Selection

As with many bureucratic functions, hiring and selection can be a long multistep process that may include screening applicants, finding the most qualified, rescreening finalists, and validating the candidates credentials. With the money invested in this time-staking process, it would be expected that the best candidate is found every time. If not, one should question whether the process attracts the best candidates and whether the time and money should be invested more in advertisement and recruitment that screening and selection. How should these hiring factors be balanced. All are important, however the goal is always to find the best applicant. Perhaps the systems in place are the best course of action oto take. The following is an excerpt from an article that outlines in detail the best method to take in the hiring process. http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan021814.pdf

RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES

MANAGING/EFFECTING THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS

By Margaret A. Richardson

(An Excerpt from the original article)

THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Successful recruitment involves the several processes of:

1. development of a policy on recruitment and retention and the systems that give

life to the policy;

2. needs assessment to determine the current and future human resource

requirements of the organisation. If the activity is to be effective, the human

resource requirements for each job category and functional division/unit of the

organisation must be assessed and a priority assigned;

3. identification, within and outside the organisation, of the potential human

resource pool and the likely competition for the knowledge and skills resident

within it;

4. job analysis and job evaluation to identify the individual aspects of each job and

calculate its relative worth;

5. assessment of qualifications profiles, drawn from job descriptions that identify

responsibilities and required skills, abilities, knowledge and experience;

6. determination of the organisation’s ability to pay salaries and benefits within a

defined period;

7. identification and documentation of the actual process of recruitment and

selection to ensure equity and adherence to equal opportunity and other laws.

Documenting the organisation’s policy on recruitment, the criteria to be utilised, and all

the steps in the recruiting process is as necessary in the seemingly informal setting of in5

house selection as it is when selection is made from external sources. Documentation

satisfies the requirement of procedural transparency and leaves a trail that can easily be

followed for audit and other purposes. Of special importance is documentation that is in

conformity with Freedom of Information legislation (where such legislation exists), such

as:

criteria and procedures for the initial screening of applicants; criteria for generating long and short lists; criteria and procedures for the selection of interview panels; interview questions; interview scores and panellists’ comments; results of tests (where administered); results of reference checks.

Recruitment strategies and processes

Recruitment may be conducted internally through the promotion and transfer of existing

personnel or through referrals, by current staff members, of friends and family members.

Where internal recruitment is the chosen method of filling vacancies, job openings can be

advertised

by job posting, that is, a strategy of placing notices on manual and electronic

bulletin boards, in company newsletters and through office memoranda. Referrals are

usually word-of-mouth advertisements that are a low-cost-per-hire way of recruiting.

Internal recruitment does not always produce the number or quality of personnel needed;

in such an instance, the organisation needs to recruit from external sources, either by

encouraging walk-in applicants; advertising vacancies in newspapers, magazines and

journals, and the visual and/or audio media; using employment agencies to “head hunt”;

advertising on-line via the Internet; or through job fairs and the use of college

recruitment.

Public service agencies enjoy greater exposure to scrutiny than most private sector

organisations; therefore, openness and transparency in recruitment and selection practices

are crucial. The discussion that follows will identify some of the options available for

attracting applicants to the public service job market and discuss strategies for managing

the process.