The Recruitment & Selection Process of The Canadian Armed Forces Vs. Scotiabank

Aboriginals in the forces:

Aboriginal inclusion in the Canadian forces is a big strategic goal with regards to recruitment techniques. The military has shaped their organization to allow for the various representations of Aboriginal people. A program put in place named Bold Eagle is one example of the forces attempt to solidify a positive image with Aboriginal people. This program gives permission for Aboriginals to practice their spirituality, and traditions. This is evident as Aboriginals can have their hair in a braid, and if applicable, wear beads. This special policy respects the customs of Aboriginals and shows a strong commitment from the Canadian forces to embrace the different cultural customs in hopes of attracting this minority.

The Defense Aboriginal Advisory Group has been established by the Department of National Defence to promote the Aboriginal culture and customs with civilians and military personnel. The ultimate goal of this Advisory group is to support Aboriginals in the Canadian forces, speak out about the issues concerning Aboriginals in the forces, and to share information about Aboriginals. The hope of this is to provide a better understanding on this group.

Currently, the representation of the Aboriginal group in the Canadian forces is 2.12%. The target of 3.4%, which was set in 2010, is well below the current enrollment figures. The Canadian forces have put together an aggressive recruitment campaign to boost these figures through focus groups comprised of several Aboriginal communities across Canada.

These groups were shown several marketing campaigns, which included; radio ads, television commercials and posters. The focus groups generally decided that the ads were either too racy, for example they showed a ship alongside a canoe, hinting that canoe making was similar to serving with the Forces. Also, the aboriginal voices used in radio ads were not of the same tongue to where the ads would be aired, thus causing a concern that the communities would shun the campaign.

Selection

Once recruited by The Canadian Forces, applicants begin their rigorous, 6-step, selection process.  The Canadian Forces uses a multi-hurdle strategy for their selection process; failure to complete one step/hurdle of the 6-step process, and the applicant is rejected from being hired at that point in time.   Although, unlike many employers, The CF is always looking for more employee’s due to the nature of the career, and have pretty general requirements for applying; therefor, most applicants who make it to the selection interview get hired.  Before any applicant can enter the first step of the selection process, there are some bona-fide work qualifications that each applicant must meet. 

Who can apply?

In order for a candidate to apply for The Canadian Forces they must; be a registered Canadian citizen, be at least 17 years of age or have parental consent, and have completed at least Grade 10 (unless you are on a Junior Officer Training Plan, where the age requirement is only 16)1.  These standards are in place to ensure that applicants are mature enough to handle the mental and physical realities and stresses of the career they are entering. Also, so they can have some form of education they can apply to the potential job.  The Canadian forces is a, potentially, dangerous work environment with distinguished unlimited liability. The brutal realities of these military careers, and the unlimited liability are what differ them from normal careers; therefore, these work requirements are bona-fide and must be met by every applicant. For a clearer explanation, having a career with unlimited liability refers to, “In defense of national interests, distinguishes members of the military profession from other professions. Furthermore, the military allows for the lawful killing of others in the performance of duty. Moreover, the responsibility of military leadership permits the sacrifice of soldiers’ lives in order to achieve military objective”2. 

Although the minimum education requirement is at a Grade 10 level, many of the jobs offered by The Canadian Forces require a high-school diploma, a college certificate, or even a university degree.  The Canadian Forces also considers applicants who have acquired their General Education Development (GED), or have been home-schooled (proof must be shown from your home province’s educational authority that your marks have been assessed and meet their standards).  If an applicant has not completed high school they can submit an Attestation of Secondary School Equivalency, but it is not considered equivalent to a high school diploma.  If an applicant has been educated in a foreign country, they will need to have their education evaluated by the Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada to determine if it is equivalent to the education that would be provided in Canada. The Canadian Forces does not pay for the cost of this evaluation service3.

This paper has discussed the minimum age requirement to be selected by The Canadian Forces, but there is also a maximum age requirement that cannot be surpassed.  Once enrolled into the Canadian forces, you must be of an age where there is enough time to complete any necessary training and one term of service before the compulsory retirement age of 60.  The Canadian Forces definition of one term of service is usually 3 years, unless on a paid education plan, where the terms of service are even longer4. 

In order to be a qualified applicant to The Canadian forces, there are some general standards that must be met regarding a candidate’s appearance.  There must be no offensive visible tattoos, except for tattoos on the face are allowed. Women members are required to keep their hair short, or long enough to keep tied back while on duty so it does not obstruct vision or become a danger. Also, Women are allowed to wear earrings while on duty, but they must be small studded earrings. However, other visible body piercing’s are not allowed to be worn while in uniform, and make-up must be applied conservatively5. 

