Category: Recruitment

Introduction

Selection and recruitment processes in many organizations take different forms. This includes interviews, activities and tasks, internal selection and direct appointments without any vetting. During the selection of a team leader responsible for overseeing the rest of the team, different methods may be employed. Interviews and task assignment in form of a presentation was the method selected. The human resource manager wants to evaluate the effectiveness and success of the entire selection process. This paper looks at the attributes that were required of the prospective holder of that post (project team leader), and how well the process was able to meet the criteria for indentifying those attributes from the candidates. This will be the measure for how effective the selection process was.

Qualities of a Team Leader

When a company undertakes a project a person responsible for the other persons is appointed to oversee the actions of the project. This person should posses certain qualities which will be able to reflect themselves in the qualitative and quantitative aspects required from a project that a company seeks to undertake. Therefore the selection process adopted should be in a position to have the best employee for that job. For example it is paramount for that person to have people skills, listening skills and dialogue ability as the team will involve human beings who have temperaments and different social and mental capabilities.

A team leader in a manufacturing project should be able to inspire others towards getting the best. He should be a visionary and above all should be hard working and dedicated to his work. Since it is a manufacturing leadership position, the leader should possess creativity and innovativeness that is required to enable the company to move forward technologically and keep up the pace of competition and if possible be ahead of competitors. These attributes can only be found after a comprehensive selection process.

Effectiveness of Selection Process

Interviews

The selection and recruitment process that the company employed entailed a presentation and then an interview which was one on one. According to the attributes that the company might be looking for in an interviewee, the selection process is quite fair and detailed. This means that it will achieve the desired target of getting the right person. In comparison with the other available recruitment processes such as internal selection process, interviewing sounds great as it has many advantages (Johnson, 1990).

Interviewing has the element of bringing competition and the best person is presumed to have carried the day. This greatly reduces the post recruitment dissonance and lack of morale that may be associated with others like direct appointment. The other employees feel that it is fair and it therefore creates a better working environment for the team leader. Another very important attribute of interviewing is that it brings freshness in the group that will be working together as noted by McDaniel et al. (1994). This is especially true if the interviewees do not necessarily come from the same organization. This means that new ideas come in from the new faces and this motivates the group to have even greater mental elasticity which enhances creative juices according to Grove (1981).

In a one on one interview it is very easy to detect or to extract attributes that a person should have to take the leadership of a team. The attributes mentioned above like inspirational, people skills and the ability to have good conflict resolution mechanisms and skills can easily be detected from an interview. This also enables the company human resource persons to know how well the person can be able to grow the group and have the results that they require. This predictive approach may sometimes fail especially where only one person is involved as the interviewer. Therefore it is advisable to use panel interviews according to Ghiselli (1966).

In light of the needs that the company wants to fill by hiring a team leader of a manufacturing project, the interview process must have been effective. In as much as it may have spent a lot of time to vet all the candidates individually; it will pay off as the best will be chosen according to Haenlein (2010). It served the purpose it was intended for as it arrived at the best candidate. Therefore, it was the best recruitment process employed by the company as regards the post attributes the company was looking for from the candidates.

Presentation

Prior to the interview the company engaged each candidate to a task. The task entailed preparing a presentation. The presentation required the team leaders to be to address their prospective members of the team with details of the plans ahead and to solicit for their opinion at the end of the presentation. This was a very great process because it brought a real life project planning in front of the eyes of the interviewers according to Lopez (1966).

The presentation was basically a very good measure of how creative the team leader can be which in essence meant that they can be able to be effective. If a candidate failed in this area, it also means that it will be so hard to succeed in the project itself. The part that required the candidate to engage the members in questions was a great measure of listening skills and interactive people skills. These are two attributes that are likely to be the foundation on which the manufacturing project is based. It was also a way to measure the ability of the team leader to engage the others to be creative so as to achieve the best from the project.

Research skills are the cornerstone of the success of a manufacturing project. A presentation that lacks an element of a well researched document automatically fails in the test for recruitment. Therefore, by employing this part of the interview, the interviewers were in a position to weigh the ability of the prospective team leaders to do research on topics that will affect them during their work. This includes knowledge of the companys products and its mission and vision concerning the project. It also entails the actual work that the company will be doing on the ground as regards the manufacturing project.

A presentation also has the ability to gauge the preparedness of a person and content brevity. This is a measure of how well the person can communicate jargon to laymen or people who may not have the technical dimension of the process that is being pursued. Therefore it is going to be simple for the team leader to break down lots of information and technical data to the employers and fellow team members (Jones, 1978).

Conclusion

The selection and recruitment process for the post of a team leader in manufacturing was done in a professional and a very successful way. It brought to the fore important parts that were quite imperative in the future success of the entire project (Komives, 1984). Employment of presentations may have cost the company a lot of time and maybe resources, but the ultimate outcome cannot be definitely compared to the cost. The cost cannot be compared with the detrimental effect that the prospective project would have on the company if it fails. The only guarantee for its success is if the right person was appointed to head it as noted by Hovland and Wonderlic (1999).

Interviews were also the best employed to narrow down candidates to the best for that post. It effectively brought the inner person that might be hidden. The fact that it was a panel interview was able to eliminate the issue of biasness as many people may not be wrong or collectively biased towards or against a particular person. It also may have been time wasting considering the number of candidates and the logistics of the whole process but the outcome was the most important thing. The fears associated with a particular person can easily be detected from the behavior of the person during the interview. This is in association with other weaknesses that a person may have which may be hard to detect from a person if other recruitment processes are employed (McQuail, 2000).

References

Ghiselli, E. (1966) The Validity of a Personnel Interview. Personnel Psychology, 19, pp 389-394.

Grove, D. A. (1981) A Behavioral Consistency Approach To Decision Making In Employment Selection. Personnel Psychology, 34, pp 55-64.

Haenlein, H. (2010) The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, 54(1), pp 1-10.

Hovland, C. & Wonderlic, E. (1999) Prediction of Industrial Success From a Standardized Interview. Journal of Applied Psychology, 23, pp 537-546.

Johnson, G. (1990) The Structured Interview: Manipulating Structuring Criteria And The Effects On Validity, Reliability, And Practicality. New Orleans, LA: Tulane University.

Jones, D. (1978) Predicting Teaching Processes With The Teacher Perceiver Interview. Blacksburg: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Komives, E. (1984) The Applicant Interview As A Predictor Of Resident Performance. Journal of Medical Education, 59, pp 425-426.

Lopez, F. M. (1966). Current Problems in Test Performance of Job Applicants: Personnel Psychology, 19, pp 10-18.

McDaniel, M. et al. (1994) The Validity Of Employment Interviews: A Comprehensive Analysis. Journal of applied psychology, 79(4), pp 599-616.

McQuail, D. (2000) Mass Communication Theory. London: Sage.

Recruiting guide

Qualifications and skills required to obtain the job: experience of working in retail and skills of providing customer service. A chance of quick promotion to managerial positions for college graduates and the candidates with work experience in retail.

Relevant labor market: Candidates from Oregon and Washington

Activities to undertake: use such methods as media, referrals and employment agencies and kiosks, which means placing a position advertisement in the local newspapers for job seekers, radio stations; collecting referrals from within the company, getting in touch with employment agencies and utilizing kiosks as the means of job opening advertisement. During the recruitment it is important to emphasize that culture is vital for Tanglewood employees and that embracing the culture is the best way to fit in. Besides, the recruiters are to shorten the hiring process in order to address the hiring lag.

The staff involved: HR managers, shift leaders and department managers.

Budget: $2500-6500

Using targeted recruitment means evaluating only the candidates fitting certain parameters and reporting specific qualifications and skills required to obtain the job. To attract a particular kind of candidates (for example, college students or people with disabilities), a company is to design a targeted message, in which case the number of applicants will be not very large (Heneman III, Judge and Kammeyer-Mueller 226). In the case of Tanglewood, the targeted recruiting method is the use of employment agencies which will process the characteristics of all the job seekers, select the ones whose qualifications fit into the requirements of Tanglewood and direct them to the company.

As for the open methods of recruitment for Tanglewood, they compose the other means such as the advertisements placed in media, and company referrals. Open recruitment methods will direct all kinds of candidates to the company HR recruitment managers who will have to interview them and select the ones whose characteristics seem especially promising and suitable for Tanglewood and its culture. Using open methods of recruitment Tanglewood would obtain more candidates, and this improves its chances of acquiring a suitable number of employees and address understaffing. There is one challenge concerning open methods of recruitment, which is the large number of applicants making the recruitment process rather lengthy and increasing the hiring lag that results in the loss of candidates.

Yet, this issue can be addressed through the realistic recruitment message. The candidates could be informed about the benefits and disadvantages of the job they are applying for, and then decide if they would like to pursue it. This approach could shorten the process of recruiting and allow the HR managers of Tanglewood to work with a larger number of applicants. Integrity is one of the most important features an applicant must have in order to stay at Tanglewood. In my opinion, the company needs to emphasize open methods of recruitment just because its main focuses are the reduction of turnover and the preservation of the internal culture. This way, loyal and devoted job seekers willing to stay at the company for years should be prioritized over the ones with higher education or experience of work in retail because an inexperienced employee can be coached by their supervisors, whereas integrity and loyalty are traits that would be much harder to develop in an individual

The four methods of recruitment utilized by Tanglewood include media, kiosks, staffing agencies and referrals. The preferences of these methods vary among the regional branches of Tanglewood. At the same time, some of the branches do not consider media as a good way of attracting new candidates. According to the historical data, media is the least efficient method of recruitment for Tanglewood, it provides the biggest number of applicants, but only few of them end up being suitable for the position of store associate.

Staffing and employment agencies work differently and distribute mainly the candidates qualified for the job description, so the number of applicants sent by them is relatively small, but many of them end up hired. Kiosks work according to the same principle as media advertisements, but they have a significant benefit  the job presentation conducted by means of kiosks is much more detailed and relevant, besides, it may be deigned based on the message the managers and recruiters would like to send out. This way, kiosk is a good way to target qualified candidates. At the Northern Oregon branch the managers consider referrals an unreliable and touchy feely method of recruitment and choose not to use it at all (Tanglewood Case Three: Recruiting 6).

It is important to mention that none of the regions employ all of the five methods listed in the case and only Western Washington uses four. The one method used by all four regions is kiosk, but when it comes to the combination of the other methods  the divisions have different variations. The one method ignored by the four divisions is job services. Based on the retention rates and costs per hire referrals seem to work the most effectively.

Even though the managers of North Oregon Tanglewood branch reject referrals as a recruitment method and consider it touchy feely, for the other regions this method seems to work well and provide good results. In my opinion, calling referrals touchy feely is inappropriate because they have several important strengths. First of all, the references come from within the company, which means that the trained and experienced professionals familiar with the specific culture of Tanglewood and its internal processes decide to recommend certain candidates.

This means that the recommended candidates have spoken with the employees of the company, familiarized themselves with the duties and job requirements, and the information they learnt did not come from the internet or their own beliefs, but was delivered by the workers who know the company very well. Examining the rates of one year retention among the employees hired through this method I noticed that out of 300 hired individuals 200 end up working for the whole year. Based on this variable, referrals are the best recruitment method concerning the minimization of turnover, especially when the company is expanding that its internal culture is threatened.

Tanglewood experiences a rather normal turnover rate for a retail business. Yet, this issue is one of the most serious concerns of the companys leaders. According to the statistical data, approximately half of the store associates hired by Tanglewood would leave their jobs within the first year of working. High rates of turnover destroy the companys culture and negatively influence its system which is based on sufficient number of store associates staying in the company long enough to get promoted and move on to a higher position such as shift leader. This way, the company does not only need qualified employees, but also is in need of loyal team players.

