Recruitment takes place from the point when an organisations decides that it needs to employ somebody up to the point where applications are received in the post or online. Then the selection process takes place through are variety exercises, interviews and assessments. Before looking at Recruitment & Selection my approach is to look at options with current employees first either those that already have the required skills and experience to take up a new role or by identifying training needs. This is especially important if the focus of the organisations is changing direction.
Training
Training for working in a job role is very important and often overlooked. Many employers want employees to hit the ground running but in truth the majority of people start a new job with some development needs to be able to complete the role to the required levels. The same can be said when an organisation changes direction and focus because this can involve new ways or working and employees need to time to understand then adjust
Organisation often overlook current employees in favour of recruiting new employees without conducting a skills analysis of their existing workforce. Obviously a skills analysis is only part of a wider exercise and the approach to training varies from organisation to organisation. Ideally processes and procedure needs to be engrained into the organisation and consideration needs to be given during Change Management.
Recruitment
If after considering the current workforce there is a need to recruit it is important to attract the right candidate to the job. It can be costly if the right candidates don’t apply because the post may need to be re-advertised or sometimes an organisations appoints the wrong candidate.
A job analysis identifies the skills, knowledge and essential requirements that a person would need to complete the job to the required standard. These details can be set out in a job specification, which helps anyone involved in the shortlisting process select suitable candidates for interview. It also assists candidates when applying for the job along with a job description and information about the organisation.
A variety of methods can be used to advertise the post such as local newspapers, local networks, online job sites, trade publications, social media etc.
Selection
Selecting candidates involves shortlisting, and assessing applicants to decide who should be made a job offer. Both of these processes can be time consuming but need to be completed thoroughly. It is a crucial stage in the overall recruitment process and may involve the following:
- Application forms and CVs
- Online screening and shortlisting
- Interviews
- Psychometric testing
- Ability and aptitude tests
- Personality profiling
- Presentations
- Group exercises
- Assessment centres
- References