Recruitment and Selection
What this topic is about
• Need for workforce
planning
• The recruitment and
selection process
• Advantages and
disadvantages of
recruitment methods
Reasons to Recruit Staff
• Business expansion due to
– Increasing sales of existing products
– Developing new products
– Entering new markets
• Existing employees leave:
– To work with competitors or other local employers
– Due to factors such as retirement, sick leave, maternity
leave
• Business needs employees with new skills
• Business is relocating – and not all of existing
workforce want to move to new location
Changes in Employment Patterns
• The way we work is changing rapidly:
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Increase in part-time working
Increases in numbers of single-parent families
More women seeking work
Ageing population
Greater emphasis on flexible working hours
Technology allows employees to communicate more
effectively whilst apart (“teleworking”)
– People rarely stay in the same job for life
• Businesses need to understand and respond
to these changes if they are to recruit staff of
the right standard – and keep them!
Part-time Staff + Flexible Working
• Increased numbers of people in the UK are
working part-time
• Advantages
– Cheaper to employ as entitled to less benefits
– More flexible workforce (easier to reduce labour hours
when sales fall or add hours when demand increases)
– Wide range of potential recruits (e.g. working mothers who
want to restrict the number of hours they work)
• Disadvantages
– Employees feel less loyal to business and therefore less
motivated
– Harder for managers to control and coordinate workforce
What is Workforce Planning?
Workforce planning is
about deciding how
many and what types
of workers are required
Steps in Workforce Planning
• The workforce plan establishes what vacancies exist
• Managers produce a job description and job
specification for each post
• Job description
– Detailed explanation of the roles and responsibilities of the post
advertised
– Most applicants will ask for this before applying for the job
– Refers to the post available rather than the person
• Job specification
– Sets out the kind of qualifications, skills, experience and personal
attributes a successful candidate should possess.
– A vital tool in assessing the suitability of job applicants
– Refers to the person rather than the post
Recruitment Methods
• Internal recruitment
– Jobs given to staff already employed by business
– Involves promotion and reorganisation
• External recruitment
– Job centres
– Job advertisements
– Recruitment agencies (offline and online)
– Headhunting
– Personal recommendation
Internal Recruitment
• Advantages
– Cheaper and quicker to recruit
– People already familiar with business and how it operates
– Provides opportunities for promotion with in business
• Disadvantages
– Business already knows strengths and weaknesses of
candidates
– Limits number of potential applicants
– No new ideas can be introduced from outside
– May cause resentment amongst candidates not appointed
– Creates another vacancy which needs to be filled
External Recruitment
• Advantages
– Outside people bring in new ideas
– Larger pool of workers from which to find best
candidate
– People have a wider range of experience
• Disadvantages
– Longer process
– More expensive process due to advertisements and
interviews required
– Selection process may not be effective enough to
reveal best candidate
The Recruitment Process
Stages of Recruitment Process
• Preparation
– Identifying what jobs need filling and what role and
specification of job is
• Finding possible candidates
– Various methods (e.g. advertising) to encourage potential
candidates to apply for job
• Selection
– Interviews and other selection processes to choose best
person for job
– Completing contractual employment of that person
• Induction
– Introducing selected candidate to business
Job Description and Specification
• Job description
– Detailed explanation of roles and responsibilities of
post advertised
– Most applicants will ask for this before applying for job
– Refers to post available rather than person
• Job specification
– Drawn up by business
– Sets out qualifications, skills, experience and personal
attributes a successful candidate should possess
– Vital tool in assessing suitability of job applicants
– Refers to person rather than post
Contents of a Job Description
• Job Title: this indicates the role/function that the job
plays within an organisation, and the level of job
within that function
• Reporting responsibilities: who is the immediate boss
of the job holder?
• Subordinates: who reports directly TO the job holder?
