Recruitment & Selection Flashcards
Jim Collins - in other words (linked to the definition of strategic HRM):
It’s about …
Having the right people
with the right (cap)abilities, in the right place,
at the right time.
Open position focus or talent focus?
open position focus:
-open position
-advertisement
-application
-Evaluation/selection
-offer
Talent focus:
-search approach
-Evaluation
-Long term Relation
-open position
-offer
Recruitment is a 2-way street
organisation:
Organisations are seeking for qualified applicants in line with job requirements and fit for the organisation
individual: Applicants are looking for potential emplacement opportunities in line with skills and expectations on an organisation
Environment of recruitment
-labor market conditions
-Active job seekers: these people are actively looking for new opportunities and are available to start a new role in the very near future. They’re the candidates that apply for jobs.
-passive job seekers: these people are currently employed. They’re not actively looking for work, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in moving. They may not be available immediately and they don’t usually apply for jobs organically.
-Legal considerations
‘War for Talents’
The author Steven Hankin describes with the keyword ‘War for Talents’ the increasing difficulty of companies to find suitable qualified personnel.
In order to fill vacancies appropriately, there would be a battle between the companies for the best junior staff, the so-called high potentials.
This trend towards a shortage or even shortage of skilled labour is particularly evident in the MINT occupations in mathematics, engineering, natural sciences, technology and healthcare.
Recruitment in more detail (Martocchio)
-Process of attracting individuals
* On a timelybasis
* Insufficient numbers
* With appropriate qualifications
Encouraging them to apply for jobs
-Recruitment sources and methods:
* Recruitment sources: Places where qualified individuals are found.
* Recruitmentmethods: Means by which potential employees can be attracted to company.
Recruitement life cycle
- Planning:
* Needs- analysis
* Plan recruiting process - Attracting:
* Marketing
* Branding
* Contact building - Sourcing or Scounting:
* Media (social media) ads
* Contact providers (agencies RAV, head hunters .etc) - Selecting
* Pre-selection (Screening)
* Apply selection tools
* Tak decision - Closing
* Offer Contract
* Candidates accepts
* Record employee date - Retaining
* Start proper onboarding
* Define goals
* Define development goals
Recruitment process (Martocchio)
page 15:
Human ressource –> Recruitment
–> Internal Sources –> Internal Methods –> Recruitement Individuals
–> External Sources –> External Methods –> Recruitement Individuals
Recruitment life-cycle (Planning)
Decisions to take…
Internal recruitement and/or External recruitment
Some reasons for internal vs. external recruitment could be….
Internal recruitment = stability
Cost reasons – usually less costly
Effectiveness of selection (e.g. speed)
Available internal candidates know the job/company/might have the skills
Developmental opportunities to motivate employees/continued learning
Career progression opportunities (can also motivate other staff to see that internal progress is possible)
Lower risk to „mis-hire“ given internal knowledge on an internal candidate, e.g. (performance, potential, behaviour….)
External recruitment = flexibility
Bring in new talent, new knowledge, experiences
Increase diversity of thought/diverse skill sets „Benchmark“ internal employees to identify
gaps
Establish brand / increased visibility of company in the market.
Internal people can be «kept» in key positions (eg. where special skills are required) -> though sometimes can backfire
Recruitment life-cycle (Attracting)
Attract new candidates:
-To match qualified applicants
-To attract qualified applicants
Definition Employer Branding
Employer branding includes all strategies that improve a company’s external and internal reputations. Therefore, employer branding is the interface of marketing and human resource management.
To attract top talent, companies need to be best in (attracting)
Employer Brand / Messaging
Employer branding / Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
Recruitment channels
Job boards, social media, external candidate pipelines through active sourcing, etc.
Ways of Communication
Video, Emails, career fairs, social media features, etc.
Nurturing
Newsletters, educational content, employee stories/referrals, workshops, etc.)
Top employment rankings can help to attract talent
-top employer
-Great place to work
-kununu
Employer attributes/attractivity factors
Work Content/Challenges
Working Conditions/Flexibility Cooperation
Work Environment
Development Options
Social Relations
Corporate Culture
Trust
Work/Life Balance
Compensation/Reward
Meaningful Objectives
Self-Realization/Autonomy Corporate Strategy/Vision Corporate Identity/Image Job Security
Employer Value Proposition (EVP) - Definitions
An employee or employer value proposition (EVP) is a set of attributes which market a firm as an employer.
