MANAGEMENT OF PEOPLE

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION OF STAFF

LEARNING INTENTIONS/SUCCESS CRITERIA

LEARNING INTENTIONS:

I understand the processesthat HRM use to employnew staff for an organisation.

SUCCESS CRITERIA:

• I can explain the process of RECRUITMENT and describe the purpose of a JOB DESCRIPTION, PERSON SPECIFICATION, VACANCY ADVERTISING and APPLICATION FORMS/CVs.

• I can explain the process of SELECTION and describe the purpose of SHORT LEETING, INTERVIEWING, TESTING and REFERENCES.

RECRUITMENT

The RECRUITMENT part of HRM’s work

involves trying to ENCOURAGE SUITABLE

PEOPLE to APPLY FOR any VACANCIES

(jobs that they need workers for) that the

business has.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

The steps in the recruitment process are to:

• Identify the job vacancy

• Carry out a job analysis

• Prepare a Job Description

• Prepare a Person Specification

• Advertise the job

• Sent out application forms

HOW DO JOB VACANCIES ARISE?

Can you think of reasons for a job vacancyarising?

Some are:• An employee has left, retired or been promoted• The business is expanding• A busy time for the business is approaching eg

Christmas• A current member of staff is going to be absent

eg due to a long-term illness

JOB ANALYSIS

Job analysis involves finding out everything aboutwhat a job involves by identifying the following:

• Tasks to be completed in the job• Responsibilities of the job• Technology that is used in the job• Knowledge needed to carry out the job• Skills needed to carry out the job• Level of initiative needed from staff

JOB DESCRIPTIONThis document is prepared using the information gathered during the job analysis. As the document name suggests, the information in this document is all about THE JOB, forexample:

• JOB TITLE and DEPARTMENT• POSITION IN BUSINESS• PURPOSE OF THE JOB• DUTIES OF THE JOB (ie work to be done)• WORKING CONDITIONS (ie hours, holidays, etc)• TARGETS TO BE MET

The Job Description is usually sent out to candidates applying for the job vacancy so that they can judge if they are suited to the job.

PERSON SPECIFICATIONThis document is also prepared using information from the job analysis. As the name suggests, this document is all about the MOST SUITABLE PERSON for the job in terms of:

• SKILLS eg communication skills, IT skills, leadership skills• QUALIFICATIONS eg Nat 4/5’s, Highers, HND, Degree• PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE eg 2 years experience in a similar role• PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS eg able to work on own initiative,

customer service focus, attention to detail

These will be classified as ESSENTIAL or DESIRABLE and will be used as an internal checklist to determine which applicants are most suited to a job.

ADVERTISE THE JOB

Candidates cannot apply for a job unless they know it exists and this is where advertising comes in. The information for the advert will be taken from the Job Description and Person Specification.

A job vacancy can be advertised:• INTERNALLY eg by email or a poster on a staff

noticeboard (this results in existing staff being promoted which will create another vacancy)

• EXTERNALLY eg in a local or national newspaper, on the business website, via a social networking site, via a recruitment agency or at a Job Centre (this results in a new member of staff being found)

RECEIVE APPLICATIONS

Applications can be received in 2 ways:• By a candidate completing an APPLICATION

FORM (either on paper or on-line)• By a candidate sending a copy of their CV

(Curriculum Vitae)

Businesses may prefer the Application Form as all

candidates answer the same questions in the

same order, which makes it easier for them to

compare each candidate’s application.

INFORMATION ON APPLICATION FORM/CV

Information collected by either method should containdetails of each applicant’s:

• Personal details eg name and contact details• Qualifications and skills• Previous work experience• Reasons why they want the job/feel suited to the job• Specific questions relating to the job• A personal statement• Referee’s contact details

TASK

Complete Worksheet 38 in your jotters.

SELECTION

The SELECTION part of HRM’s work

involves trying to decide who is the best

person (from those who have been

recruited) to fill a VACANCY.

