An Investigation of the Recruitment and Selection Procedures
INTRODUCTION
In any organization the most vital organ is human recourses. In the organization’s effective functioning the employees play an important role. In the today’s business atmosphere, the main challenge of the manager’s is the selection of the right candidate, then development of the candidate and the retention of the candidate in the organization. Human resources have the potential to take an organization to the sky of success. Human resource management is designed to improve the employee’s performance and effectiveness in the fulfillment of the aims of the organization.
The recruitment of the effective, efficient and deserving candidates is very difficult task for the human resource department of the company. The human resource policy regulates the task of the recruitment in the organization. The recruitment process is based on the requirement of the organization. The human resource department should also be effective enough to recruit the capable candidates.
This dissertation will explains “the processes and procedures involved in the Selection and Recruitment in Tata Teleservices Ltd. (TATA Docomo)”.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The human resource department is responsible for the selection and recruitment of the effective, eligible and capable candidates for the organization. The decision of the human resource department to recruit one wrong candidate can prove fatal for the organization, in terms of money, time and reputation of the company. To avoid this mistake, the organizations have already developed the new methods and ways of selection and recruitments. There should be proper planning and proper policy for the selection of the candidates.
Recruitment
Recruitment involves the search and stimulation of the candidates to apply the vacancies in the organization. The increase in productivity, morale, wages, etc can be achieved with the proper planning of selection and recruitment process. As the recruitment process acts as the stimulant to the candidates to apply the vacancies in the organization, so it is regarded as the positive process.
Sources of Recruitment
There are two sources of recruitment
Internal b) External
Internal Sources
The internal recruitment is the process of the identification of the potential candidates who are currently working in the organization who can fulfill the requirements of the new vacancies in the organization. In this the current employees are offered the new vacant positions, like promotion of the employee to the higher post which is vacant. This also boosts up the morale of the other employees and they also perform well to get the promotion to the higher post. There are internal advertisements for the information of the employees.
External Sources
The human resource departments of the organizations are dependent on the external sources. The main external sources are as follows:
Information Commercials. It is the way to inform the potential candidates about the recruitment process through the print media like newspapers, magazines, journals, pamphlets, posters etc. these are also called as recruitment advertisements. These helps in spreading the information to millions of people at one time. The job seeking candidates responds to such advertisements very quickly.
Employment Organizations.
These are also the efficient source for the inflow of the capable candidates for the vacant posts in the organization. These employment agencies initially interviews the candidates, then if they are found fit for the vacant post only then they are referred to the recruiting organization. This makes the process of recruitment simpler for the organization as the organization need to deal with only capable persons. Generally, these recruitment organizations charge fees from the employer but sometimes they also charge from the candidates also. It depends on the organization to organization.
Colleges and Universities.
The process of recruitment of the candidates directly from the colleges and universities is known as the on campus recruitment drive. It is often executed whenever there is need of the professional qualified and technically sound candidates for the vacant posts.
Referrals
In this, the current employees forward the credentials of the candidates who are capable and eligible for the vacant posts in the organization. The employees are free to recommend the candidates for the vacant posts. This the effective method as company gets the necessary information regarding the capabilities of the candidates referred from the existing employees. This also increases the favoritism and it can lead in degrading the morale of the employees.
Casual aspirants.
There are the candidates who themselves visit the organization and drop their resumes in the organization. Whenever the posts are generated the organization also considers them.
Labor Unions.
There are some occupations which recruits the candidates referred by the labor unions, like maritime, hotels and construction companies. This source is chosen by the organization because it is the in-expensive method of recruitment.
The Recruitment Procedure
Whenever the vacancy is generated in the organization then the human resource department starts the process of recruitment. There are predefined steps in this process. in these steps the qualification and capabilities of the candidates is tested to find out whether they are eligible or not for the certain vacancy.
Execute job analysis.
With the generation of the new vacancy, it is necessary to know about the job and its requirements only then the human resource department can recruit the suitable candidates for that particular job. In this analysis the task and duties are identified which is required by the particular job. This process involves three steps:
The environment analysis, where the man power will work;
Determination and identification of the responsibilities and duties to be discharged.
The identification of the tasks involved in the particular job.
