HR Final Notes Chapter 6: Recruitment Strategic Recruitment Recruitment Goals The Recruitment goals of strategic recruitment is to attract a large pool of qualified candidates and bring above average performers into the organisation. What do we mean by strategic recruitment? Strategic recruitment is a well-developed plan that will influence the decision to recruit candidates based on the following: 1. Internal and external environment 2. Job and organization analysis 3. labour supply of qualified applicants External Factors of Strategic Recruitment: There are several external factors that apply to strategic recruitment the first being the labour market. When qualified labour is in abundance, organisations might restrict sources and increase qualification standards of applicants or narrow in characteristics of the job position. When qualified labour is scarce, organisations must expand search sources and may even expand or modify search characteristics. For example, when the LRT was being built, the project required engineers who specialized in tunneling. The project failed to source a candidate in the Canadian labour market, they expanded their search characteristics to include international sources. The project was able to then find a qualified engineer. Another external factor that applies to strategic recruitment, is the Legal environment. Diversity Recruitment is a part of the external legal environment and is broken up into two areas: Good Faith recruitment and Diversity advertising. Good faith recruitment describes how organisations use many communication channels to get its recruitment messages to different groups and in a way that interests different audiences. Diversity advertising focuses on how firms present diversity in job ads and should emphasize values of diversity, fairness and inclusion. Diversity recruitment can be achieved through targeting minority/diversity groups, building relationships with the desired minority/diversity group and promoting the organisation as a desirable place to work. HR Final Notes How Strategic Recruitment is Analysed Strategic Recruitment is analysed in two ways, through an Organization Analysis or a Job Analysis. A Organization analysis involves the use of an HR specialised to consider the design and structure, function and processes, and strategies and missions of an organisation to highlight areas of strength, weakness and development. A Job Analysis takes into account job specifications (Worker requirements), job description (Job task) and also identifies gaps in current employees based on KSAO’s they possess. Recruitment Action Plan Human Resource Planning: Human resource planning is the process of anticipating the movement of employees into, with in, and out of an organisation. Human resource planning also predicts personnel requirements by determining demand and supply of human resources now and into the future. Requirement action plan is the end product of human resources planning. There are 5 steps to developing a recruitment action plan: - Develop a Recruitment Strategy Develop Applicant pool Screen applicant pool Review job applicants Evaluate the recruitment efforts There are many sub-steps to each section that is shown below HR Final Notes How to Write a Compelling Job Advertisement: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Be specific about the role Distinguish ’must-haves’ from ‘nice-to-haves’ Don’t exaggerate Offer challenges, not rewards Tell them about your company Provide a phone number for enquiries Ask for a cover letter Talk to the reader Nail the short description Recruitment Sources Traditional Recruitment Sources A traditional recruitment source includes sources such as internal candidates and external candidates. Internal candidates are found using internal job posting, succession plans/replacement charts, human resource information systems and nominations for vacancies. External Candidates in traditional recruitment context refers to any job advertisement method that does not include the use of the internet. E-Requiting: The use of the internet and Social Networks The Internet can be used to match candidates to jobs through electronic databases that store information on jobs and job candidates. Frequent sources include monster, Workopolis, Glass Door, Service Canada Job Bank. The advantages of using the internet for find job candidates include: mass audience, inexpensive, specific audience, more up-to-date information. The disadvantages of using the internet include: random process, unknown audience, large volume of applications. Social Network Recruiting uses social media sites, to vet potential candidates before hiring. LinkedIn and Facebook are two websites that recruiters use to vet their candidates. These websites can also be used to find new candidates by posting the opening on their hiring board. Strategic Recruitment (Continued) Attracting Job Applications Recruitments is a two way street, sometimes candidates during the recruitment and selection process form an opinion that they do not want to work in HR Final Notes an organisation for which they are being recruited, this process is called selfselecting out. Some factors that are affecting applicant attraction are the organizational context (Location, size, industry) and the corporate image (improved via increased information). Organisations and employ the use of image advertising to increase applicant attraction. Image advertising is defined as efforts aimed at creating a purposeful ‘brand’ for an organisation to portray the organisation in a positive manner to attract job seekers