Diversity is an essential aspect of the contemporary business world. It has been acknowledged that it is instrumental in achieving organizational goals (Nelson and Campbell Quick 53). One of the benefits of the diversity in the workplace is the achievement of enhanced organizational flexibility. Companies with diverse workforce are more adaptable to the rapidly changing business environment, which is also highly diverse. Another advantage of diversity is its influence on the organization’s reputation, which results in the ability to attract new talents. Thus, companies with diverse workforce are regarded as better working environments, and high-profile professionals eagerly accept job offers (Nelson and Campbell Quick 53). Finally, diversity promotes innovation as well as creativity (Kaminska and Toustou 265). People of different backgrounds have different perspectives on issues, which enables them to come up with effective and creative solutions.
Organizations employ different approaches to attract senior managers and specialists. The choice of the approach depends on a variety of factors. For instance, one of these factors is the availability of resources. This is an effective approach as many people focus on the financial aspect of employment. Thus, companies choose to attract talents with the help of high salaries (Agarwal et al. 331). This approach is associated with some weaknesses as the funds invested can exceed the gains as the employee may fail to become a part of the team and work to the fullest. Another approach involves the focus on the organizational reputation. If a company has a reputation as the leader in the industry, it is likely to use this information to recruit people. Employees are often ready to work for less money as long as they work in a company with a certain reputation (Nelson and Campbell Quick 633). This is quite an effective method as it may lead to lower costs when recruiting people, but it can be rather difficult to maintain the reputation gained.
The third strategy to be mentioned is closely linked to the reputation-oriented method. The focus on benefits can help organizations attract high potential employees. Such organizations as Google are regarded as dream jobs as employees there have various perks including flexible hours, resting rooms, time for their own projects, and so on. This method can be quite costly for a company. Finally, another approach is the availability of promotion opportunities. Many people are ready to work for less money for a certain period if they know that there is an opportunity to get a promotion (Bozionelos and Baruch 78). This is an effective approach as it leads to lower costs and significant gains as a loyal high-profile professional is likely to remain in the organization. However, this strategy can be inappropriate for small organizations where promotion options are limited (Wapshott and Mallett 71).
Various factors have an influence on organizational approach to selection and recruitment. The upcoming growth and expansion can affect organizations’ recruitment and selection. In such cases, companies need a considerable number of employees with different skills and experience. The costs will depend on the positions that have to be filled in. Another factor is the supply of manpower. Thus, if certain professionals are scarce companies may need to use such methods as the focus on salaries, promotion opportunities and so on. The costs associated will be significantly higher than those related to recruiting other professionals who can be easily found in the labor market. Finally, legal environment is another potent factor that affects the organization’s selection and recruitment (Wilton 62). Companies have to comply with numerous laws and regulations concerning rights and responsibilities of the employer and employee. These regulations often shape such aspects as working hours, salary, diversity quotes and so on.
One of the most widespread recruitment methods is the use of job advertisements (Wilton 136). The ads are placed in resources that attract the most attention. Modern companies may use various websites (some of them are free) where they can place their job ads. Another strategy is the use of recruitment agencies. It is often costlier than the previous one, but if a company has to hire many employees and it has only a few HR specialists, it can be the only option. These two approaches are quite similar as the organization addresses the applicant. Unlike these two methods, personal recommendations do not require additional costs. Some companies encourage their employees to recommend someone they know inside as well as outside the organization. This method is cost effective as the new employee is likely to know some information concerning the company and will have realistic expectations. More so, this person will have an employee who will be able to help them integrate and become an effective team member. The major similarity between the three approaches is that the company addresses the applicant in this or another way.
The selection process usually involves a number of phases associated with particular methods. One of these is preliminary screening (Wilton 422). A recruiter analyzes an applicant’s CVs and chooses the most appropriate candidate to fit the position. This method is preferable for choosing people in accordance with their credentials. It can be difficult or nearly impossible to identify true skills and psychological features of the applicant. At the same time, it is the least time-consuming. The recruiter can analyze dozens of CVs whereas it is possible to have only a few interviews during a working day. Furthermore, the other approach involves a telephone (as well as Skype) interview. The recruiter can obtain more information, but interviewing will take more time than a simple analysis of a one- or two-page CV. However, it is more effective than the previous strategy as it helps the recruiter elicit more information. Face-to-face interviews can be the most informative. At that, this is also the most time-consuming approach as schedules of the recruiter (a department’s representative if necessary) and the applicant should be taken into account. When it comes to telephone or Skype interviews, schedules can be aligned more easily than those associated with face-to-face interviews.
Works Cited
Agarwal, Renu, Chris Bajada, Paul James Brown and Roy Green. “Global Comparison of Management Practices.” Handbook of Research on Managing Managers. Ed. Adrian Wilkinson, Keith Townsend and Gabriele Suder. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015. 327-351. Print.
Bozionelos, N., and Y. Baruch. “Managing Managerial Careers.” Handbook of Research on Managing Managers. Ed. Adrian Wilkinson, Keith Townsend and Gabriele Suder. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015. 62-87. Print.
Kaminska, Renata, and Beatrice Toustou. “Managing Diversity for Creativity and Innovation in a Complex World.” Handbook of Research on Managing Managers. Ed. Adrian Wilkinson, Keith Townsend and Gabriele Suder. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015. 264-283. Print.
Nelson, Debra L., and James Campbell Quick. Organizational Behavior: Science, the Real World, and You. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
Wapshott, Robert, and Oliver Mallett. Managing Human Resources in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Entrepreneurship and the Employment Relationship. New York: Routledge, 2015. Print.
Wilton, Nick. An Introduction to Human Resources Management. Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 2016. Print.