Choosing the people who will be part of our Institutional Educational Project is not an easy task. It is essential that the new members coincide with the objectives and values that we uphold, as well as bring new ideas to our daily work. Below we will find some guidelines that will help us to achieve a more effective selection of school personnel, as a way to minimize the risks involved in incorporating someone who does not have the necessary profile for our organization. We will start by getting to know the institution to which we belong, focusing on the analysis of current jobs, to then face the personnel selection process with all its methodological steps.We will end this informative tour by addressing the issue of the possible development of current human resources and the great challenge of evaluating their efforts.
1. Institutional Diagnosis
People make the difference between one organization and another, so serving and preserving them is strategic. When a personnel selection is made, we are betting on the continuous improvement of the educational service provided. To choose a new member of the school we will need to start by making an INSTITUTIONAL DIAGNOSIS. Through it we will know:
- Organizational culture Strengths of the institution The weaknesses of the organization and the possibilities of dealing with conflicts The competencies of the organization's staff and the skills that would be interesting to develop Training needs.
a) Strengths of the organization
Every organization has aspects in which it stands out or strong points.
If we want to know them, it will be vital to make a list of those moments and successful situations in the school and to justify why we think they are or were. It is also useful to inquire about those who take the educational service we provide: parents and students.
Thus, we will know what behaviors, projects, norms, attitudes are those that make us a school that can be chosen.
To carry out these aspirations we have people of certain characteristics. Although each job has its peculiarities, all the members who aim towards the objectives of the school, largely share the values of their culture.
b) Competencies required today in organizations
In these times of great and rapid change, organizations need to have the capacity to learn to take on the challenges of today's reality with flexibility and dynamism. In organizations that care about providing excellent service and manage to adapt to the demands of this complex world, people who:
- They are committed to the institution They have personal initiative They learn from the organization They are willing to relearn They take mistakes as an opportunity to grow They have a sense of self-criticism They manage time effectively Express their opinions and disagreements They take charge of problems and have the ability to provide solutions They have the ability to work in a team Understand expectations and needs of an interlocutor They are constantly updated They are responsible They show flexibility They adapt quickly to changes,Being open and positive towards them They have a multidisciplinary perspective They maintain positive interpersonal relationships They handle the pressure for new responsibilities They demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively They are sensitive to the information received They can reach a consensus They make decisions in a short time They manage skillfully They achieve an ability to listen They know different cultures Although it is impossible for an employee to successfully resolve all issues Questions raised, today these personal characteristics are taken into consideration and through them a better organizational performance is achieved. Perhaps this list will help us to know which skills we have and which we do not. What would be useful to achieve? What aspects have we achieved lately? In which others should we reinforce our training?What would be useful to achieve? What aspects have we achieved lately? In which others should we reinforce our training?What would be useful to achieve? What aspects have we achieved lately? In which others should we reinforce our training?Today these personal characteristics are taken into consideration and through them a better organizational performance is achieved. Perhaps this list will help us to know what skills we have and which we don't. What would be useful to achieve? What aspects have we achieved lately? In which others should we reinforce our training?today these personal characteristics are taken into consideration and through them a better organizational performance is achieved. Perhaps this list will help us to know which skills we have and which we do not. What would be useful to achieve? What aspects have we achieved lately? In which others should we reinforce our training?
c) Job analysis
When choosing a new member of the school, it will be useful to be clear about how the current job structure and functions are composed in order to know who we have and how the vacant position is linked to the institution as a whole.
It is essential that employees know what the school expects of them, since in a situation in which there is a fit between people and the organization, they tend to perform adequately, receiving the expected compensation and increasing their capabilities and their satisfaction with the work done., which improves their motivation, encouraging them to maintain a positive attitude.
If we seek individual welfare, social welfare and efficiency in the organization, it is necessary to achieve:
- optimal development of employees' capabilities, their potential, their commitment to the institution, the highest level of congruence between individual goals and those of the organization, an appropriate cost-effectiveness ratio
These assessments apply to the incoming employee, who must know the culture and structure of the school in which they begin to work and how they will be accompanied and evaluated in their daily work.
As a way to achieve a definition of the desired employee profiles, it will be appropriate to evaluate the performance of the current members of the organization and to know what issues are valued in it.
Staff pick
This is a process that consists of planning, organizing and coordinating the different stages of personnel selection. The people to fill a job are selected either:
- between candidates from outside the organization between candidates who belong to the organization and who move from one position to another.
The recruitment process involves a complex search. It means identifying the most suitable people to fill specific positions and also obtain greater efficiency in the position.
To select is to choose for both parties, for: the managers and the people who participate as candidates.
The decision regarding the candidate who will occupy the position is always made by the directors of the institution. The intervention of an external selector can clarify and collaborate so that both parties (managers and candidates) make a good decision.
Selection consists of looking for people to carry out certain tasks, that is, to solve the problems inherent in that task.
Rymberg (1998) difference:
| Selection of one in counterpoint with others. APPARENT |
It seems that one person is chosen over others that appear as an option.
| Evaluation of each one regarding the REAL desired profile |
But in reality, the person who meets the requirements closest to the definition that has been made of the desired profile for whoever occupies the job is chosen.
a) Advantages of the personnel selection process
A poor selection of personnel produces:
Future legal drawbacks: if a person joins who does not fulfill the job in the expected way, they may have to be dispensed with, which leads to problems that a good selection would not trigger.
