1. Selection process
Once a suitable pool of applicants obtained through recruitment is available, the selection process begins. This phase involves a series of steps that add complexity to the hiring decision and consume some time. These factors can be irritating, both for candidates, who want to start immediately, and for managers of departments with openings.
The selection process consists of a series of specific steps that are used to decide which applicants should be hired. The process begins the moment a person applies for a job and ends when the decision to hire one of the applicants is made.
Hiring
In many personnel departments, the recruiting and selection functions are integrated into a single function, which may be called hiring. In large personnel departments, the recruiting function is assigned to a specific manager. In the smallest, the department manager performs this task.
The hiring function is associated with the personnel department, but in addition the selection process has a radical important in human resources administration. Therefore, proper selection is essential in personnel management and even for the success of the organization.
2. Objectives and challenges of personnel selection
Three essential elements
Personnel departments use the selection process to recruit new staff. The information provided by the job analysis provides the description of the tasks, the human specifications and the levels of performance that each position requires; short and long-term human resources plans, which allow to know future vacancies with some precision, and also allow to conduct the selection process in a logical and orderly way, and finally, the candidates that are essential to have a group of people from which you can choose. These three elements largely determine the effectiveness of the selection process. There are other additional elements in the selection process, which must also be considered: the limited offer of employment, ethical aspects,the organization's policies and the legal framework in which all the activity is registered
3. Personnel selection: an overview
The selection process consists of specific steps that are followed to decide which applicant will fill the vacant position. Although the number of steps that various organizations take varies, virtually all modern companies go through a selection process. The role of the human resources manager is to help the organization identify the candidate who best meets the specific needs of the position and the overall needs of the organization.
Internal Selection
Internal Search
The internal challenges generated by the organization itself present the following dilemma: Generally, the managers of the various departments want to fill vacancies quickly, with the most qualified people to perform the function. Managers tend to wait for a vacancy to fill out a new staff application. It is likely that internal company policy determines, for example, that the position must be offered to internal staff for a minimum of two weeks, before being offered in the external market. At the same time, making quick decisions in this area means a decrease in the number of suitable candidates. The human resources manager is very likely to be under severe pressure.
Selection Reason
Having a large, well-qualified pool of candidates to fill available vacancies is the ideal setting for the selection process. Some positions are more difficult to fill than others. Particularly those that require special knowledge. When a position is difficult to fill, we speak of a low selection ratio. When it is easy to fill, it is defined as a position with a high selection ratio.
The selection reason is the relationship that exists between the number of candidates finally hired and the total number of applicants.
4. Formula of the selection ratio
The selection reason is determined by the formula:
Number of candidates hired = Reason for selection Total number of applicants
When in an organization low selection reasons are frequently presented, it can be inferred that the level of adaptation to the position of the applicants and of the people hired will be low.
The Ethical Aspect
Unethical Behavior
Given the central role that personnel specialists play in the decision to hire, awareness of the importance of their work and the certainty that any unethical action will be reversed against them is essential. Special favors granted to "referrals", gratuities and gifts, the exchange of services, and all other similar practices are not only ethically reprehensible, but also high risk. The human resources administrator must remember that a hiring obtained through a bribe introduces a person to the organization who will not only be unsuitable and will be refractory to all personnel policies, but will also refer to the administrator with the contempt that deserves a corrupt official
Challenges of the Organization
Internal Limitations
The selection process is not an end in itself, it is a means for the organization to achieve its objectives. The company will impose limits, such as its budgets and policies that influence the process. Sometimes limiting, these elements contribute in the long term to the effectiveness of the selection. The goals of the company will be better achieved when clear guidelines are imposed, specific to the specific circumstances in which it operates, and that contribute not only to the financial success of the company, but also to the general well-being of the community.
Flexibility
It would be in a company's best interest to plan flexible, modern and smart policies that complement factors other than short-term profit. The human resources administration professional faces one of the most significant challenges in his activity in this field and the companies in which he will work expect him to bring more social and humane approaches to their selection policies.
