Understanding, setting and consistently delivering superior customer service
- Understand customers needs and values; develop and implement plans to achieve superior customer service; and build effective communication strategies.
Continuing to lead and improve the quality of the work culture
- Identify, develop and implement policies & procedures, interventions, training to improve quality of work life and the “culture” of the organization
- Identify & effectively resolve disability mgt. cases through effective implementation of disability mgt. policy
- Develop & maintain a safe working environment
- Provide leadership of continuous improvement strategies to improve the work environment
- Value organizational diversity
- Maintain a proactive employee relations process
- Promote work/family balance
- Recognize and reward individual & team contributions
Attract highly qualified & diverse candidates
- Streamline, improve & communicate effectiveness of the recruitment process
- Identify & implement aggressive strategies for successfully recruiting for key positions
- Apply technology to recruitment process
- To have an ethical recruitment and selection procedure.
- Enhance the diversity in the workforce
- Facilitate effective recruitment processes for ensuring executive and senior level positions are filled
Develop people to be their best in order to meet the needs of the organization
- Build & maintain an effective overall performance management system (includes department, team & individual business objectives, personal development plans, performance appraisal, career planning/mapping, etc.)
- Provide appropriate and timely training to meet the needs of customers and demands of the organization
- Provide organizational development services that will facilitate change and continuous improvement in the organization
Align the best Management & Total Compensation Philosophy to attract & retain the most qualified employees
- Maintain a current Total Compensation & Classification Process to effectively attract & retain employees
- Evaluate and address employee retention issues
Develop continuous effective professional relationships
- Establish & strengthen relationships & initiatives w/ shared resources to serve customers & community partners
Administer HR policy, procedures & programs in order to align personnel law and City policies with continuous improvement principles
- Develop and/or revise HR policies & procedures
- Communicate new and/or changed HR policies & procedures
- Implement & improve technical capability to ensure the most effective processes
3.3 HR strategy
(Paul Kearns,2003) The main but certainly not sole, purpose of an HR strategy is to ensure that the organization has the right sort of people, doing the right things to deliver the business strategies. True HR strategy, like any good business strategy, has to involve thinking ahead of your competitors.
- Create, nourish and maintain an extremely open, congenial, and receptive work environment.
- Formulate and implement sound HR Practices and Systems.
- Create career progression plans with emphasis on training.
- Emphasize on communication processes at all levels. (create sum thing)
- Provide scope for creativity and innovation.
- Strengthen customer orientation both internally and externally.
- Be sensitive to humanness of any and every situation.
- Create accountability and belongingness amongst all employees
Another HR strategy that Reliance follows for Recruitment and Selection is the Human Resource Planning. Human Resource Planning is forecasting of the human capital (Mamoria & Gankar, 2004,p.156).
3.4 HR Polices
HRM policies are the general statements which serve to guide decision making. That is the reason they direct the actions of the HRM functions towards achieving the strategic objectives (Dessler, Griffiths, Lloyed-Walker, Williams, 1999).
- Recruitment and Selection policy
- Employment policy
- Compensation policy
- Leave policy
- Exit policy
- People policy
- Referral policy
4. Recruitment objectives/strategies
According to Compton, Morrissey and Nankervis (2002, p.17) “The main function of recruitment is to ensure that organization is a adequately and effectively staffed at all times. The purpose is to attract suitable people to apply for employment vacancies by making them aware that such vacancies exist.
Normally the practice in the organizations is to fill a job vacancy from within or outside the organization depending on the position skills. Some different methods used to recruit employees include job posting, advertising and executive search” (Stone 1998,p.11).
Reliance recruitment policy provides for framework for recruitment action and reflects the organizations recruitment objectives (Dessler, Griffiths, Lloyd-Walker, Williams, 1999).
Recruitment:
When interviewed via e-mail on 12 of May, vice president HR, Reliance Engineering Associate Ltd, explained the Recruitment procedure and the types of employees in the Company (Anonymous, VP-HR, Reliance Engineering Associate Ltd, pers. comm., 12 May, 2006).