Job Description Designing
It is the written document which houses the objectives, aims, the tasks, duties and responsibilities involved in the particular job, the requirements which are needed for the fulfillment of the objectives of the job. These written documents is helpful the suitable employee selection, in their training and orientation processes. It provides the directions to the new employees also. This job description helps the HR department and the employee both in the achievement of the desired tasks to fulfill the organization’s goals.
Development of the specifications of the particular job
The job specifications and description both are necessary in understanding of the job. One the description is written then comes the specifications it includes that what kind of employee will be suitable for this particular job, what skills that employee should have in himself/herself. The education and technical skills needed to do the particular job.
Attracting the applicants
It is one of the important steps in the recruitment. The success in future can be determined by the attraction power of the organization which attracts the applicants to apply for a particular job in that organization. This attraction power is totally dependent on the recruitment sources adopted by the organization.
SELECTION
When the required number of applicants applies for the particular job, then the process of the selection of the right candidate begins. The selection process ensures that the best suitable candidates in terms of skills, education and experience should be chosen for the particular job. The selection’s main goal is to match the job requirements with the person’s individual characteristics. The candidates selected in the selection process should be confident enough to meet the goals of the organization.
Selection Method
Selection method is the positive elimination process, which eliminates the candidates who are not suitable and eligible for the particular job. It means the job requirement does not match with individual’s characteristics. This method should be designed to gather all the information about the candidates. The candidate is declared to be selected only if he/she qualifies all the steps involved in the selection process. It can be fatal for the organization if it chooses the wrong candidate for the particular job. The wrong selection attracts the increase in expenses, wastage of the time of organization. To avoid such situation the well planned process should be designed.
The reception of the applicants, the different departments inform the human resource departments about vacancies to be filled in their department and inform them about the skills needed by the candidates to apply for these vacancies. When the department receives the applications from the candidates, then the process of selection is started.
Preliminary/First Round Screening,
In this step, the instant assessments of the applicant’s capabilities are judged by the human resource department employees. Here the candidates who do not meet the requirements of the job description are eliminated in this step. This is the candidate’s first interaction with the company. This step reduces the time of the selection process as the unsuitable candidates are shunted out in this and only eligible candidates are qualified for the next process. These interviews are of short durations. The human resources executives execute these interviews. Here the interviewers get the desired application forms filled from the candidates. This steps works on the mechanism of the filter, here the capable candidates are kept and rest is shunted out.
Application Blank,
The qualified candidates of the first steps enters the second step, here the candidates properly fill up the formal applications, these applications forms are specially made by the human resource executives to get the proper information about the candidates. The following fields are present in the application forms –
Identification information such as gender, name, father’s name, marital status, number of dependents, weight, height etc.
Educational qualifications e.g., schooling, colleges, graduation, post graduation details, languages proficiency etc.
Professional Experience.
Status of health.
Achievements and awards
References
Psychological factors e.g., salary expectation, previous job leaving reasons etc.
Tests for the selection
The tests for the selection are designed to get the quotient level of the candidates which cannot be assessed from the application forms. Some to tests for the selection are as follows:-
Intelligence tests. An intelligence test explores alertness, comprehension and reasoning abilities of the applicants. Through these tests, managers can predict the future job performance of the applicant. Questions in intelligence tests are job-oriented, and abstract.
Personality tests. These tests measure certain characteristics such as emotional maturity, sentiments, conflicts, ascendance, social ability, objectivity etc of a candidate. Whether a candidate is having a sick personality or healthy personality can be determined by these tests.
Aptitude tests. It is very important to know as to whether the selected candidate will be capable of learning the job or not. Tests designed to measure the learning capacity of the candidates are known as aptitude tests. They measure whether an individual has the hidden ability to learn a given job, if he is given adequate training.
Performance or work sample tests. Such tests are a means of measuring practical ability on a specific job. In performance or work sample tests, the applicant completes some job activity under structured conditions. For instance, a person who has applied for the post of a service representative may be asked to handle a stimulated situation involving a complaining customer. Although they can be costly if special facilities and equipment are needed, performance tests, when devised to closely reflect important aspects of the job, tend to be valid predictors of future performance.
Dexterity tests. These tests aim to measure the swiftness with which the prospective employer can make use of various body parts e.g., ability to move hands, eyes etc. Sometimes due to nature of job, these tests become essential.
Limitations
Tests cannot be relied upon in isolation. Many qualifications and abilities of the candidates can be known at the time of interview or training.