Explicit reasons are defined and conveyed why a talent should apply and eventually stay with a specific enterprise
–> It’s what employees value most, how a company separates itself from its competitors, and the company’s promise to its people.
Company analysis is prerequisite for developing an EVP
- What are the strengths of the company?
* What are the future tasks?
* What are the products?
* What is the capacity for innovation? - Which target groups should be addressed?
* The preferences of the target group should be met! - Which of our qualities as an employer do we want to put in the foreground?
* Which characteristics are particularly relevant for which target group? - How do we differ from our competitors?!
* What are our competitors for talent?
Development of an Employer Value Proposition
-Employer Attributes: authentic
-Target Segment Preferences: attractive
-Strengths of Competitors: particular
page 39
A winning EVP:
WTW(Winning Employer Value Proposition) Global Workforce Study - Employee View
Great Jobs
challenging and interesting job
freedom & autonomy
/ empowerment
career opportunities
career advancement & growth
training possibilities
flexible working hours
Great Boss & Team
top relationship with superior good climate with colleagues recognition by colleagues &
superior
confidence in leadership
Great Company
values & culture
well managed
exciting challenges (image) strong performance
industry leader
talented people
good at development
inspiring mission
job security
Great Compensation and Lifestyle
differentiated compensation high total compensation
good work life balance
attractive geographic location respect for lifestyle
Recruitment life-cycle (Sourcing) : Persona’s
Persona is a Marketing tool to segment customers
–> adapted to HR it is used to optimize hiring by developing an even clearer profile of the „ideal candidate“.
A candidate persona is “a semi-
fictional representation of your ideal [candidate] based on market research and real data about your existing [employees].”
Internal recruitment sources
- Human resource databases including talent management.
- Job posting: Procedure to inform employees of existing job openings.
- Job bidding: Procedure that permits individuals in organization to apply for posted job.
- Employee referral:
− Recruit new hires through employee-referral incentive program. (Employees recommend employees)
− Number 1 way employees find a job.
− Referees better qualified and usually higher time in job/organization. - Internal project/job assignment platforms (e.g. Novartis, J&J)
Whom to target?
-School/ vocational school graduates
-Colleges / universities
-Employees of competitors (Used when relevant experience is needed, Smaller firms look for employees trained by larger) External recruiting with third parties
organizations
-Employees of non- competitors
-Former employees
-Unemployed individuals
External recruiting with third parties
-Job Agencies: fixed positions, employees are being offered, relatively cheap, accounted for in percentages of salary or variable
-Temporary Agencies: temporary positions, try and hire (fixed employment after 3 months), temp agency is employer (responsible for contract, work permit, payment, etc.)
-Gig Economy / Job Platforms: Refers to a part of the labor market where small orders are placed at short notice with independent self-employed, freelancers or marginally employed persons. Online platforms act as an intermediary between the customer and the contractor, setting framework conditions and whose operator retains a commission.
-Personnel Consultancy: Mandate for personnel search, occasionally extended into other consulting activities, accounted for in percentages of compensation or variable
-Executive Search: mandate to hunt for management positions, relatively expensive, direct approach of possible candidates
External recruiting with third parties
-Job Agencies: fixed positions, employees are being offered, relatively cheap, accounted for in percentages of salary or variable
-Temporary Agencies: temporary positions, try and hire (fixed employment after 3 months), temp agency is employer (responsible for contract, work permit, payment, etc.)
-Gig Economy / Job Platforms: Refers to a part of the labor market where small orders are placed at short notice with independent self-employed, freelancers or marginally employed persons. Online platforms act as an intermediary between the customer and the contractor, setting framework conditions and whose operator retains a commission.
-Personnel Consultancy: Mandate for personnel search, occasionally extended into other consulting activities, accounted for in percentages of compensation or variable
-Executive Search: mandate to hunt for management positions, relatively expensive, direct approach of possible candidates
Key digital platforms
The positive, pro-active and above all professional dealing with social media (and other digital channels) results in an attractive employer brand. It allows insights into corporate activities and culture
Furthermore,
- A wider audience can be targeted
- Process time can be reduced
- More qualified candidates may be found
- A modern candidate experience should be created
However,
- Legal and compliance risks must be avoided (data
protection)
- Information on SM about candidates might not be correct
social medias apps
-linkedin
-xing
-glassdoor
-kununu
-200 countries
-15’000 employees
-2,99bn USD revenues
-660 Mio.
