The current recruitment and selection practices
Shell’s Recruitment Process:
There are three alternative routes to start a career in Shell. Any one of these can lead to a permanent job offer. There's real flexibility, as each route offers a very different taste of life at Shell.
Step 1: Online Application.
Interested candidates can complete shell's online application form
-
Applications should be completed online ()
- Attach copies of required documents (resume and transcript)
- Submit Candidate Profile to receive notification of future opportunities matching degree and interests.
The form is designed to highlight once qualities and strengths in key areas. Along with the form candidates are asked to complete two Questionnaires: the first gives insight into life at Shell, the second allowing one to assess personal style and aptitude.
Step 2: Interview.
After reviewing the application form and CV/resume, they may invite applicants to undergo an interview with one of shell's recruiters.
Interview may either be face-to-face or over the telephone, this is the applicants chance to tell shell about his/her achievements, the challenges he/she faced and how he/she demonstrated the qualities shell is looking for. Candidates may also be asked to analyze the issues surrounding a contemporary topic.
Shell may then offer the candidate the chance to gain direct experience of Shell through one of the three following routes:
Option A: Shell Recruitment Day
Option B: Gourami Business Challenge
Option C: Internship
The Shell Recruitment Day (Option A)
- It’s the Final stage of the selection process.
- Its is a Global process across the Shell Businesses for determining and assessing individual performance and behaviour.
- Several candidates participate (usually 6-12) and 4-8 Assessors (Shell Staff).
- Involves a variety of tasks, both individual and group exercises.
Key Exercises:
- Case Study
- Group Discussion
- Business Scenario Interview/Technical Presentation/Technical Interview
- The Case Study
This is to be completed individually, each candidate is assigned a role within a fictitious company and given an hour (one and a half hours if English is not your first language) to analyze around 20–25 documents relating to its activities, performance and environment.
Each candidate is then asked to spend five minutes briefing two assessors on the:
- Issues facing the company and the key actions you propose to take.
- Potential implications for the company's short, medium and long term strategy and direction.
This will be followed by a 20-minute discussion in which the applicant will be expected to outline the rationale behind the proposals and be able to discuss the topic in a broader context. Detailed technical knowledge will not be required.
- Group Discussion
Working in a team of 4–7 candidates, candidates will be asked to imagine themself as a community representative for a committee that sits on the Review Board with responsibility for recommending how Shell should allocate the funds it makes available for investment in social projects.
The exercise will be observed by two assessors who are interested in learning about how the team works with one another and how they manage discussions in order to meet the desired objective. It is split into three parts:
-
During Part 1 each team member will take part in a 15 minute preliminary meeting with other members of the team to decide which investment proposals they want to put forward to the Review Board for consideration.
-
Part 2 each team member will take part in a 25–30 minute Review Board meeting, with the aim of agreeing on how to allocate the social investment funds and make recommendations to a Shell representative.
-
Part 3 of the exercise will require each team member to take part in a mock Press Conference, answering questions from journalists about their recommendations.
- Business Scenario Interview/Technical Presentation/Technical Interview
If someone is applying for a technical role with a PhD or experience of conducting independent and original research, he/she will have to complete the Technical Presentation. If someone is applying for a technical role without a PhD or such experience, he/she will have to complete the Technical Interview and someone is applying for one of our commercial roles, he/she will complete the Business Scenario Interview instead..
Business Scenario Interview –
There are two sections to this exercise, both of which last 20 minutes:
-
Section 1 – Interviewees will be given a list of four business relevant problems from which to choose one to analyze and think about potential solutions. They will have 15 minutes of preparation time after which they will discuss their analysis informally with two assessors who are interested in their ideas on how they would manage the topic, their purpose, actions and their ability to support your plan.
-
Section 2 – Interviewees will be asked to provide examples of situations in which they have worked as a team and how they have learnt or developed a new skill.
Technical Presentation –
Before attending the SRD (Shell Recruitment Day), candidates will be required to prepare a 15-minute presentation on a technically relevant aspect of their academic research or work experience. Their main objective will be to demonstrate both their research skills and the creative technical abilities relevant to the role for which they are applying. After their presentation, the assessors will discuss with the candidates the issues they raised for a further 30 minutes.
Technical Interview –
Before attending the SRD, you will be required to prepare a short description of up to two projects that you have worked on that are technically relevant to the role for which you are applying. Your description will form the basis for the interview; your objective will be to demonstrate that you have the relevant technical abilities for the role you are interested in.
Note: (In some cases, candidates may be invited to a second interview/site visit in lieu of a Shell Recruitment Day.)
The Gourami Business Challenge (Option B)
Lasting for five days, the Gourami Business Challenge is a residential event that takes place in a variety of locations all over the world. Gourami is a fictitious country that forms the basis of Shell’s interactive business challenge – a challenge calling young prospects to work with an international team of other talented undergraduates and Shell staff in developing a five-year business plan.
