EMPLOYEE SELECTION

 

EMPLOYEE SELECTION

 

Employee selection is a major human resource function in a work organization. This refers to the process that employers use to make a decision concerning which individuals from a group of choices for a particular job or job roles within the organization (Fari and Nancy. 2010). In other words, the selection process choosing individuals with the correct qualifications needed to fill jobs in an organisation. Without a qualified workforce, an organization is for less likely to succeed (Mathis and Jackson 2010). Furthermore, Selection is the process of attracting individual who has appropriate qualifications to fill jobs in an organisation. The selection process is much more than choosing the best candidate. It is an attempt to strike a happy balance between what the applicant can and wants to do and what the organization requires (Gupta and Jain 2014).

In the selection process, employers assess applicants characterises in an attempt to set on the “fit” between the job and applicant characterises. The most frequently used selection methods are the application form, Interviews, Employment test and assessment center. In general, the greater the skill requirements and work demands of an vacancy, the greater the number and variety of selection tools the organization will use. (Daft 2014).Guptha (2014),states selecting the right employees is important for three main reasons: performance, costs and legal obligations, and is as given below.

1)     Performance

Workforce with right skills will do a better job for any organization and for the owner. Employees without these compulsory skills or who are abrasive would not perform effectively and the company performance will suffer to a great extent. So, there is a time to screen out unacceptable and to choose the better and perfect candidate that can effectively contribute to company success.

2)     Cost

Cost is important because it is expensive to hire employees so cost-benefit ratio have to be considered while hiring of employees in order to avoid any unnecessary wastage of money and the valuable resources .The total value/cost of hiring a manager can easily be 10 times as high as once one add search fees, interviewing time, reference checking, and travel and moving expenses.

3)     Legal Obligations

Finally it is important because of the two legal implications of incompetent hiring. Firstly, equal employment law requires non-discriminatory selection process for selected groups. Secondly, courts will find the employer responsible when employees with criminal records or other problems use access to customers’ homes to commit crimes. Lawyers call hiring workers with such backgrounds, without proper protection, negligent hiring. So, the negligent hiring highlights the need to think through.

In Sri Lankan context, Jayasingha ( 2019 ) stated that , our country’s youth are trained to join the work force at various government and non-government tertiary education and training institution in a vast spectrum of skills, the annual output of trained or skilled labour joining our existing workforce is not prepared and adequately qualified to meet the demands of the current market requirement , especially in skilled labour , according to industrialists and other businessman.Sri lankan employment details on level of education in last 7 years as follows in figure 1.0.

Figure 1.0: Employment by level of Education (2013 – 2019)

 (Source – Labour Force Survey – Annual Report 2019)

According to the Sri Lankan labour force survey (2019), level of education among employed has been increasing over the previous years. However, still considerable part of employment population has grade 05 0r below level of education and also major group shows in grade 6-10 group near to 48%. Furthermore some students continue their education at other professional institutes, and other follow diplomas and other skill based training, thousands of the students who leave the education system with basic academic qualifications enter our workforce , often without any formal training of skill ( Jayasinghe 2019).Hence considering the above indications of labour market , organisations should pay more attention to their selection process.

Selection Process / Procedures

Referring the Human resource management practices in Sri Lankan listed firms Serasingha and Opatha (2007), followings are the seven steps of selection procedure.

1.     Formality of selection process

2.     Inclusive of general comprehensive strategy

3.     Application Evaluation

4.     Holding Interviews

5.     Conduction examinations where appropriate

6.     Background Investigation

7.     Medical Test

Also, Communication of selection policy to all concerned, training all relevant personals in selection, Use the different types and formats of interviews, use of different types of exams, Testing validation of selection tools, testing reliability of selection tools have mentioned as selection practices (Serasingha and Opatha 2007).

The practical application of above methods/Process, Singer Sri Lanka group are practicing and using it very successfully in past number of years referring their Human resource policy. Organization have 05 employee categories as Key & Senior Management, Middle Management, Junior Management, Executives and Non- Management employees. Organization HR policy includes the clear guild lines to selection process for mentioned categories considering the job role and employment group. Human resource department is following seven methods which mentioned in Human resource management practices in Sri Lankan listed firms journal done by Serasingha and Opatha (2007), with changing number of interviews. Basically, the Non-Management group have 03 interviews like as two face to face interviews and written interviews. Basically, management staff selection interviews have four or five steps, like two face to face interviews with middle management and senior management panel, report writing test after field visit, Lunch/Dinner interview and finally face to face discussion with Chief Exactive officer / Chairman. Also, organisation is following background investigation and medical test as mentioned by Serasingha and Opatha (2007). In the current Covid -19 pandemic situation, company conduct interviews through online platforms like Zoom, Hangout or WhatsApp.

References

Annual Report (2019) – Sri Lanka Labour Force Servery, Department of Census & Statistics.

Daft, R. (2014). New era of Management, 11^th Edition, Cengage Learning India Private Limited.

