Staffing Organization: Recruitment and Selection

Introduction

Staffing is the function of searching for the right person for the right position. It is the process of finding new employees or retaining the existing employees for fulfilling the demands of appropriate job opportunities. It is the third function of management, after planning and organizing which is holding a key role in attaining organizational goals. The major processes of staffing include recruitment, selection, training, placement, orientation, promotion, and retention of its employees.

Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment and selection are the main functions of a personnel department in an organization.” Recruitment and selection allow management to determine and gradually modify the behavioral characteristics and competencies of the workforce.” (Recruitment and Selection, Introduction, 2007).

Modern world business recruitment plays a strategic role in the better performance of organizations. The recruitment and selection process is begun after the identification of the vacancies has been filled up. Recruitment is the function of scouting for prospective employees and inducing them to apply for jobs in the organization. Hence the first step is – identification of sources of manpower sufficiently needed for the organization. Selection is an effort of the total process of acquiring and developing appropriate staff. The organization believes that the selection process should be consistent with other procedures for the entire staffing function. Therefore, the Organization tries to adopt a systematic and integrated approach to the selection process for selecting the best possible candidates. There are mainly two types of recruitments- Internal Recruitment and External Recruitment.

Internal Recruitment: means appointing the existing staff within the organization for the prevailing vacancy by informing them through staff notice board or personal letters. Internal recruitment function training and development programs are very important for enhancing the skill and ability of an existing employee for making fit for their own job as well as for organizational development. Internal Recruitment is beneficial due to several reasons- this system provides career growth for employees, internal recruitment motivates the employees to remain in the organization, it saves time and money. Even though it is significant, it has a lot of problems – It reduces the job opportunities for freshers, sometimes the existing employee may or may not be fit for the selected post.

External Recruitment: It is the function of hiring employees for vacancies from outside the organization. External recruitment is done by the personnel department of the organization. Some organizations seek employees through external recruitment agencies and consultancy agencies. Nowadays, Campus recruitments and job fairs are widely in vogue for a wider choice for candidates as well as employers. The first step in external recruitment is an organization, which is making an evaluation of the entire structure or departments on the basis of judicious evaluation. The personnel department is able to identify the off-the-job areas or vacancies.

Initially, the organization publishes the advertisement through newspapers, the internet, and other mediums; this advertisement can help the organization in attracting a wide group of potential employees. The organization conducts various selection methods for its vacancies. Selection is a practical concept from an organization’s point of view. The selection process helps to collect reflective information about the proposed individual.

The organization measures the performance of the existing employees through analyzing with the span of time by adopting various techniques like performance appraisal and merit rating. Performance appraisal is the systematic evaluation of work being undertaken by the employees. Many methods are adopted for performance appraisal including, Management By Objective (M B O), 360 Degree appraisal, etc.

In a selection process, the organization is looking to select the right persons through interviews and tests. The selection process is changing on the basis of vacancies in top-level job vacancies selection procedures which are conducted through various steps. The selection process includes interviews, tests, and other methods. In each step, the selecting team screens the candidates, and finally, they select the right persons for the job.

Training

Training and development play a very important role in an organization. The main aim of these activities is to improve the performance of the employees to cope up with changing situations. By applying for the training programs, and organizations can identify the need for the skill and abilities of employees. Training helps to improve the productivity of employees. In the modern competitive business world, training is one of the strategic areas of Human Resource Management. Training helps the organization to improve the competency of its employees. Many manufacturing and service industries apply training for improving their employee’s ability to work with new technologies.

Training also helps the organization to enhance its employees’ skills and the ability for meeting organizational goals and objectives. Training is mainly of two types; Off-the-job training and On- the-job training. Off-the-job training is provided to the workers, externally, that is, outside of the organization’s working environment and working time. The training session is being undertaken, either by an expert training department or any other training consultancy. It may be in the form of distance learning, revision courses, or evening classes. It is beneficial to the workers for interacting with a number of other employees belonging to other firms.

On-the-job training is conducted inside the organization. “On-the-job training (OJT) is one of the best training methods because it is planned, organized, and conducted at the employee’s worksite.” (On the Job Training, 1998). The training is undertaken during the working hours itself, so the workers are required to concentrate highly on the work allotted to them. It is the primary training method. It is helpful for improving employee skills, and as a result, there should be a corresponding increase in productivity also. This technique is described as ‘Learning by doing.’ It is job-oriented and most useful for vocational work.

Placement

Placement is an activity to providing an appropriate designation to the selected person. As soon as the placement process starts, the selected candidate becomes an employee of the organization. From then onwards, an authority-responsibility relation takes place between the employer and the employee. As per the performance of the employee, either promotion or demotion takes place.

Orientation

After the selection of an employee, the management undergoes an orientation process. Here, the new employees will obtain a detailed description of organizational structure, legislative rules, and regulation prevailing working conditions and the mission and vision of the concern. During the probationary period, it is essential to get a clear idea about the performance of the employee. “A successful probationary period involves commitment on the part of both the probationary employee and the supervisor or manager.” (Staffing Orientation and development: Orientation, 2007). Orientation helps the organization to ensure that the newly appointed person fits the job.

Orientation is designed to educate the trainee in all corporate matters that are likely to affect his working environment and also to fully equip them to handle any kind of eventuality in the work process that may arise in the future. Through orientation, the trainee develops the corporate culture peculiar to the organization which is merged into his work. A well-oriented trainee would definitely be in a better position to relater himself and his work to the overall corporate environment and would also able to perform his assigned task more efficiently, effectively, and in lesser time.

