Recruitment And Selection HR Policy

A number of articles and studies have argued that Human Resources function is more effective as a strategic partner in many organisations. The current focus has seen Human Resources Management as an integral part of the resource contributing to firms’ overall profitability as opposed to cost of production.

The viewpoint of strategic human resource management brings to the forefront the importance of human resources practices to organisational performance, such as organisations’ productivity, financial performance and effective employee’s selection and recruitment guidelines.

This dissertation seeks to consider this how human resources management adds value to the changing business environment and also the accompanied problems associated with the implementation of recruitment and selection policies.

It will further discuss how recruitment and selection policies can be successfully implemented into the organisations’ working practices to facilitate it effectiveness and how they can be used to improve business efficiency and value.

It also examines the challenges the implementation of recruitment and selection could pose in a banking sector, using as case study Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) which is situated in Nigeria.

Dissertation Objective, Question, Hypotheses and Justification

Dissertation Objective

The aim of this dissertation is to assess the importance and effectiveness of HR selection and recruitment policies at Guaranty Trust Bank and to examine how it significantly affects the organisational levels outcomes. Therefore, the objectives of this study are as follows:

To obtain detailed knowledge on the effectiveness of recruitment and selection process.

To establish whether the implementation of the policies helps to achieve high levels of organisational effectiveness.

To investigate whether the recruitment and selection policy is applied equally, consistently and fairly.

To specify the positive or negative impact of implementing the recruitment and selection HR policies.

Dissertation Questions

The research will help answer these questions

• What is the impact of HR policies in the Nigeria’s banking industry and how has it affected recruitment and selection processes?
• Which aspect of recruitment and selection processes needs to be improved on by banks in Nigeria?
• Do recruitment and selection practices influence the choice of applicants?
• What will be the impact of effective recruitment and selection process on the competitiveness of banks in the banking sector?

Hypotheses

This research will help answer these questions:

H0: Recruitment and selection guidelines will have positive impact in the banking sector.

H1: Recruitment and selection guidelines will negative impact on the organisation.

H2: Recruitment and selection guidelines will not be a factor influencing the choice of applicants for a job.

H3: Recruitment and selection guidelines will not have a significant impact on the competitiveness in the banking sector.

Justification for the Dissertation

This study will be useful in the following ways:

• Serve as an additional basis for studies of recruitment & selection practices in Nigeria.
• Add to the existing knowledge of recruitment and selection practices in Nigeria.
• Serve as a measure to check the business performance of banks in the banking industry.
• Serve as a pointer to banks’ decision makers to improve on the implementation of their HR policies which serve as medium to improve their competitiveness.

Literature Review

Recruitment and Selection HR Policy:

Recruitment is the method of attracting individuals on a timely basis, in sufficient numbers and with appropriate qualifications, developing their interest in an organisation and encouraging them to apply for jobs within it (Mondy & Noe, 1993; Crawford, 2004). During this process, efforts are made to inform the applicants fully about the selection criteria of the required competencies that will lead to effective performance, as well as career opportunities the organisation can provide the employee. Whether or not a particular job vacancy will be filled by someone from within, or outside, the organisation depends on the organisation’s human resource policies, the requirements of the job to be filled, the talent to be found and, often, the organisational politics surrounding the decision (Nankervis et al., 2002).

Selection is the process of choosing from a group of applicants the individual best suited for a particular position (Mondy & Noe, 1993) based on conventional and non-conventional methods (Crawford, 2004). Therefore, the effectiveness of recruitment has a significant impact on the efficiency of the selection process. The selection process should provide as much reliable and valid information as possible about applicants so that their qualifications may be carefully matched with the job requirements.

While the selection process is usually the responsibility of the human resource director or similar professional, managerial and supervisory personnel in all the business units of an organisation also have an important role in the selection process (Goldrick, 1997). They need to be well versed in the conventional selection methods of psychological and aptitude testing as well as single-stage to multi-stage interviews. Further, essential experience with non-conventional selection should include graphology, group selection or assessment centre and country house weekend techniques. When the final decision of hiring is in the hands of members of a selection committee, it is important that they understand both the objectives/policies relating to selection and the overall strategic direction of the organisation.

