Employee Selection notes

Employee Selection

• Meaning of employee selection
• Employee selection process
• Employee selection methods
• Emerging issues and trends in employee selection

8.0 SELECTION THEORY
RNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this topic, the trainee should be able to;
– explain the meaning of selection
– describe the selection process
– discuss the selection methods
– identify emerging issues and trends in selection

Recruitment and selection are two important functions of human resources. Though linked together in what is generally called the employment discipline of human resources, they are two distinct functions. The recruitment phase is the initial step for all applicants–once the applicant presents the

skills, knowledge base and qualifications, he/she moves into candidacy for a position and undergoes through the selection process..

8.1 Meaning of selection
Selection is the process of picking up individuals (out of the pool of job applicants) with requisite qualifications and competence to fill jobs in the organization. A formal definition of Selection is as under “Selection is the process of differentiating between applicants in order to identify and hire those with a greater likelihood of success in a job.” It can also be defined as the process of interviewing and evaluating candidates for a specific job and selecting an individual for employment based on certain criteria. Employee selection can range from a very simple process to a very complicated process depending on the firm hiring and the position. Certain employment laws such as anti-discrimination laws must be obeyed during employee selection.

Difference between recruitment and selection
Both recruitment and selection are the two phases of the employment process. The differences between the two are:

1. Recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization whereas selection involves the series of steps which the candidates are screened for choosing the most suitable persons for vacant posts.
2. The basic purpose of recruitments is to create a talent pool of candidates to enable the selection of best candidates for the organization, attracting more and more employees to apply in the organization whereas the basic purpose of selection process is to choose the right candidate to fill the various positions in the organization.
3. Recruitment is a positive process i.e. encouraging more and more employees to apply whereas selection is a negative process as it involves rejection of the unsuitable candidates.
4. Recruitment is concerned with tapping the sources of human resources whereas selection is concerned with selecting the most suitable candidate through various interviews and tests.
5. There is no contract of recruitment established in recruitment whereas selection results in a contract of service between the employer and the selected employee

8.2 Selection Process
Selecting candidates involves two main processes: shortlisting, and assessing applicants to decide who should be made a job offer. It is a crucial stage in the overall recruitment process which is outlined in our recruitment factsheet. Candidates’ applications may arrive as curriculum vitae (CV) or an application form. Whatever form they are in, it is important to make sure that all of those who are involved in the selection process, from the shortlisting stage onwards, are aware of the need to avoid unfair discrimination and the potential risk to the organization’s reputation should a candidate make a legal claim. Electronic techniques are also being used to slim down the number of potential candidates. In particular, using online recruitment can mean employers receive large numbers of applications from unsuitable candidates, so it can be helpful also to use technology to help manage the application forms. A typical selection process involves the following steps;
i) Preliminary Interview

This is the first step in selection process. The purpose of preliminary interviews is basically to identify whether the candidate is suitable to fill the application blank and eliminate unqualified applications based on information supplied in application forms. The basic objective is to reject misfits. On the other hands preliminary interviews is often called a courtesy interview and is a good public relations exercise. It may be inform of a brief interview conducted in the reception that involves exchange of information relating to the organization and the candidate.
ii) Application blanks
These are forms that give information of candidates in summary form. They include age, gender, name, contacts, religion, and qualification etc., written in a candidate’s own handwriting. Their main purposes are for comparisons i.e. provide information to be compared with what the applicant had given in the application and also allow a candidate to demonstrate their suitability for the job. The forms should be simple but the questions need to be presented in a standard format and have a bearing to suitability of the candidate as well as give information reflecting the personality of the candidate that is helpful during the interview
iii. Selection Tests:
Jobseekers who pass the preliminary interviews are called for tests. There are various types of tests conducted depending upon the jobs and the company. These tests can be Aptitude Tests, , intelligence tests, proficiency tests, Personality Tests, and Ability Tests and are conducted to judge how well an individual can perform tasks related to the job. Besides this there are some other tests also like Interest Tests (activity preferences), Graphology Test (Handwriting), Medical Tests, Psychometric Tests etc. The main problem of tests is that they are time consuming, expensive and expose job candidates to stigma.
(iv) Employment Interview:
The next step in selection is employment interview. Interview is a formal, in-depth and controlled conversation with the applicant specifically set to obtain specific information from the job candidate. It is considered to be an excellent selection device. Interviews can be One-to-One, Panel Interview, or Sequential Interviews. Besides there can be Structured and Unstructured interviews, Behavioral Interviews, Stress Interviews.
Interviews are important because; they provide additional information about the applicant that cannot be given in an application letter, CV or other documents, they help in judging the suitability of a candidate, and they are used to explore candidate’s aptitudes and capability in addition to providing a candidate with an opportunity to ask questions about the organization and the job.
The limitations of interview are; they involve a lot of expenditure in terms of money and time, they normally test the personality of a person not the skills and abilities for the job, interviews are subject to personal judgments and bias of the interviewer. Sometimes, interviews do not have greater validity and meaning and when interviewers are not experts they may fail to get all the relevant information from the interviewee as has been seen in many parliamentary committees in Kenya.

