Chapter 1: An Introduction to Recruitment and Selection PDF

Exported for Muskan Aggarwal on Tue, 10 Sep 2024 18:20:41 GMT Chapter 1: An Introduction To Recruitment And Selection Learning Outcomes AFTER READING THIS CHAPTER, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO: Know the importance and relevance of employee recruitment and selection to Canadian organizations....

Exported for Muskan Aggarwal on Tue, 10 Sep 2024 18:20:41 GMT Chapter 1: An Introduction To Recruitment And Selection Learning Outcomes AFTER READING THIS CHAPTER, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO: Know the importance and relevance of employee recruitment and selection to Canadian organizations. Describe where recruitment and selection fit within an organization’s integrated high-performance work system. Understand strategic planning as it applies to recruitment and selection. Explain how changes in the internal and external environments of an organization can impact its recruitment and selection efforts. Identify which professional associations and groups in Canada provide sources of knowledge and oversight for recruitment and selection. Outline basic ethical and professional issues in recruitment and selection. SIGNS THAT YOU MADE A BAD HIRE Finding the right candidate for a job is one of the most difficult decisions an organization must make. Even though we may have extensive recruitment and selection procedures in place, a bad candidate may slip through. There is no such thing as perfect hiring process. However, the cost of a bad hire can be extensive. According to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the cost of a bad hire may be as much as five times the bad hire’s salary, and perhaps higher depending on the person’s position in the company. Bad hires are made often due to a hiring manager having a “gut feeling” about a candidate or because they “liked” the candidate rather than determining if the candidate has the ability, motivation, and skills for the job. You will know quickly if you made a bad hiring decision; there are several telltale signs that many research studies have identified. Not having the required skills. Bad hires lack the skills required of their job, relying heavily on coworkers or their supervisor for close direction. Constantly complaining. Bad hires complain constantly about their work environment, their job, coworkers, and/or supervisor. Conflicts with coworkers. Bad hires clash with their coworkers and do not fit the organizational culture. Missed deadlines. Bad hires constantly miss deadlines, perhaps an indication that they are simply incapable of fulfilling their job role. Poor work quality. Bad hires repeatedly make mistakes. Making the same errors after having been corrected suggests they are unable to learn the job, perhaps because of low aptitude and/or motivation. Attendance problems. Bad hires may often be late for work, extend lunch breaks, or take unexpected time off work, perhaps reflecting dissatisfaction and low motivation, as their interests, values, and capabilities do not fit the job for which they were hired. Underperformance. Bad hires often ask the same questions about their job thereby impeding the work and productivity of their coworkers and/or supervisor. Decrease in morale. Bad hires have poor interpersonal relationships with their team members, leading to low unit morale. They may be inclined to blame coworkers or their supervisor for problems they “should own.” Unhappiness. Bad hires’ unhappiness and lack of fit to the job and organizational culture may lead them to waste time on the phone and/or the Internet, and to make unreasonable demands. Always on your mind. Bad hires demand much attention, thereby interfering with others’ ability to focus on their own job priorities. WHAT SHOULD YOU DO WITH A BAD HIRE? You will need to decide whether you can train the new employees to adapt to your organization and to their job, transfer them to a different position for which they are better qualified, or terminate their employment. Many new hires are on a probationary contract that allows the employer to discharge them without penalty. Keeping problem employees beyond their probationary period could lead to significant costs related to their discharge if you are unable to show documented evidence of their problem behaviour. If you decide to terminate the new hire, then you must begin the recruitment and selection process anew. This means learning from what went wrong. What is the best way to recruit? How do we determine if the candidate is a good fit for both the job and the organization? Is the job description updated? What are the requirements for the position? Should we assess knowledge, skills, abilities, and experiences with more than an interview and résumé? Who should conduct the interviews and how should they be conducted? What are the legal requirements concerning hiring? How will we select after collecting all the candidate information? This text provides answers to these questions, providing you with the knowledge to avoid “bad hires,” while making “good hires.” WHY RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION MATTER Our purpose in writing this book is to reduce bad decisions by laying out the “best practices” in finding and hiring people who will contribute to the overall effectiveness of an organization. Best practices are valid, reliable, and legally defensible. They must comply with relevant legislation. Throughout this book, we will focus on the best practices to recruit and select talent in a Canadian context. Best practices are supported by empirical evidence that has been accumulated through accepted scientific procedures. Best practices do not involve “hunches,” “guesses,” or unproven practices. Best practices involve the ethical treatment of job applicants throughout the recruitment and hiring process. Best practices result from human resources (HR) professionals following the accepted standards and principles of professional associations. The inability to defend recruitment and selection practices before a judicial tribunal may have serious financial consequences for an organization. Best practices do not have to be perfect. As we will see in later chapters, no selection procedures are free from error and always lead to correct decisions. However, employers must show that their procedures are fair and do not discriminate against protected groups covered by various laws. Recruitment and selection have moved far beyond a manager looking over a few résumés, talking to one or two applicants (who were mostly friends of current employees), and making a hiring decision. If people are an organization’s most important asset, then those responsible for recruitment and selection must be capable of finding the best person for each position in the organization. Using “best practices” in recruitment and selection adds value to an organization and contributes to its success—including positive financial outcomes. As one of many examples, job candidate assessments of personality and cognitive ability alone have been shown to increase the performance of 238 units of a restaurant chain.1 HR is a very broad field. Figure 1.1 presents a simplified model of major HR functions within an organization. Its purpose is to show that recruitment and selection make up only one component of an HR system that must (a) align with the organization’s vision, mission, and values (as expressed through its strategic objectives); (b) comply with legislative requirements; and (c) adapt to social-economic forces. It also shows that HR, as a system, is embedded within a larger system (the organization), which itself is embedded within an even larger system (its external environment). Organizational effectiveness is benefited when all three systems operate in synchrony. FIGURE 1.1: HR System Embedded Within the Broader Systems of the Organization and