Using the Web for Recruitment and Selection
Introduction
The Internet is increasingly becoming the recruitment and selection platform for many recruiters globally. The recruitment process goes hand in hand with the selection criteria. After the successful advertisement of vacancies, job applicants are selected through the organisational selection process.
Almost 50% of organisations use the Internet in their recruitment and selection processes (Williams & Adam-smith 2010). Nevertheless, the Internet and technology at large are accompanied with several pitfalls to both the job applicants and the recruiting organisations. This section will explore the advantages and disadvantages of using the web in recruitment and selection. Moreover, the paper will highlight the different pitfalls and challenges of online recruitment and selection.
Using the web for recruitment and selection
Online recruitment and selection occur via Facebook, Twitter, and company websites among other online platforms. In the modern organisational workplace, fast, efficient, and cost-effective methods of recruitment play a crucial role in organisational performance.
Online recruitment and selection provide a platform for employers to meet qualified, competent, and diversely skilled employees without the traditional process of going through arduous protocols restricted by time and space (Leat 2007).The online recruitment starts by job applicants accessing advertised job vacancies in the organisational websites. After understanding the requirements for a certain position, the applicants then apply for the same via online platforms.
Candidates’ short listing
In this process, the organisational interviewing panel decides and lists down the potential job candidates after screening. In the online screening process, job applicants are tested through document screening and phone screening. In document screening, the employers review the application forms, personal qualification details, and any other supportive online attachment document (Leat 2007).
On the other side, in phone screening, the organisational interviewing panel may call the job applicants for information inquiry to evaluate if the potential employees meet the selection requirement criteria (Compton 2005). However, online shortlisting has some disadvantages and advantages. Some of the advantages include
Cost effectiveness
For an organisation, posting a job in own company’s website costs nothing. The only cost that the organisation incurs is the establishment and creation of the website, which serves for the rest of the business’s lifespan. On the contrary, posting a job on the conventional mediums like print media will cost a company a lot of money and resources (Boxhall & Purcell 2011). For instance, a recruitment consultation fee by an organisation may amount to significant costs that can be used to pay salaries and other expenditures.
According to Compton’s (2005) findings on a research done on Huawei Company, costs incurred in recruitment were diverted to organisational projects. In addition, the online recruitment saved the job applicants the cost of recruitment in terms of transport, meals, and other expenditures. Moreover, considering advertising in the national newspapers is very expensive. Therefore, with online recruitment, organisations save money that is incorporated into the production process for higher profits in the long term (Boxhall & Purcell 2011).
Online recruitment is fast
Online recruitment takes less time as opposed to other conventional hiring processes. For instance, a job vacancy posted on a company’s website may start receiving applications some hours after. Fortunately, with organised organisational structure and work design, the candidates maybe interviewed immediately after the application is received and if they are qualified, they may be absorbed immediately thus saving time and resources (Compton 2005). This scenario may not happen in all recruitment cases, but it may occur in few cases. Nevertheless, compared to other recruitment processes, the online process is faster and convenient.
Evidently, the Huawei Company noted that within two hours after job posting, many applicants could be recruited. This aspect implies that the ease and flexibility of online recruitment makes it fast and reaches a large number of job applicants (Compton 2005). These elements underscore the view that online recruitment can be the better option as compared to than any other recruitment method in the human resource management. According to Compton (2005), online recruitment has become the fastest recruiting platform used by many employers to source for immediate and urgently needed workforce.
Offers high chances of success
Using online recruitment places an organisation at a good position of success in the exercise as opposed to the traditional print methods of advertisements and recruitments. The traditional print recruitment and advertising method for vacancies is only available to few, the contact to the organisational management for recruitment takes a long and slow channel, and the adverts may sometimes last for a short time since the costs are high for the organisations to keep posting (Compton 2005).
However, in online recruitment, the situation is different as all the involved parties like the human resource managers can access online platforms and make a decision within very short time. Therefore, there is a quick response and a fast communication channel. For effective and successful recruitment process, fluent and quick response communication is a needed and it is facilitated by the virtual space availed by technology (Compton 2005).In addition, according to a study finding on Huawei company, 70% of the candidates recruited on online recruitment and selection were absorbed and employed ( Leat 2007).
Accessible by large audience
Many people conclude that online recruitment is only effective when organisations are looking for the young people who have access to Facebook and Twitter among other online social platforms. On the contrary, according to Leat (2007), research shows that the average age of online recruiters is over 35 years old and the trend keeps going up with increasing technology uptake across societies. Currently, online is the most preferred site for job hunting and employers are taking the advantage to minimise advertising costs in the recruitment process.
