What is the importance of studying the process of recruiting selecting and training employees?

I think the most important thing I have learned throughout this course is that recruitment isn’t as straightforward as I originally thought. There is a lot of critical thinking and strategy that goes into choosing the right recruitment strategy for the job. I have noticed that I even look at job descriptions and ads differently, I really analyze them rather than just skimming them. The methodology behind recruitment strategies was very interesting to me.

Week 4’s recruitment goals & methodology, was something that I didn’t expect to learn anything from, but ended up giving me a new outlook towards these strategies. I like that they went through the pros and cons of each strategy and noted when it would be helpful to use or not use each one of them. 

The videos gave me a better understanding of how to achieve the goal of finding the right fit for the job, versus just recruiting anyone and everyone. Not all of the recruitment strategies work for every type of company and job. Every recruiter wants to have success and to ensure that success, you have to be strategic in the recruitment strategy you choose.

I liked that they went over incentives, because this is something that could help or hurt the company depending on what the incentives are and how they are presented. It’s also something that when I think about recruitment, is one of the last things I think about, but as a potential employee it’s one the first things I think about. So making myself go and analyze recruitment strategies as both a potential recruiter and as a potential employee, and really compare my outlook towards them has been helpful in finding what I think will be one of the best recruitment strategies for the occupation in our group project.

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Recruitment and selection as well as training are processes that bring together organizations and human resources. Recruitment and selection in particular, provide the window through which organizations gain access to willing and able human resources, the same way as job applicants gain access to the organizations of their choice. On the other hand, training provides the avenue by which organizations develop and harness talents for strategic purposes and in the same manner by which human resources learn and enhance skills and capabilities for personal growth and development. Essentially, both the organization and the employees benefit from these processes. In this regard, this essay seeks to discuss how organizations and employees see recruitment and selection and training. More specifically, this essay aims to examine and explain how useful these processes are from the perspective of the individual employee and the organization.

From the organization’s point of view, recruitment and selection are vital tools in attracting and gaining access to the best talents in the labor market. It should be noted that the ability of the organization to compete in the market depends largely on its workforce, as the workforces are: sources of ideas and concepts that form the foundation in creating new products and services; the hands that work to create new and innovative products and services; and also the organization’s emissary to the customers and other external partners. Given the strategic role of the workforces in developing competitive advantage, organizations today are not only competing in the product market but as well as in the labor market (Bartlett and Choshal 2002). According to Bartlett and Choshal (2002), organizations have evolved in a manner by which the human resources have been viewed as strategic resources that are central in developing competitive advantage. In view of the increasing competition in the labor market, organizations rely in large part on the human resource function to do the part and this is when recruitment and selection strategies are employed.

Focusing more on recruitment, Lievens, Van Dam and Anderson (2002) noted that effective recruitment strategies provide a means for organization to build a large pool of qualified talent from which to choose the best talent among the bests. Basing their assumption on a study conducted on public organizations, Lavigna and Hays (2004) claimed that organizations can choose from among a rich list of recruitment techniques that would help strengthen their competitiveness in the labor market. Consequently, Devaro (2005) noted that the choice of recruitment strategies determine the quality, size, and arrival of speed of the recruits. Moreover, Devaro (2005) elaborated that in selecting the best recruitment technique, the usual In view of Devaro’s (2005) assertion, identifying the appropriate recruitment approaches and strategies may be considered crucial.

In relation, Henkens, Remery, and Schippers (2005) identify commonly used strategies, which may be enumerated as follows: firstly, active and informal recruitment approaches, which include scouting fresh talents from universities and educational institutions, utilizing social networks of current workforces, such as the employee referral program, offering on-the-job trainings or apprenticeship, and conducting job fairs; secondly, online recruitment techniques, which include posting job advertisements on the company website, accessing curriculum vitae databases and career sites, and placing banners and links on-line; finally, formal recruitment techniques, which includes recruiting applicants from formal channels, contracting the recruitment process, and print advertising.

From the workforces’ perspective, recruitment attempts of the company, such as on-line job ads, job fairs and all other recruitment techniques, serve as a portal through which workforces enter the organizations of their choice. The job ads for example provide the initial link between the applicant and the target organization. More importantly, Lavigna and Hays (2004) noted that without legitimate and transparent recruitment systems and processes, privileged groups would more likely control the hiring system. Resultantly, job applicants will not have equal chance of being hired.

With regards to the selection process, Llorens and Kellough (2007) asserted that the ability of the organization to employ highly-qualified and effective workforces depend, in large part, on the manner in which selection is performed. Therefore, the selection process plays an important role in ensuring that the organization hires only the best talents in the market. Generally, the primary goal of the selection process is sift and eventually determine the best candidate from a pool of qualified applicants. In relation, Robertson and Smith (2001) noted that in choosing the selection tools and approaches, it is important to pay attention to the ability of selection tools to predict future job performance.

Among the commonly used selection tools are the structured interview, employment background checking, and the psychological tests. The structured interview in particular, are conducted to systematically screen candidates based on a set of pre-determined criteria or attributes (Hallwood 2009). Background checking on the other hand, is conducted to eliminate undesirable candidates (Randall and Randall 2001). Furthermore, Randall and Randall (2001) claimed that employment background checking is a simple and inexpensive in nature. Meanwhile, psychological tests are also conducted to objectively assess the skills, abilities, behavior, aptitude, and attitude of the candidates (Randall & Randall 2001). Through these selection tools, the organization could structurally determine which among the applicants qualify for the position, in a manner that would limit the chance of hiring inappropriate candidates.