Moreover, Tanglewood requires a lot of employees to choose from. In order to minimize the costs of the recruitment process the system of attracting new employees should be made more centralized. At the moment, the company utilizes four different methods of recruitment and each of them requires investments. According to the historical data, media advertising is one of the most expensive methods, especially when it places job advertisements in the internet. Besides, this method attracts a lot of workers which are unqualified and are likely to turnover within the first year due to the lack of experience of working in the sphere of retail or the understating of Tanglewoods culture.

Based on this information, this method of recruitment can be considered as the least cost effective. At the same time, referrals seem to be a very effective method to maximize retention which is very important for the business. This way, the branch in the Northern Oregon is recommended to add this method to its recruitment process, while the costs spent for media advertising could be cut. As a result, the company will attract fewer employees unsuitable for the position of a store associate, the message sent out by Tanglewood would be more to the point, the recruiting process will be trimmed, which will reduce the hiring lag.

A realistic recruitment message for job associate must include the information that it is at the very bottom of the career, but also mention the perspectives of promotion. Besides it has to emphasize that the work requires skills of working with customers and that it can be tiring and take long hours. A targeted message is to mention that college graduates and people with retail work experience and point out that quick promotion to the leadership position is a real perspective. Brand message will focus on the importance of culture in Tanglewood, and mention the integrity is rewarded, and that the loyal workers have a build to develop great careers, learn new skills and grow as professionals becoming more influential within Tanglewood.

Works Cited

Heneman III, Herbert, Timothy Judge and John Kammeyer-Mueller. Staffing Organizations. 8^th ed. 2012. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Print.

Why the Nursing Staff May Want To Unionize

The quest to unionize could be informed by the desire to get better pay. In support of this statement, some nurses in The Saga of Truly Good Hospital were complaining about low salary increments. The desire to get proper remuneration is highlighted in a report produced by Sanders and McCutcheon (2010), which suggests that unionized workers enjoy a better pay than non-unionized employees do.

Three Steps to Take When Addressing Unionization Attempts

In my workplace experience, I have noticed that managements first instinct when in a situation where they have to address employees quest to unionize is to defeat any such attempt. However, this should not be the case. Instead, the steps below should be followed.

The first one is to allow the workers to go on with their activities without being subjected to any disciplinary action. In other words, preventing them from unionizing (if there was no such prohibitive policy in the first place) would mean that management is engaging in unfair labor practices (Neil & Robinson, 2011; Fulmer, 2018). Therefore, the managers should allow the employees to put up posters communicating their intent to unionize as was highlighted in The Saga of Truly Good Hospital.

The second step managers should take in addressing attempts to unionize would be to communicate to the employees what the administration can do for them, relative to their grievances, as recommended by Stubbs (2017). The point here is to enable the workers to understand that the company is not an enemy, but a partner that can listen to them and address their needs without necessarily unionizing.

Based on the outcome of the second step above, the nursing manager should work with employees either through the union (or without it) to address their grievances. Working with the union would mean that the employees chose to unionize anyway, regardless of the overtures of the administration. However, if no such attempts were successful, the managers should always be ready and willing to address any concerns that the employees may have as recommended by Fulmer (2018) and Porter (2010).

HRs Role in Helping to Legally Address Labor Relations and Unionization Attempts

If a union becomes part of the employee relations structure of the workplace, it is imperative for the human resource department to understand all relevant laws pertaining to unionization and inform the nurses about the same (Brooke, 2011; Lussier & Hendon, 2016). Additionally, the human resource department should have an in-house expert who handles labor relation laws, especially concerning how nurses should be treated in a unionized environment (Matthews, 2010). Generally, the human resource department should play a collaborative role in making the union succeed in meeting its goals because by doing so, the managers also excel.

The Recruiting Process

The recruitment process in my organization follows five key stages as described below. The first step is characterized by a review of the institutions policies regarding recruitment. Normally, this review happens before the advertisement of a job position. As Mayhew (2018) suggests, union representation may be necessary at this point of assessment. Extensive consultations also happen regarding the terms of the hiring process, thereby making sure that the right candidates are hired.

The second step in the recruitment and selection process is the review of all possible sources of potential applicants. Typically, the vacant positions are advertised in the newspaper, local listings and on the institutions website. The third step in the recruitment process involves a determination of the optimal mode for publicizing job vacancies. The institutions website has often emerged as the official point where the organization publishes vacant positions.

The fourth stage involves the ascertainment of the job needs and requirements, which must be stated before publishing vacant positions. The most important principle followed in this step of recruitment is the combination of behavioral and targeted interviewing techniques to make sure that the right candidates are assigned the right jobs. The goal of making sure that this step is followed is to ensure that the nurses employed possess all the necessary skills. The same approach has been adopted at Baton Rouge General Medical Center (BRGMC) as explained by Markey and Tingle (2012). The last stage of the recruitment process involves reviewing the response to the recruitment process. Here, adjustments are done as deemed fit. Since my institution is relatively small, the human resource manager is responsible for overseeing all the above-mentioned steps.

Effectiveness of the Recruitment Plan

The recruitment processes identified above is effective because one person heads the team that controls it. Since she is knowledgeable about the overall recruitment process, there is a synchronized and integrated effort of all human resource personnel to identify the best candidates for a specific job position. For example, the human resource manager in the organization is familiar with all the employees. She understands their strengths and weaknesses and can assist them to achieve their full potential much easier than bigger organizations that do not know all their employees in person (Lussier & Hendon, 2016).

There is an instance where one employee had absconded duty for a week and it was speculated that she had probably resigned without notice. However, the human resource manager believed that something wrong had happened to her. She said that her personality and professionalism would not allow her to abscond duty without a proper explanation. It was later established that she had been involved in a car accident and was unconscious the entire time in a hospital miles away from where she worked. Therefore, the managers ability to understand each employee in-depth is an asset to the organization.

References

Brooke, P.S. (2011). Legally speaking & When can staff say no? Nursing Management, 42(1), 40-44.

Fulmer, W. (2018). Step by step through a union campaign. Web.

Lussier, R.N., & Hendon, J.R. (2016). Human resource management: Functions, applications, & skill development (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Markey, L., & Tingle, C. (2012). Screening RNs: A change in hiring practice. Nursing Management, 43(2), 13-15.

Matthews, J. (2010). When does delegating make you a supervisor? Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 15(2), 3.

Mayhew, R. (2018). What challenges do unions pose for human resource management? Web.

Neil, A., & Robinson, J. (2011). Making a union/management partnership really work. Nursing New Zealand, 17(11), 32-33.

Porter, C. (2010). A nursing labor management partnership model. Journal of Nursing Administration, 40(6), 272-276.

Sanders, L.G., & McCutcheon, A.W. (2010). Unions in the healthcare industry. Labor Law Journal, 61(3), 142-151.

Stubbs, B. (2017). Building a better benefis: Why nurses support a union. Web.

The corporate environment of the 21^st century is highly changeable, as conditioned by rapid technological progress and intense globalization. In order to tackle considerable challenges faced by organizations, the entire structure should perform on par with the task. At the same time, the vital nature of human resources for contemporary organizations is recognized by todays corporate philosophies. Accordingly, recruitment and selection have become a matter of pivotal importance.

The accuracy and success of the process determine the performance of the entire organization through direct professional expertise, as well as the morale-related aspect. Various strategies exist in terms of corporate recruitment and selection, all aiming at ensuring that the most fitting and capable candidates are chosen. However, a universal approach to recruitment management does not exist since each one demonstrates both flaws and advantages. The purpose of this essay is to review recruitment and selection methods in the 21^st century.

Background

Todays business landscape sees an immense impact from the growing globalization rate, as well as the surge in technological progress. Organizations have to maintain a stable level of performance in order to remain relevant in the context of their industries. Human resources play a vital role in this process, as they affect a companys operations on multiple levels. Kianto et al. (2017) state that effective human resource management enables positive, multilateral development of an organization, contributing to its innovative potential, as well. In fact, innovation capacity is often considered to be one of the primary entrepreneurship competencies in the current environment (Rodríguez-López & Souto, 2020).

However, quality development requires a significant contribution on behalf of the employees of all levels. People working in an organization should be able to understand and accept the leaderships strategies, improving each stage of the operations. Evidently, the process does of human resource management does not end with successful recruitment, as retaining employees is also critical in decreasing staff turnover (Abbasi, 2020). Nevertheless, selection procedures have acquired particular importance in the context of 21^st-century corporate activities.

Recruitment and Selection in the Corporate Environment

Recruitment is a complex process comprising several important stages, and each of them is to be executed in a due manner. As a matter of fact, careful selection is said to be the cornerstone of effective human resource management, as it provides a valuable resource to manage in the first place (Goldstein et al., 2017). At this point, potential candidates for a range of positions, including management, are assessed based on their professional competencies, soft skills, and personal attributes. From the first stages, including creating the job description and advertising the position to applicants, the process is to be executed with precision (Recruitment and selection, n.d.).

The description should be informative and accurate in order to create the correct impression. As the recruitment proceeds to interviews, it is vital to prepare the right questions and observe the reaction of the candidate to ensure that their personal and professional qualities correspond to the companys mission. Social characteristics are as important as professional competencies, meaning that recruiters are expected to possess certain psychological skills, as well.

Recruitment and Selection Strategies

Traditional Recruitment

The concept of recruitment per se is well-established, as it has existed for centuries. Its traditional model implies that an organization simply follows all stages of the recruitment cycle. Once a vacancy is created and described by Human Resource specialists, it is then published either online or through paperback, media to inform potential candidates. Next, preliminary selection results in a group of people who are invited to communicate in person.

Traditional recruitment comprises face-to-face interviews, questionnaire forms, and practical case examinations. In the end, the recruiters expect to acquire a full understanding of ones ability to accomplish the task implied by the position. This approach is well-established and tested by centuries of experience. The HR field possesses multiple effective tactics for interviews, as well as effective questionnaire formats. Nevertheless, Chytiri et al. (2019) state that old-fashioned recruitment models do not correspond with the challenges imposed by the contemporary environment. Interviews are limited in terms of the timeframe, preventing HR specialists from acquiring a complete perception of ones personality. In addition, it does not eliminate the mere possibility that someone may lie on the resume.

Technology-based Recruitment

In response to the rapid progress of the 21^st century, many organizations adopt a technology-assisted approach to recruitment. The implementation of digital potential may be limited to utilizing online recruitment platforms. However, this strategy of selection comprises other instrumental aspects, as well. First, it is possible to optimize the time consumption of the selection process by holding interviews on the Internet.

In some cases, the entire recruitment is done remotely, which is particularly relevant in the work-from-home age of the Covid-19 pandemic (Nikolaou, 2021). Moreover, Albert (2019) states that the further development of Artificial Intelligence technologies will be able to enhance the capability of the selection process. At the same time, HR specialists often investigate the online media presence of a candidate. As mentioned before, people may lie easily on their resumes or during a short interview. The analysis of their social media profiles may help acquire a better understanding of their personality. However, this approach may be deemed unethical and subjective, as personal views and social media activity are not always pertinent to a particular position.

Outsourced Recruitment

It is natural for an organization to seek means of minimizing their expenses in order to allocate resources to matters of higher priority. In many cases, this idea leads to the decision to entrust the recruitment process with external firms specializing in the precise selection of candidates. Nadda et al. (2017) write that this model has proved its effectiveness for multinational corporations seeking to expand their operations globally. Internal human resource management may lack the cultural expertise required by the new location. On the contrary, local recruitment organizations are capable of providing expert insight into the reality of the place, providing the best candidates for the new business location. However, Hossain (2018) associates outsourced recruitment with poorer benefits and conditions for employees.

