STAGES OF RECRUITMENT
Firstly, Cameron realizes that there is a vacancy in the organisational hierarchy which needs to be filled. The reason could be due to dismissal, death, promotion or retired.
Next, department head has to gain authority to recruit by completing an online employee requisition stating the justification for recruiting. This also involves human resources management and the budget.
Then, the company will have to consider if it is a new job. If yes, there is a need to draw up a job description and specification. If it is not a new job, then the company will review the existing job description and specification. Appendix B shows the job description and specification for Machinist. A more detailed job description and specification for Plant Manager as shown in Appendix C is essential as it is a management level position which holds higher responsibilities.
The next step is to agree on methods for attracting applicants, it will be either through internal or external sources. Decision on which sources depends on the job and people available. Such as for Machinist position, the company might want to advertise on newspaper as most applicants are less educated therefore tend to rely more on traditional source. Also, it may advertise via internal source such as job posting on notice board for employees who wish to have a change in work scope. Alternatively, if it is a high rank position on a great salary such as Plant Manager, the company might seek assistance from headhunters.
STAGES OF SELECTION
After all the recruitment process is completed and all the candidates have submitted their application forms or resumes, then the selection process takes place. Starting with short listing candidates by reviewing application forms and resumes received and decide which ones are the most suited to the job description and person specification. Those unsuitable candidates will be weed out so as not to waste time.
Next, HR department will call up the chosen candidates and arrange for interview. Before commencement of the preliminary screening by HR department, candidates will be given intelligence test and technical test to measure their intelligence/‘IQ’ and their technical knowledge on the machines and tools.
Subsequently, unstructured approach of in-depth one-to-one interview will be conducted by supervisor. Final selection by department head will be carried out based on the interview outcome and test results. Successful or unsuccessful candidates will receive phone calls from HR department. Successful candidates will then be required to go for pre-employment checkup and it is the company responsibility to ensure compliance by adhering to the rules and regulation. Such as foreign workers must possess a valid work pass and deemed fit for employment by the doctor before appointment on the job.
The above selection process is relatively similar for Plant Manager’s position; the differences are that intelligence test and preliminary screening by HR department are not required. Instead, the candidate will first be interviewed by the Operation Manager then proceed to the second interview with the Manufacturing Director and HR Director and the remaining steps will follows.
ANALYSIS
Appendix D and E illustrates a strategic recruitment process and selection steps which involves seven components and ten steps respectively. As analyzed in Appendix F, recruitment process in Cameron does consist of the seven components as the organisation finds it important to use all these strategies which help them to select the best candidate from the rest for the job at hand. However, as analyzed in Appendix G, background check is not being implemented during the selection process. We shall now analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the activities involved.
According to Compton, Morrissey and Nankervis (2009), employee requisition is able to help organisation determine the need of employees and as a means to control employees’ size. With the help of online employee requisition, Cameron is able to keep the information needed for filling the position and is a good planning sheet for the recruitment process as it allows recording of the date/deadline for filling the position. In addition, it allows identifying the source for advertising and the desired budget.
A thorough conducted job analysis provides benefits for the human resource cycle and the organisation as whole (Aswathappa 2005). The advantage is that it improves the liaising between Cameron and recruitment agents by providing accurate information, thus more effective in selecting suitable job candidates. However, it may be time consuming and requires expertise if a job is changed significantly due to purchase of new machines or improved technology.
Advantages and disadvantages of using internal recruitment methods as per stated by Mckenzie (2009) are shown in Appendix H. Cameron do finds that recruiting internally is a good source as candidates know the business and what will be expected of them, they can then become effective in the new job quickly. Recruiting from within also aid in lowering the recruitment cost if budget is the main concern. The disadvantages are that the successful candidate may suffer role conflict in that they are now senior to the people with whom they previously worked with on equal level. Infighting occurs as well as only one employee is selected for the job, this will further leads to mistrust among those applied for the position.
Advantages using external recruitment methods are that it provides much wider range of people to choose from and prevent ripple effect (Sim 2002). Cameron observed that new comers bring in new ideas which improve the business and are likely to be more mobile than existing staff. According to Sim (2002), the disadvantage is that it takes time for the new comer to get used to his or her new employer, and therefore the new comer will not be performing effectively for the initial period. Cameron does encounter such issue whereby the new comer leaves shortly after joining the organisation, it causes loss in recruitment costs and thus additional cost might incurred due to replacement needed. Appendix H illustrates a summary table on advantages and disadvantages of external recruitment methods.
Usage of application form and resumes are to shortlist all the candidates so as not to waste time with candidates who do not fit the job description and specification. This method is considered as the most efficient in terms of time and money. However, some of the questions such as gender and age asked in the application form are not in favour to Equal Employment Opportunity.