For the employees on the other hand, selection techniques, such as structured interviews, employment background checking, and psychological tests, provide equal chance of getting selected for the position. With the formal selection techniques and approaches, all applicants for the job get equal opportunity in getting hired, as all candidates will be required to undergo the process. Generally, potential employees see the selection process as a systematic and objective way of selecting the best candidates as bias and prejudice are prevented. In the absence of a formal selection process, privilege groups will be given the freedom to position the candidate of their choice regardless of qualifications and capabilities. But with a formal selection process, privilege groups are prevented from interfering with the selection process. Ultimately, candidates would feel that they were given equal chances of being hired.

Furthermore, a formal selection process provides a way for job applicants to build their self-esteem. Knowing that they would be competing with other candidates, job applicants tend to see the selection process as an opportunity to prove their potentials and skills. Through the selection process, applicants get the chance to prove themselves worthy of the position and in the process build confidence and a stronger personality. In interviews for example, workforces get the chance to express their thoughts and views and in the process show their communication and interpersonal skills. Consequently, these experiences allow individuals to explore their skills and potentials and at the same time develop self esteem.

Going now to training, organizations normally see the training process as a systematic approach to developing and enhancing the skills and capabilities of the workers in a way that would add value to the organization. According to Gerber (2000) the complex nature of the business in the twenty first century calls for highly qualified and competent workforces. Furthermore, Gerber (2000) claimed that work has become more demanding and requiring for a ‘smarter’ workforce. Consequently, the organization may respond to these external pressures by harnessing the skills and capabilities of the workforces, which may be achieved by designing and facilitating training programs for the workforces.

Fundamentally, effective training programs and approaches would guarantee that organization’s workforces are equipped with the appropriate knowledge and information to efficiently perform their tasks (Acton & Golden 2003). Subsequently, trained and efficient workforces tend to produce better results than workforces that have not undergone training. Resultantly, overall productivity and efficiency may be improved and sustained on a long-term basis. Moreover, organizations also rely on training to cascade new initiatives. For example, organizations attempting to introduce new concepts, such as total quality management (TQM) and other programs tend to conduct training sessions to introduce the new concept to the members of the organization. In addition, organizations extract benefits from conducting trainings among staffs. Acton and Golden (2003) explained that providing training opportunities to employees help in: increasing employee satisfaction; increasing sense of belongingness and benefits; improving employee commitment to the organization; updating of skills; and strengthening the organization’s competitiveness. In relation, commonly used training techniques include audio-visual based training, computer-based training, electronic performance support system, and the distance, Internet-based training (Acton and Golden 2003). Organizations normally use a combination of these approaches to enforce learning.

From the perspective of the employees, the training process is beneficial as it allows employees to refresh existing skills and more importantly learn new competencies and knowledge (Baldwin-Evans 2004). Primarily, training helps employees improve skills and knowledge that are necessary for personal as well as professional growth. By maximizing training opportunities, employees tend to become more competitive and competent, which helps in increasing the market value. It would be important to consider that training helps employees develop new competencies and expertise, which are determinants of market value, as well as compensation and other incentives. In essence, highly competent workforces expect higher salaries or compensation, as this kind of workers are highly demanded.

Recruitment and selection and training are organizational processes that could benefit not only the organization but also the workforces. The recruitment process for instance benefits the organization given that the process helps in attracting the best talents in the market. On the other hand, the recruitment process also benefit the workforces, given that recruitment initiatives serve as the portal through which applicants gain access to the organization of their choice. With regards to the selection process, organizations benefit from the process, as selection techniques and approaches allow organizations to hire only the best talents. Similarly, workforces benefit from the selection process, as it provides a systematic and structural means of selecting the best candidate without bias and prejudice. As for the training process, organizations benefit from the process, as effective training programs and approaches guarantee that organization’s workforces are equipped with the appropriate knowledge and information to efficiently perform their tasks. It should be noted also that trained and efficient workforces tend to produce better results than workforces that have not undergone training. Training also benefits employees as training programs provide a way for skill and knowledge enhancement, which are vital for personal and professional growth. Furthermore, training helps employees become more competitive and competent, which are determinants of market value as well as compensation and incentives.

References

Acton, T & Golden , W 2003, ‘Training the knowledge worker: a descriptive study of training practices in Irish software companies, The European Journal of Industrial Training, vol. 27, no. 2/3/4, pp. 137-146.

Baldwin-Evans, K 2004, ‘Employees and e-learning: what do end users think?’ Industrial and Commercial Training, vol. 36, no. 6/7, p. 269.

Bartlett, C & Choshal, S 2002, ‘Building competitive advantage through people’, MIT Sloan Management Review, pp. 34-41.

Gerber, R 2000, Training for a smart workforce, Routledge, New York.

Henkens, K, Remery, C & Schippers, J 2005, ‘Recruiting personnel in a tight labour market: an analysis of employer behaviour’, International Journal of Manpower, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 421-436.

Lavigna, R & Hays, S 2004, ‘Recruitment and selection of public workers: an international compendium of modern trends and practices’, Public Personnel Management, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 237-254.

Lievens, F, Van Dam, K, & Anderson, N 2002, ‘Recent trends and challenges in personnel selection’, Personnel Review, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 580-601.

Llorens, J & Kellough, E 2007, ‘A revolution in public personnel administration: the growth of web-based recruitment and selection processes in the Federal service’, Public Personnel Management, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 207-222.

Randall, J & Randall, C 2001, ‘A current review of hiring techniques for sales personnel: the first step in the sales management process’, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 70-83.

Robertson, I & Smith, M 2001, ‘Personnel selection’, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, vol. 74, no. 4, pp. 441-473.

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