5. Global concept of selection
The overall concept of selection consists of a series of steps. Sometimes the process can be made very simple, especially when selecting employees from the organization to fill internal vacancies. Through internal recruitment systems, human capital with promotion potential can be matched on the one hand, and available vacancies on the other. Employees with the most characteristics compatible with the position (and therefore, with the highest scores) are considered the ideal candidates. Despite some limitations, for example that the programs do not consider factors such as the desire of the employee to accept the position, these systems have been widely used.
6. Preliminary receipt of applications
Employees And Companies
The selection process is carried out in two ways: the organization chooses its employees and potential employees choose between several companies. Selection begins with an appointment between the candidate and the personnel office or with the request for a job application. The candidate begins to form an opinion of the organization from that moment. Many valued candidates may be discouraged if they are not properly cared for from the start.
"Spontaneous" applications are often made that decide to apply for a job in person. During this preliminary interview, the process of obtaining information about the candidate, as well as a preliminary and informal evaluation, can begin.
The candidate then submits a formal job application (provided during the preliminary interview). The next selection steps consist largely of verifying the data contained in the application, as well as that collected during the interview.
7. Suitability tests
Procedure
Suitability tests are instruments to assess the compatibility between applicants and the requirements of the position. Some of these tests consist of psychological tests; others are exercises that simulate working conditions.
Management-level positions are often too complex and it is difficult to gauge the suitability of applicants. Results are computed, averages are obtained, and the candidate achieves a final score. It goes without saying that the procedure is considerably expensive and advisable only in certain circumstances.
Test Validation
Validity
The validity of an intelligence test means that the scores obtained maintain a significant relationship with the performance of a function with another relevant aspect.
To demonstrate the validity of a test, two approaches can be used: the practical demonstration and the rational.
Practical demonstration and rational approach
The practical demonstration approach: it is based on the degree of validity of the predictions that the test allows to establish.
The rational approach: it is based on the content and development of the test. This is used when the practical demonstration cannot be applied because the insufficient number of examined subjects does not allow the validation.
Instruments for the Administration of Exams and a Word of Caution
There is a wide range of psychological tests to support the selection process, but it is important to note that each test has limited utility and cannot be considered a universal instrument.
Psychological tests focus on personality. They are among the least reliable. Its validity is debatable, because the relationship between personality and performance is often very vague and suggestive.
Knowledge tests are more reliable because they determine information or knowledge that the examiner possesses.
Performance tests measure the ability of candidates to perform certain functions of their position.
Graphical response tests measure physiological responses to certain stimuli.
The suitability tests that are used in the selection process, finally only constitute one of the techniques used. Its use is limited to the measurement of examinable and verifiable factors. In the case of a cashier, a test of numerical attitude and concentration can inform about several measurable aspects of her personality.
8. Selection interview
Key Questions
The selection interview consists of a formal and in-depth talk, conducted to assess the suitability of the applicant for the position. The interviewer aims to answer two general questions: Can the candidate perform the position? How do you compare to other people who have applied for the position?
Selection interviews are the most widely used technique; its use is universal among Latin American companies.
Interviews allow communication in two ways: interviewees obtain information about the applicant and the applicant obtains information about the organization.
Types of Interview
Interviews are conducted between a single company representative and an applicant (interviewee).
The questions the interviewer asks can be structured, unstructured, mixed, problem-solving, or stress-provoking.
In practice, the mixed structure is the most widely used, although each of the others plays an important role.
Unstructured interviews
Allow the interviewer to ask unforeseen questions during the conversation. The interviewer inquires about different topics as they are presented, in the form of common practice.
What is even more serious; In this approach, certain areas of the applicant's skill, knowledge or experience may be overlooked.
Structured interviews
Structured interview are based on a predetermined question framework. The questions are established before the interview begins and each applicant must answer it.