The interview questionnaire is attached in APPENDIX 1
1) Employees are classified as:
a) Permanent: A permanent employee is a person who has been engaged on
a regular basis & includes any person who has been confirmed in writing as a permanent employee.
b) Probationer: Probationer is a person who is employed to fill a regular vacancy & has not completed the stipulated probationary period applicable to his / her level. On satisfactory completion of the probation period the probationer’s service will be confirmed in writing.
c) Trainees: Trainee is a person engaged for being imparted in-house training on specific areas of operations under a training agreement specifying the training period. At the end of training period their performance will be assessed to determine whether they should be confirmed or the training period extended / concluded.
d) Contract: The contract staff is one whose contract of engagement is for a specific period / assignment.
Recruitment Policy: It is recognized that employees are vital to companies’ success & therefore it is important for both company & potential employees. The time is taken to recruit best people possible people who are capable of responding to the challenges /opportunities that will be placed upon them now & in future.
To ensure we get right people our recruitment process highlights each applicant’s skills, talents & experience. Our selection process involves developing a list of qualified candidates, defining a selection strategy, identifying qualified candidates, thoroughly evaluating qualified candidates and selecting the most qualified candidates. When a vacancy arises the following options are considered in addition to the external sources of recruitment;
1) Internal sourcing
2) Employee referrals
One of our group members was an observer for the recruitment process in Reliance Engineering Associates Limited. The recruitment process is the same for all the companies falling under the head of Reliance Infocomm. During our group meeting on the 17th May 2006, one of our group members explained the recruitment process. The advertisement was first placed in the newspaper and also there were online applications. The CV’s were screened and then short listed .The first stage was the interviews were given a specific date and all the interviews were to take place in a single day. They started with giving a brief introduction of the company. Then moved on to a training room where all the candidates where asked to take an mental ability test. The mental ability test stressed upon mathematics and logic (as the position was for engineers).After the mental test the candidates were tested for the subject i.e. chemical engineering. After the tests were evaluated the candidates were short listed for the interview on the basis of their scores. The interview was conducted later in the day. The short listed candidates had to wait for a long time for the interview to commence. There was a one HR personnel and one technical person (line manager).After the interview, the panel had a long discussion about the candidates while the candidates were made to wait in a separate room. They were not informed of what was going on raising their levels of curiosity. (G.Korde, group member, pers. Comm., 21 May, 2006).
5. Selection strategies/objectives
The hiring and retention of key human resources is a critical issue for Reliance. Reliance says that because of increased international competition we are pressurized to improve performance and for that we cannot afford to select below average prospective employees. Reliance believes that their success depends on its manpower. And for that they need the right people in the right jobs at the right time (Anonymous).
According to Stone (2005, p.212) “Employee selection strategies when aligned with the organizations business strategies produce a positive contribution to organizational performance”.
Additionally their Selection policy states that the select people on merit rather than discriminating. The selection is done without any bias and prejudice.
The selection procedure is concerned with securing relevant information about an applicant. This information is secured in a number of stages .As it is, selection is a long process commencing from the preliminary interview of the applicants and ending with the contract of employment (Mamoria and Gankar, 2004, p.198).
According to Stone(2005, p.11) “Steps in the selection process include reviewing the application form, psychological testing, employment interviewing, reference checking and completing a medical examination, Based on the information gathered, a selection decision is made”.
The selection procedure as per the selection objectives of Reliance are as follows:
Firstly the applications for the job are received. After short listing the candidates on the content of their resume they are called for a preliminary interview. This is followed by a psychological or and technical test depending upon the nature of job opening. Based on the results of the tests be it technical or psychological the candidates are further short listed for an 2nd interview. After the 2nd interview with the departmental head and supervisor a list of desirable candidates is released. There is a discussion amongst the interviewers and they further shortlist the candidates they think are suitable for the job. Then the offer letters are released within 3-4 days and the candidates who are selected are asked to undergo a medical examination which is sponsored by the company.