Fabel et al. (2020) suggest that outsourced recruitment should be limited to advice-seeking. Overall, this model is viable in the current environment, but external specialists may lack a full understanding of the companys setting and mission.

Conclusion

In conclusion, recruitment and selection have become particularly important in the contemporary business environment. If this process is executed in a due manner, the selected candidates will be more likely to comply with the requirements of their positions. In addition, this stage facilitates the psychological evaluation of potential employees. This way, it possible to reduce the staff turnover and mitigate its adverse impact on the organizations performance.

Modern HR practices comprise multiple approaches to selection and recruitment, ranging from traditional models to advanced, technology-assisted ones. Research reveals that each strategy has both positive and negative sides, the proportion of which differs depending on the context. Accordingly, the selection of the recruitment strategy is another critical objective of 21^st-century management.

References

Abbasi, S. G., Tahir, M. S., Abbas, M., & Shabbir, M. S. (2020). Examining the relationship between recruitment & selection practices and business growth: An exploratory study. Journal of Public Affairs.

Albert, E. T. (2019). AI in talent acquisition: a review of AI-applications used in recruitment and selection. Strategic HR View, 18(5), 215221.

Chytiri, A. P., Filippaios, F., & Chytiris, S. (2018). Hotel recruitment and selection practices: The case of the Greek hotel industry. International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 7, 324339.

Fabel, O., Hopp, C., & Speil, A. (2020). Adviceseeking and adviceutilization for hiring decisions: An investigation of a partially outsourced recruitment process for rankandfile managers. Managerial and Decision Economics, 41(5), 784799.

Goldstein, H. W., Pulakos, E. D., Semedo, C., & Passmore, J. (2017). The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of recruitment, selection and employee retention. John Wiley & Sons.

Kianto, A., Saenz, J., & Aramburu, N. (2017). Knowledge-based human resource management practices, intellectual capital and innovation. Journal of Business Research, 81, 1120.

Nadda, V., Rafiq, Z., & Tyagi, P. (2017). Effectiveness and challenges of recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) in the Indian hotel sector. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(2), 218236. Web.

Nikolaou, I. (2021). What is the Role of technology in recruitment and selection? The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 24. Web.

Recruitment and selection. (n.d.). BBC. Web.

Rodríguez-López, A., & Souto, J. E. (2020). Empowering entrepreneurial capacity: Training, innovation and business ethics. Eurasian Business Review, 10, 2343. Web.

Introduction

Two vital responsibilities of the docket of sales management are selection and recruitment. The two functions also fall under the department of human resource management. Linking selection and recruitment duties formed the notion known as the Employment Discipline. However, the two disciplines possess distinct roles. Selection and recruitment disciplines are distinct business management notions. The selection and recruitment of sales personnel differ from one firm to another depending on the kind of sales workers, which a firm requires. For instance, a health and beauty firm would require sales workers who are strong in their practical insight. Selection and recruitment of the sales department are normally handled by superiors of the department like sales regional manager or sales manager.

This is because recruitment and selection processes require knowledge of the dynamics and experience of the sales demands. The duties of sales executives are demanding and crucial. This justifies why senior and experienced personnel need to be involved in recruitment and selection processes. For example, the company may recruit candidates either in the sales office or the main office. The main office requires highly experienced sales staff who would perform, high demanding tasks such as attending calls of prominent personalities. Senior managers, therefore, expect sales executives of dynamic, high caliber, and who possess perfect communication skills. This paper examines how American Sales Company (ASC) performs sales selection and recruitment practices as a way of sustaining its market revenues. This paper analyzes how ASC applies theoretical concepts concerning selection and recruitment practices, into the daily practical endeavors.

Importance of Sales Selection and Recruitment Practices

According to Lancaster and Reynolds, American sales company (ASC) is one of the best-renowned distributor and manufacturer of beauty and health care products not only in America but also globally (2005). The head office of ASC is located at Lancaster in New York. Sales selection and recruitment practices focus on motivating and attracting more applicants in order to apply for the vacant sales profession in the ASC Company. Recruitment practice generates much talent of the applicants in order to facilitate the selection of the most suitable applicants for the ASC Company. Selection and recruitment processes determine not only the present time but also the future needs of the ASC Company in relation to the companys policies and job description (Tyson, 2003). Selection and recruitment practices connect the employers with the development pool of applicants at a reduced cost. Recruitment enhances the chances of effective selection commitment by minimizing the number of overqualified and disqualified job candidates (Ramundo, 1994). Selection and recruitment practices support the company by minimizing the likelihood that job candidates once hired would quit the ASC Company after a short duration of time (Rogan, Hammer, and Van Zandt,1997). Selection and recruitment practices adhere to the ASC Companys social and legal responsibilities concerning the framework of the firms workforce.

Recruitment Sources

Rogan, Hammer, and Van Zandt opine that the ASC Company possesses the choice of selecting the job applicants for hiring processes through use two types of sources: external and internal sources (1997). The internal way of recruitment may be done by transferring workers from one department to another within the ASC Company. Internal sources may also be derived through job promotion of the existing staff in order to fill in the vacant job position. Hiring job applicants through getting the right candidates from outside of the company refers to the external way of recruitment. The ASC Company may use internal sources when hiring candidates. Internal recruitment can be adopted as a way of motivating the dedicated employees (Jobber and Lancaster, 2009). The capability of the internal applicants can be evaluated better than the candidates coming from the external sources. The company may prefer dealing with people who are already known as unknown people. The expenses of hiring internal candidates become cheaper since their psychological demands may easily be met and can be enhanced progressively (Alon, 2003). Orienting, training, and inducting internal employees become cheaper than hiring external candidates.

The Aims of Recruitment

Richman explains that recruitment practice helps the ASC Companys capability to retain, enhance, and get the most suitable skills and talents (1967). Recruitment determines the future and present demands of the workforce of the ASC Company. Recruitment helps to get quality and the appropriate number of workers, which can be chosen to support the company to attain its objectives. Recruitment generates a pool of potential applicants. The sales management team can, therefore, choose the suitable applicants for the job (Thomas, 2008). Recruitment attracts many job applicants to apply for the job. Recruitment seeks candidates whose experience suit the firms values. Recruitment induces external candidates with a fresh perspective to manage the firm.

Selection Practice

After the recruitment process, the sales management team performs the selection process by evaluating whether the job candidates fulfill the demands of the advertised job (Gruning, 1992). The sales manager would select the most suitable candidates for the job. Selection process is divided into seven practices. First, the sales management team would perform pre interview screening, which disqualifies unfit candidates (Weitzul, 1993). Secondly, the job applicants whose screenings become acceptable proceeds for preliminary interview that scrutinize thorough information of the potential applicants (Lancaster and Reynolds, 2005). Thirdly, sales manager holds the final interview to evaluate the candidates capability (Ling Lam, 2000). Fourth, the sales management team conducts medical examination for candidates who become successful (Nahavandi and Malekzadeh, 1993). This ensures that job applicants lead a healthy life and fit for the job. Fifth, the sales manager would contact referees to obtain information that entails the selected applicants conduct, skills and behavior (McCreary, Ford and Simintiras, 2003). Sixth, the sales management team would provide the job offer to applicants who successfully passed all the screening stages (Briscoe and Schuler, 2004). Sales managers possess the eligibility to drop any candidate at any step when found unsuitable. Candidates, who clear the entire barriers, can be sure of being selected for the specific profession. Lastly, the sales management team would provide induction program for the fresh entrants (Gruning, 1992). Induction experience supports the new staffs to understand the operation of the ASC Company. This also helps new employees to understand their profession in order to attend their job effectively.

Selection and Recruitment

McCreary, Ford and Simintiras view that America Sales Company possesses the wide ranges of products and services that are useful in the selection and recruitment practices (2003). Such, services and products assist the sales manager to execute informed hiring policies. Sales personnels, therefore, should be trained on how to conduct sales effectively. The demands, objectives and autonomous assessment of the job applicants for marketing and sales professions become crucial (Ramundo, 1994). In the previous years, sales management team experienced that many job candidates talked nicely during interviews, but failed to show the anticipated and required expectations. Sales management team always prepares every demand of the sales responsibility to fit into every budget and need of the recruitment and selection process.

Selection and Recruitment Questions

Rogan, Hammer and Van Zandt assert that questions become crucial and essential component during selection and recruitment processes (1997). The Sales management team usually uses cautiously crafted questions to enhance the odds of choosing the applicants who most probably would fit to get the job. The hiring team creates useful questions that would enable them to evaluate all the candidates experiences (Edoho, 2001). During the interview, the sales management team asks both closed and open ended queries. The questions become effective tools to get more complete and detailed responses from the job applicants. Closed questions demand simple no or yes responses. Open questions are structured in such a way that expects the candidates to give more information about themselves. Interviewers use such questions to obtain vital information they require from the candidates. The sales management team adopts the behavior based queries, which asks applicants to talk about their past experiences (Nahavandi and Malekzadeh, 1993). Behavior based queries, expect candidates to reveal how they would handle certain circumstances. Such questions give interviewers commendable indication of the candidates real behavior in a certain situation.

Evaluation Stages For Selection and Recruitment Practices.

Varley and Gillooley affirm that selection and recruitment refers to the human resource responsibility of hiring, identifying, screening and attracting the most suitable applicants for the job vacancy (2001). Selection practice is crucial for business development of ASC Company. The effective capability to choose the best individuals makes positive impacts for ASC Companys achievement. The management team prepares what they expect appropriate for the sales responsibility. The sales manager knows the job description concerning sales responsibility. Sales manager becomes aware of what qualitative manners, educational background and professional experience, he expects from the ideal applicants (Briscoe and Schuler, 2004). The management team knows that the salary scale which corresponds in the companys budget. That figure must align practically with the compensation facts of the existing market (Ling Lam, 2000). Once the job requirements, salary scale and job description, get determined, the company can commence the recruitment process of the qualified candidates.

Sales management team performs this stage in various manners. The hiring management may partner with the employees of the company in the expectation that the qualified applicants would be obtained through the used of the word of mouth (Szayna, 2004). Sales manager also may post the advertisement through online job sites and newspaper publications to invite external candidates for the job vacancy. Once sales manager begin to receive resumes from various candidates, he would screen each and every application. The Intention of the sales management team aims to eliminate applicants who lack suitable professional and educational backgrounds (Varley and Gillooley, 2001). If the sales manager recognizes the most suitable resumes, he will interview such candidates. The sales management team may perform interviews either through physical contact or over the phone. The sales manager would ask the applicants particular questions concerning their background experiences. The sales management team would inquire how such experiences relate with the job profession at hand (Tyson, 2003). When the sales manager identified the ideal applicants, he would give them the formal provision of employment.

Selection and Recruitment Procedures and Strategies

A broad range of procedures and strategies associates with the selection and recruitment practices. Several procedures and strategies become formulated according to the regulations and laws, which influence employment practices (Health, 1994). Sales management team possesses the experienced personnels who adhere to the procedures and strategies of the employment guidelines. Sales manager usually like posting job adverts through external sources. This explains that external applicants may possess more attraction and talents that may benefit the ASC Company than the existing staffs of the company (Volkema, 2006). However, this may be unfortunate experience and can cause employees dissatisfaction. Putting procedures and strategies, therefore, become important. This provides guideline on how the sales manager would recruit external candidates. Procedures and strategies provide guidelines on how internal applicants may be considered, and rules for job posting (Rogan, Hammer and Van Zandt, 1997). Internal candidates should understand the laid down procedures and strategies; thus they should not interfere whenever an agreement is made to hire external candidates.

