Chapter 3:The Acquisition Process: Employee Selection Techniques

An Overview of An Overview of Recruitment and Hiring Recruitment and Hiring Practices in Organizations Practices in Organizations

Mr. Gian Carlo M. Ledesma, A.B., Mr. Gian Carlo M. Ledesma, A.B., M.A.M.A.

University of Santo TomasUniversity of Santo TomasFaculty of Arts and LettersFaculty of Arts and Letters

Department of Social SciencesDepartment of Social Sciences

Setting the Pace...

•Understand the recruitment process from a general perspective

•Know how to recruit applicants•Determine the different employee

selection tools and techniques employed by different organizations

•Write a sample cover letter and resume that can be used for job application

Traversing the Roadmap...

•Unit 1: The Acquisition Process•Unit 2: Tools and Techniques in Employee

Recruitment and Selection•Unit 3: The Resume and the Cover Letter

Screening versus Selection

The Employee Screening and Selection Process: A Typical Day in the Life of an Applicant1) Review of application forms and

resumes2) Initial interview in the HR Department3) Employment Tests4) Preliminary Selection in the HR

Department5) Supervisory/Panel Interviews

The Employee Screening and Selection Process: A Typical Day in the Life of an Applicant6) Simulations/Assessment Centers7) Medical Tests8) Background Investigation9) Hiring Decision10)Submission of Pre-Employment

Requirements

Application Form

•Usually the first step in most organizations

•Asks for various demographic information about the candidate

•Based on resumes, but different from resumes

Application Forms

•Determines whether candidate meets the minimum qualifications of the job

•Serves as basis for employers to identify various job-related attributes of the candidate

•Provides information on certain potential problematic areas

Application Form

•Judging the appropriateness of items in the application form:▫Is the question job-related?▫Is the question really needed to judge the

candidate’s suitability for the job?▫Is the question invading the privacy of the

person?▫Is the response verifiable?

Application Form

•Content Areas Critical to Evaluation Forms:▫Overall Appearance▫Blanks and spaces▫Gaps in Time▫Inconsistencies▫Frequency of Job Change▫Salary history▫Reasons for leaving previous companies

Reference Check

•Entails the collection of information from the candidate’s previous employers/colleagues

•Can be done in various ways•Purpose: for verification purposes

The Acquisition Process

2. RecruitingRecruiting

5. PlacementPlacement

1. PlanningPlanning

3. ScreeningScreening

4. SelectionSelection

Overview of the Recruitment Process•Identify job opening•Decide how to fill job opening

▫No new staff (overtime, job elimination, job redesign)

▫New staff (contingency, core) Identify target population Notify target population Meet with candidates

When Identifying Job Openings

•Wait for an employee to resign, retire or be terminated?

•HR should answer the following questions:▫Budgeted positions?▫What is the projected turnover in the next

few months?▫New projects? New work that is incoming?

Identify Target Population

•What profile are we looking for to meet the qualifications of the job?

•Specify the job description•Decide the target population

Notify the target population

•What methods are you going to employ to notify the public?▫Consider the variety of recruitment

methods available▫Size of applicant pool▫Ensure clarity of job qualifications in the

notification

Meet with Candidates

•Recruitment Invitation▫Provides the candidates and the employer

the opportunity to learn more about each other

Recruitment

•Attracting people with the right qualifications (as determined by job analysis) to apply for the job▫Internal Recruitment ▫External Recruitment

Internal Recruitment

•The first decision in recruitment•Looks into getting internal sources to fill

positions and encourages promotions from within▫Internal Job Posting▫Supervisor/Manager Recommendations▫Human Resources Information Systems

(HRIS)▫Career Development Systems

Internal Recruitment

•Advantages▫Employees are well-versed with the

organization▫Lower recruiting and training costs▫Higher employee morale and motivation

toward the job▫Higher chances of success

Internal Recruitment

•Disadvantages▫Politicking in the organizations▫Inbreeding▫Rumors and gossips▫Morale problem▫Ripple effect

