Employees Recruitment in Companies Essay (Critical Writing)

Introduction

Recruitment of employees is a very crucial task for any organization. It is important to select the right person for the right job along with the need to see that vacancies are filled as and when they happen. In some jobs, the level of turnover is quite high and this creates a problem for the management to find the right candidate on time.

Tanglewoods is a growing chain of department stores located across four regions namely Western Washington, Eastern Washington, Northern Oregon and Southern Oregon. This company is facing problems regarding the recruitment of store associates in all the four areas mentioned above. This is mainly because the turnover of associates is high as fifty percent per year. This report will feature a recruitment guide along with certain other suggestions which the company can adopt to lessen the current problem.

Recruitment Guide

1. Identifying vacancies: This is the first step in the recruitment process. Companies should review their workforce and identify current and future vacancies that may arise. Current vacancies may arise when a staff member quits or is unable to perform his duties for any reason. Future vacancies may arise due to retirement, transfer, termination etc. As far as Tanglewoods is concerned, the recruitment of store assistants is an ongoing process. Hence identifying a vacancy is not very relevant. But the company should note possible future vacancies and plan accordingly.
2. Review: A review of the staffing plan, the budget, skills required and whether the job is permanent or temporary should be done. Moreover it should be ensured that the vacancy has been approved to be filled by the management. Here again, since the process is an ongoing one, most of these reviews will be a one time affair. Only when HR strategies change should another review be necessary. Approval of the management can be taken for granted.
3. Recruitment strategy: Effective recruitment methods or strategies should be identified. The company, at present, recruits through the media, referrals from current employees, kiosks, state job services and staffing agencies. A review of the advantages and disadvantages of each of these methods will be done later in this report. Internal staffing can also be an option whereby excess staff from some stores can be transferred.
4. Requisition form: It is the normal practice to send a formal request to the management by store managers for recruitment process to begin. All the details of the job and its requirement should be included in the report. In this instance this will not be necessary since the process is an ongoing one.
5. Arrangements should be made to start the recruitment process.
6. Selection panel and methodology: The panel and the method of selection should be decided. In the case of Tanglewoods, it is usually left to the store managers and area head to do the job. The best methodology will be discussed later in this paper. The process should include receiving applications, interviews, skill and background check. Each member of the panel should be well aware of the job requirements and other rules and regulations. Their job now would be to set up the process for receiving applications.
7. Receipt of applications: The next process is the actual receipt of applications. The head of selection panel should have a copy of applications, a list of candidates, the guide itself, process checklist and job description. This will be a one time process except for the new applicants for Tanglewoods.
8. Short listing: The applicants who are to be called for the interview should be short listed from the list of applicants. In this case, since Tanglewoods is always short of staff, all applicants can be called for interview. Even if an excess number turns up, they can be short listed for future vacancies.
9. Assessment: Companies also perform skills test, job simulations, psychological tests and reference checks. This is mainly reserved for higher level jobs and some steps may be removed (for example psychological tests) for practical reasons.
10. Selection outcome: The panel head should make a report stating the outcome of the interviews. It should contain short listing process, candidate assessment, candidate preference in descending order, allocation to locations, comments and the endorsement of other panel members.
11. Endorsement: The endorsement of the candidates should be got from the top management. In this case it would be the area chiefs of the four areas.
12. Making the offer: A verbal offer could be made to the candidate stating that he/she has been selected. This will be followed by the formal written order containing terms and conditions, remuneration details, time of joining, tenure and probation period if any.
13. Unsuccessful candidates: They should be informed, preferably in writing regretting that they were not selected. This should be done immediately after selection process is over. The more qualified among them may be short listed for future vacancies.
14. Contract: A formal contract with the new recruit be made and duly signed by him. Any changes in personal details should be incorporated. The employee should be trained for the necessary period before assigning him to the post of store associate. All documents related to the whole process be stored by the company for the necessary period required by law. (Human resources service centre – Recruitment and appointment: Guide to the recruitment, selection & appointment process).

The above guide can be relaxed for some points since this process is an ongoing one. For easy viewing the main points have been incorporated into a formal recritiment guide.

