Introduction
Recruitment and selection is a process under the core functions of Management. It falls under the staffing function of Management. Proper staffing in any organization is vital to the future success of the same, it requires deep understanding in the field of Management, and in particular; Human Resource (HR) Management (Stone 1998, p. 67).
Management is the act and process of getting activities completed efficiently and effectively with and through other people, it is the art of getting things done in accordance to some standards via other people who are specifically selected to do these types of activities (Hite & Johnston 1998).
Management is that field of human behavior in which managers plan, organize, staff, direct, and control human, financial resources in an organized group effort in order to achieve desired individual, group and organizational objectives with optimum efficiency and effectiveness. It has been described as a social process involving responsibility for economical and effective planning & regulation of operation of an enterprise in the fulfillment of given purposes (Robbins & David 2001, p. 90).
It is a process with a lot of dynamism and that consists of different elements and activities. As a function of management staffing is the process of hiring and assigning people to carry out tasks. It is filling and keeping filled positions in the organization structure. It is human resource management.
Human resource management, therefore, concerns the people in the organizations. It is the department that deals with the management of the organizational workforce (Brooks, 2001). An HR manager is responsible for managing employee expectations vis-à-vis the management objectives and reconciling both to ensure employee fulfillment and realization of organization objectives.
It is, therefore of great importance for the HR manager to provide the organization with the right and appropriate workforce for the fulfillment of the management objectives. This can only be achieved through the staffing function of management, of which, an effective recruitment and selection process is vital to the realization of a proper workforce and these objectives.
An effective recruitment and selection process result in improved organizational outcomes. The more effectively organizations recruit and select candidates, the more likely they are to hire and retain satisfied employees.
This paper will focus on the various aspects of management and selection as they apply in the corporate world today. Precisely, it will have an in depth look at recruitment and selection, the importance of considering equal opportunity and diversity in an organization. To help highlight the points mentioned above, this discussion will employ the Malawi University as an example.
Effective Recruitment and Selection
The organizations’ management should recognize that its employees are its most important asset, representing a substantial part of the organization’s total expenditure. Without an effective workforce, the organization would not be able to fulfill its obligations to its clients or to respond effectively to local and national initiatives (Robbins et al. 1998).
It is therefore, important to ensure that the recruitment procedure is underpinned by the principles of good practice Human Resource Management. It is within the HR department that recruitment and selection activities are done. Recruitment can, therefore, be described as the process by which the HR managers identify and attract potential candidates from within and outside an organization to begin evaluating them for future employment.
Once candidates are identified, an organization through their HR departments can begin the selection process. The selection process includes collecting, measuring, and evaluating information about candidates’ qualifications for specified positions. Organizations use the recruitment and selection processes to increase the likelihood of hiring individuals who possess the right skills and abilities to be successful at their jobs. However, these processes need to follow a prescribed criterion to achieve effectiveness (Walker, 1992).
The key to an organizational successful future is having the right people in the right jobs, whether the person is a new recruit or a potential transfer from another area. ‘… help identify people with talent who otherwise would not be known personally to management’ (Compton & Nankervis 1998, p. 71).
This can only be achieved through effective recruitment and selection. The key to effective and hence successful recruitment and selection is to ensure that the criteria of suitability to the job are overt and relevant to the job itself. Systematic planning and preparation will increase the likelihood of taking on the right person.
The key to effective recruitment is preparation, that, knows the job and what is required of someone to perform it well. Effective recruitment and selection includes linking recruitment strategy with the business strategy, determining your future manpower requirements and considering current trends in the recruitment market, planning who you need to recruit and assessing whether there have been any changes to the job you are recruiting for, checking the job specification and person specification then attracting the right people by use of their competences (McGarrell 1984, p. 47).
It is therefore essential that those individuals involved in the recruitment and selection process allow enough time to follow the appropriate procedures and ensure that the right person is appointed to the right post. Recruitment is important, since the right person for the job will positively affect the organization’s performance. When this is considered the process can hence be said to be effective.
Considering Equal Opportunity an Managing Diversity
However, it is of value to consider the importance of ‘equal opportunity’, as well as ‘managing diversity’ before embarking on the above processes of recruitment and selection (Mitchell et al. 1988, p. 25). Recruitment process consists of uniform procedures that involve resources and time, especially considering involvement of crucial processes such as sourcing for employees and conducting interviews.
