Introduction and what is expected of a good recruitment model
Recruitment is a process of identifying qualified people for a specific job by catching the attention of the recruits, cross examining them and choosing qualified people. Most organizations both mid and large sized have professionals who perform the work of recruitment while at the same time, they might outsource the process to agencies who offer recruitment services.
The best recruitment model for an organization is one that addresses the internal and external factors, a model that is based on these factors and a work or job investigation that recognizes the behavior and characteristics of workers which will then help in selection of candidates who are competent for that job.
Strategies of organizations change from time to time as they respond to changes in the economic and business environment (Delery, 1996). For this case, I am going to discuss the ‘strategic recruitment and selection model’ which I think will address the above concerns during recruitment. The use of this strategy in recruitment emphasizes the need to match people with the job requirements.
Job analysis
Strategic recruitment and selection model entails several steps or procedures of selection. First, job analysis has to be done which involves the following; establishing the relevance of the job analysis, listing the characteristics of the personnel to be hired, selecting the job in question for analysis, gathering data of the job analysis, reviewing and developing the specifications and description of the job.
In order to perform job analysis, information is gathered using the following techniques; use of questionnaires, observation, records of participants and the procedures of the civil service.
Description of the job should be very clear and should not rhyme with description of other jobs while at the same time, specification of the job should be comprehensible and followed so that the right person with the correct skills for the job is selected. Job analysis enables recruiters to know what the job is all about and what skillfulness and capability to search in candidates (Noe et al., 2010).
Planning and recruitment
The next level in strategic recruitment and selection model is personnel planning and recruitment. At this stage, plans are developed for selection of candidates which involves the requirements of the personnel, availability of candidates from outside and within the organization.
For an organization to know the demand for new employees, it has to consider make predictions of the services on demand. When the demands of the personnel are determined and evaluated, the next stage is to come up with a group of eligible candidates through advertisements, employment agencies or the internet.
Analysis of the application form is the first step to collect data which enables recruiters to make predictions about their past and future performance. Human resources scheduling and selection has a direct impact on the level of dedication of the member of staff because it translates on the ability to develop. Therefore, the whole process of personnel planning and recruitment has to be done using reliable tests and interviews.
Examination
The process of examining and choosing employees is critical to them. Employees who have performed to the required level have a higher tendency to perform their duties effectively as compared to employees with low level of performance who can be obstructive and rough.
The hiring process is very expensive for organizations, hence, cost effective screening is highly emphasized. During hiring process, legal implications of the whole process should be put into consideration because if the selection process is unfair, some candidates might go to court to challenge the recruitment process. It should not discriminate against women, the aged people, the minorities or the physically challenged.
Validity and reliability
The other concern of this model is the validity and reliability of the testing and interviewing process. The test should specifically get results of what is expected of the applicants. The criterion and content validity of the test should be related to job performance and test fairly the tasks and skills of the job respectively. The model also emphasizes on the reliability of the test so that consistent results can be obtained even if the same test was to be administered severally.
In order to validate the test, the job is first analyzed to find out the skills and human characteristics required to perform the job, then a test is chosen to assess the traits needed for the job. Selection of the test is done with full consideration of the past experiences and research. The test is then administered using a reliable technique. Concurrent validation can be used where existing employees are first tested then their performance compared to the applicants though it is not a fair tool of evaluation of the applicants (Noe et al., 2010).
The model places emphasis on best practices to be used in testing guidelines. A test is part of the selection process and should not be solely used for selection but a check for initial stages of the interview. Tests are not perfect and could even represent less than twenty five percent of the ability of the applicant to perform the job successfully. The test should be validated to ensure that they meet legal requirements and good practices in order to meet the objectives of the job requirements.
An analysis of the present hiring procedures of the organization should be done regularly to make sure that issues of minority and gender bias are addressed in order to make testing is fair to all applicants. Records of performance of all applicants should be kept because it might be helpful in research and advancement of recruitment processes in future. It is also important that correlation of the test scores with performance of the job be done at a later stage after hiring has been done.
Assessment of management competencies required for a job is critical. As discussed earlier, the biggest challenge in recruitment and selection is the procedure of identifying the appropriate qualities necessary for the present and prospective applicants, which will then help to match the person and the job.
Normally, job analysis has been used to determine these qualities. Job analysis can be split into two; individual and task orientation. Task orientation is defined by the actions that a person is expected to display as derived from findings of the job while individual orientation behavior and repertory grid (Ulrich, 1996).
Psychometric model
Psychometric model of testing is used when other forms of evaluation are unreliable. In this model, the whole job is broken into small subunits then, these small units shall be used to evaluate understanding and capability. According to Legge (2004) the model takes into consideration individual values as an indicator of good performance, while other factors such as bias, minority and bias are also considered.
The social process model has been on the limelight as it regards the selection process a social process as well as selection and evaluation. In this model, it is believed that the process of recruitment is likely to have psychological effects on the applicants like attitude towards the organization. Proactive measures can be taken before selection by putting into consideration the individual differences of candidates (Paauwe, 2009) .
Interviewing of candidates varies according reason, content, organization and the manner of administration of the interview. The relevance of an interview can be undermined by irrelevant information predominating, lack of knowledge of the job requirements, being in a hurry to hire and making decisions hastily.
Recruitment process should involve an establishment rapport between the interviewer and interviewees and prior planning for the process to make sure that it is fair and fair. Interviewers should prepare adequately for an interview and have a structured guideline of the information to be extracted from the applicant, have knowledge of the job requirements and focus on questions that bring out motivational level of the candidate (Becker, 1996).
Conclusion- benefits of the model
Though the ‘strategic recruitment and selection’ is widely used in hiring, the model has the following challenges: it is expensive to administer, there is a lot of pressure on the recruiters due to short term orientation, difficulty in validation of evaluation decisions and lack of consistent corporate strategy. On the other hand, it puts into consideration the needs of the applicants, organizations’ job requirements and related human resources practices (Armstrong, 2006).
The other option of recruitment is the traditional recruitment and selection model. Comparing the two models, I would prefer the strategic model because the traditional model has a lot of weakness. The following are the disadvantages of traditional model; relies mostly on the interview as a selection tool, does not put into consideration the needs of the customers and providers, it is not a good agent of change and displays status quo.
References
Armstrong, M. (2006). A handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (10th Edition). London: Kogan.
Becker, B. (1996). The impact of Human Resource Management on organizational Perfomance: Academy of Management Journal. 39 (4), 779-801.
Delery, J. and Doty,H. (1996). “Modes of theorizing in Strategic Human Resource Management:” Academy of Management Journal, 39(4), 802-825.
Legge, K. (2004). Human Resource Management: Rhetorics and Realities (Anniversary Edition). Basingtoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Noe, R., etal. (2010). Human Resources Management. USA, Chicago: McGraw-Hill, 7th Edition, 74-101.
Paauwe, J. (2009). HRM and Perfomance: Achievement, Methodological issues and prospects journal of management journal 46(1).
Ulrich, D. (1996). Human Resource Champions. The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press.