Fari,L. & Nancy, T (2010). Hand Book of Employee Selection, Taylor and Franas Group, LLC, International Stranded Book No 978-0-8058-6437-3, p01.

Gunathilaka, R. Mayer, M.& Vodopiveo, M. (2010). The challenge of youth employment in Sri Lanka, The international bank for reconciliation and development, ISBM: 978-0-8213-8117-5 ,p84.

Gupta, R.& Jain, T. (2014).  Role of Recruitment & Selection policies in Central Co-Operatives Banks: International Monthly Refereed Journal of Research in Management & Technology.

Jayasinghe, R. (2019). Bunding the Gap between employer expectations and Employee Skills, “bmd” The magazine for achievers. Bacopa Worldwide (pvt) Ltd, p25.

Mathis, L. & Jackson, J. (2010). Human Resource Management 13^th Edition, p 214.

Serasingha, D.K. Opatha, H. (2007). Human Resource Management Practices in Listed Firms in Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Journal of Human Resource Management Vol 01

EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT

 

EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT

Recruitment is the process of generating a pool of qualified applicants for organizational jobs (Mathis and Jackson 2004). In other words, recruitment is the process of engaging and finding the people an organization’s needs ( Josee et al 2014 ). It can be defined as any exercise or activity carried on an organization with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees (Amin at al 2014) Both success and survival of an organization depend on the quality of Human resource available to it and/or use. Therefore, the organization should focus on identifying and attracting the most competitive applicants, which is achieved through a recruitment process effectively (Musculo 2015). The recruitment of human resource in an organization can be costly and different when the labour market is low and they are no others for the request of the organization who want to recruit (Musculo 2015). Also, employee retention is the ability to maintain and retain the most desirable employees for a longer period in the organization (Gupta 2014)

In Kenyan contest, Employee recruitment has influenced employee retention (Mbugua 2015). The organization makes vacancies known to a larger number of people to the organization through advertisement and publicity and make a larger number of people to apply is called recruitment. “The aim of recruitment is to attract qualified job candidates.” (Balasubramanian 2014). Furthermore, employee retention should be linked with an effective recruitment process Kumari, N (2012).

Musculo (2015) have mentioned that the recruitment aims to attract human resources needed to develop the adequate activity of the organization and human resource attracted increasing their chances to remain in the organisation as long as possible. Furthermore, he stated that, determine current and future recruitment needs in retention to human resource planning and job analysis activities, Increasing the number of potential candidates qualified with minimum costs, selecting those candidates who have the potential to add value to the organization, they are able to work in a team, the success of the selection process by reducing opportunities for input into the process people with lower qualifications to the job requirement, increased effectiveness and efficiency across the organization in the short, medium and long term are the most important objectives of the recruitment process.

Kumari, N(2012) have noted that, helps to create a talent pool of potential candidates for the benefits of the organization, to increase the pool of job-seeking candidates at minimum cost, helps to increase the success rate of the recruitment process by decreasing the no of visits qualified or overqualified job applicants, helps to identifying and preparing potential applicants who will be appropriate for the job are benefits and importance of the recruitment process.

SINGER (Sri Lanka) Plc maintains a commitment to employee engagement that is respectful of individual dignity and human rights. Our employment practices are premised on attracting and retaining human talent based on merit (Singer Sri Lanka Annual Report 2017/2018). Since there is a very high demand for their Multi brand products; the company has to ensure that it has a sufficient number of staffs to carry out the organizational projects which are quite high in demand. Therefore, before beginning the year individual department heads request number of additional staff requirement according to their business expansion plan. Considering the department wise staff’s requirements, HR manager prepares a total required staff carder to take approval from the CEO and the following table shows the statistic of requirement/resignation in the Financial year of 2017/2018.

Table 1.0 : Management Decision and Analysis – Employee Capital

(Source: SINGER (Sri Lanka) Plc Annual Report 2017/2018)

Considering the above Table 1.0, Company take actions to increase his no of employees in 2017/2018 financial year due to the expansion of the after-sale service sector and Sales, Marketing sections. The staff growth recorded as 7.43% in the same financial year and it nearly equal to 2015/2014. The recruitment of employees who have the potential to be the Company leadership in the future ensures the growth of the business. Beyond academic credentials and skill levels, various factors also need to be taken into consideration when making recruitment and training decisions. 

Sources of Recruitment

A source of recruitment can be described as an avenue through which a prospective employer can organize a pool of prospective job applicants or seekers. Basically, there are two avenues preferably described as sources of recruitment. The two are Internal and external sources and is as follows (Otoo et al. 2018).

Internal recruitment sources

Muscalu (2015) note that Organization relates to filling vacancies by members of the organization by promoting a better job (in terms of working conditions) or advancement in the hierarchy of jobs (higher qualifications, greater responsibility, higher remuneration.). Also, Internal recruitment allows managers to observe employees for a certain period of time to evaluate each individual’s potential and performance of the office. The internal recruitment sources are Promotions ( Appointing internally qualified / suitable candidate to the vacancy allocating addition responsibilities ), Transfers ( An employee transferred to another place of work with in the same organization or group ), Internal Advertisement ( Company annoys a vacancy within the company and employees are encouraged to apply ), Recall ( Company recalls former works to fill the vacancy ) Otoo et al. (2018).

