The Employee Selection Process - Term Paper Example

?Human Resources-Employee Selection Process An Overview Employee selection process is one of the major processes that are essential to keep a companyor an organization moving ahead. A productive employee is a key to a company’s success. Any company or organization needs to have a bunch of well-experienced and highly qualified employees who can ensure high levels of profits and productivity. It is the responsibility of the human resource department to recruit such employees, who can prove to be productive for the company. Human resource department is considered one of the most important departments of a company because it is concerned with the employees who are the most valuable assets of a company because they make their company able to compete in the world of competition. The functions of HR department include management of all activities regarding employee management of the organization. The process of employee management starts from employee selection and ends when an employee leaves the company. Henderson (2008) asserts that human resource management is concerned with the management of employee population in an organization. These activities include employee recruitment, employee selection, employee training, dealing with workplace issues regarding employees, performance appraisal systems, analysis of employees’ performance and productivity, and employee development. Groenewald (2009) asserts, “Staffing, training, compensation and performance management are basically important tools in the human resources practices”. Employee Selection Process There is a difference between recruitment and selection processes. Recruitment is a process in which a company identifies vacant jobs and publishes them in the newspapers and in internal vacancy lists in order to hire suitable employees for those positions. In job advertisements, a company also specifies the required set of skills and qualifications in order to let the candidates know about the skills required for a job. Claude (2010) states, “Employee recruitment forms a major part of an organization's overall resourcing strategies”. In the process of employee selection, a company conducts job interviews and various tests in order to select the most appropriate candidates for the vacant positions. “The key to effective selection is the ability to match the right person for the right job at the right time” (Hauenstein, 2011). Employees are the most valuable assets of a company because they make the company reach heights of success. “Employee Selection is a key strategy that can save organizations tremendous resources, time, and energy” (Young, n.d.). Proper employee selection acts as the foundation for employee retention whereas negligence shown in employee selection process puts adverse effects on the company. It is a fact that hiring a low profile employee is just like adding an expense to the company because such an employee is not able to deliver high quality services because of lack of knowledge and required skills and abilities. Therefore, it is very important for the HR department to hire such employee for the company who should be fully competent for the job and should possess the qualities of enthusiasm, commitment, dedication, motivation, and innovative mindset. Key Activities of Employee Selection Process Employee selection is the most important part of the HR department’s responsibilities. The activities related to this process include application assessment, call for tests, written tests, employment interviews, and issuance of appointment letters. Let us discuss all of these steps in detail in order to know their importance in the employee selection process. Application Assessment This is the very first stage of the employee selection process. During the process of application assessment, no face-to-face interaction takes place between the candidates and the company. Candidates send their applications along with resumes to the company and the company analyzes all applications to shortlist the most appealing ones. At this stage, the human resource department rejects the applications of such candidates who do not meet the job requirements. For example, if a candidate does not have the required level of qualification, the HR executives will not shortlist the application of that candidate. Similarly, if a candidate’s experience falls below the experience required by the company, the HR department holds the right to reject that candidate’s application because there are some specific rules and regulations, which the department needs to follow. The HR department examines the applications from all aspects and shortlists the most appropriate candidates for the next stage. Some of the key aspects, which are checked by the HR executives at this stage, include skills, qualification, experience, family background, and interests and competencies. Some companies emphasize on experience whereas some companies consider qualification or skills as the most important parts of a candidate’s job application. Some companies pay great attention to the way the applications are written by the candidates in order judge the written communication skills of the candidates. Summing it up, the HR department selects all those candidates for the next stages of the employee selection process, who meet some specific or all of the requirements that are laid down by the company. Call for Tests This is the second stage of the employee selection process. At this stage, a company sends letters or emails to all those employees who meet the requirements of the company. After complete analysis of all applications, the company shortlists the most suitable candidates and calls them for the tests. Some companies use emails to inform candidates about the approval of their applications whereas some companies makes use of other modes, such as, telephone calls or letters. Written Tests This is the third and one of the most important stages of the employee selection process. At this stage, the company holds written tests of the selected candidates in order to judge their skills and abilities to perform any specific job. A company can include different types of questions in the tests in order to know the aptitude, intelligence, reasoning skills, and personality traits of the candidates. “Psychometric testing is increasingly seen as the best way to get a good corporate fit with new recruits” (Fisher, 2007). Psychometric written tests are of two main categories, which include personality and interest tests and ability and aptitude tests. In the personality and interest tests, the company examines different personality traits, interests, and behaviors of the candidates by including personality-revealing questions in the tests. The company rejects such candidates whose behaviors are found negative or inappropriate for the work environment of the company. On the other hand, aptitude and ability related tests include such questions, which reveal the academic and professional skills and mental strength of the candidates. “While there are a large number of different kinds of ability tests, the most common type of ability test is a measure of cognitive or mental ability” (Hauenstein, 2011). Different types of reasoning skills are also checked in such tests, which may include verbal reasoning, numeric reasoning, spatial reasoning, work sampling, and decision-making skills. Some companies judge the candidates using both types of tests whereas some companies just take one test, which is aptitude and ability test in most cases. Tests are usually prepared by the higher authorities related to the department for which the employees are being selected. Written tests are a good way to shortlist the most suitable candidates. Written tests provide a good overview of the candidates who possess positive behaviors and have enough knowledge and skills to perform the job responsibilities properly. An employee may overcome his/her academic deficiencies during interviews but cannot hide them in the tests. Written tests reveal the actual level of knowledge of the candidates, which helps the selection committee decide which candidates should they call for interviews and which ones should they reject. Employment Interviews The stage of interviews comes after the written tests are conducted. The selection committee calls the candidates for the interviews, who pass the written tests. This is the stage when the candidates and employers come face to face for the first time. During interviews, signs of stress and anxiety become visible on the face of less confident candidates. Employers ask different kinds of questions to the candidates individually in order to assess their level of confidence, communication skills, knowledge of the company and the job, and enthusiasm. The employers cannot judge the level of competency of the candidates through interviews. Interviews are used to assess the confidence and verbal and nonverbal communication skills of the candidates. Some other purposes of conducting interviews are to determine the social skills of the candidates, to assess candidates’ knowledge of job responsibilities, to select the best candidate from a pool of equally qualified candidates, to gather background information, and to assess mindset of the candidates. Summing it up, interviews provide a good judgment about the overall personality of the candidates to the employers. Issuance of Appointment Letters This is the last stage of the employee selection process. The selection committee analyzes all aspects of the candidates’ performances in written tests and interviews and sends the summary of each candidate’s performance to the higher authorities along with the recommendation letter. The higher authorities review the summaries and approve the selection of new employees based on the recommendation of the selection committee. Finally, the HR department sends appointment letters to the selected employees. References Claude, T. (2010). What is Human Resources. Retrieved from http://www.articlesbase.com/advertising-articles/what-is-human-resources-2139650.html Groenewald, J. (2009). Human Resource Management and Organizational Effectiveness. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Human-­Resource-­Management-­and-­Organizational-­Effectiveness&id=2844811 Fisher, P. (2007). Psychometric Testing Shows How You Will Fit In. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Psychometric-Testing-Shows-How-You-Will-Fit-In&id=610774 Hauenstein, P. (2011). Common Employee Selection Tools: Trends and Recommendations. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Common-Employee-Selection-Tools:-Trends-and-Recommendations&id=6078197 Henderson, K. (2008). Human Resource Management Training and Development. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5707879_human-resource-management-training-development.html Young, C. (n.d.). Employee Selection: Are You Gambling at Work???. Retrieved from http://www.ezinearticles.biz/articles/4669.html   Read More