Recruitment and Selection at Saudi ARAMCO - Assignment Example

Recruitment and Selection at Saudi ARAMCO Introduction Organizations engage in the process of recruitment to receive applications from potential candidates for a particular vacant position that is on offer. Selection on the other hand involves acquiring and applying information related on the job to evaluating the suitability of the applicants for the position either in the long or short term. Recruitment and selection are the key components of the hiring process. Human resource managers need to be competent in establishing the best fit connecting the applicant and the business. This paper presents a case analysis and critical review of a recent recruitment and selection process in the workplace at Saudi ARAMCO. Best practices for recruitment and selection have been highlighted. It also provides a contrast of these practices with current practice as experienced in the company, and assessed against published standards and/or academic research. Understanding the appropriate recruitment and selection strategies is significant for managers especially to build their capacity to deal with the sensitivity of the process to the internal and external environment of the company. The paper lays emphasis on the interview process because it is the core function that leads to identification of the most suitable candidates. Recruitment and Selection at Saudi ARAMCO Saudi ARAMCO is an oil company that is focused on accomplishing its mission through engaging highly capable individuals in the workforce. In recent years, the management has adopted new and better strategies for recruitment and selection in a bid to cope with the rising competition in the labor market whereby companies are focusing on recruiting the most qualified workers to increase their productivity and competitiveness. By the end of 2009, the company needed to engage a new Process Control/Automation Systems Engineer to run its expanded production systems. Usually, advertisement for the vacancy is done after the production managers identify the need for new staff to fill a particular position, which is communicated to the human resource department. The manager gives the human resource manager the requirements of the position as well as the desired competence for the candidate. The job is then posted in various media such as the Saudi Arabia newspapers and the worldwideworker.com, which is an energy jobs website among others. Professionals in the field of oil and gas technology find suitable jobs in this website. Short listing is generally the next step whereby the applications received are evaluated against the requirements for the position. It takes three weeks to for the managers to choose the applications that are considered to deserve further consideration. Individual applications are appraised against the selection criteria to eliminate the applicants that do not meet the standards. After selection, the applicants are ranked in an initial order of merit that is based on the manner in which the applications satisfy the selection standards. Those applications that perfectly meet the standards are kept aside for further consideration while the rest are rejected. The next step us is usually the interviews whereby the selected candidates are invited for an interview. After the interviews, the candidates are once again ranked in order of merit depending on the selection criteria and the information obtained from the interviewees. The referees provided by each candidate are contacted to offer information regarding their previous experiences with the candidate. The applicants’ capabilities are reviewed and ranking in order of merit is once again done. The final report is then submitted to the human resource manager in charge of decision making. The successful candidate is appointed for the position, and the order of merit is maintained to be used in future in case a similar vacancy comes up or if the successful candidate fails to take the offer. The interview is significant in the enhancement of the panel’s acquisition of further information regarding the applicants’ appropriateness for the position. The interview structure is based on the selection criteria to ensure that the interviewee has an opportunity to confirm his/her capacity to satisfy the standards of the position. The various responses of the interviewees help the selection panel to classify the applicants in order of merit according to how they satisfy the selection criteria. The structure of the interview in the selection of the suitable candidate for the post of Process Control/Automation Systems Engineer was guided by the selection criteria. The questions that the interviewees were asked include; the educational background that was supposed to meet the selection criteria for the job that required a major in BS Engineering (Electrical/Chemical Engineering). The candidates with an advanced degree in the field had an added advantage. They were also required to give an account of their experience especially in process automation projects. The post required a 10 years of experience in the field. The candidates were expected to narrate their capabilities in developing proposals for projects, project design and implementation among other competencies. Those with experience in the oil and gas industry had an added advantage. The questions also tested the candidates’ ability to undertake a variety of tasks within the engineering department such as managing projects, planning for the facilities as well as process engineering tasks among others. They were also interviewed regarding their flexibility for travelling especially since the position involved travelling to various project sites in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The interview tested their understanding of the principles of chemical technology and industrial operations as well as their communication skills. This process was concluded with practical tests to determine the candidates’ capabilities to apply computers in accomplishing tasks. Best Practice in Recruitment and Selection Good strategies for recruitment and selection demonstrate a company’s ability to maintain professionalism in its operations. The present employees as well as the prospective ones recognize the standards of the organization through the process. Clients, business partners and competitors also use it as a measure of the effectiveness in service provision and competitiveness of the organization. There are many strategies that can be adopted for recruitment and selection. However, there are some best practices that have been identified through studies to be significant in the maintenance of competence in regard to accomplishment of the human resource needs of an organization. Barber (1998) observes that a company needs to ensure that the HR managers understand the aspects of the process clearly and that they are capable of applying the strategies to enhance the accomplishment of their roles of identifying and engaging the most suitable employees for the job. In essence, without such understanding by the managers who are core to the process, even the most admirable strategies can not work. There should be guidelines and standards that guide the recruitment and selection process. These should be adhered to by the managers to substantiate their