Its Environment Figure 1.2 presents another way of looking at the functions in which HR professionals may become involved. These functions are grouped around the broader function of talent management , capturing an organization’s commitment to recruit, hire, develop, and retain talented employees. It describes an organization’s commitment to aligning all its HR practices and processes (referred to as a High- Performance Work System [HPWS]) toward building and maintaining a high-performance workforce.2 Managing talent is part of business strategy, and typically involves line managers assuming significant responsibilities. FIGURE 1.2: Talent Management System Part of talent management involves developing an employee’s career across the organization and knowing when suitable internal positions become vacant. To be effective with this function, larger organizations rely on Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS). HRIS are computer-based systems that track employee data, the needs of HR, and the requirements and competencies needed for different positions. HRIS software is generally bundled with payroll and accounting functions. HRIS can be customized to include whatever information the organization believes is important. We will examine only the recruitment and selection function of talent management in this book. The other books in the Nelson HR series cover the other talent management functions. You may have already taken courses in these areas. We focus on recruitment and selection because they are the means organizations use, for better or for worse, to find and choose employees. To be effective they should follow from an organization’s strategic planning. Our intent is to present those best practices that will lead to staffing organizations with the best qualified candidates. Recruitment is the generation of an applicant pool for a position or job to provide the required number of candidates for a subsequent selection or promotion program. It provides the talent required to meet management goals and objectives and must adhere to legal requirements (e.g., human rights, employment equity, labour law). Selection is the choice of job candidates from a previously generated applicant pool in a way that will meet management goals and objectives as well as current legal requirements. It can involve any of the following functions: hiring at the entry level from applicants external to the organization, promotion or lateral transfer within the organization, and movement of employees into training and development programs. Effective recruitment and selection practices can mean the difference between an organization’s success or failure. As noted in the opening vignette, bad hires may cost an organization as much as 30 percent of a new hire’s earnings. Differences in skills among job candidates translate into performance differences on the job that have economic consequences. Hiring people with the right skills or the highest levels of those skills leads to positive economic outcomes for the organization. Hiring a person with the wrong skills can lead to disaster for both the person and the organization. Effective recruitment and selection practices identify job applicants with the appropriate level of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other requirements for successful performance in a job. Effective recruitment and selection strategies flow from an organization’s strategic objectives. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION AS STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES There are basic principles that underlie the systems approach to human resources ­management, as depicted in Figure 1.1 and Figure 1.2. Specifically, HRM must carefully coordinate all the activities within its fold to ensure they are aligned (i.e., not working at cross-purposes), that the entire HR system services the vision, mission, and values of the organization in which it is embedded, and that the organization and its activities adapt to changes in its external environment (e.g., legislative and socioeconomic). Human resources must be fully in touch with the needs of the larger organization and serve a strategic role, in support of line units pursuing the central mission of the organization. HR professionals must have an understanding and appreciation of their interdependencies with, and reliance on, other organizational stakeholders. The following sections present a strategic planning process relevant to recruitment and selection. VISION, MISSION, AND VALUES STATEMENTS Figure 1.1 shows that an organization’s vision, mission, and values influence its strategic goals and objectives, which are achieved, in large part, through how the organization recruits and selects talent. Vision statements convey an organization’s aspirations, describing a desirable future state that serves to guide the organization’s behaviour. The vision statement for the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC), which is responsible for staffing positions within the federal government, is: “Building tomorrow’s public service today: Modern, impartial and fair.”*3 Mission statements convey the core purpose of the organization; they define the organization’s business; and they are the guiding force that provides employees with a direction, purpose, and context for their activities. The mission statement for the PSC is “to promote and safeguard a non-partisan, merit-based and representative public service that serves all Canadians.”4 The vision and mission statements lead to a set of values, captured in the principles or beliefs that guide an organization’s work. A value statement expresses an organization’s core beliefs so that staff and clients are aware of its priorities and goals. For example, a company might list as a guiding principle, “Customer service is priority one.” The PSC has as its guiding principles: Respect in all relationships, Engagement among employees, Collaboration with partners, and Continuous improvement culture.*5 (*Reprinted by permission of The Public Service Commission of Canada. Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/ public-service-commission/corporate/about-us/vision-mission-guiding- principles.html.) DEVELOP STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES Strategy is the formulation of action plans for achieving an organization’s goals. They are very focused, more so than the expressions of the principles in the vision and mission statements.6 In HR, the strategic objective with respect to recruitment and selection is to obtain the best talent in accordance with the organization’s values. As part of developing strategic objectives, HR staff must decide what type of people they seek to recruit and hire. Do they seek to hire people who fit the organization’s values and culture in addition to meeting the specific requirements of the job? What are the key attributes (e.g., knowledge, skills, abilities, experiences) of preferred job candidates? What do they need to do to achieve a diverse and inclusive workforce, and to ensure that the policies and practices they follow are compliant with labour standards, human rights legislation, and the law? We briefly discuss issues of HR planning as related to recruitment and selection. A more detailed and comprehensive discussion of HR planning is provided by Belcourt and Podolsky in Strategic Human Resources Planning, 7e.7 ANALYZE THE ENVIRONMENT HR managers must keep informed of changing factors within and outside their organization that could impact their effectiveness in serving their organization’s strategic objectives. Acquiring this awareness is referred to as an environmental scan and would include knowing of changes in employment law and government regulations, markets (domestic and global), economic climate, advances in technology, workforce demographics, and more.8 Legislative Environment Figure 1.1 