AFF Recruitment: Effective Recruitment and Selection Process

The recruitment and selection process (R&S) is one that is engendered with a number of notable challenges. Although AFF has been quite successful in its recent growth and development, it is evident that if the organization is going to remain on top of employee management and further ensure that the organization grows in a positive manner, methods for recruitment and selection of new staff need to be put in place. This brief investigation considers an overview of the key stages which must be carried out in order to ensure an effective recruitment and selection process of staff in the sales accounting department of AFF.

Key Stages for Selecting Staff

In order to begin the R&S process, HR managers must work with existing managers in the department to identify and confirm that vacancies are indeed present. While managers in the department will be best suited to identify when new staff are needed, human resource managers play a critical role in managing staff and workloads as well. For this reason, HR managers should develop close working relationships with manager such that staff needs of the organization are identified in a timely manner that reduces stress on other members of the department (Burke & Cooper, 2004).

Once vacant positions have been identified by HR managers, a job analysis must be conducted in order to ensure that the organization identifies the right individual for the job. Siddique (2004) maintains that job analysis can be critical for improving that ability of the organization to select the right candidate for the job. This is because job analysis allows the organization to effectively determine both the specific needs of the organization and the characteristics of the candidate that would be best suited to fill the job. For the AFF organization, job analysis is critical for the current task. With no current job description in place, the organization must determine the specifics of the position and the qualifications that must be possessed by the candidate applying for the job.

The next in the R&S process is determining the specific recruitment and selection strategy that will be used by the organization. Human resource managers will need to make critical decisions about how recruitment and selection will take place. For instance, HR personnel must decide if an internal or external approach will be used to fill current vacancies in the organization. In the case of AFF, it is evident that there are not enough current staff members in the organization to hire from within. In addition, HR managers must determine what source of recruitment will be used. Should the organization seek candidates locally, or should a job search be broadened to include candidates from the national and/or international job market. Scholarios and Lockyer (1999) in their analysis of recruitment techniques argue that organizations need to evaluate the overall scope of the position and its importance to the organization. By identifying these issues, the organization will be better poised to determine the specific methods that should be used for recruitment.

In addition to determining the specific candidate pool that will be used-i.e. local, national or international-the organization must also identify key recruitment methods for identifying new employees. Will the organization use advertisements in a local newspaper? Will the organization use the Internet or recruiter? These specific issues must be delineated before the recruitment process begins. Only by developing a specified plan for recruitment will it be possible for the organization to efficiently identify potential candidates for the current job openings.

Concurrent with identifying recruitment methods to be used to identify candidates, HR managers will also need to consider the particular selection methods that will be used for choosing among the qualified applicants that apply for a position. Gale (2003) argues that there are a host of specific selection techniques that can be used by human resource managers to evaluate the overall fit of a candidate to a job opening in the organization. HR managers need to determine which of these techniques is best suited to the organization. Gales goes on to argue that issues such as time constraints and budget will all play a role in the selection methods that are developed.

Once qualified candidates have been identified and put through the selection process, the organization must make a final decision with respect to which candidates should be hired by the organization. In this case, HR managers must decide which individuals in the organization should be given input into the hiring decision. After hiring has been completed, HR managers should track the progress of the employee to discern if the recruitment and selection methods used were indeed appropriate for selecting a candidate that was best suited for the organization.

Examination of Selection Techniques

While it is clear that each of the techniques used in the R&S process are important for the successful selection of a candidate, the selection methods that are used by HR managers are of particular concern to modern manager. This is because, in recent, years the overall scope of methods that can be used for this process has been expanded significantly. With this in mind, there is a clear impetus to consider the changes that have taken place in this area, in conjunction with the tried and true methods that have been used for candidate selection.

Maxwell (2004) in her examination of candidate selection methods argues that there are a host of "tried and true" methods that can be used by the organization to select well qualified applicants from a targeted pool. These include: employee referral programs and former employees. Maxwell argues that when other employees in the organization can vouch for a potential candidate and their ability to work well in the organization, this can improve the organization's understanding of the candidate's overall fit with the organization. With respect to former employees, Maxwell argues that many employees leave an organization, only to find that "the grass is not greener on the other side." When this occurs, Maxwell argues that HR manager should track qualified candidates and provide them with the opportunity to return to the organization in the future.

Although Maxwell's suggestions provide a salient means for the organization to identify potential candidates for the organization, it is evident that most organizations will have to draw from larger pools of potential candidates in order to meet staffing needs. With this in mind, Laabs (1998) argues the organizations have a number of potential selection methods that can be used to ensure that the right candidate is selected for the job. For instance, personality tests will ensure that the organization has found a candidate with the right personality to fit into the organization. In addition, Laabs argues that most organizations are now foregoing the traditional interview for more rigorous interviews that seek to provide a more integral understanding of how the job candidate will perform while on the job. These interviews, known as behavioral interviews, can provide human resource managers with a clear understanding of how stress will impact the candidate and how the candidate will respond in terms of interpersonal interactions with other employees.

Clearly, organizations seeking to develop selection methods for identifying the right candidate for the job have a number of potential methods for addressing this issue. While the methods described above appear to be among the most widely used by HR professionals for selection, Chapman and Webster (2003) report that information technology (IT) platforms are now helping human resource professionals make selection decisions. Even though this process of employee selection is one that is notably different from the traditional techniques that are used by human resource professionals, IT as a means to manage candidate selection has become a growing trend among HR professionals.

To demonstrate how information technology is changing the way in which HR professionals undertake the selection process, Chapman and Webster note that some organizations currently use keyword searching tools to identify particular resumes of viable candidates. This method of selection works well when thousands of resumes are received for only a few job openings. In addition to key word searching of resumes, Chapman and Webster also note that interactive voice response or IVR technologies are currently being used by organizations to screen candidates over the phone. The IVR system asks a series of questions, to which the individual candidate must respond. Based on the answers given by the candidate, human resource managers can make the decision of whether or not to grant a face-to-face interview. Finally, Chapman and Webster note the use of videoconferencing as a means to interview potential candidates without incurring the cost of a face-to-face interview. Video conferencing technologies enable the organization to expand its potential candidate pool to both national and international venues in order to ensure selection of the best candidate for the position.

Overall, there are a number of different selection methods that can be used by the organization to identify potential candidates that will have a good fit for the organization. Human resource professionals must evaluate each selection method to ensure that it will provide the organization with the best means to select the right candidate. Evaluation methods used after employees are hired can provide some valuable insight into the overall salience of the selection method chosen by the organization.

References

Burke, R.J., & Cooper, C.L. (2004). Reinventing Human Resource Management: Challenges and New Directions. New York: Routledge.

Chapman, D.S., Webster, J. (2003). The use of technologies in the recruiting, screening and selection process for job candidates. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 11(2-3), 113-120.

Gale, S.F. (2003). Putting job candidates to the test. Workforce Management, 82(11), 90-111.

Laabs, J. (1998). Pick the right people. Workforce, 77(11), 50-53.

Maxwell, M. (2004). The long and short of recruitment strategies. Nursing Economic$, 22(3), 159-160.

Scholarios, D., & Lockyer, C. (1999). Recruiting and selecting professionals: Context, qualities and methods. Journal of Selection Assessment, 7(3), 142-156.

Siddique, C.M. (2004). Job analysis: A strategic human resources management practice. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 15(1), 219-244.