There may be an argument that some of these appearance requirements are not bona-fide because they do not necessarily have any effect on one’s ability to perform the job (except women with long hair could potentially be a work hazard).  Because The Canadian Forces, and the military in general, is a very, professional organization that is founded from centuries of tradition and formalities, these appearance standards have been put in place to protect their image and heritage, along with the safety of employees. The Canadian Forces takes great pride in its image and use it strategically when competing against other army’s around the globe, for this reason these appearance standards are bona-fide, and required of every applicant in order to be selected for any job. 

 Selection Process

Step 1& 2: Starting the Application (Preliminary Applicant Screening-Application & Reliability Screening)

The Canadian Forces have a two-fold preliminary applicant screening process, consisting of an application form and a reliability screening, that sorts qualified from unqualified candidates and develops a large pool of diverse, skilled applicants.  If an applicant meets all the necessary requirements for being in The Canadian Forces and passes their reliability screening, they are automatically through to the next phase of the selection process. 

The first step in the application process is to fill out an on-line profile, The Canadian Forces version of an application form.  Applicants must fill out all required information the employer has asked (keeping employee privacy laws in mind).  In order to fill out their on-line application, an Access Key with the Government of Canada must be created, which then allows you to register an application with The Canadian Forces National Recruiting Contact Centre.  After the application has been processed, a Recruiter will send out an e-mail asking the applicant for; a birth certificate, a piece of government issued photo ID, transcripts from a person’s highest level of education, and any proof of trade qualifications or licenses6. 

The second part of The Canadian Forces preliminary applicant screening process is a reliability screening, their version of an applicants background check.  The Canadian Forces insist on a reliability screening because from the time an employee starts their training until the end of their military career, they will have access to sensitive information and, potentially, extremely dangerous equipment. They insist all potential employees partake in the screening to confirm personal trustworthiness and for the protection of their equipment.  The CFNRCC will verify the applicants: personal information, education qualifications, professional credentials, criminal record, credit history, and employment history.  The reliability screening consists of filling out: a Personnel Screening/ Consent/ and Authorization Form, and a Personal Data Verification Consent Form7.         

Throughout these two screening forms The Canadian Forces gets the applicant to provide the contact information of 5 personal references (These people cannot be related to you and must have known you for at least five years, and you must have their permission to use them as references) along with information pertaining to any legal obligations (ex: probation), and any personal debt a person may have7.  Any applicants who have ever lived outside Canada, or have an immediate family members who currently live outside of Canada, must fill out a Pre-Enrollment Security Clearance Pre-Assessment Questionnaire and be able to readily provide information regarding the past 10 years.  This information is used to verify if an applicant needs a Security Clearance Assessment (issued by the Government of Canada); this process can take 6 to 18 months to complete.  The Canadian Forces is strict and sensitive to the privacy of applicant’s information, the information provided as part of the application process, as well as the identity of the sources, is protected under the Government of Canada’s Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act8. 

Step 3 & 4: Selection Testing (Aptitude Test & Medical Examination)

After the Preliminary pool of applicants have passed the reliability screening, they are now ready for The Canadian Forces version of selection testing; the aptitude test and a medical examination. According to the Canadian Forces website, ``The Canadian Forces Aptitude Test is used to determine which military occupation is best suited for you.  The test is designed to test your verbal, spatial, and problem-solving skills``9. 

        The standardized test contains 60 multiple-choice questions, is 45 minutes long, and does not allow the use of any calculator9. The Canadian Forces believes in an equitable, valid aptitude test; there is a quote from the FAQ section from their website that states, ”At the organizational level, it is necessary to ensure that selection decisions are fair and equitable.  Fairness in this case is inherent in the fact that procedures have been standardized and that everyone is subject to the same challenge as all the other candidates, that is, to demonstrate his/her performance against a valid and/or pertinent selection standard”10.

The Canadian Forces believes that preparation is key; they have prepared a practice test that is similar to the real test and helps the candidate review their fractions, decimals, and long-division by hand.  They also provide a list of things to do to help candidates be successful on test day (wear comfy clothing on test day, don’t spend too much time on one question), which improves each candidate’s probability of success, showing that The Canadian Forces cares about every potential applicant.  They also allow re-writes for applicants who have failed the aptitude test9.

