Recruitment and Selection.

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It is necessary for businesses to recruit staff in order for it to operate. A business may need staff to fill vacancies that may arise following resignation of staff, retirement or even dismissal. It may also be due to growth of a business, because if a business decides to expand, then it will require more staff to support the running of it. Also, if job roles are changed, then it may also be necessary to hire new staff, or perhaps if staff within the business are promoted, then their positions need to be filled.

To make sure that the correct people are selected for recruitment, the human resources department must put them through accurate and appropriate recruitment and selection processes. This needs to include careful consideration of the correct times and procedures of advertising jobs, assessing carefully application forms, CV’s and letters of application. Creating job descriptions and person specifications is also important to outline the functions of the job. Lastly, it is important to shortlist the candidates correctly, to ensure they are suitable for the designated job.

At Birmingham City Council, the Recruitment Team is responsible for creating and practicing first-rate recruitment and selection policies.

        The team work on acquiring recruitment policies and procedures, and offering advice on this.

There are two main types of recruitment, which are internal recruitment and external recruitment. Internal recruitment involves recruiting people who are already part of the business, so it is giving them promotion to a higher position. This can give staff something to work towards, so they will work harder in order to reach their aim. It also has its advantages for the business, because it can save on costs it would usually use for training, as they would already have some knowledge of the business. The rest of the workers wouldn’t have to get used to a new person coming into the organisation, and may worry about fitting in. However, internal recruitment may cause problems with other people within the organisation, who may not like the fact that they haven’t been promoted, and the other person has. Also, the person who has been promoted will still need their old position to be filled.

The first stage of the recruitment process is discovering the need for new staff, and then producing a relevant job description. The job description is a document that lists what the job involves, and the duties and responsibilities the applicant will have. Job descriptions usually include a job title, the position within the organisation, functions and responsibilities, and perhaps what assets the applicant will be responsible for. Some job descriptions include other information like this one from a Birmingham City Council post for 16-19-liaison co-ordinator, which also includes the salary, and who to report to.

A person specification gives more details of the job, referring to the experience, skills, qualifications, training and physical attributes needed for the job. The human resources department will compare application forms to the person specification, to find the most suitable person for the job. Person specifications may be laid out like this:

An example of a person specification from Birmingham City Council is on the next page….  

The next stage of recruitment and selection is advertising, as a way of communicating with possible candidates. The purpose of advertising is to find the correct people for the job, depending on their skills and experience. It is therefore necessary for advertisements to be placed in suitable places, for instance a local newspaper or job centre. The advert also needs to be written appropriately to attract the right target audience. Most job advertisements include a job title, job description, hours of work, location of the job, salary expectation, contact details, contact details, closing date for application, qualifications and experience needed and also the benefits received. Vacancies at Birmingham City Council are advertised on their website, jobcentres, newspapers and the Birmingham Voice. At  there are lists of current vacancies, and also the facility of viewing job descriptions and person specifications, and also allowing the option of applying online. The website also enables people to register their details, so they can be alerted for job vacancies by email. Candidates are also able to email requests for application forms or print them off. Some departments at Birmingham City Council also post vacancies in jobcentres by contacting the jobcentre, who will then add the job to the Employment service computer system, which is then shown at all sites throughout Birmingham. Some City council vacancies are advertised through the Evening Mail on Thursdays; and all City Council vacancies will appear in a free newspaper, produced by the council and printed every two weeks, called the Birmingham Voice, which is available from jobcentres, libraries and neighbourhood offices.

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According to Birmingham City Council, the stages of recruitment are as follows:

  1. Vacancy arises
  2. Job description updated and person specification written
  3. Shortlist criteria is decided (what needs to be on the application form to get an interview)
  4. The vacancy is circulated and application forms are sent out with a closing date.
  5. Application forms are returned
  6. A shortlist is drawn up by the panel, who check each application form meets shortlist criteria.
  7. Feedback is given to those not short listed (on request)
  8. Interview by panel
  9. Feedback is given to those not appointed

10) Appoint the ...

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