• Main purpose: what is involved in the job overall
• Main tasks: description of the main activities to be
undertaken and what the job holder is expected to
achieve
• Employment conditions (e.g. basis of payment; fringe
benefits, holiday, period of notice, disciplinary)
Objectives of Recruitment Advertising
• Inform audience of potential candidates
about opportunity
• Provide enough information to both inform
and interest possible applicants
• Help “screen” or dissuade unsuitable
applicants
• Obtain most number of suitably qualified
applicants for post advertised
• Note – recruitment adverts can be published
internally and externally
Placing a Job Advertisement
• Internal recruitment
– Notice boards
– Staff magazines & newsletters
– Email
• External recruitment
– Newspapers and magazines
– Job centres
– Employment agencies and “Headhunters”
– Direct contacts (e.g. with employees
in a competitor business)
– Internet recruitment websites
Role of a Recruitment Agency
• A recruitment agency works to provide a link
between the employer and employee
– Potential employees register with the agency and provide
personal details
– Employers approach the agency for shortlists of potential
candidates
• Recruitment agencies charge a fee for the service
– Main fee is to the employer
– Usually a percentage of the employees wages and salary in the
first 6-12 months
– Often an expensive option
• Some agencies specialise in particular employment
areas
– E.g. nursing, financial services, teacher recruitment
What to Consider When Advertising
• Type of job
– Senior management jobs merit adverts in the national
newspapers and/or specialist management magazines
– Many semi-skilled jobs need only be advertised locally to attract
sufficient good quality candidates
• Cost of advertising
– National newspapers and television cost significantly more than
local newspapers etc
• Readership and circulation
– How many relevant people does the medium reach?
– How frequently is the publication published?
• Frequency
– How often does the business want to advertise the post?
A Good Job Advertisement
Accurate
Describes the job and its requirements accurately
Short
Not too long-winded; covers just the important
ground
Honest
Does not make claims about the job or the business
that will later prove false to applicants
Positive
Gives the potential applicant a positive feel about
joining the business
Relevant
Provides details that prospective applicants need to
know at the application stage (e.g. is shift-working
required; are there any qualifications required)
Contents of a Job Advertisement
• Details of the business (name,
brand, location, business activities)
• Outline details of the job (title,
main duties)
• Conditions (special factors affecting
the job)
• Experience / qualifications required
• Rewards (financial and nonfinancial)
• Application process (how should
applicants apply, how to; deadlines)
Contents of a job application form
• Personal details (name, nationality
etc)
• Educational history & qualifications
• Previous employment history
(periods, positions, roles,
achievements…)
• Suitability and reasons for applying
for job
• A chance for applicants to ‘sell
themselves’
• Names of referees
Curriculum Vitae
• A written document
• Often on one or two
sides of A4
• Designed by the job
applicant
• Covers similar ground as
job application
Advantages of a job application versus a CV
• Business can tailor questions and format to exact
needs
• An application form forces candidates to answer
same questions and provide information in a
consistent format
• CV’s often come in many different formats, with key
information either missing or presented in different
ways
• Encourages the applicant to consider the specific
needs of the employer – e.g. respond to questions
relevant to the employer
• More likely to get up-to-date information from the
applicant
Reasons for Rejecting Candidates at
Application Form Stage
• May not meet standards set out in job
specification
– Wrong qualifications
– Insufficient experience
• May not have completed application form
to a satisfactory standard
• May be unlucky
– Employer has set a limit on number of candidates
who progress through to interview stage
The Shortlist
• Long list = total pool of applicants
• Shortlist = small number of suitable applicants that
meet the job criteria
• Should ideally be drawn up by two people, acting
independently
• Important not to only include “perfect” or “ideal
candidates”
Recruitment Interview
• Interview is a crucial part of the recruitment process
• Chance for an employer to meet applicant face to
face
• Can obtain much more information on:
– What person is like
– Whether they are suitable for job
– Whether they will fit into the business
• Interview is also an important for the candidate
– Obtain information about job
– Assess the working culture of a possible new employer
• Recruitment interviewing is a hard skill – often it is
done very poorly!
Information to Obtain During a
Recruitment Interview
• By the employer:
– Information that cannot be obtained on paper from a CV or
application form
– Conversational ability- often known as people skills
– Natural enthusiasm or manner of applicant
– See how applicant reacts under pressure
– Queries or extra details missing from CV or application form
• By the employee
– Whether job or business is right for them
– What is culture of company like
– What are exact details of job that may be omitted from job
description
Selection Tests
• Formats
– Aptitude tests
– Intelligence tests
– Personality tests
• Why used
– Basic interview can be unreliable as applicants can
perform well at interview but not have qualities or
skills needed for job
– Selection tests increase chances of choosing best
applicant and so minimise high costs of recruiting
wrong people
References
• What are references?
– Written character statements from people who know the
applicant well
– An important “safety check”
– A chance to learn more about the strengths and
weaknesses of an applicant
• Final check that all information given by
candidate is correct
• Good honest reference from an independent
source can also reveal good or bad incidences
from candidate’s past or particular traits that
may have been missed
Test Your Understanding
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Recruitment and Selection