Recruitment & Selection

Recruitment & Selection GCSE Business Studies tutor2u™ Revision Presentations 2004

The Recruitment Process

Reasons to Recruit Staff • Business is expanding due to: • Increasing sales of existing products • Developing new products • Entering new markets • Existing employees leave: • To work with competitors or other local employers • Due to factors such as retirement, sick leave, maternity leave • Business needs employees with new skills • Business is relocating – and not all of existing workforce want to move to new location

Workforce Planning • Workforce Planning involves deciding how many and what types of workers are required • The workforce plan establishes what vacancies exist and managers then need to draw up ajob description and job specification for each post. • A job description is a detailed explanation of the roles and responsibilities of the post advertised. Most applicants will ask for this before applying for the job. It refers to the post available rather than the person. • A job specification is drawn up by the business and sets out the kind of qualifications, skills, experience and personal attributes a successful candidate should possess. It is a vital tool in assessing the suitability of job applicants and refers to the person rather than the post.

Changes in Employment Patterns Affecting Recruitment • The way we work is changing rapidly: • Increase in part-time working • Increases in numbers of single-parent families • More women seeking work • Ageing population • Greater emphasis on flexible working hours • Technology allows employees to communicate more effectively whilst apart (“teleworking”) • People rarely stay in the same job for life • Businesses need to understand and respond to these changes if they are to recruit staff of the right standard – and keep them!

Part-time Staff • Increased numbers of people in the UK are working part-time • Advantages • Cheaper to employ as entitled to less benefits • More flexible workforce (easier to reduce labour hours when sales fall or add hours when demand increases) • Wide range of potential recruits (e.g. working mothers who want to restrict the number of hours they work) • Disadvantages • Employees feel less loyal to business and therefore less motivated • Harder for managers to control and coordinate workforce

Recruitment Methods • Internal recruitment • Positions are filled from people already employed by a business • Involves promotion and reorganisation • External recruitment • Job centres • Job advertisements • Recruitment agency • Personal recommendation

Internal Recruitment • Advantages • Cheaper and quicker to recruit • People already familiar with business and how it operates • Provides opportunities for promotion with in business • Disadvantages • Business already knows strengths and weaknesses of candidates • Limits number of potential applicants • No new ideas can be introduced from outside • May cause resentment amongst candidates not appointed • Creates another vacancy which needs to be filled

External Recruitment • Advantages • Outside people bring in new ideas • Larger pool of workers from which to find best candidate • People have a wider range of experience • Disadvantages • Longer process • More expensive process due to advertisements and interviews required • Selection process may not be effective enough to reveal best candidate

Stages of Recruitment Process • Preparation • Identifying what jobs need filling and what role and specification of job is • Finding possible candidates • Various methods (e.g. advertising) to encourage potential candidates to apply for job • Selection • Interviews and other selection processes to choose best person for job • Completing contractual employment of that person • Induction • Introducing selected candidate to business

Job Description and Specification • Job description • Detailed explanation of roles and responsibilities of post advertised • Most applicants will ask for this before applying for job • Refers to post available rather than person • Job specification • Drawn up by business • Sets out qualifications, skills, experience and personal attributes a successful candidate should possess • Vital tool in assessing suitability of job applicants • Refers to person rather than post

Contents of a Job Description • Job Title: this indicates the role/function that the job plays within an organisation, and the level of job within that function (e.g. Finance Director would be a more senior position than Financial Accountant - although both jobs are in the "finance department") • Reporting responsibilities: who is the immediate boss of the job holder? • Subordinates; who reports directly TO the job holder? • Main purpose - who is involved in the job overall • Main tasks and accountabilities: description of the main activities to be undertaken and what the job holder is expected to achieve • Employment conditions (e.g. basis of payment; amount of benefits, holiday etc, period of notice)

Objectives of Recruitment Advertising • Inform audience of potential candidates about opportunity • Provide enough information to both inform and interest possible applicants • Help “screen” or dissuade unsuitable applicants • Obtain most number of suitably qualified applicants for post advertised • Note – recruitment adverts can be published internally and externally

Placing a Job Advertisement • Internal recruitment • Notice boards • Staff magazines & newsletters • Email • External recruitment • Newspapers and magazines • Job centres • Employment agencies and “Head-hunters” • Direct contacts (e.g. with employees in a competitor business) • Internet recruitment websites

Role of a Recruitment Agency • A recruitment agency works to provide a link between the employer and employee • Potential employees register with the agency and provide personal details • Employers approach the agency for shortlists of potential candidates • Recruitment agencies charge a fee for the service • Main fee is to the employer • Usually a percentage of the employees wages and salary in the first 6-12 months • Often an expensive option • Some agencies specialise in particular employment areas • E.g. nursing, financial services, teacher recruitment

Factors to Consider When Advertising a Job • Type of job • Senior management jobs merit adverts in the national newspapers and/or specialist management magazines • Many semi-skilled jobs need only be advertised locally to attract sufficient good quality candidates • Cost of advertising • National newspapers and television cost significantly more than local newspapers etc • Readership and circulation • How many relevant people does the medium reach? How frequently (e.g. weekly, monthly, annually!. Is the target audience actually only a small fraction of the total readership or Viewer ship? • Frequency • How often does the business want to advertise the post?