A general recruitment process is as follows in the chart below. The recruitment process is immediately followed by the selection process i.e., the final interviews and the decision making, conveying the decision and the appointment formalities.
Figure 1. Recruitment Process (Compton & Nankervis 1998)
Equal opportunity is a principle which should be considered by organizations before embarking on its recruitment and selection process (Fatta 2003, p. 90). Equal opportunity policy ensures that there is a fair treatment of all employees and job applicants. It aims at ensuring that no applicant receives less favorable treatment be it based on age, sex, marital status, skin color, race, political or ideological affiliation, religious belief, disability or sexual orientation (Shakhrav 2009, p. 123).
It also ensures that there are no discriminations in employment and those discretions on promotion, recruitment, training and development are based solely on job-related ability and merit (Agrawal 2006, p. 176). It is prudent that managers learn to avoid all forms of discrimination whether direct or indirect. If managers fully embrace their responsibilities in terms of fairness, a culture of hiring and promotion on merit will take root.
The recruitment and selection process designed is expected to be free from bias as the organization is committed to the development and use of employment procedures and practices, which do not discriminate on the grounds of race, colour, ethnic origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, religion or belief, responsibility for dependents, trade union or political activities or any other reason which cannot be shown to be justified (Dessler 1991).
It should seek to promote equality of opportunity for all and to promote good employee relations. In undertaking the process, care should be taken to ensure the recruiting panel is not perceived to be discriminating against candidates, as all applicants for a job have the right to appeal to an Employment Tribunal under a variety of Acts, in particular the Race Relations Act, Sex Discrimination Act or Disability Discrimination Act, if they believe they have been treated unfairly (Dobbin 2011).
On the other hand, diversity refers to a broad range of characteristics including that include; gender, age, race, disability, cultural background, sexual orientation, education, religious belief, class, tenure and family responsibilities (Compton & Nankervis, 1998, p. 88). Therefore ‘managing diversity’ can be seen as an initiative which recognizes the relationship between effective and efficient people management and increased or improved organizational efficiency and productivity.
Managing diversity is about increasing diversity at all levels of the organizational department as well as making the most of the talent inside the organization. It involves creating an inclusive environment that welcomes and values the talents and contributions of people from different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. The building of such an environment begins with a foundation of sound anti-discrimination policies and practices.
The advantages of effectively tapping into the diverse talents and perspectives of employees include improved performance and productivity throughout the department (Indira 2006). A diverse workforce means the department is better placed to provide services appropriate to all sections of the community and provide more representative and inclusive advice to its clients.
Example from the University of Malawi
To support the importance of considering ‘equal opportunity’ and ‘managing diversity’ before embarking on recruitment and selection, I selected the University of Malawi, an Institution of Higher education African. It is located on the Southeast part of Africa and has been established since 1964 when the country got its’ independence.
The institution employs approximately seven hundred employees, both in the office and in the field. In this African higher education institution, both the academic and support staff are of different gender, social class, ethnic, religious, and age differences that have necessitated the need of a high level of sophistication when it comes to the handling human resource issues.
For example, some of the male academics in this institution are polygamous, while many of the women academics are married and are the primary custodians of children and are not as mobile as male academics. As far as managing diversity the institution has managed to achieve a balance. However, the university tends to be male-dominated and women from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds have a much-muted presence in this institution.
Academic incomes in the University of Malawi tend to be low in comparison to the casual sector and the women in this higher education institution tend to be less qualified, less well-published and less academically mobile when it comes to proceeding to graduate-level studies than their male counterparts.
Generally, when it comes to economic crises in Malawi its impacts are experienced more markedly by female than male academics in the institution and the human resources function faces challenges in establishing a work-life balance for women more than fir the man, also difficulties in improving this class, gender, ethnic, and social inequities are great for the Human resource department.
The University of Malawi as an education institution in Africa does not have gender policies, making it difficult to develop and institutionalize gender-sensitive human resources practices that are deemed legitimate by stakeholders in the country. Women in the institution are ghettoized in clerical and secretarial positions at the lowest ends of the non-academic hierarchy and in junior, untenured, part-time and temporary academic positions.
Women are unable to access senior management and administrative positions. Women publish less often than men and occupy the lowest academic grades. Men dominate positions of Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Chancellors and Registrars.
If such an imbalance is to be rectified, there will be need for concerted and committed to programs that will check on this for over at least some years. The reasons underlying this disparity will need to be carefully analyzed by all stakeholders in the institution as well as women representative organisations, and steps taken to ensure that the issue is addressed in a practical way.