Preparation of an interview
The success of an interview depends on the amount of preparation made both the interviewer and interviewee who must take into consideration certain aspects of the interview. The interviewers must;

• Ensure that the waiting room is comfortable, attractive, neat and airy

• Properly plan in terms of time to avoid candidates’ waiting for too long
• Ensure there are no disturbances from visitors, other employees, traffic, telephone etc. in the interview room
• Make the arrangement of the interview room comfortable and conducive
• Have a copy of candidates application forms and other documents and familiarize him/ herself with the information provided
• All members of interview panel should be experts in specific fields related to the job
• Draft the questions to be asked in advance which saves time during the interview.

On the other hand, the interviewee should prepare as follows;

• Find out as much as possible about the organization e.g. name of managing director and/ or chief executive officer, products and services of the organization, history of the organization, latest developments in the organization etc.
• Being sure of interview details such as time, day, venue etc.
• Be conversant with current affairs both nationally and internationally
• Know your hobbies, interests, ambitions and other personal details that may be required.
• Formulate possible questions in advance and try to answer them
• Ensure that they are dressed appropriately

Reference & Background Checks:
Reference checks and background checks are conducted to verify the information provided the candidates. Reference is a brief statement about a candidate made a third party usually the immediate supervisor. Reference checks are conducted to provide factual information about the candidate’s period of employment and gather opinions regarding candidate’s personal attributes such as honesty creativity etc. These are therefore important in that they encourage the candidate to tell the truth in the application forms and provides a backup in case of genuine attempt a candidate to mislead prospective employers. Their disadvantages are that most of the referees are biased, applicants provide referees who are likely to favor them and it is costly in terms of time and money. Reference checks can be through formal letters, telephone conversations. However it is merely a formality and selections decisions are seldom affected it.
Selection Decision:
After obtaining all the information, the most critical step is the selection decision to be made. The final decision has to be made out of applicants who have passed preliminary interviews, tests, final interviews and reference checks. The views of line managers are considered generally because it is the line manager who is responsible for the performance of the new employee.
vii. Physical / Medical Examination:
After the selection decision is made, the candidate is required to undergo a physical fitness test. A job offer is often contingent upon the candidate passing the physical examination.
viii. Job Offer:
The next step in selection process is job offer to those applicants who have crossed all the previous hurdles. It is made way of letter of appointment.

8.3 Selection Methods
It is a sad but indisputable fact that in any group of people who apply for a job, there will be a number who will not give accurate information about themselves. This may be because they do not understand what information it is that you need, or because they badly want the job, despite not being sufficiently qualified or experienced, and don’t consider the problems they may face should they get it. It is also true that businesses do not give accurate information for similar reasons. This means that your information gathering and giving process needs to be as accurate as possible. In order to obtain accurate information about candidates, more than one method should be used, in the same way that more than one method was used when preparing the original job criteria; multiple methods give greater accuracy in matching the person to the job. The following list is a range of different selection methods;
i) Screening
Once the pool of candidates has been got, the filtering process begins. If many applicants applied, they can be filtered having them telephone and answer pertinent questions about their experience or educational qualifications. Screen can also be done after shortlisting if sufficiently good candidates were obtained, asking them to telephone for a brief chat.
Other screening processes could include using the type of information already provided as part of the selection process. If, for instance, there is a group of good workers doing the same job, a profile can be constructed looking at education, experience, etc. and exclude anyone who didn’t fit. There are large companies that sell these sorts of profiles based on information from several organizations. This is called bio data and seems to be a good predictor of candidate performance.
ii) Application forms
Inviting applications CV makes things easier for applicants, but the resulting tidal wave can be horrendous; trying to sort through a pile of CVs, all with different formats and with widely varying levels of presentation, can be extremely time consuming and can make it difficult to spot key information.
Consequently, many organizations have designed their own standard application form. These generally are divided into a number of sections covering areas such as:

• knowledge, skills and attitudes;
• experience;
• physical criteria; and,
• Any other requirements.

iii) Interview
Many people dislike the interview process, both as an interviewee and an interviewer. Although the interview is the most popular form of selection, it is also the least useful in predicting the performance of candidates on the job. Much of the reason that interviews are such a bad predictor is because interviewers simply don’t like being in a face-to-face situation where people are asking them for something (in this instance a job!), or because they have a total misperception of the interview process.

