RECRUITMENT and SELECTION: Points to note in international context RECRUITMENT Recruitment is the process of locating and encouraging potential applicants to apply for existing or anticipated job openings . Certain influences, however, restrain a firm while choosing a recruiting source such as: Poor image . Unattractive job . Conservative internal policies. Limited budgetary support. Restrictive policies of government Situational Factors Impacting Recruitment The process of recruitment is influenced by a variety of environmental factors. Economic factors Social factors Technological factors Political factors Legal factors The Factories Act The Apprentices Act The Employment Exchanges Act The Child Labour Act Sources of Recruitment Recruitment Policies And Procedures A recruitment policy indicates the organization’s code of conduct in a specific area. Recruitment policy statement In its recruitment activities, the company will: Advertise all vacancies internally. Reply to every job applicant promptly. Inform job applicants the basic details and job conditions of every job advertised. Process all applications with efficiency and courtesy. Seek candidates on the basis of their qualifications. Aim to ensure that every person invited for interview will be given a fair treatment. The company will not: Discriminate unfairly against potential applicants on the basis of sex, race, religion, caste, etc. Knowingly make any false or exaggerated claims in its recruitment literature or job advertisements. A recruitment procedure will lay down a clear path to be followed by the HR department while hiring people. Of course, the procedures have to be framed in a flexible manner so as to permit the HR department to respond to the requests made by various departments and by potential candidates quickly. Recruitment of Trainees: Expectations of Indian companies Reebok: As Reebok’s customers are young, the company places emphasis on youth. The average age at Reebok is 26 years. Employees are expected to have a passion for the fitness business and reflect the company’s aspirations. Recruitees should be willing to do all kinds of job operations. The willingness to get one’s hands dirty is important. They must also have an ability to cope with informality, a flat organisation and be able to take decisions independently and perform consistently with their clearly defined goals. Indian Hotels: The Taj group expects the job aspirants to stay with the organisation patiently and rise with the company. Employees must be willing to say ‘yes sir’ to anybody. Other criteria include: communication skills, the ability to work long and stressful hours, mobility, attention to personal appearance and assertiveness without aggression Globalisation Globalisation refers to the integration of various economies of the world. Choosing an Approach to IHRM General staffing policy on key positions in HQ and subsidiary. From what country/ies to recruit (home, host or third)? What Techniques to be used when recruitment is planned outside home country? Whether to centralized recruitment activities in home country or decentralize in foreign subsidiaries? The ability of organization to attract the right candidate. The constraints placed by the host government on hiring policies Choosing an Approach to IHRM Political and legal concerns Level of development in foreign locations Technology and the nature of the product Organizational life cycle Age and history of the subsidiary Organizational and national cultural differences Legislative changes - candidates should not be discriminated in recruitment and selection processes Economic and social changes - different factors led to new trends, from full-time employment to atypical work conditions, for example, work from home, part-time contracts, along with outsourcing services and contracting with external collaborators. 4 Approaches to IHRM Staffing 1.Ethnocentric orientation -. Home country’s culture is to be imposed on subsidiaries” MNC’s exports its HR Policy from Home country to foreign location. Strategic decisions are made at headquarters. They want full control over subsidiaries and ensure that the mother company's strategy is properly implemented at its subsidiaries Key positions in domestic and foreign operations are hold by headquarters’ personnel i.e. the staffing of key positions in the MNC by PCNs. MOTTO this works in my country, so it must work in all other countries We use the ethnocentric method when [opening a new branch at a new country, so it’d be easier for our company’s policies and procedures to be transferred from the parent country to the new branch ETHNOCENTRIC APPROACH REASONS: 1. Lack of qualified HCNs particularly senior management talent. 2. A desire to maintain good communication, coordination, tighter control and a unified corporate culture linked with corporate HQ. 3. A desire to transfer parent firm’s core competencies to a foreign subsidiary more expeditiously ETHNOCENTRIC APPROACH ADVANTAGES: 1. Organizational control and coordination is maintained and facilitated. 2. Promising managers are given international experience. 3. Assure that subsidiary will comply with company objectives. ETHNOCENTRIC APPROACH DISADVANTAGES: 1. Limits the promotion opportunities of HCNs which may lead to reduced productivity and increased turnover among that group. 2. The adaptation of expatriate managers to new environment takes time during which these expatriates make poor decisions. 3. Income packages of expatriates are 4 times (approx.) higher than locals. 2.Polycentric orientation – subsidiary managers and employees are recruited and selected from the host country. MOTTO When in Rome, do as the Romans do For example, if we want to expand our clientele to a specific country, we’d hire a local professional who knows the market and can coordinate our sales operations POLYCENTRIC APPROACH ADVANTAGES: 1. Eliminates language barriers. 2. Avoids adjustment problems of expatriates and their families and removes the need for cultural awareness training. 