        The second selection testing method The Canadian Forces use is a medical examination. They expect every applicant to pass a medical examination to see if the candidate can match up the required standards that are demanded due to the rigorous nature of the potential job.  The medical exam, containing a medical questionnaire (current illnesses, medications), a review of your medical files (medical limitations), and a physical exam (high, weight, vision, hearing, etc), is confidential and conducted professionally.  The review of applicant’s medical files is to determine candidate’s medical limitations that could possibly affect their careers and training.  Candidates do not get disqualified due to a diagnoses or a disease11. 

Step 5: The Selection Interview

Once an applicant has passed their aptitude test and medical exam, The Canadian Forces does their own selection interview.  The interview is conducted by a military career councilor, or a panel of career councilors, that test an applicants behavioral work experience, education, and understanding of the job currently being applied for12.  The interview is normally a 20-30 minute interview with behavioral and situational type questions that are used to asses an applicants oral, quick thinking, and compliance skills.13  The questions are normally a mix between structured and unstructured questions that allows the interviewer to ask questions on the applicant’s future career goals, and their input on what type of new job and training they might be interested in.   Each applicant is then reviewed by the career councilor, or councilors, and is evaluated based on a standard evaluation criteria created by the government of Canada, a skills/trades inventory, and an algorithm designed by the Department of National Defense that evaluates a candidate’s potential performance expectancies13. 

Step 6: Enrollment (Hiring Decision & Candidate Notification)

The final decision on who to hire is then left with the Career Councilor who bases their decision on how the applicant did in each selection process step, and in their interview. Seeing how The Canadian Forces is always in need of more employee’s (due to the nature of the military in general, they always need more soldiers); with a very low rejection rate, almost all applicants who make it to the selection interview end up being hired13. 

The Canadian Forces notifies all applicants, whether they were selected or not, by e-mail or by letter of rejection13.  All applicants who are selected will be offered a start date and an enrollment date for basic training that each selected applicant will have 10 days to consider.  Once the offer is accepted, the new employee is given information regarding the enrollment ceremony (traditionally a very large/important military ceremony), travel expectations, final paper work, and basic training information.  The enrollment ceremony is an orientation into the military, not the specific job or branch for the job selected for.  The ceremony acknowledges the commitment made to the country of Canada, and welcomes new employees to The Forces Family.  5 to 30 days after the enrollment ceremony, Basic Training, and life in The Canadian Forces begins14.

Scotiabank

Recruitment

Employee branding

        Serving close to 14.6 million customers in 50 countries around the world, with close to 75,366 employees, Scotiabank is ranked one of the biggest banks in Canada15. Like most employers, Scotiabank has many distinct benefits that employees receive on employment, but unlike some employers, they put much consideration in the planning and the effectiveness of their benefit programs; resulting in a strong employee brand. 

The bank describes 5 distinct benefit categories of being employed with their organization. First off, leadership development is one of the very important skills that employees will learn throughout their career with the bank. Scotiabank uses its current branch leaders and managers to develop new employees’ leadership skills, believing this gives them a significant competitive advantage for the organization as well as for individual employees16. 

Next, the organization commits to employee advancement, giving fair opportunities for promotions to all employees. These promotions can be in branch promotions, such as promoting a financial advisor to a branch management position (Vertical), or they can be a promotion to another branch, or even another division (Horizontal). An example of another division would be a personal banker being promoted to the commercial banking division16. Scotiabank also helps with promotion opportunities by giving its employees access to courses through “My Learning Centre”, which is the learning management system for employees17.  In addition, if a course is required from the Canadian Securities Institute, such as the Canadian Securities Course (CSC), the bank will pay for the course to help with an employee’s advancement and development18. 

Third, Scotiabank offers employee recognition programs, in order to recognize good performance of every employee. A widely used recognition model is the “Scotia Applause” program, which allows managers to give points to employees for significant efforts and at critical incidents (similar to spot bonus’s). These points can be used to purchase gifts from the online “Applause” commerce store. Non-managers can use “Applause” to send peer recognitions to fellow co-workers* on the basis of Scotiabank’s core values of integrity, respect, commitment, insight, and spirit19.  Another recognition program used by the bank is the “Tributes” program, which recognizes employee milestones every five years with the reception of a plaque, company apparel, or other gifts20.  A third employee recognition program “Ideas in Action”, allows employees to make suggestions to upper management for ways to improve the organizations operations and general efficiency. Any employee idea that is used to better the organization receives a cash incentive21. 

