Talent Planning, Recruitment, and Selection Essay

The factors affecting an organisation’s talent planning, recruitment and selection policy

Four major factors affect the organisation’s approach to talent planning.

1. Staff turnover. Turnover produces many opportunities for new talents, causing organisations operating in sectors with high staff turnover to look for talents continuously.
2. Employee exit. The exit of employees due to retirement or contract termination can also create job vacancies. The remaining two factors are primarily related to the business’ specifics.
3. Business objectives. A change in business objectives might lead to the recruitment of new talents, particularly if the new objectives include cultural change, diversification of the working force, or capacity building.
4. Business operations. Finally, business-specific operational features can also trigger the search for new talents; seasonal production peaks, new projects, and business expansion will require new employees to be recruited.

The benefits of attracting a diverse workforce

Attracting and supporting a diverse workforce can provide many advantages, including:

1. A wider variety of viewpoints. Employees coming from different religious and cultural backgrounds may suggest new ways of doing things that could improve the company’s efficiency.
2. Better adaptability. Talented specialists from various backgrounds can enhance the management’s understanding of their cultures, thus improving the business’ strategy to attract more customers or expand to other countries.
3. Improved reputation. Having a reputation for being tolerant and supportive of different backgrounds can be advantageous for business in the current global age: people from many backgrounds prefer to buy services or products from a company that supports diversity.

Appropriate recruitment and selection methods

Recruitment and selection is not an easy process for the organisation. The specific methods and strategies used depend on three factors:

1. Budget. If the budget for the candidate search is high, the company could use the help of head hunters and recruitment agencies to find potential candidates or advertise the position via TV and radio. The additional budget could also be used to keep the vacancies at the top of the listings on various job sites.
2. Timeline. This factor is also crucial: if the vacancy is non-urgent, the employer can interview more candidates to ensure that the best candidate is chosen from a large pool of potential employees. Moreover, a longer timeframe can be used to conduct trial employment to ensure that the candidate is well suited for the job.
3. Type of job. This factor is likely to be the most crucial one for the selection of the recruitment strategy. If the vacancy is for a managerial position, the selection process should be as thorough as possible. For a regular position, the company would want to recruit young specialists who are flexible and can be trained to progress to higher posts in the future. Altering the recruitment strategy following the job type will help management attract and choose candidates who fit the position well.

Different recruitment methods have different advantages.

1. Advertising the vacancy on the company’s website will attract candidates who are already interested in the company and its products, ensuring the loyalty of the workforce, whereas advertising vacancies on social media will reach a wider audience, facilitating the diversity of potential employees.
2. Various advertising tools on the Internet can help ensure that the ad is promoted to people who are currently looking for a job, generating more answers to the vacancy.
3. The use of recruitment agencies will decrease the amount of work done by management: the specialists at the agency will go through the CVs and run all necessary checks and screenings before the interview stage. Moreover, most recruitment agencies already have a pool of talents, which will enable them to find the best people for the position.

Selection methods vary greatly in terms of their application to different companies and positions, as well as in the advantages they have.

1. Structured interview. This selection method provides an opportunity to compare the candidates’ answers to standardised questions, which are designed to get the most extensive understanding of the person’s abilities and background.
2. The use of assessment centres. This selection method, on the other hand, allows the recruiter to examine the potential of a candidate concerning the particular job or tasks that he or she will be required to fulfil. Assessment centres measure the person’s abilities rather than knowledge, which makes them more accurate in determining the candidate’s suitability for the role; they can also identify any candidate-specific areas of training that need to be targeted during the induction period.
3. Ability tests. Similarly, ability tests can be used to determine the person’s conformity to the requirements of the role and can assess the candidate’s cognitive abilities, as well as personality traits, which could either enhance or undermine his or her job performance.

Induction/Orientation

Induction is a vital part of the recruitment process as it allows the company to ensure that the candidate:

1. Builds the required competency level;
2. Adjusts to the new workplace and the team; and
3. Follows all the health and safety requirements closely.

Therefore, induction helps companies maintain a safe and friendly working environment while also aiding the individuals in adjusting to the new employer and role. A good induction plan involves the company’s management, HR department, team members, and the new employee and lasts through the first three months of the employee’s work.

Week 1

The first week of induction has to cover the basics of the job, including health and safety regulations, as well as tasks to be done. It should also introduce the new employee to the company’s values, other team members, and organisational procedures to be done daily. All the legal requirements for recruitment must be covered in this period, and a supervisor should be assigned to assist the new employee with any questions. The role of HR in the process is significant: the HR specialist must develop different induction programs, track the induction process, and evaluate its effectiveness. The help of training departments is also very important as they provide the company’s owners with ready-made solutions that work.

Weeks 2-4

The next few weeks should be aimed at introducing the worker to the rest of the company, as well as training him or her to fulfil the tasks effectively. The training program should cover performance standards, the use of IT and required software, and customer service standards. The supervisor should monitor the employee’s progress through the training program closely.

Weeks 5-8

The second month of induction should be planned following the employee’s performance and should target any areas that the worker finds difficult or challenging. It should also introduce shortcuts and techniques that could help ease some of the difficulties that have arisen.

Weeks 9-12

The last few weeks of induction are aimed at evaluating the worker’s performance and progress. Few new instructions are given; emphasis is put on following the worker’s progress closely to examine whether or not he or she is, indeed, a suitable candidate for the role. Role fulfilment and compliance with requirements should be examined, as well as personality and teamwork. At the end of the induction period, a final decision is made on whether or not the selected employee is suited for the job.