Warner views that the laid down procedures and strategies concerning recruitment and selection practices would assist to avoid challenges such as not recruiting minority applicants, and other gender related issues (2001). Job procedures provide definite criteria for getting the potential candidates who meet required background and skills experiences. Such procedures provide criteria on how sales manager can evaluate the job applicants. Procedures and strategies would specify the salary scale, which suits to the job vacancy advertised (Richman, 1967). Such policies offer ways in which the ASC Company would ensure that its operations are equitably driven by the market demands. The company also formulates policies that explain how sales manager perform reference checking during selection and recruitment exercises. The policies permit human resource department to conduct reference checking, while sales management team to perform their own reference checking. Reference information plays a vital role as it reveals more information about the potential capability of the candidates who fit for the job (Lancaster and Reynolds, 2005).

Sale Selection and Recruitment Ethics

According to Alon, employing the suitable sales personnel becomes the greatest gift for sales achievement (2003). Sales manager is the qualified personnel who involves in risky engagement. Sales manager follows hiring decisions when recruiting and selecting to the job candidates. The effective hiring policies minimize costs, minimize staff churn, and enhance sales output. Experienced manager would use less time when selecting and recruiting candidates, while focusing on accomplishing positive results (Thomas, 2008). The sales management team knows how to generate appropriate questions that would identify what they need to know. Jobber and Lancaster opine that experienced sales manager knows how to eliminate costly recruitment expenses, which hinder sales progress (2009).

The sales management team ensures that no tremendous quantity of money would be wasted during selection exercise (Briscoe & Schuler, 2004). The sales manager determines adequate priority when selecting and recruiting the suitable candidates. The ASC Company would waste recruitment expenses, and money and time used for induction experience if successful candidates leave the job offer subsequently (Richman, 1967). In the previous years, the ASC Company lost millions of dollars when new employees only stayed for few days and decided to quit their jobs. Employees, who have been working for the firm, became disappointment when they realized that the new entrants succeeded them, but quite the job (Weitzul, 1993). This showed the negative effects on the staff motivation in the work environment. In addition, the stages used during the selection and recruitment are normally fair. However, the sales management team needs to consider many factors. The sales manager needs to draft individuals specification and job description for the profession.

Jobber & Lancaster view that the ASC Company possesses procedures and policies that specify the responsibilities, which the candidates should have (2009). For instance, it is vital if the candidates possess negotiation skills and knowledge of customer presentation. If a job grading style is adopted, recruitment practices need to follow the relevant channel. The job grading practice would consider the salary scale in which the job responsibility got categorized. The benefit packages would also be determined under the job grading model. The ASC Company needs to specify whether the recruitment process is based on temporary or permanent responsibility (Volkema, 2006). Frequently, the ASC Company has been hiring new entrants on a temporary basis. This is important because, in case, the new employees do not suit the job responsibility the firm would terminate the contract. However, it is risky that new employees hired on a temporary basis, would continue to search for a permanent job somewhere and could leave any time before their temporary contract expires.

Gruning asserts that attracting applicants for the job vacant may consume time and expenses committed (1992). The ASC Company, therefore, formulates the standardized procedures for the sales management team to use during selection and recruitment practices. The company also uses the Cost Analysis to evaluate the recruitment expenses in order to account for companys expenditure. (Lancaster and Reynolds, 2005). Once, the sales manager obtains all application letters he makes ensure that selection criteria would be definite by following a concise timetable. The sales manager likes to perform initial phone interviews to prepare the short list of the potential applicants (Warner, 2001). Sales manager can use several ways during the selection process. Such methods entail the search of the right job applicants who possess required experience and knowledge. Sales manager can counter check the required qualification from the application details (Byrnes, 2003). The sales management team can also hold several interviews for the candidates.

Ling Lam opines that the sales manager needs to act in a persistent and accredited way when using any method of the selection process (2000). The sales manager needs to be mentored and trained on how to ask questions and to evaluate the responses, which the job applicants give. The sales manager should audit the exercise to make sure that all applications and processes are consistent (Varley & Gillooley, 2001). When, the successful candidates got hired the sales manager should seek appropriate references to provide more information about the conducts and skills of the new employees. Edoho views that the sales manager should provide feedback to the job applicants who came for the selection process but were eliminated or disqualified (2001). Sales management team should ensure that the supervisor of the new employees forms part of the selection process to follow the progress of the new entrants. Sales manager should also use Cost Analysis to determine the expenses incurred during recruitment and selection process of the suitable job applicants (Edoho, 2001). This should be kept for future reference.

Nahavandi and Malekzadeh affirm that the sales manager possesses the mandate to formulate to a comprehensive job description, which specifies what sales personnels ought to perform (1993). The job description elaborates the task of the job, sales objectives, comprehensive expectations, and personal and educational experiences required. The job description shows challenges concerning sales jobs. The ASC Company advertises the jobs position to get and attract appropriate applicants who possess highly professional experience. The ASC Company becomes keen to search for candidates who can take the risk while undertaking their duties (Szayna, 2004). Sales management team carefully reviews various application letters. The sales management team evaluates resumes and cover letters in order to hire sales personnels who portray enthusiastic attitude to achieve sales objectives. When sales manager finish screening various resumes, he contacts the suitable applicants. McCreary, Ford and Simintiras, express that the sales manager performed telephone interview to ascertain that contacted candidates suit the job offer (2003). Sales manager become keen during screening processes to analyze whether candidates possess the sales skills. Sales manager would ensure that personalities of the candidates fit the overall expectations of the job position.

Recruitment becomes the initial step for generating the sales work force. The companys sales manager needs to determine how many sales representatives the firm requires to suit the market coverage (Byrnes, 2003). During the interview session, the sales manager should devise critical questions that enable him or her to ascertain which applicants fit for the sales task. Management team expects the candidates to be a position to explain various challenges encountered during sales experience. Sales manager should become critical to challenge the candidates. For example, the sales management team can test the candidates by calming that the applicants no longer suit for the job. A good candidate should twist the statement by explaining how he or she is qualified. A good applicant should defeat any form of objection raised by the sales manager. Health affirms that the sales manager should hire candidates who show enthusiasm and demonstrate effective sales skills (1994). Sales management team should ensure that the companys compensation packages correspond with other firms in the same industry. Compensation packages entail salary as well as commission allowance (Alon, 2003). Compensation becomes a vital package to motivate and retain newly hired entrants. It is vital to know that sales personnels are normally money oriented individuals. Sales manager needs to ensure that at least a week is dedicated for providing a refresher course to the newly hired employees.

Conclusion

Sales manager is an experienced personnel who is capable to: minimize recruitment costs, minimize sales turnover, minimize time used in recruitment and selection practices, to develop sales output, and enhance sales management operation. The effective selection and recruitment process of the sales workforce becomes the main factor that promotes the success of the ASC Company. An effective sales staffs would enhance profitability of the firm and future progress of the organization. ASC Company ensures that the experienced and qualified sales personnels become hired. The firm utilizes well schemed, and thorough process to choose suitable candidates who met focused sales objectives. Sale workforce forms the backbone of ASC Companys operation. Sales personnels generate returns for the stakeholders who manage the firm by engaging and searching the potential clients. Sales duty becomes a personal responsibility of the marketing task. Sales personnels engage directly with clients through telephone, online conversation, or physical contact. Sales objectives strive to enhance ASC Companys revenues. Sales objectives also aim to minimize marketing expenditure to develop the ASC Companys profitability.

References

Alon, I. (2003). Chinese Culture, Organizational Behavior and International Business Management. Westport: Praeger.

Briscoe, D., & Schuler, R. (2004). International Human Resource Management: Policy and Practice for the Global Enterprise. London: Routledge.

Byrnes, W. (2003). Management and the Arts. Boston: Focal Press.

Edoho, F. (2001). Management Challenges for Africa in the Twenty-First Century: Theoretical and Applied Perspectives. Westport: Praeger.

Gruning, J.et al. (1992). Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Health, R. (1994). Management of Corporate Communication: From Interpersonal Contacts to External Affairs. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Jobber, D., & Lancaster, G. (2009). Selling and Sales Management (8^thed). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Lancaster, G., & Reynolds, P. (2005). Management of Marketing. Burlington, MA: Elsevier.

Ling Lam, M. (2000). Working With Chinese Expatriates in Business Negotiations: Portraits, Issues and Applications. Westport: Quorum Books.

McCreary, D., Ford, J., & Simintiras, A. (2003). Sales Management: A Global Perspective. London: Routledge.

Nahavandi, A., & Malekzadeh, A. (1993). Organizational Culture in the Management of Mergers. Westport: Quorum Books.

Ramundo, B. (1994). The Bargaining Manager: Enhancing Organizational Results through Effective Negotiation. Westport: Books

Richman, B. (1967). Management Development and Education in the Soviet Union. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.

Rogan, B., Hammer, M., & Van Zandt, C. (1997). Dynamic Processes of Crisis Negotiation: Theory, Research and Practice. Westport: Praeger Publishers.

Szayna, T.et al. (2004). U.S. Army Security Cooperation: Toward Improved Planning and Management. Santa Monica, CA: Rand.

Thomas, W. (2008). The Sales Managers Success Manual. New York: AMACOM.

Tyson, S. (2003). Essential of Human Resource Management. Oxford: Butter- Heinemann.

Varley, R., & Gillooley, D. (2001). Retail Product Management: Buying and Merchandising. London: Routledge.

Volkema, R. (2006). Leverage: How to Get It and How To Keep It In Any Negotiation. New York: AMACOM.

Warner, M. (2001). Comparative Management: Critical Perspectives on Business And Management. London: Routledge.

Weitzul, J. (1993). Sales Force Dynamics; Motives, Management, Money Marketplace. Westport: Quorum Books.

Introduction

The selection interview is heavily criticized and currently seen as a contributing factor to poor job performance. The controversial aspect is that, a big number of people with high job performances have been employed using this criterion being questioned. Altogether, the blame cannot be placed on the critics or any other party, but only on the change in time. Time advancement has made people invent ideas that are in their favor. Unsuitable and suitable job applicants have devised ways of twisting and maneuvering interviews and panelists respectively, into their favors. Consequently, applicants hired are incompetent and partially skilled or totally unskilled leading to poor job performance. Therefore, ways and means of solving this problem have become the core priority in all the organizations. Compromise of highly set standards is a thing of the past and organizations have shifted their focus towards enhancing recruitment and selection process to regain lost stature from incompetence.

Definitions

The terms selection and recruitment, are often not differentiated and in most cases are assumed to mean the same, but in reality, they have different meanings. According to (Rynes and Cable 2003), Recruitment means the process in which an organization persuades individuals to apply for vacancies (p. 55). The Times 100 (2009) also defines recruitment as the procedure in which a firm recognizes a vacant position to be filled to the point of receiving applications from interested candidates while selection on the other hand, is the process of picking the applicant appropriate for the vacant position (par. 1). There are different methods of recruitment and selection as explained below;

How Recruitment and Selection Is Carried Out

Recruitment can be categorized into two; Internal and External (Rynes and Cable p.55). Internal recruitment is the process whereby an organization influences existing employees within the company to apply for vacant positions, and it is done either through; word of mouth, or memorandums, or internal job postings, or even through internship programs. For example, a subordinate staff working within an organization can be told to apply for a clerical position pronounced vacant. A deputy chief executive can respond to an internal job posting by applying as a chief executive officer. On the other hand, external recruitment is focused on external labor force. Employment agents, campus recruitment, job referrals, job advertisements are some of the methods used in the latter form of recruitment (Rynes and Cable 2003, p.56).

