Recruitment and Selection of Staff

A. Current Issues and new challenges.

1. Characteristics of the Emerging Workforce include a concern for work-life balance, a diverse workforce, and employees with little loyalty who will readily change jobs.
2. Issues and Challenges relate back to the characteristics of the employees. Organizations have tried some new ideas to assist with these challenges, including creative scheduling, family-friendly work environments, diversity training, and employee retention methods.

B. Human Resource Planning methods are used to project future needs.

1. Assess Current Capabilities and Needs with different techniques.
a. Conduct human resource inventory with employees to see what their skills and education are.
b. Conduct a job analysis to determine what skills and knowledge are necessary.
2. Assess Future Needs based on the mission, goals, and strategy of the organization.
a. Estimate the future demand for goods and services.
b. Project future revenues.

C. Recruitment and Selection

1. Recruitment should begin as soon as needs are identified.
a. Recruitment is the process of locating, identifying, and attracting qualified applicants for available positions.
b. Sources may be easy to identify, but candidates may need enticing to apply.
c. Seek to identify the most qualified candidates for the job. A job description lists knowledge, skills, and abilities required to match to candidates.
d. Notify minority groups of openings to ensure compliance with EEO and affirmative action laws.
2. Internal Recruiting seeks to fill vacancies with current employees. It is the most common approach.
a. Notify present employees and encourage them to apply for positions in which they are qualified.
b. Ask present employees for referrals; often those referrals are other current employees.
Advantages of internal recruitment include:
• Increases morale, retains employees, attendance and work records are known, less training necessary
Disadvantages of internal recruitment include:
• Lack of new ideas, may settle for less qualified to avoid hurt feelings, may lead to violations of EEO rules, ripple effect creating other vacancies
3. External Recruiting may be effective in certain situations.
a. Advantages to external recruiting include the ability to attract the most qualified individuals, a reduction in resentment, the ability to bring in new ideas, and recruitment from minority groups.
b. Disadvantages to external recruiting include the need for more training, the chance of losing current employees to new opportunities elsewhere, and the risk of the unknown regarding the new employee.
4. External Recruiting Resources can be used to locate, identify, and attract qualified applicants.
a. Newspaper ads are the most common resource; they generate a huge number of applicants.
b. Specialized journals and publications are an effective way of attracting qualified applicants; they are primarily used for professional or upper-level positions in an organization.
c. Professional organizations would be a good resource for highly specialized positions or those that require a higher education.
d. Educational institutions have placement services that are used by current students and alumni.
e. Public employment services provide a free or low-cost way to recruit.
f. Private employment agencies can be effective for finding high-caliber applicants because of the specialization; however, it may be very costly.
g. Labor unions and trade associations provide referrals for both skilled and non-skilled jobs.
h. Walk-ins and mail-ins include individuals who are seeking job openings.
i. The Internet is a new resource, but it is gaining in popularity VERY quickly. Examples: Sites like www.monster.com and www.careerbuilder.com.
j. Job fairs are used to recruit employees from similar industries in times of high need or hard-to-fill jobs.
5. The Combined Approach is probably the most common to make the most of the advantages of each.

6. Selection methods vary.
a. Applications and resumes are used to select qualified applicants; they both are written documents that can be used to determine if a candidate meets basic job requirements.
b. Employment tests can be used to test job skills, personality, or written intelligence/aptitude; they must be reliable and valid.
c. Personal interviews are used to compare information on the application. They are usually a chance to discuss the job face-to-face; the interviewer can ask questions, but so can the applicant.
d. Reference checks provide additional information about the applicant. Due to legal concerns, many previous employers avoid answering questions beyond dates of employment.
7. Legal Restraints have been enacted to protect different groups from discrimination.
a. The Equal Pay Act prohibits a difference in pay based on gender.
b. The Civil Rights Act (1964) prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from discriminating on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, or religion.
c. The Age Discrimination Act (1967) prohibits employers with 20 or more employees from discriminating in the employment of people between the ages of 40 and 70. The upper age limit was removed, except in some job categories.
d. The Vocational Rehabilitation Act (1973) prevents discrimination in employment based on physical and mental handicaps. It prohibits employers from denying a qualified person a job, requires “reasonable” accommodations be made for workers with disabilities, and prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs.
e. The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) is an extension of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act; it went into effect in 1992 and 1994. Besides reinforcing the ideas in the first act, the legislation gives disabled persons greater rights to access public facilities.
f. Other acts and executive orders have been enacted as necessary at the federal, state, or local level.


Source:
http://www.iaapathens.org/cpsreview/management/Ch02.doc