Evidently, the Huawei company website was the most preferred platform by job applicants to apply for job vacancies. In 2013, Huawei recorded over one million online job applicants on their company recruitment and selection website. The fact that a job advertisement reaches a wide audience implies that an organisation stands a good chance of getting the best-suited employees for a certain post (Compton 2005). A wide and diverse audience of job seekers increases competition for the post under consideration, which means that the organisation will get the most qualified employees.
Online recruitment is easy
Most job seekers find the online hiring process convenient and easy to use. In online job application, in-depth technology knowledge is not required for one to attach the required documents (Torrington et al. 2014). In addition, the majority of companies’ websites are easy to navigate, and thus individuals with basic computer skills can apply for vacancies with ease. It is easy to give job specifications, qualifications, descriptions, and roles. Furthermore, the management team is always available to make quick clarifications where necessary (Leat 2007).
In addition, the hiring company does not have to go through the protocols involved in the conventional job-advertisement channels like print media. The company is not concerned with the period that an advert will run on the print media. In online recruitment, the advert can run until the hiring panel is satisfied with the job applicants, without worrying about the costs involved to keep the advert running for long (Leat 2007).
Disadvantages of online recruitment and selection
Too many responses
Given that anybody across the worldwide can see organisational job vacancy postings, many applications are sent. Regrettably, even unqualified candidates will forward their applications to try out their luck. Therefore, the HR team has to take a lot of time sorting the applications since a keen review process is required (Torrington et al. 2014). Sometimes, the time taken to go through the applications may not translate into positive results since some of the candidates may decline personal interview in the end.
Therefore, organisations must be precise and specific about job wording, description, qualifications, and be more specific in roles and duties. According to Compton (2005), a case study report indicated that several online job applicants complained that the Huawei Company did not respond to their job applications despite having successfully been recruited online. This aspect was a challenge to the Huawei Company since many applications flooded their website, but only a few vacancies were available.
According to Kramar and Syde (2012), many job applicants are never serious with online screening and they may give irrelevant or incomplete details, which make the selection criteria tedious and a waste of an organisation’s valuable time. In addition, the involved managers are subjected to the monotony of same CV writing format, whereby candidates give the pro-forma CV writing services to write for them.
Technology complications
Technology comes with numerous disadvantages. For instance, if an organisation uses online application forms, some qualified applicants may be rejected for suing pre-set resumes for the vacancy (Gennard & Judge 2010). Unfortunately, most people are concerned with the issue of submitting personal details on websites due to security threats. With cyber security issues and identity theft problems, people are becoming keen on the details that they avail via online platforms.
According to Leat (2007), this aspect may deter some qualified candidates from applying for a certain post due to the fear that their personal details may end up in the wrong hands. Moreover, the organisational website system may sometimes be slow, which may lead to the loss of the applicants’ vital information during submission leading to unfair disqualification. According to study findings on the Huawei Company, some job applicants complained that the company’s website was slow at times. The website’s frequent faults discouraged many qualified job applicants, hence inhibiting successful online recruitment and selection.
Impersonality
In most cases, the online recruitment process uses emails, telephone calls, and other interactive online channels for the interviewing process, which are too impersonal (Gennard & Judge 2010). Therefore, the company may not know if the candidate will be good at the post coupled with whether s/he will cope with the organisation’s culture and traditions. Similarly, the candidate may not be confident and sure if the organisation will fit his/her preference and if it is the right company to work with.
Poor web designing
All the applicants rely on the organisation’s information about the company’s mode of operation, mission, and vision (Storey 2007).Therefore, firms with poor website designs will ward off interested candidates because they cannot take the company seriously. These factors coupled with poorly detailed company’s contact information may lead to ineffective online recruitment and selection. The best-suited candidates may shun a company due to a poor online image.
Conclusion
According to Compton (2005), online recruitment and selection act as a cost reduction tools, saves time, it is fast, and it has a quick response mechanism that ensures smooth and fast organisational communication. Leat (2007) argues that the benefits of online recruitment and selection include cost-effectiveness, speed, it reaches a wide audience, and saves organisational and candidates’ time.
However, Organisations may experience some pitfalls in online recruitment, but it reaches a wide range of qualified personnel, reduces the cost of hiring, and currently it is the most effective method of recruitment and selection. For instance, Kramar and Syde (2012) argue that proper planning, quick responses, and a continuous communication channel with job recruits contribute to the success of online recruitment and selection.
Gennard and Judge (2010) assert that organisations can reap the benefits of online recruitment and selection process if the management team can emphasize on fair and equal chances to all job applicants. However, job applicants who seem less cooperative in online recruitment platforms should be ignored in a bod to avoid time wastage.