Such large imbalances in the institution are not likely to disappear without policy transformation and strategic planning not only within a single institution, but in tertiary education nationally as a whole. It may be critical for the concerned parties to conduct a critical Gender Audit prior to developing a gender policy and developing new gender practices that will combat these imbalances.
Where there is no capacity, will or support for a gender audit or a gender policy, it may be possible to build on practices that currently exist to affirm the values of gender justice and gender equity while developing a fully-fledged gender policy. However, it is preferable to conduct a gender audit before developing a gender policy or agreed gender terms of reference as a way of institutionalizing whatever gender-sensitive practices may be in existence in the institution, albeit small, isolated and uncoordinated.
There is also some evidence of professional harassment of women candidates for recruitment and promotion in the institutions, due to the open hostility to feminism among some senior male academics. Thus, recruitment and promotions committees, where women are evidently not well represented, may reject a woman candidate for non-professional reasons. In some cases, such committees have no women representatives.
Women applicants normally report being terrified and intimidated by interviewing committees. This reinforces the opinion of the committees that the women candidates are in any case unsuitable. Within faculties and departments, women tend to hold more junior positions.
They also tend to be given the student-care and nurturing responsibilities, such as counseling, organizing student functions, community service and outreach. These responsibilities are very time consuming, but are not recognized for promotion purposes. Most academic institutions base promotion mainly, if not solely, on publications, and most women do not publish a great deal. This is often due to the fact that they do not have time to concentrate on research, given their heavy family and teaching responsibilities.
Teaching responsibilities and ability are also often not considered for promotion purposes. Thus, the lack of recognition for some key functions where women tend to cluster, leads to the fact that there are few women in higher-level managerial and decision-making posts. Changes in the way further education opportunities are organized, and adjustments in the criteria for promotions, which give greater recognition for teaching, counseling, outreach and managerial skills, will assist in creating a better gender balance.
Figure 2. Number of men and women in Malawi University with their respective education Level.
Conclusion
Finally, the better recruitment and selection strategies are, the more results are improved organizational outcomes. Therefore, the more effectively organizations embark on considering equal opportunity and managing diversity in their recruitment and selection of candidates, the more likely they are to hire and retain satisfied employees.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of an organization’s selection and recruitment system can influence bottom-line business outcomes, such as productivity and financial performance. Organizations will sure get value of their money through implementation of an effective selection sys.
From the above example of Malawi University only a drop of the discrepancies brought about by the lack of proper consideration of equal opportunity and managing diversity can be seen. Therefore it’s important that organizations regard this element as important by adopting equality measures so as to improve an organization’s public image (Barak 2010). Good equality and diversity management policies guarantee that:
- No applicant or employee receives less favorable treatment than another on the grounds of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, age, political or trade union activity, religious beliefs or spent offences.
- No applicant or employee is placed at a disadvantage by any unjustifiable requirements or conditions which have a disproportionately adverse affect on the basis of race, sex, disability, sexual orientation, etc.
- Where appropriate and provided for under the legislation, positive action be taken in order to achieve equality of opportunity in employment.
- Encourages the widest access to employment opportunities from within the local community to reflect its diversity.
- Every individual’s capability to fulfill a certain role determines whether he or she is selected or not.
- Terms and conditions of service do not discriminate and wherever possible allow for employees to enable them to achieve a level of work-life balance.
Whilst overall responsibility for effective implementation of equality matters rests with the Chief Executive, Heads of Service are responsible for ensuring equality is effectively implemented and monitored within their own service area. Advice is also available from Human Resources and employees also have a responsibility not to discriminate in the workplace.
Effective equal opportunity and diversity management is key to organization growth and management. It will, therefore, be better if organizations put in place mechanisms that better access to opportunity by everyone as well as those that are appreciative and accommodative of different people’s backgrounds.
In a nutshell, there is still a lot that needs to be done to improve the equality and diversity management in many organizations. There is consensus among many human resource experts that equal opportunity and diversity management is not well implemented in many organizations. In a world where some groups are disadvantaged more than others, it is prudent to consider drastic options tailored along initiatives such as affirmative action to help in managing equal opportunity and diversity in organizations. Additionally, the example above serves to highlight the existence of the issue at hand in many institutions besides the traditional corporate settings.
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