The fourth category of benefits Scotiabank offers to its employees is “ The Total Rewards Package”.  This package is The Banks’ version of a guaranteed piecework plan; where each employee gets paid their regular salary plus an incentive for exceeding their own and the organizations goals. In terms of total rewards, Scotiabank does a good job in recognizing when an employee has met his/her or the organizations goals. By setting realistic, but challenging goals based on the company’s strategic priorities (such as helping customers bank more efficiently)….  If the employees meet or exceed these goals, he/she will be rewarded by way of incentive pay (plaque, gift card, company apparel, movie tickets) based on how well the employee is doing in the opinion of the organization/supervisors#.

Finally, Scotiabank lists performance management as one of the benefits of being employed by their organization.  The Bank places value on managing the performance of employees in order to help them achieve their goals since it will benefit both the employee, and the bank as a whole. The performance managing is generally done by a supervisor who will set attainable, but challenging goals.  After the initial goals are set, the supervisor will meet with the employee at the end of every quarter to go over how the employee is doing. Based on these results, the supervisor will make recommendations on how the employee can reach goals in faster, more efficient ways$. 

Overall, Scotiabank has put forth a considerable amount of effort into employee branding with their leadership, career development and recognition programs; therefore, they produce a larger, more diversified pool of applicants in result of their recruitment efforts.   For these reasons, Scotiabank is on the list of “Best Places to Work in Canada” designated by the Great Place to Work Institute22.

Recruitment process

        Depending on the position that the organization is looking to fill, Scotiabank will use either internal or external recruiting methods. Internal job postings will generally be made available through the company’s intranet service, this is where internal postings across the country are made available for current employees to browse and apply for at their convenience (personal knowledge/interview). This method helps give equal opportunity to all employees who are looking to move up in the organization, as well as reducing favoritism within the organization. In addition, this demonstrates Scotiabank’s commitment to career growth and in communicating its policies on transfers and promotions. The internal recruitment will generally be used to help current employees advance in either their current department or switch to a different one. The bank will first look internally when it is trying to fill a permanent position, if no qualified applicant is found, they will look externally.  Downfalls of recruiting internally will generally include jealousy between the unsuccessful candidates toward the chosen one; employees may be dissatisfied having a former equal as their boss, and inbreeding could possibly occur23. 

External recruitment will usually be done by means of Scotiabank’s job search portal (online), or through a physical application that can be retrieved in branch. External recruitment is typically used when the bank is looking to hire for casual positions. Also, for all personal banking jobs the majority of applications are filled online. Scotiabank uses online applications and adds when recruiting externally because it usually makes it easy to screen for qualified candidates in a quick and cost efficient manner. Co-op positions and print advertisements exploiting the benefits of being employed by Scotiabank are additional methods used for external recruitment23.  External recruitment is beneficial because: the employer has access to a large and diverse pool of candidates, the organization acquires new skills and knowledge for the company, and they can save training money by hiring skilled people with less training needs.

Social Networking as a Tool:

Scotia bank has a strong Facebook presence. They have a Facebook page for most, if not all of the countries they operate in. They post daily about various events that they sponsor/take part of. An example of this is their the many posts about the Grey Cup, in which they gave away 8 $100,000 prizes, all of which were posted on their Facebook page. They also have contests which can be entered through the sharing/tweeting of their social media pages. Most of their public announcements are also posted on the various social media sites they are part of. Although they do not use Facebook for recruitment of employees, they do use it as a recruitment tool for customers as most contests require you to sign up for an account with them. It does however contribute to their employee branding by showing everyone (including potential employees) that they are very committed to the communities they serve. They are mindful of world events and strive to make a positive imprint in peoples mind.

As for the use of Social Networking to assess job candidates, Scotia Bank does not check on employees & respects their right to privacy. It was said that they cannot vouch for all managers but that it was not a standard practice among them nor was it encouraged.

Selection

        Scotiabank takes great value in diversity when it comes to their selection process.  Their programs are designed to attract employees with diverse skills, abilities, and experiences. Part of the inclusive hiring process is that managers are trained to be flexible in their interview style to better accommodate new Canadians, who may not be as familiar with the Canadian interview style. Their recruitment process aims to accommodate accessibility programs and funds to support disabled employees and applicants, Aboriginal peoples, and candidates particularly from diversity groups.  Scotiabank also has an International Associate Development Program for selecting leadership and managerial roles. Of people that graduate this program, 69% get selected for senior manager roles, and 61 % are selected for jobs outside of Canada.