Throughout once time on the Gourami Business Challenge, Shell will be assessing one's performance and development, providing detailed, structured feedback to help one develop their skills and knowledge further.
And at the end of the challenge, if one has performed to an appropriate level, demonstrating all the qualities that shell are looking for in their people, then they might receive an offer of a full-time position upon graduation.
Internship (Option C)
A Shell Internship offers young prospects the opportunity to gain some truly valuable work experience, while discovering first hand whether Shell could be the place for the participant to start their career. These paid internships, may be of the duration of eight weeks to 12 months. At the end of the internship, if the participant’s performance and delivery meets shells expectations, he could leave shell having secured an offer for a full-time position at Shell for when he graduate. ()
The advantages and disadvantages of these current practices
There are many ways to recruit and select right candidates for the job. The method a company chooses will depend on the time and resources of the company and the nature of its business.
Internal recruitment
Shell values long-term employment relationships. They help employees develop their skills and enhance their careers. When positions become available Shell first look to their current employees. ().
The advantages are:
According to Breaugh , relying on internal sources offers a company several advantages. “First, it generates a sample of applicants who are well known to the firm. Second, these applicants are relatively knowledge able about the company’s vacancies, which minimizes the possibility of inflated expectations about the job. Third, it is generally cheaper and faster to fill vacancies internally." ( Noe., 1999)
This practice enhances the job satisfaction of current employees by maximizing their chances of promotion and by improving the person to job matching via internal transfers. It even reduces the need for external hiring which in turn reduces the cost for generating and processing of many applications. ( Noe, 1999)
The disadvantages are:
It is not advisable for a firm to just look at internal sources for recruitment.
The vice president of human resources for a major automobile manufacturer offers this advice: “A strictly applied PFW (Promotion From Within) Policy eventually leads to inbreeding, lack of cross-fertilization, lack of creativity. A good goal, in my opinion, is to fill 80 percentage of openings above entry-level positions from within.” Frequently, new blood is needed to provide new ideas and innovation that must take place for firms to remain competitive. (Mody , 1999)
Internet Recruiting & computerized process
As the Internet makes business and communication cheaper, faster, and easier, many of these advantages naturally extend to corporate recruiting. Companies have their own Web sites where they post openings, which is cheaper than traditional ads.
Shell implements this by making the first step towards joining Shell is to search through their current job vacancies from around the world on their website (). Once applicants find a vacancy that interests them, they can apply using the online form.
The advantages are:
More cost effective in most cases, because there are no telephone expenses, no interviewer expenses, no data entry expenses, no print expenses, and no postage expenses.
E.g. In 1998 when Mirage Resorts had to hire 9,600 workers for its new Las Vegas resort Bellagio for its scheduled opening, it totally computerized it recruiting process. The entire process generated a pool of 75,000 applicants for a selection ratio 13 percent (i.e., 9,600 hires/75,000 applicant). In terms of time factor, it took just over 5 months to process all these applicants, compared to the nine months that Mirage experienced the last time it did a mass hiring effort similar to this. Vice President Arte Nathan also estimates that the company saved $600,000 on paper, file space, and temporary help that would have been associated with a more traditional hiring procedure. (Gunn,1998)
The disadvantages are:
This attracts large pool of applicants and the number of qualified applicants for a particular job can also affect the selection process. The process can be truly selective only if there are several qualified applicants for a particular position. An effective selection process is impossible if only a few applicants with the required skills may be available; in this situation people who might otherwise be rejected are often hired. (Mody,1999)
Online recruiting may currently only supplement rather than replace much of the legwork associated with recruiting, its targeted use should be considered by today’s human resource professional. ( Noe, 1999)
In-house recruitment.
As a manager, do you take responsibility for your team and recruitment decisions yourself, or is it better to hire the expertise of an external recruitment agency?
Shell almost eliminates the need for outsourcing its recruitment needs by having Shell Services International, a shared services organisation offering transactional services and in-house consultancy. (Mahieu, 2001, 20(2))
The advantages are:
The advantage to a manager of screening applicants in-house is that often a candidate will present an excellent CV that isn't a good match for the job on offer but is a perfect fit for another area of the business. If a recruitment agency is working to one specific job description this attractive CV will be lost, and with it will go a potentially great employee. Even if all the advantages of outsourcing in terms of time, money and experience are accepted, what still puts many companies off is the thought of the lack of control. It is only natural that a manager may feel apprehensive about taking someone into his or her team that they haven't hand-picked themselves, simply because personal chemistry is often as important in team situations as having the right skills on paper. .( Human Resource Management International Digest,2005, 13(3))
Gordon Croy, group supply chain director at NTL, believes that recruitment should be kept in-house for reasons of: inability of outside recruiters to portray the culture and values of the company, time used in briefing a recruitment company can be spent on recruiting in-house, the opportunity of assessing candidates for other positions, the advantages of online advertising, and the exercise of control. .( Human Resource Management International Digest,2005, 13(3))
The disadvantages are:
With volume recruitment, outsourcing recruitment process becomes justifiable. This is when the experience of agencies and their established infrastructure and recruitment processes become most useful. An agency will know how to handle unexpectedly large numbers of responses. It can also relieve the pressure on resources of having to fill hundreds of roles in a short space of time.