shows that the legislative environment is a major determinant of an organization’s strategic planning. Recruitment and selection must occur within the context of applicable laws and regulations. Most notably these include concerns for the human and legal rights of job applicants and employees. Today, women, visible minorities, immigrants, and Aboriginal people make up a significant percentage of entrants into an increasingly older Canadian labour force. Visible minorities possess expertise, skills, knowledge of foreign cultures and business practices, and often natural trade links with overseas markets that are of value to employers in the current global economy. Special challenges and tremendous opportunities emerge from having a workplace that is diverse in functional expertise, gender, age, and culture. Additionally, there is a growing number of people with physical or mental challenges. Employers, by law, cannot discriminate against current or potential employees with respect to protected non-job- related characteristics. They must hire based on an applicant possessing the knowledge, skills, and abilities or other characteristics that are necessary to perform a job. Strategic planning in staffing helps to establish recruitment and selection systems that are legally defensible. In Chapter 3 we will discuss employment equity and human rights legislation that pertains to women, age, visible minorities, Aboriginal people, and those with physical or mental disabilities.  Employers cannot discriminate against current or potential employees with respect to protected non-job-related characteristics. © xavieraranau/Getty Images Global Competition Foreign trade has always been vital to the Canadian economy, dating back to 1670 when the Hudson’s Bay Company, Canada’s oldest organization, began trading beaver pelts. Canada now participates in the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Canada–European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). As more than half of what is now produced in Canada is exported, we are extremely vulnerable to foreign market conditions. The KOF Swiss Economic Institute produces an annual globalization index of all countries in the world. In 2017 it ranked Canada as the 16th most globalized country in the world out of the 207 countries it studied. By way of comparison, Switzerland was ranked 1st and the United States 23rd. There has been a continual increase in globalization since 1970. The index is based on economic, social, and political globalization. The economic dimension of the KOF Index measures actual trade and investment volume, as well as the extent to which countries apply trade and capital movement restrictions to protect their own economies. The social dimension of globalization reflects the extent of the dissemination of information and ideas, whereas the political dimension captures the degree of political cooperation among countries. Canada ranked 6th on the social dimension, 18th on political globalization, and 24th on the economic globalization dimension.9 Increasing globalization has changed the level of competition as new players enter international markets and trade barriers between countries are softened. In the retail sector, large U.S.-owned discount chains such as Costco and Walmart are serious threats to the survival of smaller, Canadian-owned retailers that must scramble to increase efficiencies and lower their operating costs. Similarly, competition has led to Hudson’s Bay acquiring the prestigious U.S. retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, and opening Saks stores across Canada. Canadian businesses must continually work on improving their competitiveness in providing goods and services domestically and internationally. Within the context of higher costs for HR in Canada, companies and organizations must become more efficient. One of the main ways to do this is to find the best, most productive employees through employing the best practices in staffing as are outlined in this text. A Canadian company engaged in the global marketplace. © Rick Madonik/Getty Images The Economic Climate The state of the economy has a profound effect on staffing. Economic booms bring with them skilled labour shortages, so recruitment and retention take on heightened strategic importance. Economic slowdowns generally lead to cutbacks in jobs, pay, and benefits, or hiring freezes. In these situations, HR may be more apt to play a role in letting people go, rather than recruiting them. The objectives may be the same—to retain the best qualified talent. In a slowdown many qualified people are looking for jobs, so recruitment may be easier for companies that are hiring; however, there are also more unqualified applications to review. The number of people in the applicant pool has a major impact on the quality of those people who are selected for employment. If there are critical shortages of skilled labour or professionals, more emphasis must be placed on recruitment, and companies may become less selective. They may also seek to outsource hiring to placement firms and secure temporary workers, either domestic or foreign. On the other hand, employers can take advantage of an oversupply of labour by placing less emphasis on recruitment and becoming more selective in hiring. Rapid Advances in Technology and the Internet Technology is affecting every aspect of our lives; from the way we bank to the way we study and pursue our education. Smart phones have had a tremendous influence on how we communicate with each other and the world. Employers now expect new hires to be computer literate and to be familiar with basic computer software. Employers are also using technology to a greater extent than ever before to recruit and select the best employees, including use of the Internet and artificial intelligence (AI). Almost all recruiting by the Government of Canada is done through the Internet. Government websites offer job posting and résumé- matching services. According to the government, the benefits of e-recruiting, which we will discuss in greater detail in Chapter 6, are access to a larger pool of candidates, lower recruiting costs, elimination of printing costs and print media deadlines, and the capability to track results in real time.10 The greater use of technology brings with it a greater concern for privacy and data security. Cyberattacks can cause disruption to services and email and allow breaches of security leading to identity theft.11 Changing WorkForce Demographics12 The demographic makeup of the Canadian labour force is also undergoing significant transformations. Those of working age 18–64 comprised 66.5 percent of the population with 28.3 percent between ages 45 and 64. For the first time there are more people in the 55–64 age group (4 910 750), where people begin to retire from the workforce, than those in the 15–24 age group (4 268 850), where people begin to enter the workforce. These changes have significant implications for HR. The working population is getting older with fewer younger workers available. One of the most significant changes in the Canadian workforce has been the abolition of mandatory retirement at age 65 in most provinces and territories. Many older workers in good health see their work life continuing beyond age 65. With an aging population this trend will continue to increase. In an expanding economy, the addition of a significant number of older workers can be absorbed without much impact on unemployment rates, but in times of recession, the addition of post-65 workers leaves less room for hiring new entry-level employees. In the past, mandatory retirement at age 65 was the norm. Now, there must be a compelling reason for employers to terminate employees 65 or older or provide incentives for them to voluntarily retire. Of course, this age group may present a very experienced pool of talent that employers