Selection and Recruiting: The New Art of Hiring Smart

Getting the proper individuals to do the correct job is one of the most important requirements during the hiring and selecting process (Rosman, Shah, Ali, & Bakar, 2013). An organization has a competitive advantage over its rivals when the appropriate people are executing the appropriate jobs. Because of this, an organization's success in the current business environment depends on the caliber of the people it has in place to carry out daily operations. Researchers, academics, scientists, and human resource managers have long been fascinated by the procedures involved in personnel recruitment and selection in both public and commercial organizations. Moreover, managing people at both strategic and organisational levels requires correct initial placement of employees. Employees are individuals who possess distinct values, perspectives, skills, and attributes to the life of an organisation. When effective management is in place, these personality traits can yield considerable benefits to an organisation (Arlen, 2010). Consequently, strategies for recruitment and selection must be precisely planned and result in improvement of an organizational outcomes.

When an organisation carries out an effective selection and recruitment process, they are likely to have a more satisfied staff and hence high worker retention and low worker turnover rates. This paper covers literature findings on the strategies, reasons, importance, and implications of having the right people doing the right job. Theoretical standpoints are applied in creating an understanding of these concepts. The strategies outline how organisations plan to avoid errors and get the right people. The reasons and importance section discusses the benefits that both the worker and the organisation accrues because of a successful recruitment and selection process. The implication section covers both long-and short-term outcomes of the kind of recruitment and selection that has been carried out. Moreover, theoretical perspectives are used to provide light into the general understanding and views on recruitment and selection.

Body

Recruitment refers to identification processes that businesses and organisations utilise in employing people until the time applications are received by an organisation (Business Case Studies, Inc, 2017). On the other hand, selection refers to the process of choosing a right applicant to fill a given post (Business Case Studies, Inc, 2017). Recruitment and selection are critical roles of the human resource manager in any organisation. Both terms acknowledge processes that lead to the attraction of and choosing of candidates to be employed. Human resource management quality relies on the efficiency of the two functions (Gamage, 2014). Recruiting and selecting unqualified individuals results to enormous negative costs that organisations cannot afford. Opatha, (2010) argues that recruitment refers to the process of attracting and finding suitable candidates with qualifications to apply for a particular job vacancy in an organisation. He further states that recruitment is an activity or a set of activities that businesses and organisations utilise to invite interested candidates to apply. For Ofori and Aryeetey (2011), recruitment entails a process that generates a pool of individuals competent enough to be employed within an organisation. According to Gamage (2014), the general reason for recruitment is to offer an organisation with potential job candidates. Alternatively, Henry & Temtime (2009) construe that recruitment is a point of entry for workforce into a business or organisation and also the direction that an organisation should follow to make sure they are attracting the right people.

Opatha (2010) describes selection as a process that entails having the best choice of a candidate from a pool of candidates. Ofori and Aryeetey (2011) assert that selection constitutes the use of a single or multiple methods in assessing applicant’s suitability to guide in making the right selection decisions. The primary objective of the selection process is to acquire the right individuals to the right job, establishing and maintaining a proper image as good recruiter and employer, and ensuring a cost-effective selection process (Gamage, 2014). Selection is a critical process when determining where the organisation will head regarding success. Time and again, business or organisational performance is directly proportional to its workers and thus the need to have the right people acquired to run the organisation and other duties (Henry & Temtime, 2009). Moreover, the selection is an expensive process to acquire someone entirely new for an organisation. The selection process in an organisation is complicated, but those hired will finally determine the image and reputation of the company (Joy O. Ekwoaba, 2015). When both recruitment and selection are done correctly and effectively, the organisations’ general resource strategies that secure and identifies individuals fosters the survival and success of an organisation for long- and medium-term basis (Arlen, 2010).

Right Person-Right Job, a book written by Chuck Russell states, “Core personality is made up of traits that have been conditioned over many years. Such traits are critical in assessing a candidate’s ability to perform virtually any aspect of any job” (Russell, 1996). On the other hand, Einstein once stated, “you cannot solve problems with the same thinking that you used to create them” (Colorado Springs, 1998). It is such perspectives that illuminate the reason why some organisations remain static regarding production, which never seems to improve. Moreover, many organisations spend huge amounts of cash in the training, coaching, motivating, and developing marginal employees to performance levels dimmed satisfactory. In many businesses and organisations, there are workers not performing as expected, some of which found themselves doing the wrong job (Arlen, 2010).