-2002
-1924 employees
-200
-D-A-CH
-19 Mio. users
- 277 Mio. Euro revenue
What do professional social media platforms do?
«Intelligent Advertisement» of Open Positions
Self learning
Matching of profile data with attributes of positions → Automated addressing of target audience
Sharing of ads through private profiles of employees (employee referral 2.0)
Establishing of corporate profiles (employer branding!) including images (personal touch important!)
Newsletter function (content and ads) to generate interest
Building networks with / of potential candidates (they have to keep
engaged)
Kununu – Evaluation portal
Corporation profiles can be established by everybody
Introduction / presentation of firm
Integration of images and videos
Job application information
Benefits offered
Locations
Link to Career Websites
Attention: Preserve authenticity!
High traffic (negative and/or entertaining evaluations)
Companies can respond with a statement (it’s resource intense though can be worth the investment)
Social Media recruiting : PROs
Very cost-efficient for company (company profile or even own career channel can be set up for free)
Audience can be targeted along gender, age, skills, background, location, etc.
Brand awareness can be increased with candidates that express interests in similar topics
Use of hashtag to target specific groups
Can be used as personnel marketing tool (incl. Videos) – channel to report on corporate culture, job openings, company highlights -> referral to corporate website
Social media: Cons
Data protection has to be respected
Profiles of candidates might not be correct Time intense to maintain channel with
up-to-date information (content has a very short lifetime)
Active vs. passive job searchers: General rules
The more qualified employees are, the less frequently they are actively looking for new jobs.
Accordingly, you have to find out by means of a labor market analysis whether your target segment is consisting of actively or passively looking job seachers.
Iceberg Active v spassive job searchers
Active searches : up
passive searchs : down
–> Passiv searchers, willing to talk / switch
–> Approach to new candidate profiles
Chronology of application approaches
page 53
Recruitment life-cycle (selecting)
Process of choosing the candidate best suited for a particular position and organization (eg. regarding competencies, abilities, values) from a group of applicants
–> AVOID selecting wrong candidtate, which can be very costly (50-200% of annual salary)
The selection process … to maximise HITs
Hit: Accurate prediction (Person who (or not) would have succeded/ on the job)
Miss: Inaccurate predictions (persons fails on the job)/ Person would have succeeded on the job)
–> voir page 12
Pre-selection What is the purpose?
-Identify non-qualified applicants based on comparison between employee profile required and person specifications mentioned in the application.
-reduce number of applications to manageable amount.
Applications documents
Importance of documents at preselection point in time according to survey with professional HR Managers
CV parsing (robot selection)
Screening and analysing of applicant documentations by computer/robot
* Screening functionality: Selection of data from documentation and automatic transfer into required form
* Matching functionality: Automatic comparison of data from applicant documents and job requirements
* Selection functionality: Automatic selection of best candidates
CV parsing (robot selection) : pro arguments
- High efficiency if the number of applications is high (e.g. Google: 3 million applicants for 7,000 positions per year = approximately 430 applicants per position): pre-selection takes 15 seconds instead of 7 to 9 minutes.
= If the number of applications is high (e.g. Google: approximately 430 applicants per post): pre-selection takes approximately 15 seconds instead of 7 to 9 minutes - Increased standardisation
CV parsing (robot selection) : cons arguments
- Small errors in documents can have fatal consequences
- Elimination of “unusual” but genuinely interesting requests
- Texts and graphics are not recognised as such
- Biases?
Selection procedures
- Define the most appropriate selection procedure based on Curriculum Vitae, job-level, etc.
