Recruiting and Selecting Employees Lesson 5-6
Learning objectives: Recruiting After this lecture you should be able to: q Explain how overall HR strategy guides recruiting practices. q Describe the key elements of HR planning. q Explain traits and search patterns of people looking for jobs. q Describe the characteristics of organizations that attract recruits. q Describe the various recruiting sources. q Explain the approaches for evaluating the recruiting
Learning Objectives: Selecting After this lecture you should be able to: q Describe how employee selection practices can strategically align with HR strategy. q Explain what makes a good selection method. q Explain the concepts of reliability, validity, utility, legality and fairness, and acceptability of the selection methods. q Describe selection methods. q Explain how to combine scores from several different selection methods for a final selection decision.
Strategic recruiting Employee recruiting is the process of identifying and attracting people to work for an organization. A strategic approach to recruiting helps an organization to become an employer of choice and thereby obtain and keep great employees.
Employee selection The process of choosing people to bring into an organization. Effective selection provides benefits to an organization q It can improve the effectiveness of other human resource practices and prevent numerous problems. q For example; motivated employees who fit with the organizational culture can reduce disciplinary problems and diminish costs associated with replacing employees who quit.
(Short) Introduction Strategy is a set of coordinated choices about goals, actions and resources. From an HRM perspective, there are actually two types of strategy 1. competitive business strategy, which focuses on choices about how to serve the needs of customers 2. HR strategy, which focuses on choices concerning the management of people within the organization
HR strategy: the Contingency approach q q q The contingency approach seeks to match HR practices with the competitive business strategy For Example, organizations concerned with reducing costs (cost leadership) emphasize processes and general roles. While, organizations following differentiation strategies will emphasize flexibility and distinctiveness. Another difference is whether the organization has an internal or an external labor orientation Organizations with an internal labor orientation seek longterm relationships with employees Organizations with an external labor orientation seek flexibility and do not make long-term commitments to employees.
Four HR strategies
The Loyal Soldier Hiring people early in their careers and retaining loyal employees that fit the organizational culture. Broad roles and a great variety of tasks. Efforts to reduce the employees turnover. Extensive training in different skills. Careers with very different positions. Performance appraisals on cooperation rather than competition. Compensation with long-term incentives and benefits linked to the overall performance of the organization. Unions, frequently help to build feelings of unity.
Bargain Laborer Hiring employees who do not demand high wages. Coordination with direct supervision. Clearly defined simple tasks that do not require developed skills. Little attention to meeting the long-term needs of employees. No careers with clear paths for promotion. Performance appraisal focuses on day-to-day feedback and rarely incorporates formal measures. Training limited to on-the-job techniques. Compensation on hours worked with no benefits and longterm incentives. The lack of consistency among employees tends to make unions somewhat rare.
Committed Expert Hiring people early in their careers and retaining specialized ones that fit with the organizational culture. Employees have freedom to innovate in performing tasks. Long-term training to be experts in specific fields. Performance appraisals are designed to balance cooperation and competition. Careers with numerous promotions into similar jobs with increasing responsibility. Compensation is relatively high and usually includes a benefits package.
Free Agent Hiring people with already critical skills, not expected to remain with the organization for a long period of time. Work with extensive responsibility and autonomy within specific areas. Short-term commitment, compensation and benefits. No training and no long-term careers in the organization. Performance appraisal focuses on outcomes and results and linked with compensation. Unions are rarely seen in these organizations
Alignment of hr and competitive business strategies Organizations are likely to have HR practices that fit with their competitive business strategies è the four HR strategies Research suggests that organizations with a cost leadership competitive strategy excel when they follow a Loyal Soldier HR strategy. Organizations with a differentiation competitive strategy excel when they use a Committed Expert strategy.
Strategic Framework for Work Design
Recruiting Talented Employees (Lesson 5)
Factors influencing recruiting Strategies There are two approaches: q q Broad scope, which represents a set of work skills that a lot of people have. Targeted scope, which represents a set of skills that only a few people have. There are two sources: q q Internal sourcing seeks to fill job openings with people who are already working for the organization. These are current employees who are ready for promotions or for different tasks. External sourcing of recruits seeks to fill job openings with people from outside the organization. Primary sources of recruits are other organizations.
