suitable ones may not have been motivated to apply due to several other constraints.
      l Poor image: If the image of a firm is perceived to be low (due to factors such as operating in a declining industry, earning a bad name because of environmental pollution, poor quality products, nepotism, insider trading allegations against promoters etc.), the likelihood of attracting a large number of qualified applicants is reduced.
      l Unattractive job: If the job to be filled is not very attractive, most prospective candidates may turn indifferent and may not even apply. This is especially true in case of jobs that are dull, boring, anxiety producing, devoid of career growth opportunities and generally do not reward performance in a proper way. (e.g., jobs in departmental undertakings such as Railways, Post and Telegraphs, public sector banks and Insurance companies failing to attract talent from premier management institutes.)
      l Conservative internal policies: A policy of filling vacancies through internal promotions based on seniority, experience, job knowledge etc. may often come in the way of searching for qualified hands in the broader job market in an unbiased way. Likewise, in firms where powerful unions exist, managers may be compelled to pick up candidates with questionable merit, based on issues such as caste, race, religion, region, nepotism, friendship etc.
      l Limited budgetary support : Recruiting efforts require money. Sometimes because of limited resources, organisations may not like to carry on the recruiting efforts for long periods of time. This can, ultimately, constrain a recruiter’s efforts to attract the best person for the job.
      l Restrictive policies of government: Governmental policies often come in the way of recruiting people as per the rules for company or on the basis of merit/seniority, etc. 
      For example, reservations for special groups (such as scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes, physically handicapped and disabled persons, ex-servicemen, etc.) have to be observed as per Constitutional provisions while filling up vacancies in government corporations, departmental undertakings, local bodies, quasi- government organizations, etc.
 Selection Process
      The selection process is a series of steps through which applicants pass.
      i. Preliminary Reception: Selection starts with a visit to the HRM office or with a written request for an application. If an applicant appears in person, an impromptu preliminary interview may be granted as a courtesy, simply as a matter of good public relations.
      ii. Employment Tests: Employment tests are devices that assess the probable match between applicants and job requirements. When tests are used for these positions, however, they often are a simulation of real-life situations.
EMPLOYMENT PLANNING AND FORECASTING
      The basic purpose of having a human resource plan is to have an accurate estimate of the number of employees required, with matching skill requirements to meet organizational objectives.
       It provides information about the manner in which existing personnel are employed, the kind of skills required for different categories of jobs and human resource requirements over a period of time in relation to organizational objectives. It would also give an indication of the lead time that is available to select and train the required number of additional manpower.
      More specifically, HR planning is required to meet the following objectives:
      i. Forecast personnel requirements: HR planning is essential to determine the future manpower needs in an organization. In the absence of such a plan, it would be difficult to have the services of right kind of people at the right time.
      ii. Cope with changes: HR planning is required to cope with changes in market conditions, technology, products and government regulations in an effective way. These changes may often require the services of people with the requisite technical knowledge and training. In the absence of an HR plan, we may not be in a position to enlist their services in time.
      iii. Use existing manpower productively: By keeping an inventory of existing personnel in an enterprise by skill, level, training, educational qualifications, work experience, it will be possible to use the existing resources more usefully in relation to the job requirements. This also helps in decreasing wage and salary costs in the long run.
      iv. Promote employees in a systematic manner: HR planning provides useful information on the basis of which management decides on the promotion of eligible personnel in the organization. In the absence of an HR plan, it may be difficult to ensure regular promotions to competent people on a justifiable basis.

      a. Test Validation: For a test to be relied upon, it should be valid. Validity means that the test scores have a significant correlation to job performance or to some other relevant criterion.
      b. Testing Tools: There is a wide variety of employment tests. But each type of test has only limited usefulness. The exact purpose of a test, its design, its direction for administration and its applications are recorded in the test manual, which should be reviewed before a test is used.


Aucun commentaire:

Enregistrer un commentaire