3. Less expensive. 4. Gives continuity to the management of foreign subsidiaries, thus reduces turnover. POLYCENTRIC APPROACH DISADVANTAGES: 1. The gap between HQ and subsidiaries increased which becomes difficult to be managed. 2. Limited career opportunities for HCN and PCN managers. 3.Geocentric orientation – This approach utilizes the best people for key jobs through out the organization, regardless of nationality In the opinion of specialists in human resources this orientation represents the best way to hold key posts in a multinational organization, not taking into account the nationality of personnel. GEOCENTRIC APPROACH REASONS: 1. Highly competent employees are available not only at HQs but also in subsidiaries. 2. International experience is a condition for success in top positions. 3. Managers with high potential are constantly ready to be transferred from one country to another. GEOCENTRIC APPROACH ADVANTAGES: 1. Enables an MNC to develop an international executive team. 2. Overcome the federation drawback of polycentric approach. GEOCENTRIC APPROACH DISADVANTAGES: 1. Host govt. pressurizes MNC to employ high number of HCNs. 2. Expensive to implement because of training and relocation expense. 3. Time consuming. 4. Requires more centralized control of staffing. 4. Regiocentric orientation Refers to the functional rationalization on a more than one country basis. Reflects a regional strategy and structure. Regional autonomy in decision making Involves the transfer employees of a multinational organization to certain geographical regions rather than globally Regionally oriented approach where an MNC divide its operations into geographical regions and transfer staff within those regions The strategic role of human resources department by aligning the processes of recruitment and selection to the vision and goals of the organization. For example, we might decide to transfer employees within Scandinavian countries. So if we want to hire someone in Sweden (a host country) we could transfer one of our employees from Denmark, a host country in the same region. REGIOCENTRIC APPROACH ADVANTAGES: 1. Allows interaction between executives transferred to regional HQs. 2. A step for MNC to move from purely poly or ethnocentric or geocentric approach REGIOCENTRIC APPROACH DISADVANTAGES: 1. It provides federalism at regional basis rather than country basis. 2. This serves as a barrier in taking a global stance. 3. Limits career progression opportunities to the regional level. International recruitment and selection process Decide which staffing approach is most suitable for this particular case. Use this policy to 1. determine whether the regiocentric, ethnocentric or polycentric approach suits best. Discuss the budget with finance to make sure you’re able to apply the chosen approach and whether another one could work equally well with lower costs. If there’s no particular reason to use any of them, then the [geocentric approach] should prevail. 2. Determine the recruitment methods that work for this approach. For example, if you decided on the polycentric approach, then consider local job boards and locally-based recruiters in the host country. 3. Allocate your budget. To make sure you can coordinate recruitment activities, look into your budget. For example, if you’ve chosen the ethnocentric approach, you’ll need to factor in relocation costs for your new hire. Also, you may decide you need to meet candidates from the host country in-person so pay attention to travel expenses. Work with [finance/ HR] to determine the available resources. 4. Evaluate candidates. Each role will demand a different skillset, but to make sure our employees can work well together, look for people who: 5. 1. Are self-motivated and can work independently (especially if their manager is remote). 2. Can communicate well even through cultural and language barriers. 3. Have a global mindset. 4. Are tech-savvy 5. Also, depending on the approach you’ll use, make sure to discuss if a candidate is legally permitted to work in the country where the open position is. If it’s agreed upon, discuss immigration procedures. Close the hire and discuss paperwork. Once a candidate accepts a job offer, ask HR how to proceed with any legal procedures regarding visas, immigration policies or taxes. Skills International firms, while choosing employees for overseas operations, usually prefer people with highly developed technical skills good language and communication skills tolerance towards other culture, race, creed, colour, habits, and values high level of motivation stress resistance goal-oriented behaviour previous overseas experience, family circumstances and cultural-adaptability level of the candidates aspiring for the global jobs. Cultural differences between countries that influence recruitment practices • Erin Meyer in the Harvard Business Review describes how being confrontational and/or emotionally expressive resonates with candidates of different countries Examples with regard to Meyer’s graph: It’s okay to bargain persistently while recruitment in Germany if done in a calm fashion Whereas, in regions like Saudi Arabia, blatant confrontations are not considered appropriate • Some countries value verbal contracts over written and vice versa -For example in the US, all details are included in a contract, whereas in regions like china a lot of conditions are simple included in a verbal contract • Some countries are not happy with yes-no questions -While recruiting candidates, they are usually asked questions like if they content with the salary, will they be willing to take up work delegation, will they be willing to relocate to a new region -In Asian countries, it is considered impolite to say a blatant no Noticeable differences • In Germania, average age of graduation superior economic studies is 25-26 years, compared with Japan and Romania, where graduates available in the labour market are from 22 years. • In Spain the managers of the host country are graduated in law or economics, in Germany are graduated of technical higher education or PhD in engineering, and in the UK the studies are irrelevant because they are not giving importance in obtaining certificates and diplomas. • Companies from France, Britain and Italy one of the most important criteria for selection is language skills. In Germany are preferred the candidates with a solid training in the technical field. • U.S.A gives priority to the relevant experience. Market, technology and organisational dynamics – 1. E-recruitment-Now recruitment is on-line and the access of candidates in the selection process can be done from different geographic areas, based on competence and knowledge in the field. 