Employee voice
Introduction
The relationship between the employer and employees determines an organisation’s productivity. Organisations should factor in the importance and essence of the employees’ ideas, proposals, and recommendations with respect to the organisational production line. Employee voice is the democratic space that is available to employees in organisations. Moreover, it is the involvement and the participation of employees in the organisational decision-making process (Compton 2005). However, the participation of employees in an organisation’s operations has been widely opposed by a number of researchers.
Nevertheless, many organisations acknowledge the benefits that are involved in a controlled employee voice (Torrington et al. 2014). This paper will highlight the challenges posed by the employee voice to the organisations, the remedies, and the reasons for and against it in the organisational framework.
Employee voice
This term underscores the employees’ participation in an organisational decision-making process. Many companies currently encourage participative and cooperative management through the employees’ voice as the main input in the production process. The employees’ participation may take the engagement or involvement form depending on organisational structural design and planning. According to Kramar and Syde (2012), employee engagement is the organisational structural work designing strategy aimed at gaining the employees’ commitment to goals and objectives of the company and at the same time motivating them by promoting their well-being.
Reasons for employee voice
According to Kramar and Syde (2012), when employees are involved in the decision-making process, chances of a sustained and continued growth are higher than when employees are not involved. The general employee voice strategy includes involvement, participation, information and communication, and engagement. The employee participation involves the workers’ consideration and view in organisational decision-making (Storey 2007).
On the other hand, employee engagement is the responsibility and accountability that are given to employees towards major organisational channels of production. In addition, employee involvement refers to the incorporation of workers in the company’s strategies of production in order to achieve the forecasted objectives for rewards in return. According to Foot and Hook (2001), employee voice should be incorporated in organisational management for several reasons, which include
Quality and better decisions
Since employee voice allows the participation of employees in the decision-making process, workers propose changes, corrections, and amendments of some procedures, which are beneficial (Foot & Hook 2001). Moreover, employees are the experts in the production line and they are equipped with specific tactics and knowledge that can help improve productivity. The decision-making process allows different opinions, ideas, and suggestions that are incorporated to better the company’s performance. In fact, the ideas from every employee are considered regardless of the rank in the organisational hierarchy.
It promotes job satisfaction
Mostly, top-level employees with power, control, and self-determination are psychologically satisfied with their job roles and categories. With the employees’ voice, high wages coupled with increased allowances for health insurance, pensions, and other fringe benefits are achieved (Gennard & Judge 2010). For instance, according to the IBM’s strategy on performance appraisal, the case study report indicated that workers who were frequently rewarded with wage increases kept on performing better (Torrington et al. 2014).
It improves production
The employees’ voice can benefit organisations as the workers’ ideas and opinions may eventually lead to the improvement of the production process. Moreover, the employees’ voice gives the subordinates self-esteem and self-determination to consult, which improves the employees’ engagement, thus promoting the organisational productivity and general performance.
According to Legge (2005), the employees’ voice can maintain organisations’ consistency in production and growth through sharing of ideas and problem-solving strategies. For instance, according to a case study report on IBM’S performance, the workers who perform better are highly appreciated with rewards. This aspect encourages employees to work extra harder to achieve more in terms of productivity. Consequently, employee satisfaction leads to a better work performance. Consequently, workers who perform poorly become more productive in the work place to receive more rewards as fellow workmates (Torrington et al. 2014).
Increased psychological satisfaction
Through the employees’ voice, workers feel protected in the workplace by trade unions and the terms of the contract with the employer. Normally, the contract details the practical work theory to be done and it is based on the perceptions of both the employer and employees. The two parties are expectant and they have obligations to fulfil.
This understanding acts like a written contract because it can be breached and have consequences to the involved parties (Foot & Hook 2001). The psychological contract circulates in the organisational employees’ performance towards goal achievement. On hitting the set organisational goals, the organisation motivates employees through promised rewards. Motivated employees mostly meet their set goals in their assigned specific tasks.
Reasons against employee voice
According to Leat (2007), the reasons against employee voice lie in the fact that its challenges outweigh the benefits. Therefore, the challenges that employee voice poses to organisations are discussed below
Challenges of the employees’ voice and their remedies
Employee voice has been a controversial debate amongst managers and scholars. The extent and degree of the employees’ voice involvement and engagement pose threats to managers in organisational planning and decision-making (Foot & Hook 2001). However, the power and authority of the employees’ voice involvement in organisational management system relies on the management to decide whether to accept or reject the employees’ opinions, ideas, or proposals. Employee voice poses challenges to organisational management in organisational operations. The challenges include
Delayed organisational decisions
The inclusion of the employees’ voice implies that managers have to consider opinions from the workers. Consequently, this aspect can lead to a slow response to urgent and immediate circumstances, since time is spent the decision-making process (Gennard & Judge 2010).Therefore, considering the employee voice, means that the decision- making process will be slow. For instance, in a case study report, the IBM line managers unfairly dismissed 250 workers and forced them to retire after making their own-favoured decisions.