6.0 Link between HR Objectives and Recruitment and selection.
The internal recruitment process clearly forms a link with the overall objectives of the organization which are analyzed as follows:
1) The objective to provide opportunity for growth and development and to inculcate a spirit of learning and enjoying challenges. Additionally to provide job contentment through empowerment, accountability and responsibility and to demonstrate fairness, equality of opportunity and respect to all. These objectives are in line with recruiting the internal employees. Internal recruitment is one of the most important sources for the company as they regard the employees as their biggest assets whom they need to develop for future growth. When there is a vacancy the priority is given to the internal candidate and the employee is upgraded, transferred or promoted to that position (Anonymous).
The advantages that Reliance sees in internally recruiting are that it improves the morale of the employees, creates a sense of belongingness, and promotes loyalty, sense of job security and opportunities for advancement. The practice of recruiting internal employees is followed because the company can retain the knowledge within its organization (retention of key employees) (Anonymous).
However we feel that in doing so they are, in a way discouraging new blood from entering in the organisation. In the growing technological environment there are potential/prospective applicants/employees with the updated knowledge and innovative ideas which they need to absorb for further growth.
2) Another objective of Reliance Infocomm is to apply technology to recruitment process. This is achieved by using Human Resource Information System (HRIS), which they rely heavily on especially for internal recruitment as the company employs over twenty thousand employees. HRIS indicates the current employees who match the Key selection criteria. According to Compton et al (2002), HRIS maybe used to extract job descriptions and person specifications, preparation of advertisements, identifying labour turnover trends and correction areas. HRIS also takes care of streamlining and having an effective recruitment process.
3) The other HR objective is enhancing diversity at workforce. This is achieved by a mix of male and female candidates who are recruited and selected from different cultural backgrounds and from all the Indian states. This enhances the overall culture of the organisation and eliminates discrimination.
4) Selection process which comprises of patterned interviews and standardised tests which accomplishes the objective of fairness, equality of opportunity and respect to all. Since the candidates are selected on the basis of the overall outcome of the interview and the tests be it mental / technical or psyche tests. The test pattern are carefully chosen to measure a variety of possible predictions such as aggressiveness, extroversion, numerical ability and creativity(Mamoria & Gankar,2004).Which in turn validates another HR objective of creating and fostering innovative environment in the organisation. The organisation maintains full cohesion and does not allow room for discrimination to any candidate.
5) The company maintains an ethical recruitment and selection process which is stated in their HR objectives. This is achieved by keeping the test conditions reasonably private as well as quite which ensures standardization of procedure and the information is held strictly confidential which avoids invasion of privacy of the candidate.
6) According to Compton at al (2002), advising unsuccessful candidates is a key issue which is often ignored during the recruitment and selection process. This results in losing out on some potential employees which can fit into the other positions. Hence we recommend that since the company already has an HRIS system in place, it would be beneficial for them to have a separate database of the unsuccessful candidates for future reference.
Recommendation
After analyzing the scenario the process and the practice in relation to Reliance Infocomm’s Recruitment and Selection, the researchers would like to recommend the following options.
- Database: Currently, what the company follows is the curriculum vitae of the unsuccessful candidates are not filled into the company database. They should have the Resumes in the database because this will enable to get the right candidates for other vacancies that are created as they already have a good HRIS in place.
- Procedure: When the candidate does not fit the position, he is deemed to be not suitable for the position and considered unsuccessful. Here we would like to recommend that if a particular candidate does not fit the key selection criteria of the position he is being interviewed for but has the potential as the interview progresses the interviewers feel that he fits into another upcoming job position, he can be offered that position instead of considering him as an unsuccessful candidate. To accept or reject that position is at the sole discretion of the candidate.
