RECRUITMENT

AND SELECTION

Recruitment
Searching for, and obtaining,
potential job candidates in
sufficient numbers and quality, and
at the right cost, for the
organisation to select the most
appropriate people to fill its jobs.

Purposes
Increase size of applicant pool at
minimum cost
Identify & prepare potential job
applicants
Increase success rate of selection
process by reducing over/under
qualified applicants
Decrease early turnover of new hires
Increase individual/organisational
effectiveness

A Simplified Model of the Recruitment Process

Recruitment planning
Estimated no. of
contacts needed
Job specifications

Recruitment philosophy
Internal vs External job
filling
Job vs Career orientation
St-term vs long term
orientation

Recruitment strategy development

choosing reqd. applicant qualifications
choosing recruitment sources and
communication channels
choosing inducements
choosing the message : realism vs flypaper

Recruitment Activities
Job posting
Ads
Other recruitment sources
Follow up actions
Record keeping

Recruitment Evaluation
No. of jobs filled ?
Jobs filled in timely fashion ?
Cost per job filled ?

Screening /
Selecting
employees

Recruiting Yield Pyramid

50
100
150
200
1,200

New hires
Offers made (2 : 1)
Candidates interviewed (3 : 2)
Candidates invited (4 : 3)
Leads generated (6 : 1)

How to Recruit
Internal
Present employees
Employee referrals
Former Employees
Previous
Applicants

External
Advertising
Employment Agencies
Govt. employment
exchange
Private agencies
Headhunters
Campus
Referrals / Word of
Mouth / Unsolicited
Applications
Internet

Advantages of Internal Recruiting

Lower cost
Motivator for good performance
Hire at entry-level only
Familiarity with organisation
Improved morale and security
Can identify long-term interests

Disadvantages of Internal Recruiting

Inability to find appropriate people
Morale problems
Political in-fighting
Need for strong T&D programs

Advantages of External Recruiting

Introduces new ideas and knowledge
Reduced need for training
Larger skilled pool available

Disadvantages of External Recruiting

Problems of fit
Morale problems for internals
Adjustment period
Relocation costs
Decreased incentive value of
promotions

Recruitment Evaluation
Measuring past recruitment can help predict:
Timeliness of recruitment
Budget needed
Methods that yield greatest number of
best quality candidates
Assess performance of recruiters

SELECTION
Selection is the process of gathering
information for the purposes of evaluating
and deciding who should be hired, under
legal guidelines, for the short and long
term interests of the individual and the
organisation.
(Schuler, Dowling, & Smart, 1992)

Steps in Selection Process

Screening of applications
Tests
Interviews
Reference Checks
Medical Examination

TESTS
Aptitude
Mental
Mechanical

Achievement
Job knowledge
Work sample

Personality
Objective
Projective
Situational

Guidelines for the use of TESTS

should supplement not substitute other methods
are a screening device
are not precise measures
test conditions are important
must be conducted/assessed by competent persons

Types of Interviews
Unstructured / Non-directive
Structured / Patterned
Panel
Group
Stress
Behavioural (BDI)
Situational (SI)
Interviews using other media

Behaviour Description Interview

(BDI)
Assumption: "Best predictor of future
performance is past performance in similar
circumstances.
Overcomes excellence assumption
"Experience equals excellence" (i.e. tasks
have been performed well.)
Requires candidate to give specific
examples of how they performed job
duties.

Example BDI: Middle Manager

Meetings & presentations are an
important part of a Manager's job. Tell
me about your most successful
presentation to a management meeting.

What was the topic of the presentation?

What were your objectives for the meeting?
When did you start preparing for the meeting?
What did you do to prepare?
What was your role at the meeting?

Situational Interview (SI)

Hypothetical
Questions focus on what an applicant
would do in a hypothetical situation.
e.g. scenario

Why Situational Interviewing

Based on goal-setting theory which states
that intentions are related to behaviour
Job Experts Develop Questions and sample
GOOD, AVERAGE & POOR answers.

1.0
0.9

Perfect prediction

Meta-Analysis - What Works?

0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
-0.1

Work sample tests (0.54 corrected)

General mental ability (0.53 corrected)
Assessment centres (0.41)
Biodata (0.37 corrected)
Structured interviews (0.35)
Personality tests (up to 0.33)
Unstructured Individual Interviews (0.11)
References
Astrology (0.0)
Graphology (0.0)
Chance prediction

(Corrected = corrected
for measurement error /
range restriction)

Problems with Selection Interviews

The selection interview is a subjective
process and prone to:
bias
stereotypes
initial impressions
memory capacity of interviewers

Decision Strategies
NonCompensatory
Compensatory

Combination
Multiple Cut-Off
Multiple Hurdle

Additive

Mix of both
approaches

Costs of Poor Selection

Direct Costs

Re-advertising costs
Panel time and effort
HR staff time and effort

Hidden Costs

Reduced productivity
Lost productivity whilst position vacant
Time taken for new hire to become
productive

Staffing System Components

Applicant
(Person)

Organization
(Job)

Recruitment
(identification & attraction)
Selection
(assessment & evaluation
Employment
(decision making & final match)

ORIENTATION or INDUCTION
a planned introduction of employees
to their jobs, co-workers and the
organisation

WHY INDUCTION
Reduce the cost and inconvenience
of early leavers
Increase commitment
Socialization
Accelerate progress up the learning
curve

3 BASIC COMPONENTS
Company / Organisational Induction
Departmental Induction
Follow Up

CHOICES IN DESIGNING INDUCTION

PROGRAMS
Formal or Informal
Individual or Collective

PLACEMENT
The assignment
or allocation
of people to
jobs in the
organization

2 ways Placement can happen

Match 1 looking for an individual
for a specific job
Match 2 looking for a job to match
an individual