Selection methods include; interviewing, presentations by the candidates, practical tests of skills and so on (Rynes and Cable 2003, p. 60). Selection starts when applicants are sifted, then face-to-face interviews are conducted and they include, individual, and or panel interview. Then behavioral testing is conducted and the procedure ends with the welcoming of the desired candidate into the organization.

Criticism of Selection Interview

Interview is part of the process of selection, but it has been met with much criticism. It is believed that it results in poor job performance of the successful candidate. (Dean and Whyte 1958) asked whether the interviewer knew if the interviewee tells the truth and if the truth being sought is constant? (p. 34). This criticism arises many suspicions revolving around selection interviews. The candidates always say what the panelists want to hear, but the bottom line is do they say the truth? Many interviewees aim at acquiring the job in question at the expense of telling the truth. The reason being, their lies cannot be proved and if they are to be proved then, more time will be needed.

(Dean and Whyte 1958) further criticizes interviews by denoting that, what people say and do is different (p. 35). For example, a particular company may be aspiring to employ the best person with information and technology knowledge. The candidate in question is therefore asked if he can develop software and also create a website. As the candidate is desperate for the job, he may choose to say yes though he does not know how to do that. If he is absorbed his performance will be below par with the expectations of the company. This strongly adds weight to the reasons why Dean and colleagues did not support interviews as a way of selecting a candidate to fill a position in a firm. The third criticism by Dean and colleague was that there is data inadequacy in interviews weighed against data that could be retrieved from observation (1958, p. 38). If observation is done, more of the hidden facts and facets of the candidates resurface. This cannot be achieved in the interview as the candidate seals the traits.

Barriers to Recruitment and Selection

The criticism of interviews as a selection process has led to a lot of research being done on the barriers to effective recruiting and selection of candidates. The researchers argue that if recruitment and selection process is being hindered then the end result (candidate chosen) will be inefficient and ineffective. (Bernthal n.d) did a study on recruiting and selection. In this study he pointed out some of the obstacles that block effective recruiting and selection of candidates. They included (Bernthal n.d, p. 10):

• The difficulty to obtain a contender with specific skills set  a company might need to hire someone who has specific set of requirements, but the applicants do not match the exact description they require. This results in choosing a candidate who almost has the required skills and thus the quality of job output is compromised in future.
• Competition for the same candidate  if a candidate is in high demand, the recruiting and selection procedures are altered in order to keep the candidate in their favor. This act may make the company overlook small traits on the applicant which may affect productivity in the later stage.
• Rise in complexity of searching and choosing the right candidate  the issue of finding and even recognizing the best candidate becomes a task as qualified and skilled personnel are hard to find.
• The delaying and tiresome process of selection  qualified candidates might give up even before the end of the selection process due to delays. Some companies set up long and time-consuming processes which may chase away suitable candidates.
• The scope of job responsibilities  the expanding scope of the job description might also be an obstacle in the fact that many applicants may weigh it with the return and even decide not to take the offer. Also, the wide coverage of job responsibility might make one perform ineffectively.
• Inadequacy of human resource personnel  low number of the human resource personnel may prolong the process, or hurriedly select the candidate due to tiresome nature. This compromises the quality and the set standards of the company.
• Also corruption and bribery can be a tool hindering effective recruitment and selection process. This makes unqualified candidates have undue advantage over the qualified ones. The long-run results are poor employee job performance.
• Sexual favors can make a member of the panelist be biased resulting in unqualified candidate being chosen.

Recommendations and Suggestions

Selection interview is an important tool when hiring an individual but following the criticisms mentioned earlier it cannot be effective. In order to achieve an effective and efficient recruiting and selection process, both (criticisms to the interview process and barriers to effective selection and recruiting process) need to be addressed.

(CIPD 2009) recommends that before recruiting, job analysis should be done (par. 6). It is of utmost importance for a company to have good knowledge of the job they are advertising for. This implies that, the analysis should go beyond the tasks, to the intention of the job, the end results of the job holder and how suitable the position is to the firm. The quality and ability of the suitable candidate to execute the laid down responsibilities should be addressed effectively.

A guide for selectors published in the year 2005, recommends that other selection methods should be used to complement interviews, as they are inadequate by themselves. This is due to the fact that, they provide more proof for a better decision to be reached (p. 9). They also provide more weight to the matter in question. The supplement methods include (a guide for selectors 2005):

1. Skills tests  they are practice tests that determine whether the candidate possesses the skills required.
2. Presentations  they judge the qualities an individual possesses. For example, if a company requests the applicant to conduct a presentation on something, then it is evident they are testing the reasoning, attitude, and or academic qualifications and professional experience of the applicant. These selection methods should therefore be well examined and chosen carefully to execute fairness to all candidates (p. 9).

Rynes and colleagues (2003) state that, orderly planning and preparation inflates the probability of hiring the right individual (p. 62). The basis of effective recruitment is good organization. They further denote that the cost incurred in recruiting the wrong person is noteworthy, but the cost of hiring the wrong person can be more than his salary. Rynes and colleagues emphasize that, it is of utmost importance for the candidates qualities to match the organizations requirements. Chauvinism and bias generated by the corporate culture of the organization should never be executed when it comes to recruiting and selecting.

The best package for the interviewee should be set out in order to avoid losing the best candidate to competitors. Also, the shortlisting and invitations to interviews should be done immediately after the closing dates of recruitment process to avoid delays and shifts of the best candidates. Policies tackling issues related to corruption and the like should be made functional to avoid undue advantages to some individuals. An organization should ensure that the human resource department is well equipped with relevant and adequate personnel. It is also advisable to link job descriptions to individual requirements, highlighting what the candidate knows and what he needs to learn from the job offered.

Conclusion

The productivity capacity, mode of operation, societal image portrayed is all geared towards the type of personnel an organization has. This in return may impact society either positively or negatively. The effectiveness of a particular organization is felt through the output passed on by its employees. Thus, if a company has hired less productive employees, the quality and the standards of the products and services produced will be questionable in the eyes of the customers. An organization should scrutinize its recruitment and selection process so as it can have the best and most qualified staff. The percentage of reliance on selection interviews should be reduced as this method alone is ineffective. Critics have solemnly criticized interviews and blamed them on ensuing poor job performance. Therefore, it is recommended that other selection methods should be used together with interviews to achieve maximum beneficial outcomes.

References

A guide for selectors, 2005, effective recruitment and selection, p.9.

The times 100, 2009, recruitment and selection, Web.

Bernthal, RP n.d, Recruitment and Selection, Development Division International, 2009. Web.

CIPD, 2009, Recruitment-an overview, Web.

Dean JP & Whyte WF, 1958, how do you know if the informant is telling the truth?, Human Organization, Wiley, New York. Pp. 34-8.

Lingham, L 2008, Human Resource-Recruitment, All Experts, p. 1.

Rynes SL & Cable DM, 2003, Recruitment research in the twenty-first century, Wiley, New York. Pp. 55-76.

Introduction

J.P. Morgan is a company that provides commercial banking, private banking services, asset management, and corporate and investment banking services. The company is headquartered in the United States but has been established in Hong Kong for over 90 years (J.P. Morgan, 2022). The company is committed to ensuring that Pacific Asia achieves economic inclusion and growth through enhancing small business development, workforce readiness, and financial capability.

Job Analysis

For J.P. to accomplish its goals in the Asian market, it must have the right and qualified personnel in its Hong Kong offices. The company is looking for an International Coverage Executive (ICE) to work in the commercial banking department of the company. The ICE personnel will be responsible for managing transaction services requirements of the specialized industry client segment and other subsidiaries of corporate client banking. In addition, the ICE will be in charge of relationship management within the Asian market to ensure that the firm achieves mutual relationship goals. ICE will have to leverage the firms capabilities to ensure that they provide client-dedicated services and meet the clients domestic and international financial needs. ICE must apply local market expertise and knowledge to enhance the companys financial position. Finally, the ICE will be responsible for traditional banking services, which include trade finance, treasury services, foreign exchange, and bilateral commercial lending.

The job specifications for this post include ten years of experience as a sales coverage manager or client relationship manager. The person must have a proven record of successfully servicing multinational clients banking transactions and helping the company to develop locally and internationally. In addition, the ICE must have credit knowledge in banking and demonstrate a solid understanding of treasury services products, including cross-border products, liquidity, and cash management. Excellent communication skills are compulsory as strong influencing skills for the ICE. Finally, the ICE should work in different time zones with various stakeholders and coordinate teams effectively.

Job Design Based on Efficiency, Motivation, Safety and Health, and Mental Capacity

Design for efficiency

To achieve efficiency in the position of ICE, it is important to apply good relations and eliminate recurring duties in the workplace. The company can seek to automate recurring responsibilities such as treasury service and foreign exchange to save time (Wu et al., 2022). The ICE must manage employees effectively and use cross-departmental collaborations to enhance operational efficiency. To achieve financial efficiency, the company must remove barriers to data flow and analysis (Alsharif, 2021). These will help reduce administrative work and enhance financial growth. Hence with the reduction of administrative and recurring tasks, the ICE can deliver services efficiently.

Design for Motivation

Ensuring that the ICE is motivated towards their job, J.P. Morgan should ensure that they provide job security for the employee. This will include signing a long-term contract so the employee may feel secure in the workplace (Peters et al., 2018). The company can introduce an attractive reward system to motivate employees to attain the set goals. The other design to motivate the ICE is job enlargement, whereby the employee will be given a wide range of work in a similar field. This will remove the boredom of doing the same work every day hence increasing their motivation (Manzoor et al., 2021).

Design for Safety and Health

The company should have a well-laid-out compensation scheme for ICE employee health coverage. This can range from fully paid insurance coverage to annual medical cover to lump sum compensation in case of harm during work (Shrank et al., 2021). In addition, the company can ensure that the package covers the employees family. This will make the employee feel more secure in the workplace and focus on achieving set goals.

Design for Mental Capacity

The design for mental capacity includes having random mental check-ups for the employee. This method will help determine whether they are experiencing psychological or mental problems. When employees are psychologically depressed, they are likely to have reduced work performance (Ajefu et al., 2020). Thus, the company must ensure that it takes care of the employees mental status to perform in the workplace optimally.

Recruitment Strategies and Their Implementation in the ICE Position

One of the recruitment strategies commonly used in the finance sector is using the right sourcing channels and the right sourcing strategy. Good employer branding is essential in attracting potential candidates to an organization (Poto
nik et al., 2021). J.P. Morgan is an international company with a good reputation which implies that it can attract top talents in the industry. However, the company must use the right channel to get the most effective employees for the organization (Poto
nik et al., 2021). Different sourcing strategies have varying rates in different countries. However, one of the most effective is using an online job portal to advertise for jobs. J.P. Morgan has implemented this strategy by advertising for this post on some of the most viewed online job portals across China and the world, such as Glassdoor.

The other recruitment strategy that the company provides is using attractive compensation. The human resources manager must acknowledge that different countries have varying attitudes toward pay. Thus, they must ensure that they compensate employees effectively, especially if they work in multinational companies (Poto
nik et al., 2021). J.P. Morgan is an American-based company, and the minimum wage in America is higher than the wage in China. Thus, the company has used compensation differences to ensure that they provide a competitive salary for the job post of the ICE. Compared to other financial firms based in China, J.P. Morgan can provide better compensation for its employee, which is a factor that attracts more candidates.