Recruitment and Selection are integrated actions. According to Armstrong (2009), recruitment was defined as the process of finding and engaging the people an organisation needs while selection involves the recruitment process concerned with deciding which applicants or candidates should be appointed to jobs (Hackett, 1991). Recruitment is primarily concerned with generating a pool of suitable candidates whereas selection is concerned with identifying those that meet the organisation’s requirements (Beardwell & Claydon, 2007). Albrecht (2001) also states that recruitment is just a first step in developing a global workforce, a first stage in cultivating global leadership and supporting your international business. Redman et al (2009) examines recruitment as practices and activities carried out by the organisation with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees.

Be that as it may, the main aim of recruitment is to ensure that the organisation is effectively and adequately staffed at all times. Therefore, the purpose is to attract suitable people for a particular job which involves matching the applicants with the criteria of the job within the organisation and eventually making a decision at the selection process (Nankervis et al, 2009). Dowling et al (2004) claims that selection is the process of gathering information for the purpose of evaluating and deciding who should be employed in specific jobs. The purpose of selection is to match people to specific jobs as it is the most important element in any organisation’s management of people simply because it is not possible to optimise the effectiveness of human resources if there’s a less than adequate match (Roberts, 1997)

Dissertation Methodology

Secondary Research Method

The secondary methodology approach will be adopted in this study drawing data from secondary published journals and reviewsThe current study will be conducted in a single industry to examine within-industry differences: banking.

Johnson et al. (1989) argued, and found, that consolidation essentially prevents firms from implementing the full range of their strategic choices. Deregulation, as has occurred in banking industry in Nigeria, has allowed banks the freedom to exercise strategic choice. The overall effect of the structural and technical changes has contributed to HR practices, as a source of competitive advantage. The banks have moved from being order takers to being customer oriented sales organizations continually searching for more products and markets. Hunter (1997) states that banks are currently exploring new ways to organize work. Thus, banking currently offers a highly competitive environment that allows firms to exercise differing business strategies. Because of its service orientation, human resource management rises to prominence as a significant factor in strategic implementation as the employees are the product (Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996).

Research Philosophy

The research philosophy is made up of important assumptions about the way the world is viewed (Saunders et al (2000)). These assumptions underpin the research strategy and the methods used which is also part of that strategy. The two main research philosophies commonly used are positivism and phenomenology. The positivist angle tends towards quantitative studies while phenomenology applies to qualitative studies (Collins & Hussey, 2003). The phenomenological stance supports the importance of exploring a situation so as to understand its reality (Remenyi, 1998). This is especially relevant to research studies because they are often complex and unique. A positivist philosophy is also appropriate for this research because positivism supports that findings should be observable, quantifiable and replicable (Collis & Hussey, 2003).

Research Approach

Hyde (2000) states that there are two assumptions to reasoning which may result in the acquisition of new knowledge. They are: inductive and deductive approaches. The inductive approach is a theory building process, starting with observations of specific instances, and seeking to establish generalisations about the phenomenon under investigation. Deductive approach one the other hand is a theory testing process which commences with an established theory or generalisation and seeks to see if the theory applies to specific instances (Hyde, 2000). The inductive approach is the most appropriate for this research because it allows for the investigation and interpretation of complex situations mostly found in business environments which the deductive approach rationale and law-like generalizations of situations might not adequately capture (Bryman, 2008; Saunders et al, 2000). It was possible and easier to study the environment where findings were collected. The findings collected would be analysed and interpreted before a theory is generated (Daymon, 2002; Easterby-Smith et al, 2002)

Research Method and Design

The research method design to be adopted in this study will be reviews of existing employment policies, previous researches and other existing literature, combined with case study methodology and survey because it involves obtaining information directly from the staff of the bank.

Timescale

The whole process of completing this dissertation would take three and half months: from 30th January till 16th April 2013:

Conclusion

At the end, this study will seek to establish the following:

Are better recruitment and selection strategies result in improved organisational outcomes?

Does effectiveness of an organisation’s selection process influence bottom-line business outcomes, such as productivity and financial performance?