Ultimately, the company’s reputation was compromised, which culminated in a decreased company performance. This aspect will affect the flexibility in effective and efficient production. Moreover, an organisation takes a lot of time to arrive at the best strategy for problem solving since every worker has a different approach, which makes the decision-making process complex and slow. In addition, the IBM management team experienced employer-employee conflicts, since establishing the better performing workers was difficult (Torrington et al. 2014).
Cultural conflicts and tension
The employees’ voice will result intension and conflicts within the organisational hierarchy. Since everyone has to participate in the decision-making, many employees with conflict culturally and in opinions. Some opinions may go against the cultural practices of some groups, and this aspect derails teamwork. Usually, many companies segment teams culturally to avoid constant conflicts. According to Leat (2007), the more the employees voice in the organisational workplace, the more difficult is it is to agree on specific things or decisions.
Strong employee power
Democracy in the workplace is the focus of the employees’ voice. However, employees may use the power and influential ‘say’ through formed unions to make the organisation follow a wrong direction. In most cases, the democratic workplace gives employees the freedom to demand some things, which may not be beneficial for the organisation as they serve personal interests (Boxhall & Purcell 2011). Eventually, this aspect creates power imbalance that may shift the focus from the organisational performance to retrogressive individual conflicts. Moreover, this aspect leads to an ineffective and limited organisational decision-making process.
Top-down leadership contradiction
Unfortunately, employee voice creates a workplace democracy that creates the bottom-top leadership style. In such a case, some employees may not appreciate the managers’ education, skills, qualification, and experience, and thus demand their opinions to be considered exclusively (Storey 2007).Therefore, giving employees the freedom to push for what they think is right may compromise the decision-making process.
According to Torrington et al. (2014), uncontrolled workplace democracy results in leadership and power imbalances that divert the organisation from its main objectives to individuals’ preferences coupled with promoting work-related politics. Therefore, the matrix structure is highly recommended to the company’s management, which prevents leadership conflicts. The IBM Company is a good example of the matrix structure in management, which increases productivity significantly, hence reducing management top-down leadership.
Remedies for challenges posed by employee voice
According to Compton (2005), the management can handle challenges posed by the employee’s voice through
Controlled organisational management
The management can allow controlled democracy, but set limits through which the employee will exercise their voice (Compton 2005). This move will prevent organisational frictions that are employee-motivated through extreme democracy at the workplace.
Delegation and responsibility at work place
Through the delegation of work, the organisation initiates the feeling of accountability and self-belonging to employees. The employee’s responsibility and accountability are some of the key factors of work motivation. This responsibility encourages smooth flow of production and managerial operations (Foot & Hook 2001). Therefore, with increased delegation and accountability to employees, better decision-making, and controlled employee voice, organisational conflicts can be avoided.
Controlled decision-making
The employees’ voice promotes better decisions in the workplace. However, the employee voice poses the challenge of conflicts, disagreements, and quarrels over different ideas and principles, which make the decision-making process cumbersome.
Foot and Hook (2001) propose that employees should select representatives in the decision-making process. This move will minimise time used in arguments and disagreements during decision-making. Moreover, the management should focus on allowing controllable employee voice in a bid to manage the entire organisation. For instance, the power that employees gain through employee voice can compromise the organisational decision-making process (Boxhall & Purcell 2011).
Conclusion
According to the case study on IBM’s employee performance management, the 360 degrees communication and worker evaluation stand among the best approaches to employee management. Ultimately, employee voice involves employee participation, involvement, engagement, and information, and communication at the workplace. (Torrington et al. 2014). The demerits of unchecked employee voice outweigh the merits. Through the limited power of the employees’ voice, its challenges can be solved easily.
According to Storey (2007), financial employee motivation leads to a better productivity, but it reduces at a certain level when the workers relax at the workplace. In addition, Foot and Hook (2001) argue that workplace democracy with limited power and authority can maintain an organisational competitive edge in business.
Employee voice can be very effective in an organisation if the 360-degree feedback is exercised in an organisation, which captures all the compliments, opinions, and views within the organisational communication channel (Boxhall & Purcell 2001). However, high expertise and experience is required in order to avoid organisational frictions during decision-making forums.
Reference List
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