As a responsible employer, we encourage our employees to pursue career development opportunities and continuously support their growth. We continue to invest time and money, even in difficult times, for the training and professional development initiatives of our employees (Annual Report 2017/2018, p. 86). In other words, the largest household appliance retailer in Sri Lanka with the human capital of 4000 (Direct and Indirect), have fantastic succession plan aiming all level of staff. Hence, employees have opportunities to move up into a higher position. Once, higher post vacancies come they offer the first opportunity for the current employees before advertising outsiders. The organization continually follow this method, even after the management change in 2017/2018 period.

External recruitment sources

Grabara et al. (2016), stated that in his Recruitment process optimization journals article, an organization which decides to recruit a new employee through the process of external recruitment has at its disposal 02 methods: passive recruitment and active recruitment. Passive recruitment methods include a re-examination of the CVs of candidates who participated in earlier recruitment processes. The greatest advantage of using the passive recruitment method over the active recruitment method is time and cost-saving. The greatest advantage of the active recruitment method is the possibility to assess the competence of a candidate in diff event situations and with the use of a variety of techniques and tools. As of Otoo et al. (2018), External source of recruitment means recruiting from outside the company and It includes through Human resource recruitment consultants, Executive recruiters, Public advertisement, Graduate recruitment, Management Recommendation methods.

Considering the Sri Lankan organization’s view, identifying and nurturing potential leaders who have the potential to be bold, mature and responsible decision-makers is part of our focus areas in creating a quality workforce (Annual Report 2017/2018, p. 85). Furthermore, if an organization unable to recruit internally the company will be advertised job vacancy in the local newspaper or the Internet. It is usually the HR manager and relevant department/section manager responsible for holding interviews and hiring staff to fit in the job requirements in the best possible way.

The recruitment process at Singer Sri Lanka’s comprises of three simple steps. Step one requires filling up of an application form, steps two is an interview and the last steps is the reference check.

Step 1: Application form and quiz

In the first step, the candidates are required to apply for the desired post by simply filling in an application form. The application form includes a company demanding personal and a few other details of the applicant.

Step 2: The Interview

Incidentally, the 1st one generates more applications as compared to the positions available. All the resumes and applications are carefully examined and the applicants whose applications look good are called for the interview via telephone call or electronic mail. The interview process is conducted twice, one is with the department manager or human resource manager and the other is with the director himself. The interviews take place in the head office and it is a face to face interview conduct to check the personal skills, competencies and attitude of the candidate.

Step 3: Reference Checks

As a part of the final step of the recruitment process, the HR managers carry out reference checks of the documents provided by the candidates as proof of their qualification or prior experience. After the reference checks are done, the managers select the qualified candidates for various job posts.

Finally, an organization to succeed and service must combine rational use of both internal and external sources of recruitment. (Muscalu 2015). Recruitment processes aimed at finding the most suitable employees are still being evaluated. Nowadays, proper planning and preparing the recruitment process influences its efficiency. Modern and innovative solutions constantly appearing in the labour market, support the recruitment process by optimization of costs and time of the conducted recruitment activities Grabara et al. (2016).

References

Amin, M & Ismail, W, R Asaid, SZA & Selemani,(2014), The impact of human resource management practices on performance, The TQM Journal Vol 26.

Annual Report (2017/2018), SINGER (Sri Lanka) Plc.

Balasubramanian, K. (2014), The Significance of Recruitment in an Organization: Global journal of Finance & Management (Volume 06): Research India Publications.

Grabara, JK, Kot, S, Pigoń, Ł, (2016), Recruitment process optimization: Journal of International Studies Vol 09.

Josee, VM, Kahara, G & Karemu, (2014), An analysis of the effect of employee recruitment on retention at equity bank Kenya, Journal of Business and Management.

Kumari, N (2012), A Study of the Recruitment and Selection process: SMC Global, Vol. 02.

Mathis, RL, Jackson, JH (2004), Personal Contemporary Perspective and applications, St. Paul, West Publishing Company.

Mabugua, GM,(2015), Relationship between Strategic Recruitment and Employee Retention in Commercial Banks in Kenya.International Journal of Business Administration, Vol. 6.

Muscalu, E ( 2015 ), Sources of Human Resource recruitment Organization,” Lucian Blaga” University Of Sibiu, Romania.

Otoo,I. Assuming,J and Agyei,P.(2018). Effectiveness of Recruitment and Selection Practices in Public Sector Higher Education Institutions European Scientific Journal May 2018 edition, Vol. 14.

Taylor.MS, Bergmann.TJ (1987), Organizational recruitment activities and Applicants Reaction at different stages of the recruitment process, University of Maryland collage Park, University of Wisconsin, Eau Clair.