OUTCOME 3
PROCEDURES AND
PROCESSES INVOLVED IN:
RECRUITING
DEVELOPING
SUPPORTING
STAFF
RECRUITMENT AND
SELECTION
All organisations experience turnover –
expected (retirements) or unexpected
(resignations) – which creates a vacancy.
If a vacancy needs to be filled the Human
Resources department of an organisation will
follow recruitment and selection procedures
Recruitment = the process of attracting people
to apply for a job (job applicants)
Selection = the process of sorting and selecting
a suitable employee from the applicants
The Recruitment Process

Carry out a Job Analysis

Prepare a Job Description/Person
Specification
 Advertise the vacancy
The Selection Process

Deal with application forms/CVs/letters
 Interview/test candidates

Select successful candidate
RECRUITMENT
Job Analysis
Each time a vacancy needs to be filled the business
must analyse whether the job has changed and what
it involves. This includes:
• Tasks to be completed
• Knowledge and skills needed
• Inter-personal skills required
From this information a Job Description and Person
Specification can be prepared
RECRUITMENT
Job Description
This is a description of what the job involves.
It includes:
Job Title
Responsible to/for
Location/Department Internal and external relationships
Purpose of the Job
Main Duties
Position
Working Conditions (hours, holidays)
By law new post holders must be given a written
copy of the job description within first 8 weeks of
employment
RECRUITMENT
Person Specification
This describes the type of person who will meet the
requirements of the Job Description. This includes:
•
•
•
•
Physical characteristics
Achievements of the individual
Knowledge and skills of the individual
Personal attributes
These requirements will either be essential or
desirable
How do we inform potential applicants of the
vacancy?
RECRUITMENT
Advertising the Vacancy

Internal advertising - less costly than external
advertising and can motivate existing employees
 External advertising - costly but brings in “new
blood”
 Direct recruitment – “head-hunting” – the
organisation will directly invite someone to apply
for the job
 Recruitment agency – costly but saves time and
provides expertise
RECRUITMENT
The success of the recruitment process in
attracting the right kind of applicant and in
sufficient numbers will depend on:
• providing accurate and essential information
• targeting the right groups of people
Selection can now begin – it is important the
the right person is found for the job
SELECTION
The Selection Process
At the end of the recruitment process,
applicants will have forwarded their details in
the format they were asked to apply in
The two main forms are:
• Application forms
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
SELECTION
Application Forms
This is a printed form that applicants complete
to apply for a job
All forms contain sections for:
Personal Details
Education
Qualifications
Employment history
Hobbies/Interests
References
Advantages/Disadvantages
of Application Forms
Advantages
• Easy to use and match
against job criteria
• Can be designed to
ensure all relevant
information is asked for
• Selectors see
candidate’s powers of
written expression
Disadvantages
• Doesn’t give a real
feel for the person
• Not always accurate,
candidate can lie,
leave things out
• Could be completed
by someone else
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
A CV can be used instead of an application form
This is a summary of all your achievements and
qualifications
It also contains sections on:
Personal Details
Education
Qualifications
Employment history
Hobbies/Interests
References
Advantages/Disadvantages
of Curriculum Vitae
Advantages
• Can provide a good
personal overview of
the applicant
• Selectors can assess
candidate’s writing
skills
Disadvantages
• Not always accurate candidate can lie,
leave things out
• Could be completed or
tidied up by someone
else
Selection Tests

There are a number of different tests which
can be used to assess a candidates suitability
 Great care must be taken to ensure they are
appropriate, valid and reliable in their
results
Types of Selection Tests
Practical Tests – check actual competency in skills
needed for the job
 Medical Tests – check to see if healthy, fit or
strong enough for job
 Aptitude Tests – tests the ability to learn or adapt
if there are new skills to be developed in the job
 Personality Tests – looks at behaviour or attitudes
and indicate whether a person is suitable for the
job

Advantages/Disadvantages
of Selection Tests
Advantages
• Can check the validity
of candidate’s skills
• Can give comparison
of skill level between
candidates
• Gives an all-round
picture of candidates
Disadvantages
• Candidate’s may perform
poorly due to nerves
• If not well designed, can
discriminate against some
candidates
• Personality tests may be
unreliable if not
administered by trained
personnel
Psychometric Tests
These take the form of questionnaires and are aimed at
assessing aptitudes and personality.
These tests are accredited by the British Psychological
Society and must be administered by trained personnel
They have an extremely high rate of validity and
reliability as selection methods.
Interviews

The most common form of selection
 The candidates are asked a series of
questions
 There responses are examined to see who is
the most suitable candidate
 They can be very unreliable if not carried
out properly
Advantages/Disadvantages
of Interviews
Advantages
• Opportunity of meeting
candidates face to face
• Opportunity to probe
further points of interest
on application form
• Opportunity to ask “what
if?” scenarios
• Opportunity for the
applicant to ask
questions
Disadvantages
• Can be subjective – decisions
can be based on first impression
• Can be subjective -interviewers
may be biased eg family or
friend of candidate
• Other factors can impair
performance of candidate eg
poor questions, poor interviewer
• May not give equal chance to
candidates if not all asked the
same questions
Methods of Ensuring
Interviews are Reliable

Use trained interviewers and prepare well
 Have more than 1 person interviewing
 Structure the interview
 Design questions appropriately
 Use person specification and a scoring
system to measure candidates against each
other – ensure same criteria is used
(criterion-based interviewing)

References are usually used as a back-up
selection method. Jobs can be offered
“subject to references”
Most organisations will use a combination of
selection techniques eg application forms +
interviews
The use of assessment centres is growing – short
listed candidates are gathered for one or more days
and undergo a number of selection processes –
interviews, tests, role-plays.
These can be costly and are mainly used for senior
management posts however they have proved very
reliable.
Internal Recruitment
This means that the job vacancy is filled by
someone who already works for the company.