The other strategy that the company has used is keeping compliance regarding issues related to compensation and recruitment procedures. Different countries have varying laws and policies regarding the recruitment process of employees, including the minimum wage, medical benefits, income tax, leave policy, appointment letter, social security, and gender issues. The recruiter must be able to deal with these obligations and follow the country-stated laws. J.P. Morgan has ensured that they follow Chinas regulations by noting down that they believe in diversity and that their company provides equal employment opportunities to people from diverse backgrounds (Poto
nik et al., 2021). It states that the company does not discriminate against applicants based on pregnancy, disability, age, race, sexual orientation, gender, or other bases as protected by the law. In addition, the advert states that they accommodate people from varying religious backgrounds.

Selection Strategies and Their Implementation for ICE

J.P. Morgan has a wide range of enrollment strategies that it can use to ensure that it hires the best candidate for this position. The first selection strategy is the employees skills, knowledge, and abilities (Mohammad, 2020). This is a traditional recruitment style and uses the jobs key responsibilities to ensure that the candidate selected for the job can deliver. Human resources have to find an effective way of evaluating each candidate and ensure that they can deliver the given responsibilities (Mohammad, 2020). In this case, the ICE position requires a person who has a work experience of ten years and above and must have a proven positive record. This implies that human resources can consider checking the employees recommendation from the previous job to determine whether they successfully have ten years of experience. The candidate must have exemplary knowledge of the treasury and its products, and this can be evaluated by giving them a test to determine their capability concerning this matter.

The other strategy that the company can use is the conjunctive selection strategy. This strategy enables the human resources department to administer multiple assessments in various stages to determine the most appropriate candidate. This is whereby the participants are subjected to several tests based on the assignment they are applying for, and if one fails, they are eliminated (Mohammad, 2020). This method is appropriate for this job because it is a complex job that requires a wide pool of skills and knowledge which may be difficult to assess using a single test. Thus, the human resource will produce a series of tests based on the different competencies they want to achieve, and then the most successful candidate is chosen for the job.

Conclusion

J.P. Morgan company can significantly benefit by employing the above strategies because they will enable it to choose the most suitable candidate, which will help the company to achieve its goals. Being a financial company, it must ensure that it provides design for efficiency, motivation, health and safety, and mental capacity. In addition, the company should use the right sourcing strategies and channels to ensure it reaches the top talents. Finally, the accurate application of the selection strategies, including the conjunctive strategy focusing on skills and knowledge, will help the company to get the best candidate for the job.

References

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Abstract

The Kroger Company refers to the discrimination-and-fairness paradigm that is not appropriate to promote the diversity vision and effective inclusion practices in the organization. However, the company aims to follow the principles characteristic for the access-and-legitimacy model. In this context, the current report provides the summary and analysis of the effectiveness of diversity and inclusion practices followed in the regional department of Kroger. The recommendations to improve the diversity and inclusion practices, the practical interventions, and the plan for the further development of the strategy are also presented in the report.

Action Learning Project

Diversity and inclusion are currently discussed as important factors to contribute to the organizations progress and competitive advantage. The Kroger Company is a leader in the American retailing industry that was founded in 1883, and it is important to analyze the effectiveness of its diversity and inclusion practices implemented regionally. The problem is in the fact that the corporate hiring and recruitment practices incorporate the ideas of diversity and inclusion partially, and they need revision. Thus, it is necessary to examine how the regional human resource managers try to integrate the diversity and inclusion principles in their practice to promote the collaboration in the Kroger Company.

Description of the Organization

The Krogers chain of grocery stores and supermarkets is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Currently, the whole chain includes more than 3,000 stores, and they are directed regionally (Kroger Company, 2013, p. 6). Therefore, the company is constantly hiring new employees to cover positions in different cities. There is no Chief of Diversity Officer post in the company, and these functions are performed by the human resource managers. There are 132 stores in the studied regional chain of Kroger supermarkets. The middle management in these stores is represented mostly by white people. Only seven African Americans take management positions, five individuals among them are females. Moreover, 95% of managers in the company have the Bachelor or higher degree. The company has not implemented specific policies for the management of diversity and inclusion in this region.

Diversity Needs Analysis

The process of the diversity needs analysis included six steps: determining the specific purpose of the needs analysis; selecting, preparing, and approving data collection methods; contacting managers and employees before conducting interviews; conducting interviews; analyzing and summarizing interviews and documents; and providing recommendations on improving the policy and practices. At the first stage, the purpose to examine and evaluate the current practices, as well as to formulate recommendations for improving them, was determined. The main data collection methods included the semi-structured face-to-face interviews based on the approved protocol with open-ended questions and the review of the documentation related to the diversity, inclusion, hiring, and recruitment procedures in Kroger (Dahm, Willems, Ivancevich, & Graves, 2009, p. 284). The focus was on collecting the following metrics: diversity percentage; percentage diversity at the executive level; percentage diversity at the management level; diversity hire ratio; average employee age; percentage females at the executive level; and total females at the management level.

During the third stage, the Krogers management team was contacted to plan the interviews that were conducted during the fourth stage. First, face-to-face interviews with Kathy Sims, Human Resource Manager in the regional Krogers department and Amanda Long, Human Resource Coordinator in the regional Krogers department, were planned. Then, the employees were interviewed. At the next stage, the recordings of interviews, documents, and provided metrics was reviewed with the purpose of identifying diversity and inclusion practices followed in Kroger (Brief, 2008). Finally, the analysis of the reviewed data was used in order to formulate the recommendations for the regional department of Kroger to address the identified weaknesses and gaps in realizing the diversity and inclusion principles and improve the diversity metrics.

Summary and Analysis of the Examined Information and Metrics

Two managers and eight employees working in the companys regional department were asked regarding the diversity and inclusion practices followed in the company. It was found that employees regard diversity as the priority for developing management practices, but they can name only such practices as the provision of the equal opportunities for males and females to be recruited, equal opportunities for minorities to be recruited, and supplier diversity. The employees have accentuated such challenges as the lack of the diverse employees involvement in promoting the strategies in the organization. The managers have mentioned that they choose employees according to their skills and working experiences and in spite of their cultural or ethnical background. The age of a candidate is not regarded as a limiting aspect while selecting employees. However, there are no formal diversity training programs implemented in the company. The managers have pointed to such benefits of diversity as the possibility to meet the customers expectations.

Having analyzed the results, it is possible to state that the company does not follow human resource management practices that are traditionally discussed as the best ones: diversity training, mentoring, and networking (Kalev, Dobbin, & Kelly, 2006, p. 590). The only followed practices are the cultural awareness through the informal communication, supplier diversity, and the provision of equal opportunities during the selection and recruitment stage. The analysis of the metrics indicates that the managers refer to some of the return on investment (ROI) measures to examine the effectiveness of the diversity management (Lockwood, 2010, p. 2). Thus, the diversity percentage in the company is 62%; the percentage of diversity at the executive level is 10%; the percentage of diversity at the management level is 10%; the diversity hire ratio is 48%; the average employee age is 29; the percentage females at the executive level is 8%; and total females at the management level is about 7%. These measures demonstrate that Kroger does not address the diversity and inclusion in the organization effectively.

Summary of the Organizations Diversity and Inclusion Goals

The review of hiring procedure protocols and documents mentioning diversity and inclusion statements indicates that the regional department of Kroger has no clearly identified goals associated with diversity and inclusion. According to the available resources, the leaders aim to improve the performance and productivity of the department, and it is possible with references to improving the communication with clients and increasing sustainability. The goals related to diversity are mentioned in the context of meeting the needs of all customers in spite of their backgrounds and in the context of developing working relations with diverse suppliers. Therefore, Kroger has no strategic or short-term goals associated with promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Still, one of the aims is to increase the number of diverse talents working in the company to address the customers expectations regarding the provided services. From this point, the diversity training and inclusion practices can be implemented only as the long-term goal, and the leaders of Kroger do not discuss these initiatives as the current priority for the development of human resource management practices.

Diversity Paradigms in the Kroger Company and Associated Strengths and Challenges

The analysis of the collected data demonstrates that management in Kroger tends to refer to the differentiation or access-and-legitimacy paradigm of diversity because of accentuating the role of recruiting diverse employees to address the needs of more customers. However, the fact is that the regional department of the company follows principles of the discrimination-and-fairness paradigm (Canas & Sondak, 2014, p. 15). Thus, the managers focus on the idea that all employees are equal; as a result, the cultural awareness sessions are limited, the diversity training is not proposed, and the main emphasis is on the recruitment of diverse employees with their further assimilation. The strengths of following this paradigm include the equal treatment of employees and the limited discrimination in the organization. However, the challenges associated with using diversity and inclusion practices within this paradigm are numerous. The managers in Kroger follow the color-blind approach, and cultures of diverse employees are often ignored. Approaching employees as equal in skills, demographic characteristics, cultures, and visions, the managers avoid using the diverse talents for developing the organization. As a result, employees feel that their differences are important only in situations when it is necessary to address different customers.

Recommendations for Kroger

Kroger has the limited number of diversity and inclusion goals, and they are associated with the increase of diverse talents working in the company to address the customers expectations. In order to meet these goals and contribute to the companys complete shift to the access-and-legitimacy paradigm, it is possible to recommend certain actions. The first action is the formulation of the clear and narrow definition of diversity because now the company discusses diversity in broad terms, and managers and employees are inclined to confuse the ideas of diversity and equality (Davidson, 2011, p. 112). The second recommendation is associated with formulating the diversity statement as the part of the Krogers strategic plan. The third step is the change of assimilation recruitment practices with inclusive ones. The next important recommendation is the improvement of the cultural awareness practices with the focus on developing the diverse community based on the employees active interaction (Kreitz, 2008, p. 103). The final recommendation is to develop mentoring and networking programs for Kroger.

However, the level of resistance to diversity and inclusion programs in the company is high, and it is possible to address the obstacle while accentuating the employee participation in developing the new diversity policies and practices. It is important to take the employees opinions into account while implementing the proposed recommendations (Madera, 2013, p. 125). Moreover, the managers in the regional department need to be provided with adequate resources necessary for developing diversity programs and training.

The Design for Implementing Interventions to Support Krogers Goals

The first important intervention to implement in the organization is the cultural awareness program that is necessary to change the equal treatment strategy in the company with the differentiation approach (Madera, Neal, & Dawson, 2011, p. 471). The cultural awareness program should be implemented in the following steps: (1) the identification of the diversity and cultural profile typical for the regional department of Kroger; (2) the identification of ethnic, cultural, racial, and age groups in the organization with the goal of addressing their daily needs; (3) the celebration of cultural holidays; and (4) the participation of employees in the language proficiency courses. These steps are important for employees to feel like being valued in the organization.

The other intervention is the development of the mentoring program for Kroger. The percentage of diverse employees in Kroger is high, and the managers aim to increase these numbers focusing on the recruitment strategies. Therefore, it is important to propose the mentoring program for new employees who need the support to adapt to the new community (Curtis & Dreachslin, 2008, p. 108). The problem is in the fact that the leaders of the company do not plan to spend resources on programs, and it is possible to implement the initiative according to the following steps: (1) the peer coaching during a three-month period; (2) the informal training regarding leadership skills; and (3) the development of informal mentor and cultural networks.

Recommendations for Metrics to Measure the Effectiveness of Proposed Initiatives

To measure the effectiveness and the ROI associated with the implementation of the cultural awareness and mentoring programs in Kroger, it is possible to propose such metrics as the number of employees participating in these programs and the culture ratings used with the measured change in the employees performance and productivity. The number of the diverse employees who chose to participate in cultural awareness and mentoring programs is important to analyze the further effectiveness of these initiatives and their connection with the possible changes in the employees performance. Therefore, the next metrics is the culture ratings and the measured change in employees performance and productivity. These measures are important to demonstrate how the organizational climate can change in relation to the idea of inclusion.