2. Video CV-Video- CV is a revolutionary instrument, designed to support the application of computer users with their professional profile to appropriate jobs and to create a net advantage from classical methods 3. Neural networks-behave as models of computation, flexible, able to analyze and to capture the complexity of quantitative or qualitative data structures. 4. Computer testing -is a psychological aided testing and is one of the most used applications of computers in psychology of recruitment 5. Testing on the internet-is a computerized testing form that take place on-line and the control of the examination is transferred to the program. 6. New methods for recruiting and selection-speed-dating (brief meeting between the candidate and those responsible for human resources for a brief discussion, no affinity), city game (games to crack the enigma-targeted candidates), online games (for army, police force or secret services) etc. Most common mistakes when hiring international employees Prioritizing language skills over core skills Failure to comply fully with set employment/termination laws Avoiding uncomfortable conversations with new employees Ignoring mandatory employee benefits Hasty hiring Activity Brunt Hotels, PLC, owns more than 60 hotels throughout the United Kingdom. They recently acquired a small hotel chain headquartered in France. Brunt’s chief executive decided that half of the new hotels in France would be retained and rebranded as part of the Brunt Hotels Group; the other half will be sold. This will support Brunt’s strategic objective of growing the organization slowly to make sure that new ventures are well supported and opened on time and on budget. Brunt’s hotels are considered budget accommodations; they are functional, clean and reasonably priced. Most guests stay for one to three nights and are a combination of business and leisure travellers. The hotels are typically situated in downtown locations that are easily accessible by mass transit. Tourists are attracted to these hotels in popular visitor destinations where the many local attractions mean that they will not be spending much time in their hotel rooms. The organization has decided to use an ethnocentric approach and send some of their existing UK-based managers to France to lead the changeover of the new hotels and then manage them after they re-open. If this new overseas venture is successful, Brunt may decide to acquire other small hotel groups in other European countries. The organization would like to own 150 hotels in the next five years. Their 10-year plan is to own 300 hotels across Europe. This is an ambitious target, so it is important that the organization finds an effective formula to operate successfully in other countries. Activity The organization has never owned any hotels outside the UK before, and has hired a team of independent management consultants to advise them on how to proceed. They provided the consultants the following information during their initial meeting: A majority of their existing managers said they would like a chance to work abroad. None of their existing managers speak French fluently. They will allow four weeks to rebrand the hotels. The new hotels must be ready to open after that time. They expect to recruit a large number of staff for the new French hotels, because more than 70 percent of the employees from the acquired organization left. They will require their managers to be fl exible and move between countries if any problems arise. Activity Based on the information you have to date, what do you think the key priorities should be? The hotel management asked you if they should look only at internal candidates who are parent country nationals (PCNs) or recruit host country nationals (HCNs) or a combination of both. Analyze strengths and weaknesses of each Activity Brunt management decided that because this is their first venture into a country outside the UK, they want to use PCNs to set up the new hotels and that only internal candidates should be considered. They think that this is important so they can incorporate the organization’s values. However, they believe that once the hotels are up and running, HCNs could be hired. The management vacancies must be filled as soon as possible. In their company literature, the organization states that their core values are to: Provide excellent levels of customer service to all guests. Provide a clean and comfortable environment for guests and staff. Recruit and retain excellent staff. Support and develop staff so they can reach their full potential. Continuously strive to improve all aspects of the business. Ensure that all hotel buildings, fixtures and fittings are well-maintained in a proactive manner. Activity It is important that the management consultants for this project take these core values into account when making their recommendations. Write a recruitment advertisement for the new positions which can be sent to existing managers by e-mail. Your advertisement should include, at a minimum, the following information: Main responsibilities of the new job. The skills you are looking for in the position. Exercise Choose a country you would enjoy working in, and visit that country’s embassy page. Discuss the requirements to obtain a work visa in that country.
