2.5.2 Effective Recruitment

Question 1

Responsibilities of directors:

Answer 1

• overall business performance
• business target-setting and strategy formation

Question 2

Responsibilities of senior managers:

Answer 2

management and leadership of key business functions

Question 3

Responsibilities of supervision and team leaders:

Answer 3

• leading a team of workers
• performance management
• providing training, support and motivation

Question 4

Responsibilities of operational staff:

Answer 4

carrying out the key operations of a business

Question 5

Responsibilities of support staff:

Answer 5

providing services that support the main function of the business

Question 6

Recruitment process:

Answer 6

1. Decide on type of worker need
2. Draw up recruitment documents - e.g. job adverts, job descriptions, person specification, job particulars etc.
3. Attract applicants - e.g. through job adverts
4. Receive applications - though CVs, application forms and letters
5. Shortlist - a list of suitable candidates is drawn up
6. Selection - involves interviews and assessments, references might be requested
7. Select the right people - involves interviews and assessments; references might be requested
8. Training - to develop skills using on-the-job and off-the-job training (all staff, but especially new staff)

Question 7

Person specification:

Answer 7

• a profile of the ideal candidate for the job
• It lists the criteria necessary to carry out the job – skills and qualities
  
  • essential and desirable characteristics

Question 8

What should be included in a person specification?

Answer 8

• Skills, knowledge and aptitudes
• Experience
• Qualifications, education and training
• Personal characteristics
• Essential and desirable criteria

Question 9

Skills, knowledge and aptitudes:

Answer 9

Include any skills, knowledge or aptitudes that the candidate need e.g. IT or written skills

Question 10

Experience:

Answer 10

You may want candidates to have prior experience of performing particular skills or tasks

Question 11

Qualifications, education and training:

Answer 11

• Required qualifications must be necessary for satisfactory job performance
• In some professions it will be a legal requirement that the candidate has certain qualifications in order to practice
• In other cases it may be that it would be impossible to carry out certain tasks without having been trained to do them

Question 12

Personal characteristics:

Answer 12

If you want candidates to demonstrate particular personal qualities e.g. the candidate may need certain personal qualities such as the ability to work in a team, or to take on a leadership role

Question 13

Essential and desirable criteria:

Answer 13

• ‘Essential’ criteria are those attributes or qualifications which the candidate must have in order to do the job
• Any candidate who does not meet these requirements can be ruled out straight away
• ‘Desirable’ criteria are not essential to carry out the job but a candidate who meets these criteria is likely to perform the job better
• Desirable criteria can help you choose between good candidates who all meet the essential criteria

Question 14

Benefits of a person specification:

Answer 14

• it can be used as a guide when devising job advertisements and application forms
• it provides recruiters with a tool to compare one candidate with another

Question 15

Job description:

Answer 15

contains essential information about a job role

Question 16

What does a job description include?

Answer 16

• job title
• who the person is responsible to (line manager)
• key duties
• salary or wage
• responsibilities
• special requirements
• conditions

Question 17

CV:

Answer 17

a document that lists a person’s experience and qualifications

Question 18

What does a CV include?

Answer 18

• employment and history
• skills and experience
• references from current or previous employees

Question 19

Contents of job application form:

Answer 19

• Person details (name, nationality etc.)
• Educational history and qualifications
• Previous employment history (periods, positions, roles, achievements etc.)
• Sustainability and reasons for applying for a job
• A chance for applicants to sell themselves’
• Names of referees

Question 20

Advantages of job application form vs CV:

Answer 20

• Business can tailor questions and format to exact needs
• An application form forces candidates to answer same questions and provide information in a consistent format
• CV’s come in many different formats, with key information either missing or presented in different ways
• Encourages the applicant to consider the specific needs of the employer – e.g., to respond to questions relevant to the employer
• More likely to get up to date information from the applicant

Question 21

Reasons for rejecting candidate from job application stage:

Answer 21

• May not meet standards et out in job specification
• Wrong qualifications
• Insufficient experience
• May not have completed application form to a satisfactory standard
• May be unlucky
• Employer has set a limit on number of candidates who progress through to interview stage