may be eager to retain as the number of younger workers significantly declines. The Canadian workforce is also more gender balanced. For the working age population of 15–65, 67 percent of males are in the workforce as compared to 66 percent of females. The workforce is also more highly educated, with 64.8 percent of those between the ages 25 and 65 holding a certificate, diploma, bachelor’s, or postgraduate degree from a trade school, college/CEGEP, or university.13 The Canadian labour force is also more culturally diverse than at any other time in history. Visible minorities comprise 22.3 percent of the Canadian population, and Aboriginal people make up 6.2 percent.14 HR departments must develop policies that are defensible and meet legislative requirements in dealing with these changing workplace demographics. They must recognize the changing face of the Canadian labour market when recruiting, hiring, and evaluating older workers, younger workers, women, visible minorities, Aboriginal people, and people with disabilities. Type of Organization The public sector, both federal and provincial, tends to have more formalized recruitment and selection systems. Governments are accountable to their electorates for managing public employees and, except for political appointees, have established fair recruitment and selection procedures that in most cases follow accepted professional standards. Public services tend to be highly unionized (71 percent versus 16.0 percent in the private sector)15 and to follow negotiated processes for recruitment and selection. In the private sector, recruitment and selection procedures may vary by the type and size of the business or industry. A large segment of the Canadian economy is based on small or family-run enterprises. The selection procedures in these types of business may be more informal, as the owners may not have the resources to implement sophisticated selection systems. Smaller organizations tend to rely on family and friends of current workers for recruitment of new workers and to use, at most, an unstructured interview in selection decisions. This is one reason we use more examples from the public sector in this book. In general, larger organizations, public or private, are more likely to use formal recruitment and selection procedures. The challenge for HR is to increase the use of best practices regardless of sector or the size of an organization.  The Canadian workforce is composed of many different demographic and ethnic groups. © iStockphoto.com/FatCamera Organizational Restructuring As technology is reducing the need for labour, and the number of working people reaching the traditional retirement age of 65 is fast increasing, employers have implemented non-age-related layoffs and early- retirement incentive packages in a restructuring and downsizing of their enterprises. Most notably, the traditional organizational structure of a pyramid, with a broad base of employees in entry-level positions and fewer employees in each of several higher levels, is being flattened. On the other hand, with increasing numbers of baby-boomers leaving the workforce, employers, in coming years, could face an inadequate labour supply, calling for aggressive recruitment and state-of-the-art (efficient and effective) selection practices. Redefining Jobs In today’s information era, workers are required to apply a wider range of skills to an everchanging series of tasks. Individuals just entering the workforce may face at least three to four career changes in their lifetime. Younger workers today, unlike their parents, rarely expect to spend their entire working life with the same organization. Employers will expect workers to possess the skills and knowledge of two or three traditional employees. On the factory floor, jobs are moving targets, as they change rapidly. Workers may be asked to move or rotate among positions; to do so they will need to have, or be able to acquire, multiple generic skills and competencies. This poses special challenges when trying to match people to jobs. Does it make sense to select people based on very specific skills and abilities required by one job? Should employers redefine recruitment and selection in terms of finding people with broader skills or competencies that are of value to the organization and cut across many jobs? Using the procedures outlined in this text will help to answer these questions. Unionized Work Environments Approximately 30 percent of employees in Canada work in a unionized environment. This figure compares to about 12 percent in the United States16 and over 70 percent in Europe. Looking at the rates by sector shows that employees in public or government organizations are considerably higher. In Canada 16 percent of private organizations are unionized compared to over 71 percent of the public sector.17 The negotiated collective agreements in place in unionized workplaces generally address issues of recruitment and selection. Most agreements require the employer to post any job vacancies in the hiring unit covered by the collective agreement before they can be advertised more broadly. The agreements may also specify how competitions for vacant positions are carried out, including the selection procedures. In many cases, employee seniority may be a deciding factor in awarding a job to an internal applicant. HR practitioners working in a unionized environment must know the requirements of any applicable collective agreement with respect to recruitment and selection procedures. Failure to follow the procedures outlined in the agreement may lead to grievances and arbitration, even if the HR practitioner is concerned about the soundness of the negotiated procedures from a technical standpoint. The best way to improve the procedures is to have HR involved in the negotiating process. IDENTIFY THE COMPETITIVE EDGE Organizations using effective recruitment and selection practices gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Organizations that are better able to attract, select, and retain the best talent will be more competitive and successful. They can do this by identifying their target group of applicants and designing their recruitment message to emphasize job/organizational attributes that are attractive to the target group.18 They complement this with using selection practices that result in hiring the right people. A two-year study by the Work Foundation, in England, established that businesses with integrated HR practices, including recruitment and selection, enjoyed higher profit margins and productivity than those without. The study concluded that if an organization increased its investment in HR by just 10 percent, it would generate gross profits of £1500 per employee.19 In addition, progressive HR practices lead to greater organizational commitment of employees and motivate them to exhibit proper role behaviour, resulting in lower compensation costs, higher-quality work, and higher productivity; as well, good HR practices reduce dysfunctional behaviours and lead to lower operating costs and greater profitability.20 DETERMINE THE COMPETITIVE POSITION Jack Welch, the former head of General Electric, wrote that hiring good people is hard, but hiring great people is brutally hard. To win, companies must get the right people in place; without them, all the clever business strategies and technologies are ineffective.21In this regard, companies and organizations must decide how they will compete with other firms for the best talent. One way of obtaining a competitive advantage is to employ best practices in recruiting and selecting staff. Best Practices To remain competitive, organizations must have in place HR strategies for recruiting, identifying, and selecting employees who will contribute to the overall effectiveness of the organization. With respect to recruitment and selection, the old ways of hiring based on a