What Makes a Good Job Advertisement? • Whilst there are no hard and fast rules about the contents of a job advert, the following features are likely to be in an effective advertisement: • Accurate - describes the job and its requirements accurately • Short - not too long-winded; covers just the important ground • Honest - does not make claims about the job or the business that will later prove false to applicants • Positive - gives the potential applicant a positive feel about joining the business • Relevant - provides details that prospective applicants need to know at the application stage (e.g. is shift-working required; are there any qualifications required)

Contents of a Job Advertisement • Most job adverts contain: • Details of the business/organisation (name, brand, location, type of business) • Outline details of the job (title, main duties) • Conditions (special factors affecting the job) • Experience / qualifications required (e.g. minimum qualifications, amount of experience) • Rewards (financial and non-financial; the financial rewards may be grouped together under a total valued "package2 - e.g. total package circa £50,000) • Application process (how should applicants apply, how to; deadlines)

Contents of a job application form • Personal details • Name, address, date of birth, nationality • Educational history • Including examination results, schools/universities attended, professional qualifications • Previous employment history • Names of employers, position held, main achievements, remuneration package, reasons for leaving • Suitability and reasons for applying for job • A chance for applicants to ‘sell themselves’ • Names of referees

Curriculum Vitae • A written document • Often on one or two sides of A4 • Designed by the job applicant • Covers similar ground as job application

Using a Job Application Form Rather than a CV • Advantages of a Job Application Form • Business can tailor questions and format to exact needs • An application form forces candidates to answer same questions and provide information in a consistent format • CV’s often come in many different formats, with key information either missing or presented in different ways • Encourages the applicant to consider the specific needs of the employer – e.g. respond to questions relevant to the employer • More likely to get up-to-date information from the applicant

Reasons for Rejecting Candidates at Application Form Stage • May not meet standards set out in job specification • Wrong qualifications • Insufficient experience • May not have completed application form to a satisfactory standard • May be unlucky • Employer has set a limit on number of candidates who progress through to interview stage

Recruitment Interview • Interview is a crucial part of the recruitment process • Chance for an employer to meet applicant face to face • Can obtain much more information on: • What person is like • Whether they are suitable for job • Whether they will fit into the business • Interview is also an important for the candidate • Obtain information about job • Assess the working culture of a possible new employer • Recruitment interviewing is a hard skill – often it is done very poorly!

Information to Obtain During a Recruitment Interview • By the employer: • Information that cannot be obtained on paper from a CV or application form • Conversational ability- often known as people skills • Natural enthusiasm or manner of applicant • See how applicant reacts under pressure • Queries or extra details missing from CV or application form • By the employee • Whether job or business is right for them • What is culture of company like • What are exact details of job that may be omitted from job description

Selection Tests • Formats • Aptitude tests • Intelligence tests • Personality tests • Why used • Basic interview can be unreliable as applicants can perform well at interview but not have qualities or skills needed for job • Selection tests increase chances of choosing best applicant and so minimise high costs of recruiting wrong people

References • What are references? • Written character statements from people who know the applicant well • An important “safety check” • A chance to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of an applicant • Final check that all information given by candidate is correct • Good honest reference from an independent source can also reveal good or bad incidences from candidate’s past or particular traits that may have been missed.

Employee Retention • All businesses lose staff • Retirement / Maternity / Death / Long-term Illness • Unsuitability • Changes in strategy (e.g. closure of locations) • Staff turnover needs to be managed if the business is to succeed • Employee retention = the ability of a business to convince its employees to remain with business • How to keep staff • Offer financial (e.g. bonus, salary rise) • Offer non-financial (e.g. promotion, more decision making power) incentives

Labour/staff turnover • What it means • Proportion of a firm’s workforce that leaves during course of a year • A business with a high staff turnover is said to have problems with “staff retention” • Problems of high staff turnover • Increases recruitment costs (e.g. advertising for replacement staff; employing temporary staff whilst job vacancies are filled) • Reflects poor morale in workforce • Increases training costs of new workers • Loss of productivity while new worker settles in

Recruitment & Selection