Contamination of feelings and sentiments

Internal Job Postings

•Job vacancy notification is issued and all qualified employees may apply

•Posted in various communication avenues within the organization▫T.V. Screens▫Bulletin boards▫Email blast▫Banners/Leaflets

Manager/Supervisor Recommendations•Nominations come from supervisors and

managers▫Have high awareness of an employee’s

potentials and capabilities▫High degree of subjectivity, bias and

possible discrimination

Human Resources Information System•Computerized information systems•Contains all information about employees

▫Search is made for job-related skills•Limited to disclosed and factual data

Career Development Systems

•Development forum▫Tracks employees who are tagged as “high

potentials” for people manager roles•Functional forum

▫Tracks employees who are tagged as “high potentials” for technical roles

External Recruitment

•The second decision•Hiring someone from outside the

organization▫Employee Referrals▫Applicant Initiated Recruitment▫Advertisements▫Employment Agencies▫Executive Search Firms▫Job Fairs▫On-line recruitment portals

External Recruitment

•Advantages▫Fresh ideas and approaches▫Clean slate and fresh experience▫KSAOs not currently within the

organization become available

External Recruitment

•Disadvantages▫Usually longer and costly▫Need to ensure fit between employee and

organization▫Adjustment period▫Need to establish commitment

Employee Referrals

•Solicitation of applicants from employees within the organization

•Incentivizing employees whose referrals become accepted▫TIP (Talent Incentive Program)

•Employees are in good position to estimate “good” fit between possible candidates and job requirements

Applicant-Initiated Recruitment

•Walk-in applicants▫Unsolicited applications

•A common scenario in organizations that have good reputations

•Less effort•High motivation among candidates

Advertisement

•Done in various media▫Print▫Online

•Reaches a broader range of audience•Intends to attract qualified candidates

and deter unqualified candidates

Employment Agencies

•Are tapped for blue-collar, technical and lower-level managerial employees

•Do the job of recruiting for certain organizations

•Useful when many individuals are expected to apply and applicants are difficult to find

Executive Search Firms

•Are tapped in recruiting senior mid- and senior level managers

•Find people who are employed and are not actively looking for a job

•Pirating▫Tapping good performing employees from

an organization to join another organization usually a competitor

Campus Recruitment

•Job Fairs•Useful for filling entry-level positions•Intended mostly for fresh graduates

Evaluating Recruitment Methods•Choosing the right method•Yield ratios•Recruitment Activities Monitoring (RAM)•Realistic Job Previews (RJP)•Training organizational recruiters

Choosing the Right Method

•Labor Market▫A geographical area within which the

forces of supply and demand interact•Consider your recruitment experience•Scan the business marketplace

Yield Ratios

•Provide information on the effectiveness of various recruitment methods in getting candidates onboard the organization

•Give insight as to which recruitment method “work best” for an organization

Recruitment Activities Monitoring•Keeps track of the applicants as they

move from one step to another in the recruitment process

Realistic Job Previews

•Informing applicants about all aspects of the job

•Provides an applicant an honest assessment of the job

Selection Techniques

•Employment Interviews•Psychological Testing•Assessment Centers

Employment Interviews

•Most commonly used method to select employees

•Can be:▫Structured▫Unstructured

Structured Interviews

•Questions emanate from job analysis (job-related questions)

•Standard questions are asked to all candidates

•A standard scoring key is followed to assess interview responses

Unstructured Interviews

•Anything goes type of interview•Interviewers ask any question as

necessary•May score responses subjectively or upon

discretion of the interviewer

Types of interview

•One-on-one interview•Serial interview•Return interview•Panel interview•Group interview

Variations of interview

•Face-to-face interview•Telephone interview•Video conferencing interview•Written interview

Types of interview questions

•Non-behavioral▫Can either be theoretical, leading or a

statement of feeling▫Yes or no questions (closed-ended)

•Behavioral▫Focuses on the present and past aspects of

a task and elicits behavioral evidences

Behavioral vs Non-Behavioral

•Do you always meet deadlines at work?•Tell me a situation in the past when you

were not able to comply with a particular deadline. What happened? What did you do? What was the result?