Acquiring competent workers has remained a significant organisational challenge for a long time (Joy O. Ekwoaba, 2015). The challenge is centralised on recruitment and selection processes whose effectiveness and success are subject to right applicant qualifications. As Priyanath (2006) argues, the challenge of recruitment and selection is doubled when there is no systematic strategy for the processes. According to Gamage (2014), systematic recruitment involves identification of vacancies, job description, job analysis, advertising and individual’s specifications. Contrary to the informal recruitment and selection processes, a systematic approach constitutes recruitment process, information gathering concerning qualified candidates, evaluation of the qualifications and executing decisions regarding employment (Henry & Temtime, 2009).

The many shortcomings compelled the establishment of theories such as Equity Theory, Human Capital Theory, and Resource-Based View Theory. Adams (1963) asserted that just like machines, people are fixed capitals since they have essential abilities and skills that have clear profits and costs. Thus, the human capital theory constitutes a situation where people, using their collective abilities, skills, and experiences contributes to the organisation's overall success and revenue or losses (Armstrong, 2006). On the other hand, the Resource-Based View (RBV), created by Barney (1991) proposes that to attain a sustainable competitive advantage, firms must possess a human resource force, which no rival can substitute or imitate. According to this theory, firms need to consistently assess and evaluate their workforce to ensure they have the right individuals, possessing the right skills, in an appropriate place so that it continues competing successfully (Barney, 1991). If an organisation does not meet the above specification, they are supposed to undertake a comprehensive recruitment and selection that secures individuals with the right skills. Moreover, RBV theory maintains that the main feature of an organisation’s weakness and strength emanates from the nature and calibres of individuals employed (Joy O. Ekwoaba, 2015). In most cases, it is possible and easy to acquire capital and technology through a price, but it becomes difficult to acquire highly motivated and qualified employees (Barney, 1991). It is this reason that organisations have to be cautious during recruitment and selection. According to Adams (1963), the founder of Equity Theory, the principle of fairness is critical during recruitment and selection process. The principle behind this theory proposes that an organisation must portray itself as an Equal Opportunity Employer while undertaking recruitment and selection.

Besides Equity Theory, Human Capital Theory, and Resource-Based View Theory is Arlen (2010) proposition of three factors that determine a candidate’s ability potential. They include; organisational match, skills match, and job match. The organisational match refers to the level of the applicant’s ethics, attitude, and grooming that fits a particular job position (Arlen, 2010). Other factors considered under this include drug-free, honesty, and determined to use whatever that is available for the success of the organisation. Skills match checks for the applicant’s technical skills, educational background, job experiences and specific expertise that matches the job position (Arlen, 2010). The job match refers to a candidate’s actuality, effort and knowledge to the success of his/her job (Arlen, 2010). It describes how a person’s interests, cognitive abilities and personality traits fit the requirements for the job.

As literature has indicated, an organisation recruitment and selection process is very critical for success and efficiency in delivering services. However, the success and efficiency depend on the quality of workforce a firm has in place. Therefore, many studies view that managers are under obligations to understand policies, objectives, and practices that can be adopted during recruitment and selection process. According to some studies, those involved in the process must have adequate and relevant information to make the best decisions. Some scholars claim that an organisation’s practices and policies concerning human resource management symbolise significant forces that shape employees skills, attitudes, and behaviour. According to some studies, designing and institution of recruitment and selection strategies should be done such that a compromise should not exist. Besides, due to the dynamic nature of the environment, literature argues that it is better to continually assess and evaluate employee selection methods basing on impartiality, validity, cost, and scope of usage. Concerning some studies, as the environment keeps on changing, new theories emerge, each of which tries to guide on the best criteria to follow when recruiting and selecting employees. It is, however, essential to understand that determining the right person for the right job is not an easy task but rather a task that requires knowledge of the job, skills and experience in the recruitment and selection panel.

References

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