Promotion

Promotion is an internal function that is utilized to upgrade the skill sets and work knowledge of the individual. It is intended to increase the scope of work and add new responsibilities to the existing ones. Promotion may also be viewed as a reward system for good performance since it is linked with increased emoluments. Promotion is intended to take the individual to the next level of hierarchical performance. There are two types of promotions- normal/ periodical and earned promotions.

Normal promotion may be exclusive of efficiency or better performance by the staff and it’s based on the length of experience/service within the organization. Therefore, it could be said that in most cases these promotions arise due to the passage of time. However, under earned promotion, the staff renders exceptional service to the organization, justifying an enhanced level in the corporate hierarchy. This may sometimes be exceptional, since the management considers the staff worthy of higher responsibilities, and desires to groom him for a top management position. Therefore, the promotion may be set to be stepping stones in the realization of individuals, career goals, and objectives.

The concept of promotion differs from organization to organization and best reflects the progressive-mindedness and supportive role played by the management. Promotions are basically intended to raise the level of output while stimulating his creative capabilities. Through promotions, the individual gains higher identity value about himself and his work while motivating him for better performance. It also serves as a recognition of the employee’s contribution to the organization. It also exemplifies his commitment to the organization in terms of superior work output. An organization’s promotion policies should consider the overall contribution of individuals towards its growth.

The main disadvantages of promotions are that they may not be given without a hint of bias or perceived favoritism to one individual at the expense of others. Since corporate performance appraisals are mainly subjective, they could be slightly distorted in their outlook which may result in a wrong decision regarding promotions. Another disadvantage of promotion is that fresh outside candidates having up-to-date knowledge in their field may be denied an opportunity to serve the company due to its strong internal promotional policies. Thus a mediocre insider may be promoted in the place of recruitment of an exceptional and deserving outsider. It may also give rise to internal demotivation among the other staff members which may affect the morale and goodwill of the organization.

Retention

Retention is the company’s policy of nurturing the work ethos of its employees on a long-term basis. Retention offers the company’s HR department better leverage to plan formulate and execute long-range personnel plans and procedures. Since the employees at all levels constitute human capital, it is intrinsic that they are planned for long-term employability and retention is one of the best methods of ensuring this idea.

Staff turnover can be very expensive to organizations. Since a high degree of turnover could lead to a heavy hiring and training cost in the future. There fore “treating the workforce well adds to the loyalty of the employees” and is a sustaining force during the years of service and reflects significantly on the quality and output of the employees.

“Perhaps part of its employee-retention success is also because, despite the accolades Qualcomm has earned both inside and outside its doors, the company continues to seek new and better ways to boost retention and keep employees happy.” (David, 2002). Retention is required not only for the sustenance and consolidation of the work ethos but also to impart a sense of job security and confidence among the employees, which is reflected in greater productivity, higher morale, and a stronger sense of loyalty towards the organization. Under the retention method, the sum total of the employee’s work knowledge, experience, and specialized skill sets gained over a period of time in the organization could be optimally utilized.

The main disadvantage of retention is that it inhibits the entry of qualified and efficient outsiders since the policy of retention creates fewer new job opportunities. Moreover, a strong corporate retention culture may give certain employees a sense of job security under cover of which, they could undertake unhealthy practices which may be prejudicial to the interest of the organization and its ingrained value systems. Although the practice of retention may manifest positive thinking on the part of management in the short period, it is not advisable to pursue this policy in the long run. This is because technological advancement is the order of the day and new thinking and technologies are rapidly assuming center stage it is almost impossible for a corporate to sustain itself in the present global market without restructuring and reviewing its plans and policies, including that of retention if it wishes to remain as a global player.

In the present organizational settings the recruitment and selection policies, by and large, reflect the corporate psychology of the organization. This is because organizations today have to be progressive-minded and should think in terms of the 21^st Century with corporations becoming more technology embedded the human facet in enterprises is unmistakably diminishing and human values tend to be hidden in the race for corporate supremacy. Seen against this backdrop, recruitment and selection are to be need-based and should add value to organizations’ strengths. After appropriate R&S, the training aspects considered necessary for efficient performance as to be imparted. Specialized training needs to be given for high skill-oriented functions like software development, engineering, and manufacturing know-how. It needs to be said the training should be task-based learning rather than conceptual knowledge acquisition since it is more related to the actual functions to be carried out after the training is completed. After this stage, the appraisers usually formed a good assessment of the capabilities of individuals and others in a position to place the right persons in the right jobs. This is the subject matter of placement which seeks to optimize the skill sets of the individuals for attaining corporate objectives.

Conclusion

In the 21^st Century, with corporate functioning in a highly competitive environment, it becomes necessary for company’s to seek professionalism in all areas of corporate endeavor. Staffing has assumed the primary role of a moderator seeking to guide and moderate the functions of recruitment, training, placement, orientation, and promotion along with a well-coordinated and orderly manner so that the company is free to concentrate on higher business planes. The integration of these vital functions into organizational structure forms the necessity for their virtual existence and propagation in the years to come.

Works Cited

1. Recruitment and Selection (2007). HRM Guide Employee Selection.
2. Human Resources Presents, Personnel Manager. On The Job Training (1998). DOI University. National Business Centre. U.S. Department of the Interior.
3. Staffing Orientation and development: Orientation. (2007).
4. Southgate, David (2002). A best-of-breed in staff retention. Tech Republic. CNET Networks. Web.