meaning; otherwise it would be pointless to develop strong strategies that are not utilized. Following the rules and guidelines helps the managers in defining the course of action. The HRM are expected to maintain consistency in the process by applying the laid down standards. HRM need to avoid possible mistakes, which may arise from making hasty decisions without the necessary consultations. Cooper et al. (2003) observes that there should be concurrence between the organizational managers and the HRM regarding the job summary and content before moving to fill the vacant position by the latter. Such an agreement is significant in the avoidance of confusion and wastage of time and resources as the managers try to correct the mistake. The recruiting team should always be focused on accomplishing shared objectives for the outcome of the process to be satisfactory to all that are involved (Reilly, 2008). Recruitment should result in a number of interested candidates from which the most suitable person(s) for the vacancy can be selected. Various media can be used to facilitate the recruitment process, such as the press, employment agencies and bureaus, as well as the company’s newsletter or website. People usually apply in large numbers, each individual trying to demonstrate his/her capabilities through the application letters and curriculum vitae. The organization should invite the recruited candidates to participate in the tests that are typically designed to help the HRM to identify the most qualified candidate. The tests can be either written, oral interviews or hands on with the organizational systems such as computers or machines. The tests are usually connected to the vacancy that the candidates applied for. It is unnecessary to involve the candidates in irrelevant tests since their potential to accomplish the organizational tasks can not be identified. It is also important for the HRM to analyze the mind-set of the candidates regarding the organization and the job (Billsbery, 2007). In some circumstances, the candidates’ expectations are not met by the job description, which sometimes makes it difficult for them to accomplish the expected output due to low morale. The selection process should be utilized by the HRM to prevent the occurrence of this problem. It is important to provide information to the candidates regarding employee benefits in the company, performance and reward management strategies and other factors that may influence their productivity in future such as work-life balance. Such information helps the management to prevent the problem of resignations by newly employed staff, which may affect customers’ confidence in the organization (Najmi et al. 2005). Analysis of the Saudi ARAMCO Case Study The company has succeeded in maintaining a strong recruitment and selection process that is guided by the selection criteria, which defines the standards upon which the applications are evaluated. This approach is significant in ensuring fairness in the recruitment process, which is core to the selection of the most appropriate individual. Advertisement of the post in media that can easily be accessed by the public is important in ensuring that a substantial number of suitable candidates are informed. Effective communication between the factory managers and the human resource managers is a major strength that allows them to have a clear understanding of the appropriate selection criteria, which makes it possible to rank the candidates. The structured interviews are significant in the maintenance of consistency in the selection process by making certain that all the interviewees are asked the same questions. This is a strong strategy for enhancement of ranking. The various stages of ranking are important in ensuring that the best candidates proceed to the next stage until the final selection of the candidate who will manage to demonstrate the greatest competence. Moreover, the company can not incur the losses of undertaking the recruitment and selection process in case the selected candidate declines to take the offer. Selecting the next candidate in the rank saves time for the company. Using the selection criteria to develop the interview questions allows the interviewers to be specific in regard to the desired competencies for the position (Falcone, 2008). The weak point in the recruitment and selection process of Saudi ARAMCO is the failure to assess the candidates’ attitude towards the job they are aspiring to get. As Hellriegel (2008) argues, capability alone may not generate the desired competence amongst employees. Rather, it is important for them to be enthusiastic about the company and the day to day tasks. The selection criteria should include the candidate’s expectation regarding the job. He/she needs to be interviewed concerning his/her knowledge about the company, as well as the salary expectation. This would be important in the avoidance of retracting from candidature after undergoing the recruitment and selection process (Schrader & Lawless, 2004). Conclusion Recruitment and selection forms the basis for engagement of a competent workforce in an organization. It is important for the human resource managers to understand the recruitment and selection strategies of the company, which should be discussed between them and the factory managers whenever there comes up the need to engage new employees in the organization. The recruitment and selection process needs to be guided by strategies developed with consideration of the selection criteria. Recruitment enables the managers to narrow down on a group of individuals among many applicants who in a way satisfy the selection criteria. Saudi ARAMCO has been able to meet most of the best practices in recruitment and selection such as establishing standards for selection and focused interviews. However, there is a weakness in regard to the interviewing process to establish the interviewees’ attitudes towards the company and the job. It is important for the interviewers to ensure that the attitude towards work is applied in ranking the applicants. This can assist in prevention of selecting a candidate who may not be useful for the accomplishment of the organizational goals due to dissatisfaction. References Barber, A. (1998). Recruiting Employees: Individual and Organization Perspective, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Billsbery, J. (2007). Experiencing Recruitment and Selection, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Cooper, D. Robertson, I. & Tinline, G. (2003). Recruitment and Selection: A Framework for Success, Mason: Cengage Learning Falcone, P. (2008). 96 Great Interview Questions to Ask Before You Hire, Stamford: AMACOM Hellriegel, D., Jackson, S., & Slocum, J. (2008). Management: A Competency Approach, 10th Ed. United States: South-Western Thomson Learning, pp. 344 – 54 Najmi, M., Rigas, J. and Ip-Shing Fan. (2005), “A Framework to Review Performance Measurement Systems”, Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 11(2) pp109-122 Reilly, P. (2008). “Strategic HR? Ask yourself the questions.” HR Director. 44(2), 16-17. Schrader, P. G., & Lawless, K. A. (2004). “The Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors Approach: How to Evaluate Performance and Learning in Complex Environments.” Performance Improvement, 43(9), 8-15. Read More