Recruitment Case Study. During the recruitment process BHS use many documents such as Job description forms, application forms, person specification.

by albania123 (student)

British Home Stores (BHS)

Business History

Over the past 70 years, Bhs has grown from a single store in Brixton in 1928

to a multinational retail company both in the UK and overseas. At the beginning when the store first opened the highest price of any item they sold was one shilling they sold lighting and had self service cafes and food departments.

BHS became a public company in 1931. In 1945 it was decided prices should not be sole marketing strategy, so they introduced a policy of quality and value for money.

In 1985 they started successfully overseas programme with their first franchise store in Gibraltar. As their store abroad done very well they then decided to open others in Europe and the Middle East. In 1986 they came together with Habitat and Mothercare to form Storehouse. This had a stronger presence within their merchandise ranges and store design and 'Bhs' replaced British Home Stores as the registered company name.

Their first store dedicated to homewares was opened in Bath in May 1998.

In May 2000 Philip Green bought Bhs from the Storehouse Group. Bhs Ltd is now a private retailer. They continue their commitment to delivering a great shopping experience to their customers, through stylish fashion ranges and homewares at prices that stand for a good value. The store has many outlets It now has more than 185 stores in the UK and employs over 12,000 people.

How the business recruits new employees

BHS have many recruitment strategy’s when they look for new employees via on their website they have an application form in which you will need to fill out, they also leave a sign on their window stating they are looking for new employees so you can go into the shop and leave your C.V and if your C.V is successful they will get in contact with you and invite you to an interview. At the interview they will ask a series of question to see how much experience you have working in a shop, it is very important that you are friendly with costumers, they may ask where you have previously worked at before and if you have any criminal records. If they think you are qualified for the job they will then give you information about the job such as what days you will be working, hours, and how much you will be paid.

During the recruitment process BHS use many documents such as Job description forms, application forms, person specification.

Job description form:

What is a job description?

A job description sets out the purpose of a job, where the job fits into the organization structure, the main accountabilities and responsibilities of the job and the key tasks to be performed. A job description is very important as it gives information about four main facts of the business such as its,

Organization - it lets you know where the job is located in the organization structure. Who reports ...

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During the recruitment process BHS use many documents such as Job description forms, application forms, person specification.

Job description form:

What is a job description?

Organization - it lets you know where the job is located in the organization structure. Who reports to who.

Recruitment - it provides vital information to recruits and the recruiting team so that they can find out the right kind of person to do the job.

Legal - the job description shows an important part of the legally required contract of employment

Appraisal of performance - individual objectives can be found on the job description

Contents of a Job Description

The main contents of a job description are:

- Job Title: This is very important as it shows the person what the job will be about and the level of job within that role for example Finance Director would be a more higher role than Financial Accountant even though both jobs are in the finance department. It should also state if the job will be permanent or part time and the hours you will need to work for.

- Reporting responsibilities: who is the immediate boss of the job holder; this also tells you who you need to go to if you have any problems.

- Subordinates; who reports directly to the job holder

- Main purpose - who is involved in the job overall

- Name of compiler and approver: this is the person who designed and agreed the job.

- Main tasks and accountabilities: description of the main activities to be accepted and what the job holder is expected to achieve for example in the case of the Management Accountant this might include Complete monthly management accounts by 10th working day of each month and prepare report on main performance variances.

Application forms

_Application form is: Application forms ask for a standard set of questions and boxes to be completed. This makes it easy for the organization to compare candidates. Application forms ask sets of questions and information and therefore will avoid the employer’s having to read information that they do not need. Paper based forms may take time and money to be set out and then will need to be processed and put into a system to compare them. This may take a long time so that’s why now most organizations use online forms as they have many advantages as it does it automatically for you. Care should be taken with online application forms to make sure you use the appropriate language which is formal language and not informal as this might not give the right impression to an employer.

-Example of Application forms

Person specification

What is a person specification?

A person specification describes the requirements a job holder needs to be able to perform the job satisfactorily. This includes the Education and qualifications, Training and experience and Personal attributes / qualities. A person specification will also provide information about the type of person that the organization is looking for to do the job. The organization will state what the job is about and whether or not you meet the right standards to their attributes.

A job description is different to a person specification even though it may include some similar facts. A job description describes the job a person specification describes the person needed to do the job. A person specification can therefore have the basis for the selection of the most suitable person to fill the job.

What a person specification looks like

The most common approach now used by recruiters is to use "competencies" These are then classified as "essential" or "desired" to decide which are most important.

Person specifications have to be prepared and used with great care. It is important to make sure that the list of essential or desired competencies does not lead to unlawful discrimination against potential employees

-The Title of the job and reference number: it is important to include this as it tells the person what the job involved. The reference number makes it easier for the organization to send out details and keep information on file.

- Location in management line: will make it clear to the person if they are suited to the job or not.

- Physical characteristics: Working in a store you must be a friendly person as you will need to talk to costumers if you are rude the business will start to lose their customers. So depending on what the job is if a person needs to be physically fit or a certain gender this should be included.

- Attainments, qualifications and general intelligence: this information shows the level of qualifications that the person should have.

- Special aptitudes: This information lets the person know what specific skills they need to have for the job.