The Plan for Completing Short-Term, Mid-Term, and Long-Term Steps

Although the short-term steps for Kroger include the improvement of recruitment and inclusion strategies based on increasing the cultural awareness and differentiation, the mid-term steps should include the organization of the diversity council based on the personal involvement of leaders in the promotion of diversity in Kroger (Stevens, Plaut, & Sanchez-Burks, 2008, p. 117). The long-term steps should be associated with the development of the formal diversity training and networking programs. If the short-term and mid-term steps are based on the currently followed paradigm, the long-term steps are possible when executives in Kroger are the main promoters of inclusion practices in the company and when the paradigm is shifted to the integration-and-learning one. Leaders in Kroger need to develop the specific vision of diversity as the value and spend more resources on training and supporting diverse employees.

Conclusion

At the current stage of the organizations development in relation to diversity and inclusion issues, the managers in the regional department of Kroger are able to integrate only basic inclusive strategies. The problem is in the fact that the origin of the resistance to promoting diversity is from the executives and top managers. Therefore, the process of improving the diversity and inclusion programs in the organization should be gradual and oriented to changing the paradigm and the employees vision of the idea of diversity in the company. As a result, much attention should be paid to formulating the narrow definition of diversity, implementing the cultural awareness, and mentoring supportive programs for diverse employees.

References

Brief, A. P. (2008). Diversity at work. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Canas, K., & Sondak, H. (2014). Opportunities and challenges of workplace diversity (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Curtis, E. F., & Dreachslin, J. L. (2008). Integrative literature review: Diversity management interventions and organizational performance: A synthesis of current literature. Human Resource Development Review, 7(1), 107-134.

Dahm, M. J., Willems, E. P., Ivancevich, J. M. & Graves, D. E. (2009). Development of an organizational diversity needs analysis (ODNA) instrument. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 39(2), 283-318.

Davidson, M. (2011). The end of diversity as we know it: Why diversity efforts fail and how leveraging diversity can succeed. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Kalev, A., Dobbin, F., & Kelly, E. (2006). Best practices or best guesses? Assessing the efficacy of corporate affirmative action and diversity policies. American Sociological Review, 7(4), 589-617.

Kreitz, P. A. (2008). Best practices for managing organizational diversity. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 34(2), 101-120.

Kroger Company. (2013). The Kroger Co. foundation report to the community 2008-2012. Web.

Lockwood, N. (2010). Measuring ROI for diversity management: Case histories from a report from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Diversity Factor, 18(3), 1-6.

Madera, J. M. (2013). Best practices in diversity management in customer service organizations an investigation of Top Companies cited by Diversity Inc. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 54(2), 124-135.

Madera, J. M., Neal, J. A., & Dawson, M. (2011). A strategy for diversity training focusing on empathy in the workplace. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 35(4), 469-487.

Stevens, F. G., Plaut, V. C., & Sanchez-Burks, J. (2008). Unlocking the benefits of diversity: All-inclusive multiculturalism and positive organizational change. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44(1), 116-133.

Internet is a globally connected and organized network system that makes utilization of TCP/IP to transmit information through different kinds of media. With emergence of Internet from 1990’s employment practices have evolved, the transformation from billboards to newspaper’s job advertisement to online job portals and now even to social media recruitment has completely evolved the Hiring Process. This study aims to determine the factors that influence the perceptions of employees towards e- recruitment. The study indicates that factors such as user friendliness, information provision, and website usability are significantly related to the perceptions of employees towards e-recruitment. Amongst the three factors, information provision appears to be the strongest predictor. It can be said that e- recruitment will continue to gain prominence, and employers must pay considerable attention to their online recruitment information, appearance, features, and functions if they wish to attract the right job candidates.

Keywords: E-Recruitment, Online portals, Perception

Inrtoduction

Today Modern organisations are working in an unmatched, highly competitive and unstable business environment which is designated by the universality of business which has led to mobile workforce. Organisations pay a much due attention to the recruitment and selection process, as employees is the main asset. In today’s Dynamic world, ruthless competition is no longer restricted to local or regional boundaries so there arises a need for strategizing & setting in place a robust mechanism for alluring and holding top talent becomes important for the company’s survival and growth. Economy very much depends on the value created by the human resource of an organisation. Today HR professionals have been placed on heavy demand with its reversal in relation with human capital, acquisition, utilization, development, retention of employees. With changing dynamics, HR is expected to understand, conceive, innovate, implement and nourish relevant strategies and contribute effectively towards giving the company its winning edge. These efforts on the part of the company have resulted in recognizing talent as priority of the company to maintain competitive edge and talent becoming a strategic priority.

The recruitment process incurs cost as it includes the salaries of recruiters, time spent by the management on preparation of job description, advertisement cost, cost of selection, administrative cost, cost of overtime and outsourcing in case the vacancy remains unfilled. Thus, an organisation is required to gather all these relevant information so as to evaluate the performance of a recruitment process effectively.

The recruitment process is a broader concept which aims at creating a pool of eligible candidates for purpose of selection, whereas the selection process has narrow scope it aims at selecting best candidate from those who have applied for job.

The selection of candidate is the lengthiest step in recruitment process where various tests are conducted and then interview is taken which in return ensures the best suitable candidate for the job. The procedure for selection must be systematic and scientific so as to ensure no scope of doubt and confusion about the choice of selected candidates. Different markets are looked upon for different level of employees, domestic market for professional employees, regional markets for technical employees, and local markets for clerical and blue-collar employees. Selection is the process of differentiating between applicants so as to identify (and hire) those with a greater likelihood of success in the job.

The future success of the company is predominantly based on the success of human resource efforts, which evolves through the identification and attraction of quality new employees generated from the recruitment process that will stimulate organisation to development as a result of manpower skills available in the organisation. organisations have witnessed the transformation of conventional recruitment methods to online recruitment, particularly since the mid-1990s.

To match up job candidates with live vacancies, Companies and recruitment agencies have started recruiting online. By Using database technologies, online job advertising boards and search engines, employers can now fill posts in a fraction of the time previously possible. Internet recruitment has become a trend that has led to the emergence of a new market in which there is an unparalleled level of interaction between potential employers and employees therefore comes as no surprise. It implies publishing job opportunities online, having an online fill-in form available for applicants and a computerized database available to store the curricula received. Applicants can send their résumés via email or upload them to corporate, social networking or recruitment websites from their home or any other place with an internet connection, and directly contact the recruiter or the decision maker using this channel. This makes it not only less time consuming than traditional recruitment methods, but also more convenient and comfortable for applicants. Applicants reactions to the information on the online job ad are influenced by the perceived efficiency and ease of use, which refers to whether or not the candidate considers the job ad easy to understand and apply for .The candidates’ reaction is also influenced by the amount of information provided by the organisation regarding the job position, which should be specific and updated. In crux, the adoption of the internet as a medium by organisations for recruitment is faster than any other medium.

Literature review

FRED AND KINANGE (2016) explored the e-recruitment activities adopted by the organization, e-recruitment process has an impact on organization, performance and efficiency of recruitment process in the organization. The HR department manages the workforce diversity in culture, time zones, expertise, benefits and compensations. Secondary data was collected for this study. This study found that businesses appear to be concerned quality oriented, competent candidate for vacancies that mainly focus on the cost. Third parties play an active role in the online recruitment process such as recruitment agencies and head hunters. e- recruitment add to efficiency, effectiveness of the recruitment process, specific internet recruitment methods attribute to the organizational developments and increases performance for organizational recruiting.

NASREEM ET AL. (2016) the study found that most of the organizations in Pakistan were using both e-recruitment and traditional recruitment sources. It also revealed that the IT based organizations are not completely relying on e-recruitment. The study also indicated that majority of respondent organizations use e-recruitment for filling the top positions.

AHLAWAT AND SANGEETA (2016) explored the different sources of e-recruitment in the organization like ease of use for the organization, increasing the speed to hire, keeping ahead of competitors, cost savings, to ease of use for candidate, to provide large candidate pool. This study was a set of comprehensive overviews of e-recruitment, also to see the challenges and benefits of using online technologies. The organization used online recruitment system to track and manage candidate’s application that gives significant benefits in the term of cost and capability, efficiency to monitor on recruitment activities.

MALHOTRA & SHARMA (2016) compared with traditional recruitment process with e-recruitment advantages and disadvantages, changed in recruitment practices and strategies causes of e-recruitment tools and analysed the challenges and opportunities for both organizations and employees using e-recruitment. The study found that traditional method not be replaced by e-recruitment. It should complement. It is a fast process. In the modern time job portals are the most popular source of e-recruitment because commercial websites provide a platform for employers to meet the prospective employees.

ALAN PRICE (2012): In his work human asset the executives in a business setting, officially characterizes recruitment and determination as the way toward recovering and pulling in capable applications with the end goal of business. He expresses that the procedure of enlistment is definitely not a basic choice procedure, while it needs the board basic leadership and wide arranging so as to designate the most fitting labour. “Human asset may be thought of as the total learning, creative abilities, innovation talents and aptitude of an organisation work force, as well as the values, attitudes and benefits of an individual involved”

SAKS (2012): Recruitment involves set actions and activities taken by an organisation in order to identify and attract individuals who have the capabilities to help the organisation realize its strategic objectives such activities should generate a pool of desirable candidates; enhance their interest in and attraction to the organisation as an employer; and increase the probability that they will accept a job offer. This definition makes explicit the difference between the functions of Recruitment and of Selection (which follows Recruitment) and highlights the link between recruitment and organisational strategy (goals and objectives). Another important contribution by Saks is the identification of three phases in the recruitment process: Application, Interaction, and Job offer.

EDWIN B. FLIPPO (2013): Recruitment is the process of searching, seeking the candidates for employment and attracting, stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation.

PARRY & WILSON (2015): stated that recruitment includes those practices and activities carried out by the organisation with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees. E-Recruiting is using the internet to recruit through corporate websites, specialized websites or online advertisement.

GALANAKI (2016): Recruitment is a vital function of human resource management, which can be defined as the process of searching the right talent and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation. It is the process of discovering the sources of personnel to meet the requirements of the staffing agenda and attracting the adequate number of employees, as to be able to make the effective selection among the applicant’s employees.

SCHREYER AND MCCARTER (2010): defines Internet recruitment as the recruitment process, including placing job advertisements, receiving resumes, and building human resource databases with candidates and incumbents.

LIEVENS AND HARRIS (2011): There are five approaches to Internet recruitment, including company websites, job boards, e-recruiting, relationship recruiting, and surreptitious approaches.

SINGH AND FINN (2013): Internet recruitment provides many advantages to recruiters and job seekers. For recruiters, the use of the Internet enables firms to enhance their growth in their ability to attract the right quality (in terms of appropriate levels of knowledge, attitude, skills and aptitudes) and quantity of human resources at any given time.

In views of CASCIO (2012), Growing globalization and the use of new technologies, among other phenomena, have led to changes in the job market. In an ever-changing context where new technologies experience rapid development, Online Recruitment (OR) is an important source of recruitment.

Background to the problem

General introduction

Human resource is one of the most significant developments in the field of organizations which has been given increasing importance. People are vital to organizations as they offer perspectives, values and attributes to organizational life; and when managed effectively, these human traits can be of considerable benefits to the organization (Ekwoaba et al, 2015). This is so because the development of people, their competencies, and the process development of the total organization are the fulcrum of human resource management (HRM) (Mullins, 1999 and Djabatey, 2012).