Simon Pettit, business head of Hudson, adds that finding the right people for the job means having a deep understanding of the marketplace and creative ideas about how to approach it. “We are agnostic,” he says. “We might use a mix of online advertising, the local or national press, and more esoteric approaches – leaflet drops in specific postcodes, ads on bus shelters; if we are looking for lorry drivers we might put printed serviettes in ‘greasy spoons’.” His tacit point is that an in-house manager won't go to these lengths to find the right people because he or she is unlikely to have the all of time, experience and creative ideas to offer. Because of that, the chance of reaching the right person and getting their application is less if recruitment stays in-house. .( Human Resource Management International Digest,2005, 13(3))
Group exercises and Group discussions.
Shell implements a number of group procedures in its recruitment and selection process like group discussion, business games (Gourami business challenge), command or executive exercises and problem-solving exercises.
The advantages are:
These exercises simulates or resembles a practical ‘real-life’ situation which is reasonably representative of the task or type of situation that the person appointed might be concerned with in the organisation. (Laurie, 1999)
This technique may provide useful insights into the candidate's interpersonal competencies. It also helps in saving time for busy professionals and executives.
According to Anastasi, ‘Validity studies suggest that Leaderless group discussion techniques are among the most effective applications of situational tests. (Anastasi,1964)
The disadvantages are:
A major possible criticism of this technique is that they only highlight candidates who are proficient at that kind of activity rather than candidates who might be suitable for the job position. (Laurie, 1999)
Structured Interview.
At any shell interviews, the interviewee has an opportunity to reflect on his experiences and his performance. The interviewee will have an opportunity to discuss their achievements and career aspirations with them. All candidates will also be asked to describe and analyze a theoretical contemporary topic in increasing depth and overall context, including eventually the actions that they would take if they were in a position to influence the topic.
The advantages are:
Use of structured interviews increases reliability and accuracy by reducing the subjectivity and inconsistency of unstructured interviews. (Mody, Noe, Premeaux, 1999 )
"Validity coefficients for behavior description interviewing have been shown to be several times higher than those of traditional interviewing."
(Janz, Hellervik, and Gilmore,1986)
Suggestions and recommendations for improvements
Based on our evaluation of Shell’s current practices we suggest two recommendations
- Redesign key recruitment and selection processes with the aid of technology to provide HR services more efficiently.
- Maximize the use of employee referral programs and print advertising for channels of recruiting.
Redesign key recruitment and selection processes with the aid of technology to provide HR services more efficiently.
As shell being a global corporation it has corporate units in over 100 countries that are integrated to operate as one organization worldwide. A global organization must have qualified individuals in specific jobs at specific places and times to accomplish its goals. A recruiting campaign to meet such a need would generate a very large pool of applicants.
Fortunately today’s technology allows organisation to tackle this efficiently and effectively by using technology to reduce cost, speed the process and improve performance.
E.g. In 1998 when Mirage Resorts had to hire 9,600 workers for its new Las Vegas resort Bellagio for its scheduled opening, it totally computerized it recruiting process, right from the newspaper ad that was e-mailed to several local papers. The entire process generated a pool of 75,000 applicants for a selection ratio 13 percent (i.e., 9,600 hires/75,000 applicant). In terms of time factor, it took just over 5 months to process all these applicants, compared to the nine months that Mirage experienced the last time it did a mass hiring effort similar to this. Vice President Arte Nathan also estimates that the company saved $600,000 on paper, file space, and temporary help that would have been associated with a more traditional hiring procedure. (Gunn,1998)
Maximize the use of employee referral programs and print advertising for channels of recruiting.
In the growing economy, companies such as Shell, which operates in more than 100 countries the demand for new talent continues to grow. However, the number of people with the right mix of skills available to fill the responsibilities of the open positions is failing to grow at a similar rate. The disconnect between the number of vacancies and the talent available to fill these vacancies is already prompting for more effective recruitment and selection processes.
THE OPTIONS
Shell Group has a number of strategies they can turn to in the effort to attract talent to their organizations. The typical channels Shell chooses are: the Internet, employee referral programs, print advertising, agencies, college recruiting, job fairs, executive search, as well as a number of less significant choices.
The overall effectiveness of the programs by percentage of hires obtained through each channel shows a interesting fact:
Source: Employment Management Association's 2000 Cost Per Hire and Staffing Metrics Survey
While utilizing the Internet as a candidate-sourcing tool yields the best results for exempt hires, the top two channels for candidate sourcing across the enterprise are employee referral programs and print advertising.
It's also interesting to see the figures associated with the cost per hire in each channel:
Source: Employment Management Association's 2000 Cost Per Hire and Staffing Metrics Survey
Clearly, the least expensive options are job fairs, Employee Referral Programs, and the Internet and its job boards.
