The selection process needs to reflect an organisation’s current vision, values and critical success factors. What factors need to be considered and strategies used in reaching effective selection decisions?

The selection process needs to reflect an organisation’s current vision, values and critical success factors. What factors need to be considered and strategies used in reaching effective selection decisions? Identify a company or organisation that does this well or poorly and use it to illustrate your arguments.

The individual essay should be no longer than 2500 words, exclusive of appendices and references which are not counted. Students are required to undertake research to locate a total of twenty (20) academic references with ten (10) being peer-reviewed academic journal references and further ten (10) quality academic texts as outlined in the workshop/lectures and on-line materials. In total you should have twenty (20) references 

The assessment criteria below provides an outline of what is required and also aims to give you general feedback to help you improve the standard and quality of your work in the future:   

• Key issues relating to the question have been developed
• Original and clear argument
• Logical and convincing discussion
• Ideas and assertions substantiated through use of high quality reference material and key academic perspectives/views used to develop arguments
• Appropriate Harvard style referencing (in-text and list of references )
• Number and quality of references

Clear and comprehensive written style (spelling, grammar, syntax etc.) 

Lecture 6
Attracting & retaining talent

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Introduction
‘recruitment strategies attempt to create a pool of appropriately qualified and experienced people so that selection strategies and decisions can be initiated’
(Nankervis, Compton, Baird & Coffey 2011, p.203)

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A typical strategic recruitment process

The strategic perspective
Recruiting:
Creates a pool of appropriately qualified and experienced people
Is linked to competencies
Needs to consider both internal and external policies
Decisions can be dependent on the organisational politics

Strategic recruitment
The business environment calls for a situational approach to attracting employees
The recruitment mix will change as the same issues shift to meet the demands of ever-changing global labour markets
Consideration of the mix of ‘Baby Boomers’, ‘Generation X’ and ‘Generation Y’
Differences in generation, gender, culture and work–life balance
Must be dynamic and flow from the mission statement and strategic objectives

Employers of choice and
best employers
War for talent
Attracting best talent
Work/home–life strategies
Autonomous and meaningful work
Opportunities for learning
Fostering internal talent
but
Be wary of making promises that you cannot keep!

Company branding
Convince existing and prospective staff that it is an attractive place to work through:
family– and work–life balance
leadership and open communication
Co-development of employee value proposition

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Recruiting from within
Filling vacancies above entry level through internal promotions and transfers
Allows organisations to capitalise on the costs that has been invested in recruiting, selecting and training its current employees

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External sources of recruitment

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Internal versus external recruiting

Internal versus external recruiting

Applications
Applications made in person
Telephone applications
Application forms
Résumés
Response analysis

Retention of key people
Emphasis was on attracting but moving to retention

‘Attracting key people is only one dimension; the other is keeping them’.
(Nankervis et al 2011, p.228)

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What are the retention levers?
Work–life balance
Workplace culture
Varied job role
Management style
Training

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International recruitment
Increasing investment in overseas business markets
Multi-cultural workforces
Management of expatriates
Innovative HRM practices
Diversity management

Sources of managers for international organisations
Home country nationals (expatriates)
Host country nationals (locals)
Third country nationals

Most multinational enterprises (MNEs) use all three sources

Selection
‘Recruiting yields applicants to be assessed against job requirements’
‘… selection of applicants from within or outside the organisation to fill existing or projected job openings … has far reaching effects on the continued viability of the organisation.’
(Nankervis, Compton & Baird 2008 p. 229)

‘Strategic selection is the linking activities to the organisation’s business objectives and culture’
(Stone, R. , 2008, p. 211)

Matching people and jobs
Person specifications
What types of information need from applicant?
What tests?
Reduces stereotypes and differentiates qualified/unqualified
Selection process

SHRM and strategic selection

Obtaining reliable and valid information
Reliability refers to the degree to which interviews, tests, and other selection procedures yield comparable data over a period of time.
Validity refers to what a test or other selection procedure measures, and how well it measures this.

Sources of information
Organisational and individual career life cycles
Cultural and attitudinal differences among generations
Babyboomers
Generation X
Generation Y
Generation Z (Nexters)

The employment interview
‘Essential and popular but ‘fraught with potential traps and legal pitfalls’

(Nankervis et al 2008 p. 237)
Interviewing methods:
Non-directive interview
Less structured

Directive interview
Highly structured

Interviewing guidelines
Establish objectives and scope
Review job requirements
Establish and maintain rapport
Active listening
Body language
Provide information
Use questions effectively
Separate facts from inferences

Recognise biases and stereotypes
Avoid `beautyism’
Avoid halo error
Control the interview
Standardise questions
Keep notes
Interviewing guidelines (cont.)

Employment tests

‘The basic assumption behind such testing is that differences between individuals can be measured and related to future job success’.
(Nankervis, Compton, Baird & Coffey 2011, p.264)

Classification of employment and commercially available tests
Custom-made tests
Job knowledge tests
Job sample tests

Reaching a selection decision
Systematic consideration of all relevant information about the applicant
Summary forms and checklists
Rating against selection criteria
Realistic job preview

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Decision strategy
Factors to consider
Approach to be used:
Clinical
Statistical
The selection ratio
Cut-off scores

The costs of getting it wrong
Further recruitment, training and orientation costs
Burnout
Lost opportunity
Reduced profit and competitive advantage
Impaired image and reputation
Reduced internal status
Impaired recruitment opportunity
Threatened company viability
Loss of other key staff

The international perspective
Identify the job
Tolerance of cultural differences
Need to consider partner’s adjustment and family attitudes
Portable skills and interests
Ongoing support programs

Summary
Effective recruitment requires planning.
External sources are used to find special qualifications, avoid excessive inbreeding and to obtain new ideas and technology
Legal requirements
Globalisation and internationalisation
Decision needs to be systematic
Goal is to select for success in the job