Strategic Framework for Employee Recruiting
Human Resource Planning HR planning is the process of forecasting employment needs. The process involves: 1. assessing current employment levels; 2. predicting future needs; 3. planning for internal movement; 4. predicting external hiring needs.
Organizational Attractiveness The four general characteristics that attract applicants to organizations are: 1. Familiarity 2. Compensation 3. Specific job traits 4. Recruiting sources
Familiarity Organizations with a strong brand image thus have an overall advantage when it comes to recruiting. However, efforts to create an image as a generally desirable place to work are very important for less well-known companies.
Compensation and specific job traits People like organizations which: q q Pay competitively; Offer better and more flexible benefits; q Help to exploit greater opportunities for advancement ; q Assure higher job security. But we have also to consider Organizational Traits q q q People like working for organizations which have positive reputations such being friendly, sincere, kind, and trustworthy. Another organizational trait is innovativeness. People want to work for innovative organizations because they think their work will be interesting and fun. A third desirable trait is competence. People want to work for an organization that is successful.
Recruitment Sources Organizations use a variety of sources to find job applicants. q Some sources, such as referrals from current employees, are relatively informal. q Other sources, such as professional recruiters, are more formal. Some of the various sources are as follows: q job posting, employee referrals, print advertising, electronic recruiting, employment agencies, and campus recruiting.
Effective Recruiting Four common measures include: 1. Cost 2. Time 3. Quantity 4. Quality
Cost Measures Cost measures include such things as the money paid for advertising, agency fees, and referral bonuses. Also included is travel expenses for both recruiters and recruits, as well as salary costs for people who spend time and effort on recruiting activities.
Time Measures Time measures assess the length of the period between the time recruiting begins and the time the new employee is in the position. Estimates suggest that the average time to fill a position is 52 days.
Quantity Measures Focus on the number of applicants or hires that are generated through various recruiting activities. Common measures include number of inquiries generated, number of job applicants, and number of job acceptances. These are measures of efficiency, and they provide information about the reach of recruiting practices.
Quality Measures Is the extent to which recruiting activities locate and gain the interest of people who are actually capable of performing the job. Typical measures include assessments of how many applicants are qualified for the job, as well as measures of turnover and performance of the people hired.
Effective Recruiting The most frequently used measures of recruiting combines assessments of cost and quantity. q One measure is cost per hire, which is calculated by dividing the total cost of a particular search by the number of hires it provides. q The other is cost per applicant, which is calculated by dividing the cost of a recruiting method, such as a newspaper advertisement, by the number of people who respond.
Selecting Employees Who Fit (Lesson 6)
Learning Objectives After this lecture you should be able to: q Describe how employee selection practices can strategically align with HR strategy. q Explain what makes a good selection method. q Explain the concepts of reliability, validity, utility, legality and fairness, and acceptability of the selection methods. q Describe selection methods. q Explain how to combine scores from several different selection methods for a final selection decision.
Employee selection The process of choosing people to bring into an organization. Effective selection provides benefits to an organization q It can improve the effectiveness of other human resource practices and prevent numerous problems. q For example; motivated employees who fit with the organizational culture can reduce disciplinary problems and diminish costs associated with replacing employees who quit.
Strategic Framework for Employee Selection
Short-term generalist Short-term Generalists provide a variety of different inputs, but do not have areas of special skill or ability. This is associated with the Bargain Laborer HR strategy: q Most positions are filled by hiring people away from other organizations. q The goal is to select people who can perform simple tasks that require little specialized skill.
Benefits of a Short-Term Generalist Strategy People without specialized skills do not generally demand high compensation, which keeps payroll costs as low as possible. Because STGs lack specific expertise, they are usually more willing to work in routine jobs and do whatever they are asked. The number of employees working for the organization can be flexed up or down as demand increases or decreases.