résumé and a brief interview (or on whom you know) do not work in the new economy. Those old practices may also lead an employer astray of legal requirements as well as to an underperforming organization. The socioeconomic changes taking place in today’s workplace have an impact on HR recruitment and selection. Today, more than ever, effective recruitment and selection matter. Recruitment and selection do not take place in isolation. They are influenced not only by the events occurring in broader society that affect the organization, but also by the narrower context of the organization itself. Effective HRM contributes to organizational survival, success, and renewal.22 How do employers ensure that the people they hire will have the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the jobs for which they are hired? How do employers decide that one candidate has “more” of the required abilities than another? More fundamentally, how do employers know that the knowledge, skills, and abilities that they seek in new hires are needed for a specific job? How do employers ensure that their hiring policies and procedures will treat candidates from different gender and ethnic groups fairly? How do employers accommodate people with disabilities in both recruitment and selection? These are just a few of the questions needing to be addressed by HR practitioners, and that we will cover throughout this book. IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGY An HR strategy for recruiting and hiring talent must be developed and enacted, following clearly defined steps that link them to the achievement of organizational objectives. Recruitment and Selection Notebook 1.1presents the elements that should be included in a recruitment and staffing action plan. We cover all these elements throughout the text, presenting the best practices that meet scientific, legal, and practical considerations. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION NOTEBOOK 1.1 ELEMENTS OF A RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION ACTION PLAN 1. Develop Recruitment Strategy Identify the number of positions to be filled Establish a selection committee Review the organization’s goals and objectives based on strategic HR plan Establish a budget for the recruitment process Establish timelines for recruitment and selection activities Develop/review job description for positions Develop selection criteria Develop a profile of the “ideal” applicant Develop job advertisement/recruiting materials 2. Develop the Applicant Pool Review state of the labour market Consider employment equity issues Determine whether recruitment will be internal and/or external Where unionized, identify collective agreement clauses that apply Identify target applicant pool Identify recruitment methods Place ad/recruiting materials in appropriate outlets 3. Screen the Applicant Pool Determine whether applicant pool is sufficiently large; if not, renew recruitment efforts Screen job candidates’ application forms and résumés Conduct short screening interviews (video, or face-to-face) Select “long list” of candidates for further review 4. Review and Select Job Applicants  Selection committee develops shortlist of candidates Arrange visits of short-listed candidates to visit organization Conduct a realistic job preview for candidates Conduct valid and reliable employment tests Conduct a behavioural-based selection interview Identify leading candidate(s) Complete reference and background checks on leading candidates Make hiring recommendations Contingent on offer of employment, arrange for any required medical or physical examinations 5. Evaluate the Recruiting and Selection Effort Review the recruiting and selection process: What went right? What went wrong? Review the outcome of the recruiting process Review the outcome of the selection process Review the performance of people who were hired EVALUATE PERFORMANCE Step 5 in the action plan presented in Recruitment and Selection Notebook 1.1 calls for evaluating recruitment and selection efforts. Did they result in an increase in high-quality applicants and the hiring of strong talent? Throughout this book we will speak to how best to address these questions. RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, AND THE HR PROFESSION We have emphasized the need for HR staff to be aware of both the external and the internal influences affecting the working environment within which organizations operate. HR staff must be, as with any other profession, continual lifelong learners, keeping abreast of the most recent developments in labour law, human rights legislation, and talent analytics (including strong skills in data analyses and interpretation). Recruitment and selection activities within HRM are frequently carried out by in-house HR staff, sometimes assisted by consultants from management consulting firms. These in-house staff and consultants come to HRM from various educational backgrounds, which are augmented by practical experience in managing HR (see Recruitment and Selection Today 1.1). RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION TODAY 1.1 SEVERAL CAREER PATHS INTO RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION Ms. L. became interested in HRM while taking a business program at a community college. After obtaining her college degree, she took eight courses to earn a certificate in Human Resources Management. Since then, Ms. L. has worked as an HR specialist in a large manufacturing plant, where she runs an assessment centre used by her employer to hire new workers. Ms. L. hopes to eventually move into a senior HRM position with her present employer or with a similar company in the manufacturing sector. Mr. R. moved into the field after completing his degree in sociology at university. He started work in the HR department of an aircraft parts manufacturer and, over the following year, earned a Human Resources Certificate. Following completion of his HR program, he accepted a more senior HR position with a new employer. Much of his time is spent in recruitment and selection activities, especially in monitoring the results of an employment equity program instituted by his employer. Ms. S. obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology and became interested in personnel psychology. She went on to complete a two-year graduate program in industrial and organizational psychology. Since receiving her master’s degree, Ms. S. has worked in the HR department of a major urban hospital, where her primary duties are testing and interviewing job applicants for various hospital positions. Her other duties focus on compensation and benefits. Ms. M. also received a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology but continued her studies to obtain a PhD. She works for an internationally based consulting firm, where she designs and implements large-scale recruitment and selection systems for banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions. She is now a partner with the consulting firm and takes on regular overseas assignments to assist clients in Europe and Asia with installation and maintenance of their selection systems. Many practitioners and consultants involved in HRM hold membership in one or more professional associations and may be certified or registered with an association or professional licensing body in their area of specialization. Recruitment and Selection Today 1.2 gives some basic information on associations having an interest in recruitment and selection practices in Canada. These associations have professional involvement well beyond recruitment and selection. With membership in these associations come certain rights and obligations, including adherence to ethical codes or standards. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION TODAY 1.2 PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS INVOLVED IN RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR) The CPHR represents approximately 27 000 members in the Human Resources Profession in Canada, covering nine provinces (excluding Ontario) and three territories. Its mission includes establishing national core standards for the HR profession and being the recognized resource on equivalency for HR qualifications across Canada. Additionally, the CPHR represents the Canadian HR profession across the world. Membership Qualifications Practitioners and students join member provincial associations, not the CPHR. Membership requirements vary and can be found on each provincial association’s website (links provided on the CPHR website). Generally, provincial associations require completion of education and training as described under their professional certification requirements; student memberships are normally available for those taking approved courses in a postsecondary or degree program. Professional Certification Offered The Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation recognizes achievement within the HR field and the holder’s distinguished professionalism. To receive this designation, practitioners may have to complete accredited courses, have had supervised professional experience in HR, or other requirements as specified by their provincial HR association (e.g., Human Resources Association of Nova Scotia: CPHR-Nova Scotia). In Ontario, the Human Resource Professional Association (HRPA) offers a three-tiered designation, with the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) as its entry-level designation. It offers two advanced certifications beyond the CHRP. The Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) was established for CHRPs who have managerial responsibilities; the Certified Human Resources Executive (CHRE) designation was established for CHRPs who had participated at the executive level in governance, business strategy, and executive compensation.23 Canadian Psychological Association (including the Canadian Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology) The CPA is a national organization that represents all aspects of psychology, including industrial and organizational psychology and psychological testing and assessment. Psychologists, particularly practitioners, may also be members of provincial psychological associations. The CPA website contains links to provincial associations, provincial regulatory bodies, and psychology programs at Canadian universities. The Canadian Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (CSIOP) comprises CPA members and other professionals with an interest in personnel psychology and organizational behaviour. More information on CSIOP can be found at http://csiop-scpio.ca. Membership Qualifications Master’s or PhD degree in psychology. Professional Certification Offered Neither CPA nor CSIOP offers professional designations. Psychology is regulated at the provincial level through legislation. To use the designation “psychologist,” an individual must be registered with a provincial regulatory body after meeting its educational, supervised practice, and other requirements. Only recently has the HR field gained recognition as an independent profession. Regardless of the educational and experiential routes taken into the HR profession, today there is an increasing expectation that HR professionals working within Canada will hold the Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation. Recruitment and Selection Notebook 1.2 provides an overview of CPHR designation requirements. The predecessor to the CPHR is the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation (which remains in place within Ontario). RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION NOTEBOOK 1.2 BECOME A CPHR The Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation is a recognized level of achievement within the field of human resources. It reflects a conviction that the professional practice of human resources management can safeguard the interests of employers, employees, and the business community. The designation represents continuing recognition of the bearer’s professionalism. CPHRs earn more and get promoted faster than non-designated HR professionals. There are many advantages to attaining your CPHR designation: 1. Proven Expertise. HR professionals who pursue the CPHR must meet all requirements set out by their provincial HR associations, which aim to measure their competence and experience as HR professionals. By pursuing the CPHR designation, you will prove your ability to tackle all aspects of HR and demonstrate to employers and colleagues alike that you are an HR expert. 2. Continual Learning. To maintain your designation, you will be challenged to continually update your knowledge and skills in HR. As a CPHR, you will gain expertise and leading-edge knowledge to help you manage complex and dynamic HR issues and, ultimately, become a strategic advisor. 3. Demonstrated Commitment. CPHRs must undergo rigorous studies, comprehensive exam(s), and ongoing learning. They are, in short, committed to the profession over the long term. By pursuing your CPHR, you demonstrate your commitment to constantly updating your HR skills and highlighting your long-term passion for the profession. You join the class of HR professionals that employers seek out. 4. Knowledge Community. As a CPHR, you are part of an exclusive, nation-wide community of HR experts. Through special events, conferences, publications, and websites, you can connect with other HR professionals across Canada. This powerful network proves invaluable as HR professionals look for solutions, ideas, and the ability to connect with others in the field. 5. Ethical Behaviour. CPHRs commit themselves to high standards of ethical behaviour. They are held to the CPHR National Code of Ethics that covers a range of important professional issues including confidentiality, conflict of interest, professional growth, and more. You gain the confidence of your employer, colleagues, and peers with the knowledge that you are committed to a Code of Ethics that demands the highest standards for the profession. Source: Adapted from https://cphr.ca/your-career/become-a-cphr/ Professional association memberships provide access to a network of other professionals in the field as well as supporting resources. These associations have also developed codes of conduct to protect both the HR professionals and their clients. We will use these codes to guide our discussion on recruitment and selection practices. ETHICAL ISSUES AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS Ethics are how we distinguish what is right from what is wrong, what is moral from what is immoral. Of course, the laws of our country also tell us what is or is not permissible by imposing penalties, such as fines or imprisonment, on violators. Ethics is a difficult subject because it deals with the large grey area between those behaviours that society punishes as illegal and those that everyone readily agrees are noble and upright. A careful consideration of ethics is important because HRM requires the balancing of the rights and interests of management with those of workers, as well as the rights and interests of the HR professional with those of the larger society (see Recruitment and Selection Notebook 1.3). RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION NOTEBOOK 1.3 LOOKING FOR COMMON GROUND: ETHICAL CODES The professional associations described in Recruitment and Selection Today 1.2 have ethical codes that apply to their members. In all these codes, members are required to obey the laws of the country, avoid conflicts of interest, and remain current in their fields of expertise. In addition, these ethics codes outline other obligations that their members have to clients, management, and workers, as well as to the larger society. The