- Better synchronization: We as a group thought that the recruitment process was for a very short period of time. All forty candidates were interviewed and tested in one single day. The fact that some of the candidates came to Mumbai from different parts of the state, we recommend that the interview process should span over two days on weekends, so as to enable the candidates to attend their work on Fridays. Also they should pay for their traveling expenses. The fact was only the candidates who received offer letters were reimbursed.
- Affirmative Action: The concept of employing disabled/handicapped is not prevalent in the private industrial sector as the government usually takes care of them by having sectors especially for the handicapped. We wish to recommend that being such a big organisation, Reliance Infocomm, can be a pioneer by employing people with minor physical disabilities.
Conclusion
The procedure followed in Reliance Infocomm is at par with its HR objectives and strategies. The employees are motivated keeping in mind the vision and mission of the company. The recruitment and selection objectives are in tandem with the HR objectives concerning recruitment and selection. There is visible adherence to the recruitment and selection process as mentioned in the objectives as well as recruitment and selection strategies. The links provided in the research paper, of the recruitment and selection process with the HR objectives validates the discussion provided. However for Reliance candidates are also prospective assets and they take utmost care in being tactful and courteous while advising the unsuccessful job applicants. They think that those candidates who failed to be selected one time should not be discouraged to apply for the position in future.
APPENDICES
Recruitment and Selection:
- What is the procedure of Recruitment and Selection in Reliance Infocomm?
- Is the selection procedure same throughout Reliance group of Companies?
- What are the different ways in which the candidates are attracted to apply for the position posted by Reliance Infocomm?
- Are there any test conducted during selection procedure? If yes what are the different types? Which test are stressed more Aptitude, Cognitive, Interest, Personality etc.
- What kind of interview are you practicing in your organisation? Does it tilt towards Structured or Unstructured one?
- What role does strategy play in the Recruitment and Selection activity?
- Is the selection procedure in Reliance Infocomm ideal according to you?
- I would be highly obliged if you can provide me with HR policies pertaining to Recruitment and Selection?
Ans 1: Procedure of Recruitment:
Data Bank, Internal Advertisement, Job sites as well as Advertisement on Job sites.
Always there is a budget (Manpower NOs.) for replacement of
retirements/resignations as well as for new business.
Ands 2: Selection procedure is same through out Reliance group of
companies
Selection is done through written test for non professionals (like
graduates) followed by interview by HR and Functional Head
Ands 3: Reliance Infocomm is a leader in Telecom industry, largest
subscribers, having strong connectivity through 13 geographies (states),
Good pay master and preferred employer of the job seekers.
Ands 4: Yes to all
Ands 5: Structured interviews
Ands 6: Very vital role played by HR in Recruitment and Selection activity.
Strategic planning is the base. We always try to take professionals on the board and rope in talent from our competitors.
Ands 7: Ideally it is OK, but there is lot of scope for improvement for a
Global company as far as Selection procedure is concerned.
Ands 8: HR policies can be obtained from HR dept.
Reference
Anonymous, VP-HR, Reliance Engineering Associate Ltd, pers. comm., 12 May, 2006.
Compton,R.L., Morrissey, W.J and Nankervis.A.R., Effective Recruitment and Selection Practices, Third edition 2002,CCH Australia Limited, North Ryde, NSW.
Dessler, G., Griffiths, J., Lloyd-Walker, B., and Williams, A., 1999 “Human Resource management”, Prentice Hall Australia
G.Korde, group member, pers. Comm.., 21 May, 2006).
Mamoria, C. B. & Gankar, S.V., “Personnel Management”, Twenty fourth edition 2004, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai
Paul, K., “HR strategies: Business focused individual centered” 2002, viewed 16 of May 2006,
Stone, R. J., 1998, “Human Resource management”, 3rd Edition, Wiley, Australia
Stone, R.J., 2005, “Human Resource management”, 5th Edition, Wiley, Australia