Long-term Generalists Individuals who have developed skills and knowledge concerning how things are done in a specific organization. LTGs are beneficial for organizations using the Loyal Soldier HR strategy. HR strategy is focused on keeping employees once they are hired.
Benefits of a Long-Term Generalist Strategy Lack of specific expertise allows firms to reduce payroll costs. Employees have develop skills and abilities that are only valuable to the specific organization, reducing the likelihood that they will move to another one. Reduction in the recruitment, selection and training expenses. They tend to develop relationships and form a strong sense of commitment to the organization.
Long-term Specialists These are people who have an expertise in a particular area. Such as Accounting, Marketing, HR, and so on. The use of long-term specialists fits the Committed Expert HR strategy. People are hired even if they have not yet developed all the skills needed to perform the job, as long as they are committed to advancing within a specific profession.
Benefits of Long-Term Specialists It enables organizations to create and keep a develop talent. Employees are given the time and assets to develop the skills they need to be the best at what they do and add value back to the organization.
Short-term Specialists Are employees who provide specific inputs for relatively short periods of time. Associated with the Free Agent HR strategy. Staffing is aimed at hiring people who have already developed skills that they can bring innovations to the organization.
Benefits of Short-Term Specialists Employees provide services relatively short periods of time. Allows the organization to quickly acquire needed expertise, without waiting for hires to acquire the skills. The organization pays premium prizes for this knowledge and skills but makes no long-term commitments and both parties can end the employment relationship at anytime.
Making Strategic Selection Decision The focus is on two factors: q Job-based fit è it seeks to match an individual s abilities and interests with the demands of a specific job. q Organization-based fit è it is concerned with how well the individual s characteristics match the broader culture, values, and norms of the firm.
Selecting the Best Selection Method-Questions to ask
Which selection methods are commonly used? The three most common methods used are: q Testing q Information Gathering q Interviewing
Testing Tests measure knowledge, skill, and ability, as well as other characteristics, such as personality traits. Types of Tests: Cognitive Ability testing. It measures learning, understanding, and ability to solve problems. e.g. Intelligence Tests. Personality testing. It measures patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior. e.g. Myers Briggs, Pathfinder, and so on. Physical Ability testing. It assesses muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, and coordination. Integrity testing It assesses the likelihood that applicants will be dishonest or engage in illegal activity. Work Sample testing (Assessment Center) It measures performance on some element of the job such as keyboarding or role playing.
Information Gathering Common methods for gathering information include application forms and résumés, biographical data, and reference checking: q q q Application Forms and Résumés - Generally they ask for information such as address and phone number, education, work experience, and special training. Biographical data - historical events that have shaped a person s behavior and identity. Reference Checking - involves contacting an applicant s previous employers, teachers, or friends to learn more about the applicant Issues with reference checking: Defamation of character, which occurs when something untrue and harmful is said about someone. Negligent hiring, occurs when an organization hires someone who harms another person and the organization could reasonably have determined that the employee was unfit.
Interviewing The interview is the most frequently used selection method. Interviewing occurs when applicants respond to questions posed by a manager or some other organizational representative (interviewer). Typical areas in which questions are posed include education, experience, knowledge of job procedures, mental ability, personality, communication ability, social skills.
Types of Interviews Structured Interviews - uses a list of predetermined questions. All applicants are asked the same set questions. There are two types of structured interviews. q Situational interview, in which the interviewer asks questions about what the applicant would do in a hypothetical situation. q Behavioral interview, in which the questions focus on the applicant s behavior in past situations.
Types of Interviews-continued Unstructured Interviews - open ended questions are used such as Tell me about yourself. This allows the interviewer to probe and pose different sets of questions to different applicants.
Selection decisions Decision can be made using one of the following methods. q q q q Predictor Weighting it combines a set of selection scores into an overall score in which some measures count more than others. Minimum Cutoffs Approach it requires that each applicant have at least a minimum score on each selection method. An applicant who is very weak on any of the measures will not be hired. Multiple Hurdle Approach - applicants must meet the minimum requirement of one selection method before they can proceed to the next. Banding Approach - uses statistical analysis to identify scores that may not be meaningfully different.