This approach improves interview accounting, but does not allow the interviewer to explore interesting or unusual responses. That is why the impression of the interviewee and interviewer is that of being subjected to a highly mechanical process. Many applicants may even be discouraged participating in this type of process.
Mixed interviews
In practice, the interviewers deploy a mixed strategy, with structural questions and non-structural questions. The structural part provides an information base that allows comparisons between candidates. The unstructured part adds interest to the process and allows an initial understanding of the specific characteristics of the applicant.
Troubleshooting interview
It focuses on an issue that the applicant is expected to resolve. These are often hypothetical interpersonal solutions, which are presented to the candidate to explain how they would deal with them.
Tension provocation interview
When a position must be performed under stressful conditions, you may want to know how the applicant reacts to that element.
9. The Interview Process
It consists of five stages:
Interviewer Preparation
The interviewer should prepare before starting an interview. This preparation requires specific questions to be developed. The questions given to these questions will indicate the suitability of the candidate. At the same time, the interviewer should consider the questions that the applicant is likely to ask.
As one of the goals of the interviewer is to convince the suitable candidates to accept the offers of the company.
Creation of an environment of trust
The job of creating an environment of mutual acceptance is up to the interviewer. He must represent your organization and leave a pleasant, human and friendly image on your visitors. Start with simple questions. Avoid interruptions. Offer a cup of coffee. Keep unrelated documents away from the interview. It is important that your attitude does not show approval or rejection.
Exchange of information
It is based on a conversation. Some interviewers start the process by asking the candidate if they have questions. This establishes a two-way communication and allows the interviewer to begin evaluating the candidate based on the questions they ask.
The interviewer inquires in a way that allows him to acquire as much information as possible. It is advisable to avoid vague, open questions. The figure includes a sample of possible specific questions, which an imaginative interviewer can increase considerably.
Termination
When the interviewer feels that he is getting closer to the point where he has completed his list of questions and the planned time for the interview expires, it is time to end the session. It is not convenient to tell him what prospects you have of obtaining the position. The following candidates may make a better or worse impression, and the other steps in the selection process could completely change the overall assessment of the candidate.
Evaluation
Immediately after the evaluation is completed, the interviewer should record the specific responses and their general impressions of the candidate. The figure illustrates a form called a post interview checklist that is used for the interviewer assessment. Considerable information can be obtained from a very brief interview.
Interviewer Errors
The figure summarizes some of the most common background errors in an interviewer. An interview is weak when there is no climate of trust, it is omitted to ask key questions. There is another source of errors, those that originate in the acceptance or rejection of the candidate for factors other than potential performance. A faulty interview can result in the rejection of suitable people or (just as serious) in the hiring of unsuitable people for the position.
Interviewee's Errors
The five most common mistakes made by interviewers are: trying distracting techniques, talking excessively, bragging about past achievements, not listening, and not being properly prepared for the interview.
10. Verification of data and references
The specialists to answer some questions about the candidate resort to data verification and references. There are many professionals who show great skepticism regarding personal references, the objectivity of these reports is debatable.
Job references differ from personal references in that they describe the applicant's track record in the field of work. But they also question these references since the former superiors may not be totally objective. Some employers can even engage in practices as reprehensible as the communication of rumors or facts that belong entirely to the sphere of the individual's private life.
The human resources professional must develop a refined technique that depends to a great extent on two capital facts: one, the degree of reliability of the information received in the environment in which it is located; two, the fact that the practice of requesting job references is widespread throughout Latin America.
11. Medical examination
It is convenient that the selection process includes a medical examination of the applicant. There are powerful reasons to lead the company to verify the health of its personal future: from the desire to avoid the entry of an individual suffering from a contagious disease, to the prevention of accidents, through the case of people who will be absent frequently due to his constant health failures.
12. Results and feedback
The final result of the selection process is translated into the new personnel hired. If the pre-selection elements were carefully considered and the selection steps were carried out appropriately, the new hire will most likely be a good fit for the position and perform it productively. A good employee is the best proof that the selection process was carried out properly.
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