It is not possible to predict the success of the candidate on the basis of such tests.
Tests have also a high margin of error through it is generally believed that the results are exact and accurate.
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Comprehensive Interview, A comprehensive interview or an in-depth interview is most delicate aspect of the selection procedure. The information about the candidate which cannot obtained from the application blank, tests and group discussion, may be secured easily if the interview is planned well in advance and is conducted by the interviewer tactfully.
Checking References, An applicant may be asked in the application blank to supply two or more references
Characteristic reference b) Experience Reference.
These references provide information regarding the behaviour of the applicant. A notable limitation of the method is that it lacks standardisation and objectivity. It is natural in case of character reference to give names of references of only those persons who would always write favourably for the applicant. It is very rare to get a frank opinion about the candidate. The other sources to get information about the candidate are professors from whom candidate has studied, colleagues with whom candidate had worked. References may be checked by mail, telephone or a personal visit may be arranged.
Approval by the Concerned Department, The candidate is then sent to the line manager for the approval. The personnel department cannot take a final decision regarding selection because the candidate has to actually work under the line managers who are directly responsible for the results of an organisation. At this stage, it is not in the interest of the company to reject the candidate. Instead he may be sent to some other departments.
Physical Examination, Only those candidates should be selected who are physically fit. It may not be the last step in the selection process if physical as well as mental fitness is of utmost importance. Physical examinations are designed to ensure that the candidate can perform effectively in the position for which he or she is applying to protect other employees against contagious diseases, to establish a health record for the applicant and to protect the organization against unjust compensation claims.
Making the Selection, The applicants who qualify in the selection test, interview, reference check and physical examination are now considered to be eligible to receive an offer of employment. Usually an appointment is made on probation in the beginning. The probation period may range from two months to two years. If the work and conduct of the employee is found satisfactory, he may be confirmed. It is also in the interest of the organization to prepare a waiting list and inform the candidates, in case a person does not join after being selected, the next person on the waiting list may be called.
METHODOLOGY
Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. The advanced learner’s dictionary of current English lays down the meaning of research as “a careful investigation of enquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge.”
Research Design
“A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.” – JOHN.W.BEST
Research may be defined as “any organized inquiry designed and carried out to provide information for solving a problem”. – EMORY
“Research is essentially an investigation, a recording and an analysis of evidence for the purpose of gaining knowledge”. – ROBERT ROSS
Descriptive Research Design
Descriptive research design studies are those studies, which are concerned with describing the character of a group.
The researcher makes a plan of the study his research work. That will enable the researcher to save and resources such a plan of study or blue print or study is called a research design.
Data Collection
The study was based on questionnaire method. The study was about the Recruitment and Selection System at Tata Teleservices Ltd. and find out the effectiveness of recruitment.
There are two types of data collection:
Primary data
Secondary data
Primary data
The primary data are those, which are collected a fresh and for the first time happen to be original in character. It has been collected through a Questionnaire and personal interview.
Secondary data
Secondary data are those which have already been collected by someone else and which have already been passed through the stratified process. It has collected through the manuals, journals & Internet.
CONCLUSION
The Recruitment and Selection Process is one of the basic HR processes. Recruitment & Selection is very sensitive as many managers have a need to hire a new employee and this process is always under a strict monitoring from their side.
HR management is a part of every manager’s responsibilities. These responsibilities include placing the right person in the right job, and then orienting, training, and compensating to improve his or her job performance.
Tata Teleservices uses two sources of recruitment – internal and external source. But they prefer internal source because it gives opportunity to employees within the organization. After recruitment Selection process takes place. This entails establishing the best fit between job requirements and the candidate’s profile. Selection process includes screening, interview and various tests. Then offer is made to the candidate if he/she accepts it employee undergone through various pre- employment activities like reference check, medical tests, etc.
It is imperative to have an efficient and responsive tracking mechanism to evaluate the impact of recruitment on the topline and bottomline. Metrics not only help in evaluating the robustness of internal processes but also provide inputs on customer satisfaction and vendor evaluation parameters. Various metrics like – quality metrics, time metrics, cost metrics & Review process is used to find out the effectiveness of recruitment processes.
TIMESCALE FOR DISSERTATION
Task
Start Date
End Date
Title, aim, objectives
Done
Done
Literature Review
Questionnaire Preparation & Distribution, interviews
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Conclusion