Question 22

Internal recruitment:

Answer 22

jobs given to staff already employed by the business, involves promotion and reorganisation

Question 23

Pros of internal recruitment:

Answer 23

• fast and easy to advertise vacancy
• cheaper than external advertising - saves money
• candidates already know the business so will be more efficient from the beginning
• promotion opportunities motivate current employees and increases employee engagement
• shorter hiring time
• reduces need for onboarding

Question 24

Cons of internal recruitment:

Answer 24

• May create jealousy between employees
• Limits application pool
• May leave gaps in certain teams
• May encourage unfair promotions

Question 25

External recruitment:

Answer 25

job centres, job advertisements, recruitment agencies (offline and online), headhunting, personal recommendation etc.

Question 26

Pros of external recruitment:

Answer 26

• more potential applicants (larger hiring pool)
• new ideas, viewpoints and skills brought into the business → help business to grow
• suitable if the business is growing and needs more employees
• enhances diversity
• easier to find a specialised candidate
• reduces employee tension

Question 27

Cons of external recruitment:

Answer 27

• May create jealousy between employees
• wont understand company values as well as internals
• Higher recruitment costs
• Further training may be required increasing costs

Question 28

Job advertisement examples for internal recruitment:

Answer 28

• notice boards
• staff magazine and newsletter
• email

Question 29

Job advertisement examples for external recruitment:

Answer 29

• Newspapers and magazines
• Job centres
• Employment agencies and “headhunters”
• Direct contacts (e.g. with employees in a competitor business)
• Internet recruitment websites

Question 30

Factors to consider when job advertising:

Answer 30

• Type of job
  
  • Senior management jobs merit adverts in the national newspapers and/or specialist management magazines
  • Many semi-skilled jobs need only to be advertised locally to attract sufficient good quality candidates
• Cost of advertising
  
  • National newspapers and television cost significantly more than local newspapers etc.
• Readership and circulation
  
  • How many relevant people does the medium reach?
  • How frequently is the publication published?
• Frequency
  
  • How often does the business want to advertise the post?

Question 31

What makes a good job advertisement?

Answer 31

• accurate
• short
• honest
• positive
• relevant

Question 32

Contents of a job advertisement:

Answer 32

• Details of the business (name, brand, location, business activities)
• Outline details of job (title, main duties)
• Conditions (special factors affecting the job)
• Experience / qualifications required
• Rewards (financial and non-financial)
• Application process (how should applicants apply, how to; deadlines)

Question 33

Longlist:

Answer 33

total pool of applicants

Question 34

Shortlist:

Answer 34

• Shortlist = small number of suitable applicants
• Should ideally be drawn up by two people, acting independently
• Important not to only include “perfect” or “ideal candidates”

Question 35

What information can the interviewer obtain?

Answer 35

• Whether they are suitable for job
• Whether they fit into the business
• Information that cannot be obtained on paper from a CV or application form
• Conversational ability – often known as people skills
• Neutral enthusiasm or manner of applicant
• See how applicant react under pressure
• Queries or extra details missing from CV or application form

Question 36

What information can the candidate obtain from an interview?

Answer 36

• Obtain information about job
• Access the working culture of a possible new employer
• Whether job or business is right for them
• What is culture of company like
• What are exact details of job that may be omitted from job description

Question 37

Examples of selection tests:

Answer 37

• aptitude tests
• intelligence tests
• personality tests

Question 38

Why are selection tests used?

Answer 38

• Basic interview can be unreliable as applicants can perform well at interview but not have qualities or skills needed for job
• Selection tests increase chances of choosing best applicant and so minimise high costs of recruiting wrong people

Question 39

References:

Answer 39

• Written character statements from people who know the applicant well
• An important “safety check”
• A chance to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of an applicant
• Final check that all information given by candidate is correct
• Good honest reference from an independent source can also reveal good or bad incidences from candidate’s past or particular traits that may have been missed