Behavioral vs Non-Behavioral

•Do you participate in company-related activities?

•Participation in company-related activities is expected among employees, tell me an instance in the past about your most unforgettable moment in a company-related event. What happened? What significant contributions can you recall? What was the result?

Behavioral vs Non-Behavioral

•Do you disagree with people in the workplace?

•Conflicts are inevitable in the workplace, tell me a situation in the past when you disagreed with a colleague. What events happened that led to the disagreement? What actions did you do? What were the results?

Other typologies of questions…

•Clarifier▫I noticed a three-year gap between your

second and third jobs, could you tell me about that?

•Disqualifier▫Are you available to work on weekend?

•Skill-level determiner▫A participant keeps on disrupting a training

that you are conducting, what approach will you employ to address this behavior?

An effective interviewer

•Self-awareness•Good listening skills•Good oral communication skills•Knowledge of job dimensions•Sensitive to non-verbal cues•Ability to ask behavioral questions•Ability to take down notes

Psychological Testing

•A measuring device, a yardstick applied in consistent and systematic fashion to measure a sample behavior

Characteristics of Psychological Tests•Standardization

▫Refers to the consistency or uniformity of the conditions and procedures for administering a test

•Objectivity▫Pertains to the scoring of psychological

tests▫Guided by a scoring key or template

Norms

•The standards against which test raw scores are compared

•Assist in the interpretation of test scores (i.e., Low, Average, High)

Types of Tests

•Mental Ability Tests: Intelligence Tests and Aptitude Tests

•Skills/Proficiency Tests•Personality Tests•Projective Techniques•Computer-Based Tools

Assessment Centers

•Job simulation•A popular method of selection that places

applicants in a simulated job situation to allow observation and assessment of behaviors

•Also called situational testing▫Job samples or work portfolio

Applying for a Job

•Cover Letters•Resume

Cover Letter

•Tells an employer about one’s interest to apply for a job

•Should never be longer than a page•Contains the following parts:

▫Date▫Addressee▫Salutation▫Four basic paragraphs▫Closing signature

Cover Letter

July 12, 2012 (Date)(Date)

Ms. Belen B. Layno (Addressee)DirectorHuman Resources Department3rd floor Asian Star Building, Filinvest

CorporateCity, Alabang, Muntinlupa City 1781

Dear Ms. Layno: (Salutation)

Cover LetterEnclosed is a copy of my resume. Please consider

me for the position of Human Resources Associate that was advertised in the Manila Bulletin dated July 8, 2012. (1)

For several reasons, I believe that I am qualified for your position. First, I have two years experience as HR Assistant in an engineering industry. Second, I am a dependable worker as shown by the fact that I only missed two days of work in the past two years. Finally, I am available to work on weekends as necessary. (2)

Cover LetterI am personally interested to work for your company

because of the positive feedback that I have been reading about your organization and good reputation that your company has established over the past 100 years. (3)

I look forward to hearing from you soon. You may contact after 3:00 pm on weekdays or anytime on weekends. (4)

Sincerely yours,

Gian Carlo M. Ledesma

Resume

•Summary of an applicant’s professional and educational background▫Must be attractive and easy to read▫Cannot contain typing, spelling,

grammatical and factual mistakes▫Should make the applicant look as qualified

as possible –without falsifying and lying any details in the resume

•Also called curriculum vitae (CV)

Basic Information in a Resume

•Name•Career Objectives (should be specific to

the position being applied for)•Summary of Experience (for individuals

w/ a significant amount of experience)•Work experiences (arranged from most

recent)•Professional Strengths/Competencies

Basic Information in a Resume

•Educational Background•Certifications Acquired•Research Publications•Trainings and Seminars Attended

(arranged from most recent)•Organizations Joined•Personal Information•Certification of authenticity (must be

signed)

Classroom Experience

•Choose a partner in class.•Exchange job advertisements with your

partner.•Put yourself in the shoes of an applicant

who will apply for that job.•Prepare the following for that position:

▫A cover letter▫A sample resume