Targeted recruiting

Target recruitment refers to the process of selection whereby only candidates who are qualified for the job will be asked to send applications. Open recruitment is just the opposite where any one can apply for the job. It would depend on the recruiting message in obtaining target applicants. If the message specifically states that only qualified candidates need apply, then open applications can be reduced to some extent. But this only applies to methods like using the media and kiosks. In this case even if strict guidelines are given, anybody can apply for the job. In the case of referrals, employees can be asked to refer only qualified candidates and hence they can be targeted to a certain extent. But near full targeting can be achieved when using state job services and staffing agencies. Only targeted applicants can be selected from the list available with stat job services. In the case of staffing agencies, they can be given guidelines to screen out unqualified applicants. So targeted recruiting is possible in the above two cases.

Focus group concerns

In terms of cost alone the most expensive method is staffing agency followed by the kiosk. But if cost in terms of results is taken, the kiosk might prove to be the cheapest. This is because it needs only one time setting up all further recruitment processes will only incur variable costs plus other minor costs like electricity, maintenance etc. even for variable costs, the kiosk is the cheapest option. If expected results do not happen, then a staffing agency will prove to be costly. Media advertisements can bring in a large number of applicants and hence possible selection of candidates will be from a wider choice. But both kiosks and the media run the risk of few or no qualified applicants applying for the job. Referrals could be a cheap option since payment is only made if the candidate is selected. But, if the policy of Northern Oregon is viewed seriously, there is a chance of wrong selection of candidates due to favoritism. So, in order to have a balance between bottom line and quality, the use of state job services and staffing agencies could be used. Both these methods can be used in urban areas while the latter method can be used in urban/semi urban areas. In both cases, targeted selection is possible. The next best option would be the kiosk in terms of cost followed by the media. The media ad could also feature the kiosk as a way to submit applications.

It has been shown that retention is a problem for Tanglewoods, even though this is in line with industry standards. Better HR policies like good pay, an effective performance based incentives, shorter working hours and better working conditions will go a long way in reducing employee turnover. Poor pay and working conditions coupled with long hours are the major reasons why employees quit the job. This is especially true for staff working in retail sectors. If the employees see that Tanglewoods extends all these facilities when compared to competitors, they will be motivated to stay on. Moreover, people who work as store associates will not be highly qualified. Their chances of getting a better job than the one at Tanglewoods would be remote. This would be an additional reason for staying on.

Other criteria other than turnover and cost would be using observations and job simulations during the selection process itself. This can be done during direct interviews and also when using a staffing agency. Observers should be there to watch applicants as they come into the office for the interview. They should observe how the candidate behaves with the office staff as well as the other candidates. This is a job where the candidate should be polite and also have a liking for people. This can be judged to a certain extent through observations. Simulations like having the applicant assist a dummy customer can also be conducted during the interview. The dummy customer can even pretend to be a very difficult person to please. One more thing the company should change is the lag between interview and selection. It is difficult to understand why this should happen since selection is an ongoing process. Strictly following the guidelines will help in solving the problem to a great extent. Following the above suggestions will see that the concerns of the focus group have been addressed to a large extent.

Recruiting messages

In the case of targeted recruiting, the message should clearly state that the company is only interested in receiving applications from persons that fit the criteria in the message. The criteria should mention that this is a job that requires a lot of contact with customers. It would be better to mention that some customers can be difficult to deal with. Educational qualification need be mentioned as a requirement. But candidates should like working with people, should have a polite nature.

Realistic recruiting makes use of the reason or motivation a person has for applying for a job. In this case the message can be targeted at those whose educational qualifications are not very high. The message can mention good pay, incentives, comfortable working hours etc. Part time job seekers (students, women etc) can also be targeted. The message should say that flexible working hours with decent pay is possible.

The company can also use branded recruiting messages by projecting itself as a very fast growing chain with strong customer loyalty. It can focus on the benefits of the job in comparison with other retail chain giants. In such a case, commercial advertisements of the company prior to recruitment will be helpful in creating strong brand awareness.

Conclusion

A report on the recruitment and turnover problem face by Tanglewoods has been given above. Along with a recruitment guide, certain suggestions have been given as to solve the problems faced by the focus group (of store managers). If the company can successfully adopt the guide as well as the suggestions, they can reduce turnover as well improve the recruitment process. This will go a long way in attracting persons qualified for the job as well as improve staff turnover.

References

Human resources service centre – Recruitment and appointment: Guide to the recruitment, selection & appointment process. Step-by-Step Recruitment Guide, Edith Cowan University. 2008. Web.