Recruitment as the most important aspect of Human Resource Management

by Verena Veneeva

Human Resource Management theories focus on methods of recruitment and selection and highlight the advantages of interviews, general assessment and psychometric testing as employee selection processes. The recruitment process could be internal or external or could also be online and involves the stages of recruitment policies, advertising, job description, job application process, interviews, assessment, decision making, legislation selection and training (Korsten 2003, Jones et al, 2006). Examples of recruitment policies within healthcare sector and business or industrial sectors could provide insights on how recruitment policies are set and managerial objectives are defined. Successful recruitment methods include a thorough analysis of the job and the labor market conditions and interviews as well as psychometric tests to determine the potentialities of applicants. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) also focus on interviews and assessment with emphasis on job analysis, emotional intelligence in new or inexperienced applicants and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Other techniques of selection that have been described include various types of interviews, in tray exercise, role play, group activity, etc.

Recruitment is almost central to any management process and failure in recruitment can create difficulties for any company including an adverse effect on its profitability and inappropriate levels of staffing or skills. Inadequate recruitment can lead to labor shortages, or problems in management decision making and the recruitment process could itself be improved by following management theories. The recruitment process could be improved in sophistication with Rodgers seven point plan, Munro-Frasers five-fold grading system, psychological tests, personal interviews, etc. Recommendations for specific and differentiated selection systems for different professions and specializations have been given. A new national selection system for psychiatrists, anesthetists and dental surgeons has been proposed within the UK health sector.

Recruitment is however not just a simple selection process and requires management decision making and extensive planning to employ the most suitable manpower. Competition among business organisations for recruiting the best potential has increased focus on innovation, and management decision making and the selectors aim to recruit only the best candidates who would suit the corporate culture, ethics and climate specific to the organisation (Terpstra, 1994). This would mean that the management would specifically look for potential candidates capable of team work as being a team player would be crucial in any junior management position. Human Management resource approaches within any business organisation are focused on meeting corporate objectives and realization of strategic plans through training of personnel to ultimately improve company performance and profits (Korsten, 2003). The process of recruitment does not however end with application and selection of the right people but involves maintaining and retaining the employees chosen. Despite a well drawn plan on recruitment and selection and involvement of qualified management team, recruitment processes followed by companies can face significant obstacles in implementation. Theories of HRM may provide insights on the best approaches to recruitment although companies will have to use their in house management skills to apply generic theories within specific organizational contexts.

Bibliography

Jones, David A.; Shultz, Jonas W.; Chapman, Derek S. (2006) Recruiting Through Job Advertisements: The Effects of Cognitive Elaboration on Decision Making International Journal of Selection and Assessment, Volume 14, Number 2, pp. 167-179(13)

Korsten A.D. (2003) Developing a training plan to ensure employees keep up with the dynamics of facility management Journal of Facilities Management, Volume 1, Number 4, pp. 365-379(15)

Papers For You (2006) "P/HR/254. HRM: methods of recruitment and selection", Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprthrm18.htm [22/06/2006]

Papers For You (2006) "E/HR/21. Using relevant frameworks and theories critically evaluate the recruitment and selection appraisal processes used by an organisation with which you are familiar contribute. How does it contribute to the performance of the organisation?", Available from Papers4you.com [21/06/2006]

Shipton, Helen; Fay, Doris; West, Michael; Patterson, Malcolm; Birdi, Kamal (2005) Managing People to Promote Innovation Creativity and Innovation Management, Volume 14, Number 2, pp. 118-128(11)

Terpstra D.E. (1994) HRM: A Key to Competitiveness Management Decision, Volume 32, Number 9, pp. 10-14(5)

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