- Choose appropriate selection methods, e.g. competency-based interview, behavioural-based interview, psychometrics, etc. )
Quality criteria’s of selection methods
-Standardization: uniformity
-Objectivity: Everyone scoring a test obtains same results (no discrimination)
-Norms: Frame of reference for comparing applicant’s performance with that of others
-Reliability: Provides consistent results (eg. if test is retaken from same person)
-Validity: Measures what it is supposed to measure
-Practicability: Instrument is economical and practicable (cost, time investment, training, handling)
Reliability =
stability over time
Validity of methods related to performance
Relevant diagnostics to forecast future success
* Simulation (of critical situations)
* Qualities / abilities
* Biography
Selection methods
-Analysis of application documents
-Attitudinal/ psychological tests
-Assessment center
-Interviews
-Reference information
Selection tests
Intelligence tests
Physical ability tests
Personality tests
Integrity testing
Knowledge tests
Job performance and work sample tests
Gamification / simulations
Case studies
Online tests
- For Openings and Internships with a high number of expected applications
- Access to application portals only after passing the test (partially)
- Instructions and tests relatively attractive and to be seen as positive challenge
Online tests (pro arguments)
- Efficient pre-selection of suitable candidates
- Helpful if career is at its start
- Relatively precise evaluation of job requirements / job matchings
- Makes sense mostly only with a relatively high number of applications
Online test (cons arguments)
- Big investment in setting up the test (validity!)
- Possibly too high negative rate (some valid applicants may stop before taking the test)
-No personal contact
Types of interviews
Unstructured
Structured
Behavioral
Situational
The key for any success in interviews
«Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.»
Preparation – it “takes two to tango”
-Preparation
by the interviewer
-Preparation by the candidate
preparation by interviewer using the CIT (critical incident) e.g. behavioural-based questions:
Critical incident (job descriptions)
Job needs to be done under demanding conditions, i.e.
- Time pressure
- Frequent interruptions
- Open space offices
Requirements (job specification)
Ability to work under pressure:
- Stays focused in critical situations
- Ability to stay concentrated
- Ability to deal with interruptions
Consistent set of
questions e.g. behavioural-based questions:
1. Tell us about a situation with demanding conditions where it was difficult to stay focussed?
2. How did you manage this situation?
The WASP approach
Welcome:
1. Build rapport
2. Explain purpose
3. Outline the format
Aquire Information
1. Data collection for an informed decision (eg. occupational experience, qualifications, academic achievements, interpersonal skills, personal qualities)
Supply Information
1. Answer remainig questions of candidate
2. Go through job description if needed
Plan and Part
1. Outline next steps
2. Friendly closing with leaving a
good impression
Ways to conduct interviews / the interviewing process
I. One-on-one job interview: Applicant meets one-on-one with interviewer.
I. In person
II. Phone interview
III.Video/Skype/MSTeams/Zoom/GoogleMeet/Webex
II. Group interviews: Several applicants interact in presence of one or more. interviewers
III. Board (or panel) interview: Several firm representatives interview candidate at same time
IV. Multiple interviews: Applicants typically interviewed by peers, subordinates, and supervisors
V. Stress interview: interviewer intentionally creates anxiety
VI. Realistic Job Preview (RJP): provides both positive and negative job information to applicant
in unbiased manner
New trend: asynchronic video interviews
- Web based video interviews executed with a time gap
- Applicants reply to fixed interview questions of recruiters
- Videos will be recorded and can be watched and evaluated by various internal stakeholders within the firm: recruiter, HR business partner, superior, department heads, etc.
Pro (video interviews)
- High flexibility re time and location
- Standardisation to a certain degree
Cons (video interviews)
- Value? No interaction/clarification possible - High investment in time and money
Standardize the interview process incl. questions
Set-up a diverse slate of interviewers (different genders, generations, functions, etc.) Pre-align on questions per interviewer / train interviewers as needed
Leverage the same questions for each candidate of the same hiring process
Use job description and ask also questions based on the job requirements
Plan sufficient time for each interview
Use different interview techniques, not too much focus on CV-related questions
Take notes accurately, i.e. content of what the candidate says, not how you interpret it Evaluate interview answers with help of standardized scales/evaluation forms
Good practice is to co-interview in order to balance out interviewer biases
Answer openly questions from the candidates
Re-group with interviewers on feedbacks on the candidates
How to ask questions?
Open questions (What, How, Why?)
Avoid yes/no (closed) questions (Do you…?)
Ask for examples (“you mentioned being collaborative: would you pls share a recent example?”)
Leverage probing questions (“can you tell us more….?”)
Avoid hypothetical questions
Avoid suggestive questions («this was a good thing, wasn’t it?”)