        The branches of Scotiabank hire Customer Service Representatives more frequently than any other positions, because the educational background is not as necessary for entry-level Customer Service positions.  They often hire University graduates in the Service Area or Personal Banking Training Program. For the bank here in New Brunswick, the district hires about one or two personal baking trainees per year.

        Scotiabank promotes from within as much as possible.  They post jobs internally first and around 90 percent of the time the bank can fill the position internally.  It is only when they are unsuccessful in finding a qualified candidate from within, that they will go searching externally.

        When they are searching externally, a large portion of the selection process comes from their online applications.  They do this to increase their hiring speed, save money, and because it is very straightforward. Their selection process goes as follows.

Selection Process:

Step 1: (Preliminary Applicant Screening-Filling the Application)

Scotiabank follows a traditional multi-hurdle selection process (similar to the Canadian Forces) that consists of 7 steps. The bank begins its selection process with a preliminary applicant screening; first, you must create an email agent at their Job Search Portal or a Job Board Partner. From there you will receive application information, and discover that new job postings for vacant positions within the bank are put up daily on their Job Search Portal.  The Scotiabank site features a list of all job postings for the different positions it offers, whether it be for retail banking, call centers, tellers, etc. Once the potential candidate has identified his field of work, they can decide on which position they would like to apply for and fill out an application form. Each job posting includes a job summary and specifications, qualifications needed & the education/accreditation required. All candidates applying online submit the same application form, making it easier for HR to create a qualified pool of candidates. An e-mail is sent out to the applicants to inform them HR has received their applications. 

All resumes received externally are kept on file, when the bank needs a position to be filled, if they choose this selection method, they will begin contacting applicants that meet their qualification standards. It is an on-site Manager of Staffing and Recruiting who screens all resumes and applications, and holds the final decision of contacting who they believe are qualified applicants for the next step of the selection process.   

Step 2 (Preliminary Phone Interview)

        Upon making it through the preliminary applicant screening, the potential candidate is then called by a member of their HR department for a phone interview. The phone interview is a mix of structured and unstructured questions, mostly behavioral questions asked about the candidate’s interests and background as well as their interest in the position being applied for. A quote from the Scotiabank website best describes the attitude the employer has going into the phone interview and what they are looking for,  “At any level, be it customer service or personal banking, we are not looking for related experience.  All our focus is on customer service.  If an individual has a university degree or comes across in an interview as reasonably intelligent, we can teach them everything they need to know. We interview and hire based on behavioral competencies.  You would be asked how you would handle a particular scenario, and how would you respond to a particular customer service situation”.

        After the phone interview, Scotiabank’s HR representative (normally a Manager of Staffing and Recruiting) evaluates how each candidate replied to the structured questions that were asked, while keeping in mind all of the responses from unstructured questions.  After each candidate’s potential has been evaluated, the HR representative contacts each success full applicant for the next step of the selection process: selection testing. 

Step 3 (Selection Testing-Aptitude Test)

After the preliminary phone interview, the successful few applicants who have moved on to the next step of the process are called by a Scotiabank HR representative to set up a date for an online or onsite computer based aptitude test which measures specific skills related to the position being applied for. This test is consistent in its content therefore it gives it Reliability. Seeing as the test is position-specific, it also provides Validity. 

Step 4 (Selection Interview)

        

Those suitable for the position in question are contacted and invited for a single or sometimes panel interview. The interview itself follows a semi-structured technique and is often times split into two separate interviews; a one-on-one interview by an HR representative followed later by a panel interview made up of supervisors and managers. They ask unstructured, behavioral, questions to assess a candidate’s general knowledge and job skills, along with, structured, behavioral and situational questions that assess a candidate’s potential knowledge of the position applied for.  Most of the questions come from a manual prepared for the HR department and are reviewed on a periodic basis. 

Step 5 (Reference Checking)

Following the interview a reference check consent form is given and filled out. HR then provides an outside company (subcontracted) to with the applicants references/educational information to be checked. The 3rd party then checks all of the applicant’s information and reports to Scotiabank with their findings.

Step 6 (Hiring Decision)

        Once all the background checks are done, the hiring staff makes a final decision as to which applicants to hire.

Step 7 (Candidate Notification)

The successful candidates are contacted (usually via phone) and offered a position. All other candidates are sent an email notifying them that the position has been filled but that their applications are being kept on file for future openings.

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