Other problems include those people who were appointed to the post on the basis of ‘gut feeling’ and those who bring their unrecognized and recognized prejudices to the process of selection. Imagine someone who wouldn’t appoint short people (too pushy), bearded people (something to hide), people who wear suede shoes (unreliable), people who are too thin (personality problems)
.Interviews are none the less an important method of exchanging information, but only if they are approached in the right way.
iv) Group selection methods
When working with other people is an important part of the selection process, it could be useful to consider a group selection method. This could involve asking a group of candidates to carry out a task and observing the ways in which they interact. The task need not be particularly complicated. It could, for instance, involve the group designing and delivering a presentation on the changing nature of the world of work.
The group can be observed and people who seem to demonstrate the sort of qualities that the job requires identified. It is important to tell people what sort of qualities required before starting such an exercise.
v) Realistic job previews
Methods like this are time-consuming and there are serious issues of confidentiality, but if the shortlist can be narrowed down to two or three candidates, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t brought in and given a problem to handle. However, it is important to ensure that the problem has a clear solution; preferably, a problem that have already dealt with successfully. The benefits of realistic job previews are that they can involve more staff in the selection procedure and people tend to work well with candidates whom they have seen and had some say about.
vi) References
Written references have some drawbacks; perhaps someone wants rid of an employee – they certainly won’t give a poor reference under those circumstances. Poor references could also turn out to be libelous, although one of the main problems is that people just don’t know what you’re asking for. The most accurate references may come from face-to-face or telephone interviews with someone who has had direct experience of the candidate’s work.
vii) Assessment centers
An assessment center puts candidates through a series of tests, exercises and perhaps interviews, lasting, typically, a day. Candidates are observed a team of assessors, with others acting as facilitators. Tests and exercises are used which are designed to predict how candidates will perform in the workplace. Realistic job previews, lateral thinking exercises, psychometric tests and practical demonstrations are all popular events in an assessment center. Care must be given to select tests that will draw out appropriate skills, knowledge and ability, and assessment must be weighted so demonstration of more desirable attributes wins more ‘points’ than those that are ‘nice to have’ but not essential.
viii) Other methods
Perhaps the most popular of the other methods available is psychometric testing, which offers actual tests in areas such as intelligence and personality characteristics. These include Raymond Cattell’s Test, which broadly demonstrates candidates’ emotional stability. The Myers Briggs Test is reasonably user-friendly (it’s short) and purports to identify people personality characteristics such as extrovert v. introvert and thinking vs feeling. Finally, there are selection methods which use samples

of candidates’ handwriting (graphology), their star sign (astrology) or which select through palmistry. Little evidence exists to support these as adequate predictors of performance. What is important is to know what an organization needs and to use processes with which it feels comfortable with in order to select the best candidate.

8.4 Emerging Issues and Trends in Selection
a) Introduction of Equal opportunity policies:
The purpose of the Equal Opportunity/Diversity policy implemented many governments is to create a workplace which provides for equal opportunities for all staff and all potential staff and protects their dignity at all times. It covers all aspects of employment including recruitment and selection, dignity at work and conditions of employment. the employment equality policies prohibits discrimination on the following grounds: Marital Status, Family Status, Race, Religion, Age, Disability, Sexual Orientation, Gender, Membership of the minority Community has greatly influenced selection. The legislation provides that all persons should have equal access to job opportunities. Thus an employer must not discriminate in any arrangements made for selecting the employee or specify entry requirements that could discriminate against potential applicants.
b) Succession Planning
Employers are setting up succession planning programs to aid in replacing those outgoing employees with new ones. This can be done in two ways—mentoring and recruiting from within or identifying outside resources or internships to fill your empty positions. More organizations are planning from within implementing a good succession plan. Mentoring and identifying those within your company to replace the outgoing is beneficial, especially since these candidates are already familiar with your company’s goals and ideals.
c) Increasing use of technology
Technology has continued to grow which has led to application of technology in employee selection and especially an increased use of on-line recruitment. Overall, technology has made finding candidates increasingly easy. The mobile platform has also emerged as a platform for recruitment and selection. This platform has excelled because prospects and candidates are willing to read and even respond at almost any time of day. Mobile phones have become the most powerful communications channel in recruiting and employer branding.
d) Improvements in Interviews and assessment
The traditional interview was mostly based on behavioral aspects of the candidate. In the recent times, interviews have shifted and currently, the standard practice is the use performance-based interviews (instead of behavioral interviews) to improve interviews and assessment.
8.5 Review questions
1. Distinguish between selection and recruitment
2. Briefly describe the steps the selection process
3. Explain six selection methods that can be used an organization