Recruitment and Selection

• Why do businesses recruit?

  Because the firm is starting up or growing - a new business must recruit workers from scratch; a business with increased orders or increasing sales may decide to increase its production and so employ more workers

  
  

  To replace staff who leave

  
  

  The business may have a skill shortage
• What is a skills gap?

  when the business recruits skilled workers because it is short of them
• How does a business start its recruitment process?

  analysis of human resource needs; deciding the number and types of workers the business needs and when it needs to employ them

  
  

  advertising a vacant job; deciding where to advertise the job
• How does the selection process function?

  shortlisting and then selecting from shortlisted candidates
• How does the shortlisting process happen?

  people interested in the job will show their interest by making an application (businesses often ask for written information such as a letter of application and a CV)

  The business will use the information provided about the candidate to choose which applicants it wants to find out more about

  these applicants form the shortlist
• What happens after shortlisting?


  the business will conduct interviews, tests or group activities to choose between the candidates on the shortlist that have applied for the post
• What is a job description?

  A written description of the tasks and responsibilities a worker must perform

  
  

  writing this helps the business to be clear about what work it wants the employee to do

  it also helps possible applicants to decide if they are able to do the job and if they want to apply for it
• What is a person specification?

  A document that states the knowledge, qualifications, experience personal qualities and skills the worker will need in order to do the job

  
  

  it helps the business to be clear about what kind of person it should appoint and which selection methods to use

  the possible applicants can decide if they have the skills and qualities needed and it can help them to write their application
• What is internal recruitment?


  when a job is filled by someone who already works in the organisation
• What are the typical methods for internal recruitment?

  a noticeboard

  word of mouth

  a company magazine for the workers

  the firm's website

  social media used by workers

  emails to workers who might be interested in the job
• What are the advantages of internal recruitment?

  It is often cheaper

  It may be quicker to recruit someone

  The person appointed will already know about the organisation, its aims and objectives and its ways of doing things + induction training might not be needed

  The organisation can be confident that the person chosen is suitable

  It can be good for morale of the workforce to give opportunities for promotion
• What are the disadvantages of internal recruitment?


  existing staff may not add new ideas to help the business improve

  there may not be many people who are able and willing to apply for the job so the choice is restricted

  If an employee is promoted in the company some other workers my become jealous and it can cause resentment

  The job of a person who is appointed to the post will probably need to be filled so then further recruitment is needed
• What is external recruitment?

  when the organisation fills a post with someone from outside the organisation
• What are the typical methods for external recruitment?

  Websites

  Social media

  Local newspapers

  National newspapers

  Specialist magazines

  Job centres

  Word of mouth
• When would a business choose to use local newpapers?

  when the business knows that there are people in the local community who will be able and willing to do the job
• When would a business choose to use national newspapers?

  when a business wants to recruit skilled workers and there may be a shortage in the local community
• When would a business choose to use specialist magazines?

  they are often used to recruit highly skilled workers such as engineers and scientists
• How are job centres useful?

  they are useful for people who might not be able to access the internet any other way + for people who need advice about searching and applying for jobs
• When is external recruitment an advantage?

  when the business is starting up

  when there is no one in the organisation who would be able to do the job

  when someone with new ideas is required

  when it would cause resentment between workers if one of them was promoted

  when more workers are needed than the business currently employs
• What are the disadvantages of external recruitment?


  it usually takes longer than internal recruitment

  it usually costs more than internally recruiting because of the need for advertising and paying expenses for people attending the interview

  The managers will not know external candidates as well as they know internal candidates, increasing the risk of employing someone who is not suitable for the job
• What should be included in a job advertisement?

  duties/tasks

  qualifications/experience needed

  salary details

  description/hours/place of work

  training opportunities

  future prospects

  contact address

  details of how to apply
• What should a business think about before advertising a job?


  whether it will recruit internally or externally

  type of worker required

  number of workers needed

  location of the work

  amount of money available to spend on advertising for workers
• What are the advantages of a letter of application?

  they are good for showing a persons communication skills + it gives them an opportunity to write about their experiences and their qualities
• What are the advantages of an application form?


  the business can make sure that all applicants supply the information it requires so it can make easy comparisons
• What are the advantages of a CV?


  it shows the ability of an applicant to organise information

  it is easy for the business to see essential details about the applicant at a glance
• What are the advantages of interviews?


  the employer can see the candidate and can judge how well they present themselves, communicate and how well they will likely get on with workers

  group interviews are very useful for seeing how people work in a team
• What are the advantages of tests/presentations?


  the test give very specific information about a candidate (e.g. how mathematically or technologically skilled an applicant is)

  presentations can show how well an applicant can communicate and what ideas they have
• What are the advantages of references?


  they can be very honest assessments of a candidates character that can recommend whether someone should be appointed or not

  (however firms give employees good references just to get rid of them)
• What is the role of a recruitment agency?


  the agency will draw up a person specification and a job description in consultation with the firm they represent and it will then advertise for applications from interested people

  
  

  from these applications, they may recommend a small number of people they believe are suitable for the job
• Why are recruitment agencies used?

  they save time and money if it reduces the number of people employed in the firms HR department

  
  

  the recruitment agency is a specialist organisation and will know how and where to advertise the post as well as what kind of information will be needed about the applicants in order to decide which one to employ
• What is the role of an employment agency?


  it is an agency that keeps lists of people who are willing to do certain kinds of work

  
  

  a firm may ask an agency to provide a worker for a short period of time

  the firm pays the wage of the employee and the agency will also receive a payment
• Why is using an employment agency a good recruitment route?

  sometimes the workers are so good that the firm will offer the temporary worker a full time post

  it is a good way of recruiting as it gives the firm a chance to get to know how good the worker is

  
  

  however the agency may then ask for an extra fee as they recruited the worker in the first place
• The selection process is the final stage of recruitment, where candidates are chosen based on their suitability for the job.
• Selection methods include interviews, tests, assessments, and background checks.
• Interviews can be structured or unstructured, with different types such as panel, group, one-on-one, and telephone/Skype.