Use of test assist in selection process by eliminating unsuitable candidates and reduce time taken if there is a large pool of candidates (Parus 2006). Cameron uses IQ test and technical test during pre-interview short-listing of candidates for the position of machinist. The drawback is that it only ascertain that the person have that quality but does not determine that the person will use it on the job. Appendix I portrays the range of cost and validity for various testing techniques.
According to Roberts (2004), open-ended questions allow the interviewer to probe deeper into the initial responses of the interviewee to gain a more detailed answer to the question. The richness of the data is therefore entirely dependent on the interviewer. Unstructured approach allows interviewee to talk about their experience freely and interviewee is able to have complete control over the content of the interview (Roberts 2004). Nevertheless, unstructured one-to-one approach may lead to bias due to inconsistency in the way interviewees are asked questions about certain issues and as only one person is on the panel (Rajendra Kumar 2008). It will be more time consuming as interviewees may take up too much time in expressing their thoughts.
Pre-employment checkup benefits both employer and prospective employee by making sure that employee is able to do the job safely without risking their life and others. Employer benefited by getting to know the health condition of prospective employee so as not to increase their liability on future medical costs. Controversy, organisation incurred higher cost by providing free pre-employment checkup and there are times that this cost is wasted when candidates rejected job offer after going through pre-employment checkup.
RECOMMENDATION
After reviewing Cameron’s recruitment and selection process, few recommendations for improvement are suggested according to their importance. There are some methods which can be used to measure the effectiveness of recruitment and selection, such as labour turnover, absenteeism and productivity.
To be effective, it has to attract a pool of candidates who are suitable for the job. There should be low turnover and absenteeism rate which shows that employees are satisfy with their job and are willing to work for the organisation.
- Firstly, I would suggest conducting a HR audit that covers the entire recruitment and selection process. This audit will bring out the existing positives and highlight areas for improvement within the organisation’s recruitment cycle.
- Instead of one-to-one interview, it will be good to have a panel of interviewers as interviewers are able to get valuable feedback from each other thus better decision can be made. This will reduce the amount of time needed for the recruitment process and higher chances of getting the right candidate for the job.
- Other than having only unstructured interview questions, it is suggested to implement structured interview questions which can avoid favouritism. This makes the process more efficient by using up less time and only gathering relevant information.
- It is essential to conduct reference check in order to know how candidate was in his/her last job and if they have any bad records that might cause problems. It also provides further confidential information and ensures that the information provided by the applicant is accurate. Inaccurate information will leads to employing the wrong candidate.
- Cameron may consider making their application form available online and offline. This allows the HR department to receive and review the application instantly. It is also recommended to revise the current application form so as to align to the standard of Equal Employment Opportunity.
CONCLUSION
Effective management of the recruitment and selection process can ensure that the best candidate is chosen every time. By having the best quality of staff, Cameron will be able to provide the best quality of service to their customers. Through providing the best quality service to all their customers, Cameron will be able to achieve brand loyalty, which will add to the overall success of the company.
Word count: 2119 words
REFERENCES
Aswathappa, K 2005, Human resource and personnel management, 4th edn, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi.
Compton, R, Morrissey, W & Nankervis, A 2009, Effective Recruitment and selection practices,5th edn, CCH Austrialia Limited, Austrialia.
Frankenfield, G & Kleiner, BH 2000, ‘Effective employment screening practices’, Management Research News, 7 August, pg. 24
Mckenzie, B 2009, Australian Master Human Resources Guide, 7th edn, CCH Austrialia Limited, Austrialia.
Parus, B 2006, Cash Bonuses: Four ways to attract, retain and motivate employees, 2nd edn, Worldatwork, USA.
Rajendra Kumar, C 2008, Research methodology, APH Publishing Corporation, New Delhi.
Roberts, G 2004, Recruitment and selection (A competency approach), 1st edn, CIPD House, London.
Sim, RR 2002, Organizational success through effective human resources management, 1st edn, Greenwood Publishing Group, USA.
APPENDIXES
Appendix A
0.1 Mission Statement
It is the mission of the Cameron to provide products and customer service that meet or exceed customer requirements and expectations.
0.2 Vision
It is the vision of the Cameron facilities to be “World Class” manufacturing organizations. In order to become “World Class” we as a facility must believe in the following:
- Providing a safe and productive environment for all employees.
- Believe in the established quality management system.
- That the customer is the reason this facility is in existence.
- Supplying our customers with quality products that consistently meet their needs and expectations.
- Continuously improving our processes.
- Maintaining a skilled and motivated workforce.
- Providing our workforce with the necessary resources to be successful.
- Actively embracing change.
- Providing controls and improvements to protect the natural environments in which our facility and products interface.
- Continually working with our suppliers to reduce costs.
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Strategic recruitment process
(Compton, Morrissey and Nankervis 2009)
Appendix E
Appendix F
Appendix G
Appendix H
(Mckenzie 2009)
Appendix I
(Mckenzie 2009)