Performance inefficiency: by not taking care of the aspects of preparing a profile and choosing people based on it, someone who does not have the capacities, knowledge and skills required by the position can be integrated into the institution, which leads to poor performance in office.
Loss of time and money for the institution: these drawbacks imply the need to start a new selection process, to redo the tasks of incorporating another person into the organization, issues that can be avoided by following the methodological steps of the selection process of personal.
b) Profile
People are selected based on a job profile. But we take into account that every individual always gives the organization a dose of their own and personal contribution.
The profile is the result of:
- Understanding the culture of the company: characteristics, style, table of values, communication network, who are the successful people, organization chart The need that arises The position through which you want to satisfy that need. The position is the place assigned to a task or function in the organization. The person: personality characteristics required by the position to be filled. The conditioning environment: characteristics of the labor market regarding the position to be filled.
Richino (1996) proposes that we ask ourselves:
- What demands does the task present? What particular characteristics does it have? Who are you accountable to? Who are your peers? Do you have people in charge? What is the hierarchical level? What is expected of your role?
To be accepted and tolerated by the institutional environment, the person must have a lot in common with the school.
The profile presents formal and informal requirements that always have to do with the position to be filled and the personality characteristics valued by the organizational culture:
Formal requirements: classification data and socio-cultural characteristics (sex, age, place of residence, own mobility, etc.)
Personality requirements: abilities, skills and aptitudes.
c) Stages of the personnel selection process:
Richino (1996) proposes the following stages:
| INITIAL POPULATION
CV SELECTION INTERVIEWS EVALUATION RANKING DECISION AND INCORPORATION FOLLOW-UP |
d) Sources of staff recruitment
García (1998) discriminates between internal recruitment sources and external recruitment sources.
Internal: when vacant positions are filled with company personnel.
External: when vacant positions are filled with personnel outside the company.
Internal sources
By relocation: job promotion
By transfer: of the same function from one sector to another
External sources
Spontaneous presentation of curriculums vitae.
Publication of classified ads.
Posters in institutions related to the position to be filled References from school employees or people known to the directors.
External selection allows the contribution of new ideas and work techniques by the new staff and the possibility of renewing low-motivated staff.
The information collected must be verified by submitting documentation and requesting references that allow the candidate's employment history to be known.
e) Selection of curriculum vitae
The curriculum vitae is a document that contains the background of every candidate for a job.
In the selection of curriculums vitae, an attempt will be made to identify those candidates who, due to their "objective" characteristics, meet the minimum requirements of adaptability to the job for which they are selected.
f) The personnel selection interview
We will hold selection interviews with those candidates who are closest to the desired profile. In the interview, any doubts that we have left will be cleared up when reading your work history in the curriculum vitae.
Richino (1996) defines: The interview is about a two-person situation between the selector and the applicant, with the intention of establishing a relationship, shortened in time and space. For the selector it is the opportunity to "meet" the candidate. For the applicant, it is an evaluation situation. Adequate to be able to deploy the best personal resources, satisfy the expectations of the evaluator and get the job for which you are applying.
The first interview
The first interview is usually exploratory of the career path that the candidate has had. It is evaluated in what way the candidate supports in the interview what he raises in the curriculum vitae.
According to Álvaro de Ansorena Cao (1996), it is intended to know the characteristics, needs and specific behavioral competencies that the interviewee has for the position to be filled.
The interviewer will provide information to the interviewee about the job for which they are selected, so that the applicant can evaluate their interest in it. A match will be established between the candidate's tastes and what the institution offers.
The in-depth interview
In a second in-depth interview, the interviewee's educational history, his career path in greater detail, his personal, family and social history, skills and shortcomings of the candidate and his motivations for occupying the position offered by the school will be investigated.
g) Ranking
Generally, two or three candidates are chosen to fill the position, who meet the vast majority of the expectations raised in setting up the profile of the position. The information on these candidates was obtained by observing their curriculum vitae and the interviews held. It is advisable that these two or three people meet with more than one manager or with the person who would be their immediate supervisor at the time of admission. Then, among all the people with decision-making authority who evaluated the final candidates, the one who will finally fill the job position will be chosen.
Bibliography
- Ansorena Cao, Álvaro de: «15 steps to successful recruitment. Method and instruments ». Editorial Paidós Company. Madrid. (1996) Deal and Kennedy: «Companies as cultural systems». Editorial Sudamericana. Buenos Aires (1985) Framing and Strategies. Selection and Training of Human Resources. Training Manual for the Conference "Directives in Personnel Selection". Teacher: Lic. Gustavo Rymberg. Buenos Aires. (1998) García, Apolinar E.: «Management Technologies. Human resources management". Editorial Sainte Claire. Buenos Aires. (1998) Gomez Llera and Pin: «Directing is educating» Editorial Mc Graw Hill Young Professionals Program. Techint company. Modules folder. Personal address. Training. (1997) Richino, Susana V.: «Selection of personnel». Editorial Paidós. Buenos Aires. (1996) Ulrich, Dave:"Human Resources Champions". Editorial Granica University of Palermo. Lic. Beatriz Checchia. "Towards the repositioning of Professional Development". Buenos Aires. (1997)
