Are records of Past Employees available?
Records of past employees would also be a good thing for any organisation to have because then the business may be able to hire someone who has worked for them before this would save induction and training costs.
Whether or not the organisation recruits internally or externally is an important factor to consider. If the organisation recruits internally…
- Savings can be made, and individuals with inside knowledge of how the business operates will need less time for induction and shorter periods of training.
- The organisation is unlikely to be disrupted by someone who is used to working there.
- Internal promotion acts will act as a motivator to other members of staff within the organisation.
- From the organisation’s point of view, they will be able to asses the strengths and weaknesses of an insider, however there is always a risk attached to hiring an outsider who may only prove to be good on paper.
The disadvantages to recruiting internally are that…
- You will have to replace the person who has been promoted.
- An insider may be less likely to make criticisms of the business to get the organisation working in a more effective way.
- Promotion of one person is an organisation may upset another.
Has the appropriate Recruitment documentation been drawn up?
Recruitment documentation is another important aspect this includes the job description, person specification, advertisements and interview sheets.
Job Description
Purpose
The job description needs to include the job title, responsibilities and a simple description of the role and duties of the employee within the organisation.
To make sure that the job description is up-to-date a job analysis should be carried out.
The Job Description has a number of uses…
- It tells the candidates for a job what is expected of them.
- It helps personnel officers to compare the job description with the candidate.
- The Job Description can be used as a gauge to see whether or not the employee is doing the job properly, by comparing their activities with the job description.
- Arguments about what the employee has to do can be settled by looking at the job description.
The job description is a means of communication between the organisation and candidate to maximise relevance of potential applicants.
Person Specification
The purpose of a person specification is to outline the type of applicant the business is looking for.
The person specification also gives potential applicants the chance to match themselves against the specification.
The organisation needs to know the type of person they are looking for this can be set out in the person specification.
The person specification sets out the mental and physical attributes, which will be needed for the job.
A person specification is used so the prospective candidates know what qualities they should have and what is expected from them.
It can also be called upon in an interview situation where the employer can match the candidate to the person specification and the position.
Advertisement
Job advertisements are an important aspect to the recruitment process. An organisation is able to advertise job vacancies to a selected audience through their job advertisements.
Advertisements must reach the people who have the qualities needed to fill the vacancy.
The nature of the advert will depend on…
- The target audience – managers, supervisors, retail assistants etc.
- Where the advert will be placed – on a notice board in a local or national newspaper, etc.
A good job advertisement will provide prospective candidates with information and will also discourage people who are not qualified for the vacancy.
The way in which the vacancy is advertised will be different is the job is being advertised internally or externally.
If the job is being advertised internally it will be most likely to be advertised on the staff notice board or in the jobs bulletin, however if the job is being advertised externally it is more likely to be advertised in a newspaper.
Interview Assessment Form
In an interview assessment form the areas for evaluation are usually…
- Physical appearance and deportment – Does the candidate have the right image suited to the advertised post?
- Attainments – What experience and qualifications that they have meet the needs of the post.
- General Intelligence
- Special Aptitudes – What skills does the candidate have which relates to the job for example foreign languages or knowledge in the latest software package.
- Personality/disposition
Another factor of recruitment, which needs to be considered, is the legislation, which affects it. If the organisation does not comply with the set legislation then the individual responsible will be taken to court or the industrial tribunal. To avoid legal action an organisation will make sure that the recruitment criteria are made clear and that any terms of employment are made obvious to the candidate.
The organisation needs to make sure that its company policy and practice comply with the relevant legislation.
A number of the laws affecting the recruitment process are…
- Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1958
This deals with an obligation on firms of more than twenty employees to employ disabled people up to at least three per cent of the workforce.
- Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and ‘84
This deals with the prohibition placed upon job advertisers to discriminate against women in advertising or conditions of service.
- Race Relations Act 1980 and 1982
This is the outlawing of discrimination against employees because of their race, colour or ethnic origin.
After the vacancy has been filled, the Human Resources department needs to be sure that they leave enough time for vetting and background checks if the job requires this for example any jobs involving children. If this is not dealt with effectively the organisation will be in the position of having an empty vacancy until they are completed.
