Recruitment and selection are important human resource practices for every successful organization. The performance of a corporation is highly dependent on the quality of its staff members. Recruitment involves finding qualified individuals for various jobs while selection involves the screening of the candidates to determine their suitability for different responsibilities. The selection system that an organization implements influences various aspects such as financial performance, productivity, and the bottom line. The primary responsibility of the human resource department in any organization is recruitment and selection. This role is the most important in creating and sustaining a corporation’s culture and strengths. Recruitment and selection are organizational processes through which corporations attract and search for qualified appointees, and then determine whether they are appropriate for their organization. The effectiveness of these crucial HR practices determines whether they have a positive or negative impact on organizational performance.
Positive Impacts on Organizational Performance
Research has established a correlation between the recruitment and selection practices of an organization and its performance. Companies that have solid recruitment plans perform better because they hire qualified individuals who are knowledgeable in areas of expertise and who fit properly into the organization’s structure (Ekwoaba, Ikeije, & Ufoma, 2015). Effective recruitment and selection is associated with outcomes like reduced turnover and high employee motivation, increased financial performance, and enhanced creativity and innovation (Boxall & Purcell, 2016). A firm’s strength is based on the qualifications of employees and the quality of their relationships. Therefore, the recruitment of exceptional employees results in high organizational performance and the generation of human capital advantage.
Proper Functioning
The proper management of recruitment and selection activities can have a significant impact on organizational performance and image. Researchers have found out that the more effectively an organization recruits and selects qualified candidates, the more likely they are to achieve higher productivity and positive bottom-line outcomes like improved financial performance (Boxall & Purcell, 2016). Recruitment drives give organizations access to a large pool of individuals with varied skills and qualifications. The success of a corporation is largely dependent on the proper selection of individuals that provide the best fit for various roles within the organization (Ekwoaba at al., 2015). The selection of skilled and knowledgeable employees results in products and services of a higher quality, which lead to increased sales.
The effective execution of the aforementioned human resource processes is critical to the proper functioning of organizations. High productivity depends on the hiring of people with the skills and expertise needed to execute certain organizational functions and contribute toward the advancements of its vision and objectives (Boxall & Purcell, 2016). Organizations can easily obtain technology and capital for the advancement of firm objectives. However, it is difficult to acquire a staff of highly-qualified and committed employees who fit properly into their job roles. This challenge explains why firms should practice caution when conducting recruitment and selection processes.
Innovation and Creativity
One of the most important roles of recruitment and hiring is to bring in fresh talent into an organization. In many organizations, recruitment is conducted to replace vacancies created by employees who have either left for other corporation or retired due to various reasons. Creativity and innovation are important factors that are critical in the development of an organization’s competitive advantage (Boxall & Purcell, 2016). Therefore, it is inevitable for companies that want to enhance their performance to hire individuals with specific qualifications and abilities. Surveys have shown that the most innovative organizations record high organizational performance because of their ability to compete effectively with other corporations (Ekwoaba at al., 2015). A major advantage of appropriate selection decisions is the enhancement of organizational effectiveness, the validation of reward and development strategies, and the promotion of successful leadership.
Enhanced Effectiveness and Morale
Employee satisfaction is directly linked to recruitment and selection as key human resource processes. It is essential for an organization to hire individuals with personality types and skills that are appropriate for specific jobs and tasks. Job satisfaction originates from an individual’s ability to use their knowledge and skills to execute their jobs. In that regard, hiring qualified individuals leads to employee contentment and increased productivity (Boxall & Purcell, 2016). It is also important for the human resource department to recruit and select employees whose preferences fit well with their organization’s culture (Ekwoaba at al., 2015). Research has shown that a positive workplace culture and employee satisfaction are key factors that contribute to increased organizational efficiency and financial performance.
In many organizations, positions are created in alignment with company goals and objectives. Job requirements are established in a manner that allows the HR department to screen for the most qualified individuals. It is imperative for companies to select people with skills that align with the goals that they want to achieve (Boxall & Purcell, 2016). This can be attained through thorough recruitment and selection processes from a pool of candidates with varied skills and aptitudes. Accurate screenings ensure that the candidates who possess the right traits and qualifications are hired (Ekwoaba at al., 2015). Organizations can estimate a candidate’s contribution to the organization during interviews. For example, the human resource team should ensure that they hire candidates with prior work experiences and who supply sufficing evidence of task completion and high performance. A lack of precision in hiring results in negative organization outcomes such as low productivity and poor financial performance.
Negative Impacts
As mentioned earlier, recruitment and selection can have both positive and negative impacts on organizational performance. The process can lead to negative outcomes such as low productivity, employee dissatisfaction, and poor financial performance (Ekwoaba at al., 2015). Factors such as canvassing, preferential treatment of certain candidates, weak screening procedures, and improper recruitment practices can lead to the hiring of non-qualified individuals (Boxall & Purcell, 2016). Moreover, the exclusion of steps like job analysis and person specification in the recruitment process leads to the hiring of low-performing employees. Organizations should conduct thorough screening and eliminate unethical hiring activities that could compromise the selection of the most-qualified candidates.
Conclusion
Finding competent employees is one of the most important and challenging responsibility of an organization’s human resource department. The recruitment and selection processes determine whether a firm hires qualified individuals whose skills contributed toward the achievement of organizational goals. Qualified employees are highly productive and motivated. In that regard, they have appositive impact on organizational performance. On the contrary, unqualified employees are unmotivated and unproductive. Therefore, they lead to poor performance outcomes such as low productivity and poor financial performance. Moreover, wrong employees have negative costs on both financial performance and human capital development. It is imperative for organizations to practice effective recruitment and selection practices in order to ensure that they hire the best employees to work toward organizational goals.
References
- Boxall, P., & Purcell, J. (2016). Strategy and human resource management (4th ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.
- Ekwoaba, J. O., Ikeije, U. U., & Ufoma, N. (2015). The impact of recruitment and selection criteria on organizational performance. Global Journal of Human Resource Management, 3(2), 22-33.