Avoid verbal multiple choice questions (“did you leave your last job for a)… b)…?”)
Ask single questions (NOT: “What was the biggest learning and how did you apply it with which result?”)
Avoid discriminating questions (age, gender, ethnic information or simply too personal information)
Behavioural-based (competency-based) interviews
–> STAR technique
Situation: What? In which situation did that particular behaviour occur?
Task/Target: What? What was the task?
What was the goal?
What did you need/want to change?
Action: How? What have you done and how have you done it? Your action/decision.
Result: What was the outcome / result of that particular behaviour?
Advantage of STAR-technique
Situation/ task/ target :
help to acess the behaviour
Action/ behaviour/Approach:
often candidates are not clear in their descriptions
it is important to get real example form real behaviour
Result/ success/ change
Only with a result the behaviour can be asses. Not only what someone has done but what the result is the key.
Situational questions
“Mental activity simulation” with hypothetical questions
As interviewer other good question types are…
- Open follow up questions
- Chain questions (digging deeper with eg. «why» or «what else»)
- Ranking demands
success factors for conducting interviews:
Job spec. & description at hand Develop interview guideline
Take notes
4-eyes principle
Have CV studied Be on time
Maintain rapport Listen actively
Look for nonverbal cues Give honest information Observe, don’t interpret Ask open questions
Train other interviewers
Adjust to the level of candidate Avoid disturbance
Assessment center process
Preparation:
1. Definition of Objectives and Target Group
2. Selection of Observers
3. Definition of Target Requirement Profile
4. Design of Exercises according to Requirements
5. Information of Participants and organisat. Preparations
Executing
6. Training of Observers
7. Information about Objectives and Process
8. Working on Exercises and Documents by Participants
9. Observation of Behavior and Measurement of Performance
10. Evaluation of Observations
Finalisation:
11. Calibration of Evaluations
12. Editing of Reports with Development Measures
13. Discussion of Results with Customer
14. Feedback about Results to Participants
15. Agreement on Development and Support
Pro Assessment center
Multifunctional use
Leadership traits can be seen «in
real»
Can be customized to criticial
incidences
More data for the decision making
Cons Assessment center
Takes a lot of time and is costly
Often (external) specialists required
for preparation and implementation
Can be perceived as intense by
candidates, depending on chosen formats
Potential evaluation / assessing errors and biases
Mild Effect: The “better” half of the scale is used for the most part
Strict Effect: The “worse” half of the scale is predominantly used.
Tendency towards the middle: Mostly average ratings are given (mean scale values).
Similarity effect: People with similar characteristics/background to assessor receive better assessments
Recency Effect: Information at the end of an assessment period is remembered/weighted more strongly
Primacy Effect: Information at the beginning of an assessment period is remembered/weighted more strongly
Contrast effect: Positive or negative information (eg. former candidate) that contrasts with the person being assessed influences the assessment.
Halo effect: A positive or negative characteristic outshines all others and has a greater influence on the assessment.
Stereotyping: Stereotypes (beliefs about the characteristics of the members of a social group) influence the assessment.
Hiring: Decision-models
-clinical judgement formation (subjective)
-Statistical judgement formation (objective):
–> compensatory model (average): Permits a high score in one area to make up for a low score in another area
–> Multiple Cutoffs Model (define minimum): Requires an applicant to achieve a minimum level of proficiency on all selection dimensions
–> Multiple hurdle Model: Only applicants with sufficiency high scores at each selecting stage go on to subsequent stages in the selection process
Recruitment life-cycle (Closing)
I.Working contract based on
I. Salary offer/expectations
II. Agreement to working conditions
III. ….
II Signing contract
–> Welcome
Retaining: Induction (onboarding) programme
- Thoroughly planned induction programme: training on-the-job and off- the-job, introduce to relevant contacts (inside and outside company), define an onboarding buddy etc.
- Setting objectives for probation period
- Regular conversations between line manager and new employee (30/60/90 days)
HR Best of Breed Applications
There is an incredible array of tools available that can be bolted on to your main HR systems
Retaining: From probation to permanent
Performance assessment:
Does new employee meet the expectations?
Decision after probation period (usually 3 months) whether to permanently employ the new employee
Usually conversation between line manager and employee
