SELECTION
The objective of selection decision is to choose the individual who can
most successfully perform the job from the pool of qualified
candidates. The selection procedure is the system of functions and
devices adopted in a given company to ascertain whether the
candidates’ specifications are matched with the job specifications and
requirements or not. The selection process cannot be effective until
and unless:
1. Requirements of the job to be filled, have been clearly specified
(job analysis, etc.)
2. Employee specifications (physical, mental, social behavioural,
etc.) have been clearly specified.
3. Candidates for screening have been attracted.
Thus, the development of job analysis, human resource planning and
recruitment are necessary pre-requisites to the selection process. A
breakdown in any of these processes can make even the best
selection system ineffective.
Essentials of Selection Procedure
The selection process can be successful if the following requirements
are satisfied:
1. Some one should have the authority to select. This authority
comes from the employment requisition, as developed by an
analysis of work-load and work-force.
2. There must be some standard of personnel with which a
prospective employee may be compared, i.e. a comprehensive
job description and job specification should be available
beforehand.
3. There must be a sufficient number of applicants from whom the
required number of employees may be selected.
Using Selection Agencies/Consultants
Some private agencies/consultants in India perform the function of
recruitment and selection so as to enable the organisations to
concentrate on their functions. The advertise, conduct tests and
interview and provide a short list. Some companies have started using
the services of these agencies as they provide expertise and reduce
work load. The organisations has to take these following factors into
consideration in selecting an agency or a consultant:
1. Reputation, effectiveness, sincerity and punctuality of the
organisation;
2. Advertisement copy, design and media plans of various
agencies;
3. Amount of fee, payment period and mode;
4. Objectivity, fair and justice in selection;
5. Selection techniques to be adopted, particularly psychological
tests, interview methods etc.
6. Competence of the human resources of the agency/consulting
firm.
The company has to do the following in case of using an agency or a
consultant:
1. Briefing the agency about the requirements, terms and
conditions and employment;
2. Providing job and employee specifications and helping the
consultant in modifying them;
3. Checking and reviewing the draft of the advertisement;
4. Ensuring that all arrangements are made for conducting tests
and interview.
Factors Affecting Selection Decisions
The goal of selection is to sort out or eliminate those judged
unqualified to meet the job and organisational requirements, whereas
the goal of recruitment is to create a large pool of persons available
and willing to work. Thus. It is said that recruitment tends to be positive
while selection tends to be somewhat negative.
A number of factors affect the selection decision of candidates. The
important among them are:
1. Profile matching
2. Organisational and social environment
3. Successive hurdles
4. Multiple correlation
1. Profile Matching; Tentative decisions regarding the selection of
candidates is taken in advance. The scores secured by these known
candidates in various tests are taken as a standard to decide the
success or failure of other candidates at each stage. Normally, the
decision about the known candidates is taken at interview stage.
Possible care is taken to match the candidate’s bio-data with the given
specifications.
2.
Organisational and social Environment: Some candidates
who are eminently suitable for the job, may fail as successful
employees due to varying organisational and social environment.
Hence, candidates’ specifications must match with not only job
specifications but also with organisational and social environmental
requirements.
3.
Successive Hurdles:
In this method hurdles are created at
every stage of selection process.
Therefore, applicants must
successfully pass each and every screening device in case of
successive hurdles.
4.
Multiple Correlation:
Multiple correlation is based on the
assumption that a deficiency in one factor can be counter-balanced by
an excess amount of another. A candidate is routed through all the
selection steps before a decision is made. The composite test score
index is taken into accounting the selection tests. Hence, for border
line cases multiple correlation method is useful and for other
successive hurdles method is useful.
SELECTION PROCEDURE
There is no standard selection process that can be followed by all the
companies in all the areas. Companies may follow different selection
techniques or methods depending upon the size of the company,
nature of the business, kind and number of persons to be employed,
government regulations to be followed etc. Thus each company may
follow any one or the possible combinations of methods of selection in
the order convenient or suitable to it.
Steps in scientific Selection Process
1. Job Analysis : Job analysis is the basis for selecting the right
candidate. Every organisation should finalise the job analysis,
job description, job specification and employee specifications
before proceeding to the next step of selection.
2. Recruitment: Recruitment refers to the process of searching
for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for
jobs in an organisation. It is the basis for the remaining
techniques of the selection and the latter varies depending
upon the former.
3. Application Form:
Application form is also known as
application blank.
The technique of application blank is
traditional and widely accepted for securing information from
the prospective candidates. It can also be used as a device to
screen the candidates at the preliminary level. Information is
generally required on the following items in the application
forms: (i) Personal background information (ii) Educational
attainments. (iii) Work experiences. (iv) Salary (v) Personal
details (vi) References.
4. Written Examination:
The organisations has to conduct
written examination for qualified candidates after they are
screened on the basis of the application blank so as to measure
the candidate’s ability in arithmetical calculations, to know the
candidates’ attitude towards the job, to measure the candidates’
aptitude, to know the candidates’ attitude towards the job, to
measure the candidates’ aptitude, reasoning, knowledge in
various disciplines, general knowledge and English language.
5. Preliminary Interview: The preliminary interview is to solicit
necessary information from the prospective applicants and to
assess the applicant’s suitability to the job.
Preliminary
interviews are short and known as stand-up interviews or
sizing-up of the applicants or screening ,interviews.
6. Business games: Business games are widely used as a
selection technique for selecting management trainees,
executives trainees, and managerial personnel at the junior,
middle and top management positions. Business games help
to evaluate the applicants in the areas of decision-making,
identifying the potentialities, handling the situations, problemsolving skills, human relations skills etc.
7. Group discussions:
The technique of group discussion is
used in order to secure further information regarding the
suitability of the candidate for the job. Group discussion is a
method where groups of the successful applicants are brought
around a conference table and are asked to discuss either ma
case study or a subject-matter. The candidates in the group
are required to analyse, discuss, find alternative solutions and
select the sound solution. A selection panel observes the
candidates very closely and rank them according to their merit.
8. Tests: The next stage in the selection process is conducting
different tests. The objective of the tests is to solicit further
information to assess the employee suitability to the job.
9. Final Interview: Final interview is usually followed by testing.
This is the most essential step in the process of selection. In
this step the interviewer matches the information obtained
about the candidate through various means to the job
requirements and to the information obtained through his own
observation during interview.
10. Medical examination: Certain jobs require certain physical
qualities like clear vision, perfect hearing, unusual stamina,
tolerance of hard working conditions, clear tone, etc. Medical
examination reveals whether or not a candidate possesses
these qualities. Medical examination can give the following
information (i) Whether the applicant is medically suited for the
specific job. (ii) Whether the applicant has health problems or
psychological attitudes likely to interfere with work efficiency or
future attendance. (iii) Whether the applicant suffers from bad
health which should be corrected before he can work
satisfactorily (such as need for Spectacles) (iv) It reveals the
applicant’s physical measurements. (v)
And it is used to
check the special senses of the candidates.