Recruitment is one of the functions of HRM which has a great impact on the organization performance. Walker (2009) argues that recruitment process is an important part of HRM which should be done with proper strategic planning. With this regard, before any link with applicants, human resource planning must check out current and future staffing needs including identifying the optimum number of employees.

According to National University of Ireland (NUI) (2006) most recruitment processes comprise the elements of subjective judgement inherent in them. But treating job applicants in a professional and positive manner is more likely to leave them, whether they are successful or not, with a positive view of the organization and how it has dealt with the applicants. However, experience shows that a successful appointment can bring favourable results which impact on the wider aspects of organizational life while a poor one can have damaging effects far outside the organization in which it is made. Also, the recruitment and selection of employees provides an opportunity for the organization to present itself in a favourable light (NUI, 2006).

Recruitment process in any organization is a serious HRM function as the success of any organization or efficiency in service delivery or high productivity of staff depends on the quality of its workforce who was recruited into the organization through recruitment assignment (Aduma & Iyida, 2016). Since recruitment involve getting the best applicant for a job, it is only reasonable that recruitment procedures and policies that provide a large pool of qualified applicants will have a substantial influence over the quality and type of skills new employees possess or their productivity (Obikeze & Obi, 2004). In relation to this notion, Bohlander et al, (2001) notes that managers should understand the objectives, policies and practices used for recruitment including having right information upon which to base their decisions if productivity in organizations are to be met.

Similarly, it is argued that organization’s recruitment policies and practices shape the employee behaviours and attitudes that consequently will have impact on productivity (Robbins, 2005). The major part of an organization’s overall resourcing strategies is strongly associated with recruitment process. This in advance identifies and secures people needed for an organization to survive and succeed in the short to medium-term (Elwood, 1996). Indeed, the main purpose of recruitment is to form a pool of suitably qualified candidates to enable the selection of the best candidates for the organization, by attracting more and more employees to apply in the organization in which the right candidate is chosen to occupy a position in the organization (Gamage, 2014). Moreover, it is said that there is a positive and significant relationship between recruitment and the performance of an enterprise (Sang, 2005). Generally, from the discussion above, the conclusion can be drawn that when the best qualified people are recruited for the job, productivity or effectiveness and efficiency are likely to increase. Therefore, HR managers at all levels of the organisation need to pay much attention when planning to recruit human resources.

Basically, in HRM, teachers like any other human resources in the organization pass through a certain recruitment process which may be more or less similar with other cadres. Thus, teachers’ recruitment procedures are crucial in being one of the significant factors in providing effective teachers (Berry, et al 2009). It is true that there has been an overarching concern over the importance of teacher education and teacher preparation programme over the recent decades because they represent one of the input-driven approaches toward educational reform. However, little research has delved into the issue of recruitment procedures and practices in order to shed light on how teachers are basically recruited, selected, screened and hired (ibd).

It is realistic that a teacher is part and parcel of the teaching and learning process in any nation. According to Abdou (2012), the processes of teachers’ preparation and recruitment should be viewed as a continuum since all of the above elements are interrelated. Effective recruitment strategies aim at providing schools equitably with quality teachers. In the light of this perception, it is wise to say that the appropriate recruitment procedure impacts on the quality of the teachers. On the other hand, educational experts and researchers argue that teachers’ recruitment is one of the most significant determinants of students’ academic achievement (Berry et al, 2010).

According to Tanzania Education Sector Analysis (TESA) (2009), primary and secondary schools teachers are civil servants and their recruitment is guided by the public service Act of Employment, Issue Nº2, of September 2008, thus, the role of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) is to train enough qualified teachers to meet the demand of the schools and to monitor the adequacy of teachers’ numbers and qualifications while, the President’s Office for Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG) is responsible for the coordination of teachers’ recruitment and their deployment across local government authorities (LGAs).

Therefore, the process of recruitment of both primary and secondary teachers has to be done in consideration with teachers’ quality simply because the better achievement in education to students depends on the qualification of the teacher. However, this may be affected by some factors including fund constraints. The study of Mwasi (2012) depicts that, inadequate budgetary allocation is the challenge facing municipal councils in Tanzania. It is proposed that, in order to ensure that all students have teachers with the subject-matter knowledge and teaching skills necessary to help them achieve to high academic standards, regardless of their individual learning styles or needs there should be substantial funding. The fund enables recruiting and training highly qualified teachers (Darling-Hammond, 2010).

In terms of competence, some scholars have argued that teacher competence is a function of teacher qualifications (Aghenta, 2000). How competent a teacher could be in teaching seems to depend largely on teacher’s qualification. This contention is supported by Mullen’s (1993) argument that the level of a teacher’s subject matter competence is a prime predictor of pupils’ learning. He argued that it is not only the qualifications obtained by a teacher that could contribute to a teacher’s quality but actual achievement in terms of subject matter competence.

According to some scholars, most of the developing countries face the challenge of shortage and qualified teachers. This has been pointed out by Zafeirakou (2007), Cooper & Alvarado (2006), and OECD (2005) that, one main challenge that the sub-Saharan region countries have to deal with is to recruit schools with teachers that are sufficient in both quality and quantity. Tanzania like any other Sub-Saharan region countries has no exceptional in recruiting the quality teachers through the appropriate recruiting criteria. With such experience, HAKI ELIMU (2008) pointed out that Tanzania needs quality teachers who will help to produce experts in order that, the problems of ignorance can be solved. The minimum education qualification of primary schools teachers is Grade A and above certificate qualification while the minimum qualification of secondary school teachers’ is diploma and bachelor degree (TESA, 2009). In such circumstances, it is important to adhere to these qualifications when planning for recruitment.

Statement of the Problem

For a long time, the Ministry responsible for education has been recruiting teachers directly from educational institutions (crash training programme teachers) and giving them short training ready to overcome the shortage of teachers in Tanzania. As a result secondary school teachers who did not have enough teaching knowledge were forced to attend in-service training and attain either Diploma in Education or Bachelor in Education in order to provide the required knowledge to the students. The same applied to Primary school teachers, the majority of whom had Grade A Certificates in Education and even some had grade C certificates which were attained during Universal Primary Education (UPE) crash training programme (Laddunuri, 2012).

Such recruitment system of this nature leads to deployment of unqualified teachers and this has been a common problem in Tanzania. This is according to the study of Laddunuri (2012) which revealed a high proportion of unqualified teachers in both rural and urban areas inthe country. Indeed, recruitment of unqualified teachers not only affects students’ academic performance, but also, it leads to setbacks of education sector. This supports Bryant (2014) argument that, lack of qualified teachers is one of many factors contributing to the low educational advancements in Tanzania.

Currently there is a new recruitment process for Public Primary School (PPS) and Public Secondary Schools (PSS) teachers coordinated by the ministry of PO-RALG whereby teachers have to apply for the vacancies after their teachers training studies when announcement of the vacancies has been issued. According to the ministry of PO-RALG (2017), the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced the teaching vacancies for the first time on 1st December, 2016 in which teachers were required to apply for. On 12th April, 2017 the ministry of PO-RALG issued the name of selected applicants in which they were required to report direct to their respective schools posted from the ministry.

The new recruitment system used raise concern on various issues including the quality of teachers. For stance, the new recruitment system is considered as an appropriate way to recruit teachers of good teaching qualification in which application system for the candidate is used and the qualified teachers are selected and recruited rather than recruiting all teachers directly from colleges immediately after graduating. Also, it is thought that the new recruitment system intends to limit the number of teachers to be recruited. Therefore, in such scenario the study seeks to assess the new recruitment system.

Objectives of the study

Specifically the study aims at:

1. Identify criteria used in the new recruitment process.
2. Examining the effects brought about by this new recruitment process.
3. Analyzing the constraints encountered in this recruitment process
4. Giving recommendations on the new recruitment process.

Research questions

On studying the new recruitment process for teachers in PPS and its implication to quality teachers in Tanzania the following questions will be asked;

1. What are the criteria used in the new recruitment process?
2. What are the effects of the new recruitment process?
3. What are the constraints encountered from such recruiting process?
4. What are the appropriate recommendations on the new recruitment process?

Significance of the study

This study will add new knowledge to the following:

The study will enable human resource management practitioners to implement the policies pertaining recruitment process. Also, the study will help policy makers and planners to formulate and restructure policies that will improve the teachers’ quality and hence providing best education.

The study will add to the existing literature on human resource planning and development particularly on public teachers’ recruitment process. Therefore, this will be important to the academic community and decision makers who deal directly with the recruitment and to make meaningful proposals and suggestion to improve the recruitment criteria to public schools teachers in Tanzania.

It will afford the ministry responsible for teachers’ recruitment in Tanzania (PO-RALG) the opportunity to identify the effectiveness and efficiency of the new recruitment process and challenges facing the system and seek solutions to them.

Scope of the study

The study will be delimited to investigate new recruitment process for teachers. The study is further delimited to PPS teachers in schools and in the head office of PO-RALGA in Dar es Salaam, and thus, the availability and accessibility of information for a researcher will be easy. Also, this will facilitate mobility to target population as well as to cut down cost comparatively.

Literature review

Methods of recruitment

Herman (1994) identifies two methods of recruitment namely; internal and external recruitment.

Internal recruitment.

According to Herman (1994), there are three ways to recruit from within the organization. One of them is involving the manager to present a transfer plan of a particular person to the supervisor to whom that particular employee is currently reporting. If there is an agreement between the parties a transfer plan of specific key position for promotion is made. The method is considered to be unfair and biased by other candidates especially for those who are seeking leadership vacancies. The other two internal recruitment ways suggested by Herman are job posting and searching employer’s skill inventories and succession plans

External recruitment.

The external recruitment methods involve recruiting employees from outside of the organization. This is when, for example, employees in the organization are say, transferred or promoted within the organization there becomes a vacant position which should be filled, in some cases, externally.

Recruitment procedures

Recruitment is a process by which an organisation ensures that the qualified candidates fill the position applied for. Gross and DeArmond (2011) argue that recruitment as part of a human capital strategy that appropriately matches the requirement of public schools, often means approaching teacher recruitment and selection differently. According to the Delaware Center for Public Education (CPE) (2008), Delaware Department of Education (DDE) (2012), and Centre on Great Teachers and Leaders (CGT) (2015), the key comprehensive process for teacher recruitment and any other human resource include;

Examining current status of staffing needs

Before developing a comprehensive recruitment approach, the current status of staffing needs and recruitment should be examined. For example, the assessment of staffing needs involves qualifications and experience in which the current employees available with their education qualification and working experience should be considered. Also, the number of candidate need to fill the gap available should be identified (DDE, 2012).

Developing timelines for recruitment and selection

The most effective recruitment and selection is a year-round job that requires creativity and entrepreneurship to make sure that the best candidates are recruited (Gross & DeArmond, 2011). Recruitment by the end of the year enables organization including school to have an opportunity to compete for top candidates (TNTP, 2012).

Developing recruitment materials

A key aspect of a comprehensive recruitment process is for an organization to have the updated clear recruitment materials available for applicants through various sources and strategies. Those recruitment materials include; recruitment brochures, recruitment webpage, email address with application information (TNTP, 2012).

Creating an ideal candidate profile for screening and selection

Before beginning any recruiting process TNTP (2012) recommends that a general idea that is attached to the vision, culture, and performance expectations of organization should be developed for a candidate.This will be helpful for the applicants to reflect on their comfort level with these competencies before applying. In addition, it is suggested that the general idea to is be used during the screening and selection process.

Aligning all recruitment messages

Hayes & Behrstock (2009) note that recruitment messages have to address organization’s goal. For instance, if it is to recruit teachers committed to raising student performance, all messages should communicate that goal consistently.