interest. Person-Organisation and Person-Job fit Recruiters evaluate both person-job and person-organisation fit when considering a candidate. Considerations when recruiters are selecting for fit include: perceptions of P-J and P-O fit are positively correlated with job offers. Perceptions of poor P-O fit will reduce the likelihood a person with high P-J fit will receive a job offer. P-O fit is not a good predictor of job performance. Together, P-J and P-O fit predict importance outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, intentions to quit) Chapter 7: Applicant Screening What is Applicant Screening? Applicant selection is the first phase of the sequential selection process, its goals are to: Remove individuals from the applicant pool who lack minimum qualifications Allows more detailed consideration to qualified applicants Offers value when the number of applicants exceeds the number of positions available Reduces cost and increases efficiency for applicants and employers Minimum Qualifications Minimum qualifications for any candidate are the knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics and experience necessary for acceptable job performance in the position in question. Minimum qualifications are designed to make the ‘first cut’ in screening applicants. HR Final Notes Minimum qualifications must be systematically established to ensure they don’t adversely impact designated groups and prevent false positives (i.e., those who pass the screening process but are not suited for the job) and false negatives (i.e., those who would have performed successfully but did not pass-through screening). Application Forms Standard Application Blanks is defined as a blank standard employment supplication form, its advantages are that all applicant information can be directly compared. Its disadvantages are that they often ask for information on prohibited grounds. Weighted Application Blanks is a method for quantitatively combining items by assessing weights relative to their value in the selection process. Its advantages are they are good prediction of certain aspects of work, and they are cheap and efficient to use. Its disadvantage are that often predict a narrow outcome, require data from a large number of employees to obtain correct weights Resume is a method to introduce the applicant to the organisation through a self-written description of themselves. Their advantages are that they show minimum qualification and experience related information, this helps narrow candidates down in screening process. Helpful for accessing P-O fit. Their disadvantage is that it is hard to determine honestly, susceptible to discrimination complaints and they are unstandardized. Applicant Checks Reference Check is a method for gathering information about a job candidate from supervisors, coworkers, clients or other people named as a reference. Its advantage are that they provide an opportunity to confirm information. Its disadvantage is that they are a poor predictive ability, typically only positive information is obtained. Background Check is a method for validating previously obtained information through formal background checks. Its advantage is it provides credibility for a candidates applying for a sensitive position. Its disadvantage is it is costly, time consuming and could be susceptible to claims of discrimination. Other Forms of Screening Social Media Networks allows employers to access applicants social networking sites. This allows employers to obtain primary information such as social, political and leisure activities of applicants HR Final Notes Virtual career fairs are increasing in popularity as they electronically match openings to candidates profiles. Virtual Job Auditions are online work simulations where applicants interactively engage in problem solving activities. Assessing previous work experience is one of the most important minimum qualifications in the screening process. Recruiters should evaluate the following aspects of work experience. Length. Number of Employers. Varity of context. Number and type of tasks performed. Chapter 8: Applicant Testing Employment Testing: The primary goal of recruitment and selection is to find the best job candidate. One method to support the decision is to use a legally defensible HR assessment, once the applicant pool has been narrowed down. Legally defensible HR assessments include Cognitive Aptitude, Personality, Emotional Intelligence, Risk and Skills. The function of employment tests are they accurately assess an individual’s capacity to perform the essential components of the target job safely, efficiency and reliably without discriminating against the protected group members except where KSAO can be established a Bonafede Occupational Requirement (BFOR). Hiring staff must be cautious when using employment tests and to follow these requirements Informed Consent o Tell Job applicants why they are being tested Access to test results o Applicants should receive feedback Privacy and confidentiality o Applicants have a right to privacy Language and Culture HR Final Notes o Job Applicants have the right to be tested in the official language they are fluent in. Accommodation o Applicants should be provided reasonable accommodation Ability and Aptitude Test These tests are used to measure KASO specific to the job in question. Abilities are attributes an applicant brings to the employment situation. Skills are an individuals degree of proficiency on a given task, based on ability and practice, which has developed through experience with the task. Aptitude can be though of as the specific ability or skill. Cognitive ability encompasses efficient learning, problem solving, communication, reasoning and memory. It predicts how people can be trained, solved problems, and cope with job demands. It predicts career success, physical health, wealth, and well being. Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence refers to someone’s capacity to effectively deal with emotions in oneself. Empirical evidence does not confidently support using EQ to inform selection decisions. Emotional intelligence may add value when personality and cognitive abilities are not measured and may be valuable when selecting for jobs high in emotional labour (jobs requiring strong demands for positive affect and regulating emotions). Work Sample and Simulation Test These tests require applicants to produce behaviours related to job performance under controlled conditions. Work sample tests include major tasks HR Final Notes from the job under consideration, these tasks are organized into an assignment which the applicant is asked to complete. Simulations attempt to duplicate salient features of the job under consideration. Candidates perform a set of designated tasks and are given an objective score based on their performance. Personal Inventories Personalities are a set of characteristics that influence/explain an individual’s behaviour. Personality Traits are stable, measurable characteristics that help explain ways in which people vary. Self-reporting inventory consists of short, written statements related to various personality traits and some are predictive of job performance. The Big 5 Personality Traits Openness: This trait features characteristics such as imagination and insight. People high in this trait tend to have a broad range of interests. They are open to new experiences, curious, and creatively inclined. Conscientiousness: This trait displays a tendency toward being organized and dependable. People high in conscientiousness are disciplined, act dutifully, aim for achievement, and prefer planned rather than spontaneous behavior. Extraversion: Extraverts are energetic, sociable, and often experience positive emotions. They are assertive, talkative, and enjoy being around people. They are often perceived as attention-seeking and dominant. Agreeableness: This trait reflects individual differences in general concern for social harmony. Agreeable individuals are compassionate and cooperative. They are often considered friendly, generous, and helpful, but may also be seen as naïve or submissive. HR Final Notes Neuroticism: This trait is a tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety, depression, or vulnerability. Neuroticism also refers to the degree of emotional stability and impulse control and is sometimes referred by its low pole, "emotional stability". Each of these traits represents a spectrum, where individuals can range from low to high in each trait. It's important to note that these traits are generally stable throughout life but can be influenced by external factors and life experiences. Chapter 9: Interviewing The Interview: The interview is one of the oldest and most widely used selection procedures. By using interviews in the recruitment selection, recruiters have more confidence in making selection decisions based on interviews compared with other sources of information. There are many different interview methods, modern techniques can significantly improve the effectiveness of the interview as a selection tool. Interviews are one of the most costly selection tools. Cost of interview includes, Time spend preparing, time spent interviewing, time spent reflecting, clerical staff time spend on interview, office space for interview and office equipment. The use of the interview is to assess non-cognitive attributes such as: interpersonal relationships and social skills, initiative, dependability, teamwork, leadership, adaptability, fit. The use of the interview is also to ‘sell the job’ to the applicant, and to determine who is best qualified for a position/promotion Factors that affect applicant decisions include interviewer characteristics and Job characteristic. Interviewer characteristics include weather or not the interviewer was friendly, warm, humours, had abundant job knowledge and general competence. Joc characteristics include pay, the job itself, promotion opportunities and location. Screening Interviews The objective of a Screening Interview is to narrow down list of job applicants to proceed to subsequent stages in selection system. The Format for interviewers is review the applicants files before interview, begin with opening remarks, follow well- HR Final Notes constructed interview form, give applicant a chance to ask questions, provide a timeframe for applicant to expect to hear back, and then review applicant with rating from. The method of screening interviews has historically been done over the phone, and is increasingly being done over the computer. The computer method involves online video of scenarios followed by questions. Candidates submit videos of themselves answering pre-specified questions. Candidates also answer multiple choose questions to aid in the screening. Selection Interview Selection interviews purpose is to obtain info that hasn’t been provided in the resume, it takes place at the end of the selection process. It is comprised of unstructured and structured interviews. Unstructured Selection Interview Unstructured interviews are a traditional method that involves no constraints surrounding questions and no predefined guide. The interviewer engages in openended conversation