CPA’s Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists presents the following four ethical principles, providing a guide for ethical decision making: respect for the dignity of persons, responsible caring, integrity in relationships, and responsibility to society. All these ethical codes place constraints on what members may and may not do when practising HRM, including recruitment and selection. However, ethical decision making is not always clear-cut; often decisions must be made in the grey areas of ethics where reasonable people differ in what they consider right and wrong. Further, an action that is considered ethical under one code might be deemed unethical under another. These inconsistencies can and do occur because the CPHR, HRPA, and CPA ethical codes differ in content, scope, and emphasis. The bottom line to this discussion is that ethics is a complex matter and has the potential to be the Achilles’ heel of many a promising HR career. Professionals practising recruitment and selection should carefully read the ethical codes that apply to them and their work, and then discuss the codes with colleagues. The CPHR and HRPA Code of Ethics and Rules of Professional Conduct and the CPA Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists can all be found online. Professional standards follow from a code of ethics and provide guidance on how members should behave in certain situations. In the HR context of recruitment and selection, professional standards offer advice on things such as the appropriate use of employment tests, the standards that different tests must meet, and the qualifications of those using the employment tests. Ethical standards regulate the behaviour of those using employment tests. In the case of psychologists, the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists24 specifies four principles on which ethical behaviour is based: 1. Respect for dignity of the persons and peoples, 2. Responsible caring, 3. Integrity in relationships, and 4. Responsibility to society.* The ethical standards related to each of these principles apply to all testing carried out by psychologists. These ethical standards cover issues such as confidentiality of test results, informed consent, and the competence of those administering and interpreting the test results. The foremost concern is to protect the welfare and dignity of those being tested. A consumer or client may bring any concerns over a psychologist’s use of tests, including selection tests, to appropriate regulatory bodies. *Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, Fourth Edition, pg 4, Copyright © 2017 by The Canadian Psychological Association Inc. Reprinted by permission of The Canadian Psychological Association Inc. ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION Ethical dilemmas frequently occur during the employment testing of job applicants. From a legal standpoint, an employment interview is subject to the same set of regulations and ethical considerations as any other employment test and must meet professional standards when used in making high-stakes decisions. We present three examples of ethical dilemmas in Recruitment and Selection Today 1.3 that illustrate why codes of ethics are important and why a professional may need assistance in deciding how to behave. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION TODAY 1.3 ETHICAL DILEMMAS 1. Situation: You are a management consultant who is asked by a large employer to design and implement a system to select workers for a manufacturing plant. The plant is unionized, and there is a history of poor union–management relations. Management informs you that it intends to break the union and, as a part of this effort, you are to come up with a selection system that will screen out all new job applicants having pro-union attitudes. The idea is to skew the workforce toward management so that the union can be broken in a future decertification vote. What’s more, you are to keep the purpose of the selection system a secret and are asked by management to sign a contract in which you promise not to reveal its intentions to the union, the labour board, or any other outsiders. Dilemma: Where do your loyalties lie? Whose interests should you serve? Is it wrong for you, as the management consultant, to accept a fee to do what management is asking? Is it against your professional code of ethics? 2. Situation: Imagine that you are an HR manager who is considering the use of a selection system. You know that it will do a good job of selecting the best workers, but it also screens out members of visible minorities at a rate much greater than that for the white majority. Dilemma: Should you use this system that will improve productivity, or try to find another that does not screen out so many members of visible-minority groups, but may not be as effective? Should you favour societal goals of increasing visible-minority representation in the workforce or the interests of your company? Does the selection system violate your code of ethics or legal requirements? How best to employ an effective selection program while minimizing adverse impact on protected minority group members? 3. Situation: You have been directed by your manager to find a way to reduce employee theft. You believe that this can be accomplished by screening out people who fail a commercially available “honesty” test. You purchase the test and administer it to all current employees and new applicants and reject or dismiss those who fail the test, including long-term employees with no history of dishonesty. Dilemma: Should you be concerned that the test is screening out honest people? Should you be concerned about the reliability and validity of the test and whether it is appropriate to use in your situation? Should you be concerned about wrongful dismissal lawsuits on the part of employees, or human rights actions on the part of applicants? Does use of the tests violate your code of ethics, or the law? Can you defend your actions? Ethical dilemmas raise difficult questions that cut to the very core of ethics. But such questions are unavoidable because ethics are central to any group representing itself as a professional association. Fortunately, professional HR associations in Canada have written codes and standards to provide guidance on ethical matters to their members. Violations of these codes and standards may result in professional censure, embarrassment, and, in the most serious cases, removal from the profession. Membership in the profession requires adherence to its ethics and professional standards, providing some assurance to the public that accountabilities are in place for members to behave ethically in the provision of services. Naturally, these codes factor heavily into the recruitment and selection work done by HR professionals described in this book. In today’s world, companies and their employees are expected to act ethically. © csp_kentoh/fotosearch.com HUMAN RESOURCES AND THE INTERNET One of the most significant developments in recent years has been the growth of the Internet, which has made available to students and practitioners a vast array of resources and information related to every aspect of recruitment and selection. It is impossible to list every HR resource that is available on the Internet. Recruitment and Selection Notebook 1.4 lists some sources that we feel are very relevant to recruitment and selection. Because URLs for websites often change or can be quite lengthy and difficult to type from a text source, few are offered throughout the text. To find the site, type the name into your favourite browser. We suggest researching sources we have provided. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION NOTEBOOK 1.4 USEFUL SOURCES Human Resources–Related Research Journals in Recruitment and Organizations Selection Academy of Management Academy of Management Review Administrative Sciences Association of Canadian Journal of Administrative Studies Canada American Psychological Association Canadian Labour Law Reporter Canadian Psychological Association Harvard Business Review Canadian Society for Industrial & Human Performance Organizational Psychology CPHR Human Resource Management CPHR Alberta Human Resource Management Review International Journal of Selection and CPHR British Columbia and Yukon Assessment CPHR Manitoba Journal of Applied Psychology CPHR Newfoundland and Labrador Journal of Business Ethics Journal of Occupational and Organizational CHPR New Brunswick Psychology  CHPR Nova Scotia Journal of Personnel Psychology CPHR Prince Edward Island Journal of Staffing and Recruitment CPHR Saskatchewan Personnel Employment and Social Development Personnel Journal Canada (ESDC) Human Resources Professionals Association Personnel Psychology (HRPA) (Ontario) International Personnel Assessment Council Personnel Review International Public Management Public Personnel Management Association for Human Resources Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés Society for Human Resource Management Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Human Resources Information Sources Canadian Business Canadian HR Reporter Career Outlook Globe and Mail Report on Business HRFocus HR-Guide.com HR Magazine HR Performance Solutions People Management Statistics Canada Workforce SUMMARY Effective recruitment and selection are important because linking the “right person” to the “right job” contributes to individual and organizational well-being. A high-performance works system has all HR policies and practices working in a coordinated and complementary fashion to advance the vision, mission, and strategic priorities of an organization. Evidence-based recruitment and selection are critical components of a high-performance work system. Moreover, professional associations help HR professionals and their clients by establishing ethical codes of conduct and standards of practice. KEY TERMS ethics Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) professional standards recruitment selection strategy talent management DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Discussion Question 1.1 Review How can HR professionals demonstrate that they provide value in terms of return on investment for an organization? Your Answer No answer submitted Discussion Question 1.2 Review How do an organization’s vision, mission, and strategy work together to help organizations survive and thrive, and what is the role recruitment and selection plays in this? Clearly define each of the terms within your answer. Your Answer No answer submitted  Loading... Loading... Loading... EXERCISES Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... CASE STUDY RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION AT GOOGLE Google is consistently ranked by Fortune magazine as one of the best places to work. It provides employees with excellent pay and a series of perks that are unheard of at most corporations. Some of these perks are flex hours; bring your dog to work; casual dress; on-site free massage and yoga; free snacks, drinks, and meals; and a child care centre among many others. No wonder Google receives close to three million job applications a year. To find the best talent, Google uses carefully selected strategies, methods, and techniques. It recruits at college and university campuses and through the Careers section of its website. Google is very selective, hiring only about 7000 of the three million applicants. It uses different methods to select people for different jobs, but there are some common elements: preliminary screening, employment tests, interviews, and background checks. Google is looking for intelligence, creativity, leadership, and fit with the Google culture, as well as fit to the job. Hiring decisions are made by a committee of peers (people at the same rank with whom the candidate would work if hired), like universities in hiring and promoting faculty. Arguably, both Google and universities operate in the “knowledge industry.” QUESTIONS The intent of this exercise is not to have you develop detailed answers but to begin thinking about the many factors that affect recruitment and selection. We appreciate that the case does not contain detailed information but, in our opinion, that information is not needed to meet our primary objective. We will review in detail many of the components of Google’s recruitment and selection procedures later in this text. For now, we would like you to discuss the following points. Loading... Loading...  Loading... Loading... Source: Adapted from E. Schmidt and J. Rosenberg. 2014. How Google Works. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing. ENDNOTES 1. Ployhart, R.E., C.H. Van Iddekinge, and W.I. MacKenzie Jr. 2011. “Acquiring and Developing Human Capital in Service Contexts: The Interconnectedness of Human Capital Resources.” Academy of Management Journal 54(2): 353–68. 2. Shin, D., and A.M. Konrad. 2014. “Causality between High-performance Work Systems and Organizational Performance.” Journal of Management 43(4): 973–97. doi:10.1177/ 0149206314544746. 3. Government of Canada. “Vision, Mission and Guiding Principles.” December 31, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2016, from https://www.canada.ca/en/public-service-commission/corporate/about-us/vision- mission-guiding-principles.html. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid. 6. Belcourt, M., and M. Podolsky. 2019. Strategic Human Resources Planning, 7th ed. Toronto: Nelson. 7. Ibid. 8. Ibid. 9. Gygli, S., F. Haelg, N. Potrafke, and J-​E. Sturm. 2019. “The KOF Globalisation Index—Revisited.” The Review of International Organizations 14(3): 543–74. 10. Northwest Territories. “A Guide to Internet Recruiting.” Retrieved May 20, 2014, from http://www.hr.gov.nt.ca/sites/default/files/documents/guidetoin ternetrecruiting.pdf. 11. Chase, S. June 17, 2015. “Cyberattacks Deal Crippling Blow to Canadian Government Websites.” The Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 19, 2016, from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/ national/canadian-government-websites-appear-to-have- been-attacked/article24997399. 12. All demographic data in this section are from the 2016 census and are available from Statistics Canada at http://www12.statcan.gc.ca. 13. Statistics Canada. “2016 Census of Population.” Retrieved May 21, 2020, from http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/index-eng.cfm. 14. Ibid. 15. Uppal, 2011. “Unionization 2011.” Perspectives on Labour and Income 23(4), Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 75-001-XIE. Retrieved May 21, 2020, from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-001- x/2011004/article/11579-eng.htm#a2. 16. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Current Population Survey.” Retrieved May 21, 2020, from https://www.bls.gov/cps/lfcharacteristics.htm#union. 17. Kelloway, E.K., V.M. Catano, and A.L. Day. 2011. People and Work in Canada. Toronto: Nelson. 18. Ployhart, R.E. 2006. Staffing Organization, 3rd ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 19. Tamkin, P., M. Cowling, and W. Hunt. 2008. People and the Bottom Line. Report 448. London, UK: Institute for Employment Studies. 20. Wright, P.M., T.M. Gardner, and L.M. Moynihan. 2003. “The Impact of HR Practices on the Performance of Business Units.” Human Resources Management Journal 13(3): 21–36. 21. Welch, J. 2005. Winning. New York, NY: Harper Business. 22. Tamkin, et al. 2008. 23. https://www.hrpa.ca/hr-designations/about-hr-designations. 24. The Canadian Psychological Association. 2017. Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, Fourth Edition. Available online at http://www.cpa.ca/docs/File/Ethics/CPA_Code_2017_ 4thEd.pdf. Exported for Muskan Aggarwal on Tue, 10 Sep 2024 18:20:41 GMT Chat with Ace