SELECTION PROCESS

• Identify the best candidates from those that have applied

• Draw up a short leet

• Interview the candidates on the short leet

• Carry out testing of the candidates

• Check the candidates references

• Select the best person for the job

IDENTIFYING THE BEST CANDIDATES

The APPLICATIONS for the job vacancy have to be ANALYSED by checking whether or not they match the requirements detailed in the PERSON SPECIFICATION.

Those who MATCH most CLOSELY will be CONSIDERED for INTERVIEW.

Those who DO NOT MATCH the requirements will be sent a LETTER informing them that they have been UNSUCCESSFUL in their application.

DRAWING UP A SHORT LEET

A short leet, or short list, is the list of

applicants who have MET the

REQUIREMENTS of the PERSON

SPECIFICATION MOST CLOSELY.

They are the people who will be sent a

LETTER inviting them FOR INTERVIEW.

INTERVIEWING CANDIDATES

An interview is a TWO WAY discussion between an organisation and a job applicant. Interviews may beconducted in a series of rounds and can be ONE-TO-ONE (one interviewer) or PANEL based (several interviewers).

The purpose of the interview is for the business and the jobapplicant to FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION about eachother by discussing specific questions. The interview should ASSESS in more detail if an APPLICANT is reallySUITED TO THE POST (in terms of experience and personality).

ADVANTAGES OF THE INTERVIEW PROCESS

The advantages of an interview are:

• Can check the validity of the applicant’s Application Form/CV details

• Can see the personality and appearance of the applicant

• Allows the applicant to ask

questions too

DISADVANTAES OF THE INTERVIEW PROCESS

The disadvantages of an interview are:

• They are very time consuming to carry out

• Some people do not perform well in interviews, but might be still the most suited to the job

• They are subject to interviewer bias

TASK

In pairs, create a list of questions that you think could be asked at the interview for the 2 job vacancies we looked at in Worksheet 38.

Make a note of the answers you will be looking for.

GROUP 1 – questions for Apple Retail GeniusGROUP 2 – questions for Boots Trainee Dispensing Assistant

TESTING APPLICANTS

Testing may be carried out to back up or get moreinformation about a job applicant. Examples of tests that may be carried out are:• PRACTICAL TESTING (to assess a skill, eg driving

ability)• PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING (to assess personality, eg

leadership ability)• MEDICAL TESTING (to assess the health and fitness of

an applicant)• ROLE PLAY SITUATIONS (to assess how an applicant

may react in difficult situations)• PRESENTATIONS – to assess ideas a person may have

for the job role or to assess their presentation skills

CHECKING REFERENCES

These take the form of a REPORT (VERBAL OR WRITTEN) from a PREVIOUS EMPLOYER OR SCHOOL/COLLEGE about the RELIABILITY OF AN APPLICANT.

They should include questions about the applicants’ abilityto carry out the job, comments on SKILLS, PERSONALQUALITIES and their ATTENDANCE record.

They can be taken out before or after the interviewand testing stages of the selection process.

SELECTING THE BEST APPLICANT

The final stage of the selection process is to CONSIDERALL THE EVIDENCE gained from APPLICATIONS, INTERVIEWING, TESTING and taking out REFERENCESto select the BEST CANDIDATE for the job. A LETTERwill be sent to this candidate OFFERING them the JOB.

After the successful candidate has accepted the offer of the job, LETTERS will be sent to all OTHER APPLICANTS on the short leet, informing them that their APPLICATIONS have been UNSUCCESSFUL.

TASK

GROUP 1 – using the questions you made up in the previous task and the Person Specification details, act as a panel about to interview applicants for the post ofApple Retail Genius. Applicants are the people in Group 2. Select the best applicant for the job.

GROUP 2 – using the questions you made up in the previous task and the Person Specification details, act as a panel about to interview for the post of Boots Trainee Dispensing Assistant. Applicants are the people in Group 1. Select the best applicant for the job.

WORKSHEET

Complete Worksheet 39 in your jotters.