with interviewee, there is no requirement for standardisation and it is overall a subjective assessment of the candidate. The problems found with unstructured interviews are: Interviewer tends to make a decision before the interview is over Unfavourable information has greater weight then favourable Minority applicants tend to recover lower rating then non-minorities An applicants interview rating can be affected by proceeding applicant An applicant mannerisms can affect selection decision Low correlation between interviewer and job performance Structured Selection Interview Structured standardized interview is a set of job relevant questions a where a scoring guide is always used. A structured interview is popular with applicants as the HR Final Notes interview questions are developed from job analysis. Prompting and follow-up questions are limited, and the questions mainly focus on behaviours/work samples. Answers that the applicant gives are rated during the interview and a total score is obtained using a formula. The format for a structed interview is as followed: Introductions & putting applicants at ease Each question asked in specific order; not skipping any Take detailed notes, focusing on applicant’s responses (using scoring guide) Allow applicant to ask questions Tell candidate when they should expect to hear from you & that would will contact references Review notes and make ratings Follow same procedures for each applicant A Situational Interview is a highly structured interview in which important or decisive situations that employees are likely to face on the job they are applying to. Applicants are asked what they would do in certain situations, and then a scoring guide is used to rate their answer. An experience-based interview assesses applicant qualifications such as work experience and education, using job knowledge or work sample questions. A related approach involves role play or walk through interview while a scoring guide is used. Structured interviews, from an employer perception, is wildly more accepted but the evidence is not clear that they are being applied and scored appropriately in organisations. From an employee standpoint, structured interviews are perceived as difficult but are relatively fair compared to other types of interviews. In regards to human rights, structured interviews should focus on behaviours to reduce discrimination, the information gathered must be directly related to the job, interview question should be standardized to reduce bias against protected groups Chapter 10: Decision Making 5 Benefits of Involving Team in hiring Decision - Makes team feel valued Provides decision-making experience to future leader Take ownership over success of employees Broader perspective of Candidates Gives candidate more insight to their future work environment HR Final Notes Decision Making Tools The Cut-off Score is a method for vetting candidates, those above the cut off score pass, those below do not. This method ensures applicants meet a minimum level of ability/qualification. Making Selection Decision The top-down Selection is a method of ranking applicants on the basis of their total score, selecting from the top down until the desired number of candidates has been selected. Based on the assumption that individuals scoring higher will be better per formers that individuals scoring higher will be better performers on the job then those scoring low. Considered the best approach for maximizing organisational performance. Banding is a grouping process that takes into account the concept of standard error or measurement. It involves grouping applicants based on ranges of scores. The cut-off score is actually a form of banding where there are two bands. Selection System Recommendations used valid selection instruments to dissuade managers from making selection decision based on ‘gut’ feelings or intuition. It encourages managers to keep track of their own selection decisions. Periodically evaluate or audit selection decisions in order to identify areas needing improvement. Hiring Applicants When preparing to make a Job offer make sure you have discussed relevant information with the candidate and the hiring manager. The information needed includes: What will the compensation package be? What will the benefits package be? Is the job offer conditional? Will there be a probationary period? Does the individual making the job offer have the power to negotiate? Does the individual making the offer have the authorization to proceed to the 2nd or 3rd choice candidate should the first one turn down the offer? When making the offer, be sure to move quickly and hold off on contacting others until the first offer is made. Contact the top candidate by telephone or video call, be sure to be enthusiastic and positive. Make sure the offer is attractive, get an oral commitment but be ready to negotiate. Be sure to set a deadline to accept the offer. HR Final Notes Never push a candidate to renege on acceptance of an offer from another employer. If you are unable to negotiate further, indicate that this is your final offer. If your final offer fails, move on to your second- choice candidate. Once you have received a signed acceptance of the written offer, let the other candidates know that the position has been filled. Employment letters and contracts There are three types of employment offers: Verbal, Letter and Contract. A contract should contain information about the employment such as the date, compensation and benefits, hiring incentives, condition of employment/termination and any restrictive agreements.
