A Study of Recruitment & Selection in ABC Co

Recruitment and Selection

The recruitment and selection process

    •         Agree vacancy to be filled

•         Job analysis – define knowledge, skills and aptitude needed

•         Attract a field of candidates

•         Sort candidates

•         Selection through interview and/or other methods

•        Induction

The personnel specification

•         Represents the demands of the job translated into “human” terms

•         Involves differentiating criteria which are essential from those which are desirable

•         Lists those which would exclude a candidate from consideration

Criteria to assess the value of selection procedures

•         Discrimination–   Measurement procedures must provide for clear discrimination between candidates

•         Fairness/adverse impact– Measures must not discriminate unfairly against specific sub-groups

•         Administrative procedures–  Procedures should be acceptable and capable of implementation

SYNOPSIS

“Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for the jobs”   -   Edwin Flippo

Hiring and firing is an old game that the management has to play. Finding the right people is the most important and equally difficult job. Recruitment is an important part of every organization. Each point of placement demands a person with right qualities and qualifications.

Once the human resource needs are ascertained and vacancies are created, the management had to undertake the task of recruitment and selection. The 5Ws and 1H play an important in the recruitment process too. An effective recruitment will be an advantage for the company as well as the HR Manager as well as the person to be recruited.

Every organization has a different unique style as well as time as an when and whom to recruit. The purpose of this project is to study  the recruitment strategy as well as selection structure of a construction company, ABC.

This includes how is recruitment done at ABC and what do they do after the person is selected as well as his training, performance appraisal, and finally how is he retained if he wants to look for better pastures in the outside world.

OBJECTIVE AND METHOD

THE main purpose was to cover all the aspects of recruitment and selection. Learning was in the form of visit to ABC Co and to meet different people from different backgrounds in the organization and find out what keeps them together and still together after the entry of a new face (employee) in their phase. 

For the same purpose questionnaire method was used. The purpose of using questionnaire was to have point to point feedback regarding the concepts and strategy of appointment of a candidate.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The vote of thanks:  I would like to thank all those who helped me in this project. Without their valuable cooperation this would not have been possible. They devoted their precious time in giving me an interview as well as filling up the questionnaire. Visiting Cards of all the persons possible are attached.

My sincere thanks to the following:

1.     Mr. X, Head HR

2.     Mr. Y, Resource Executive

3.     Ms Z, HR Executive

COMPANY PROFILE: ACME CONSTRUCTIONS

Mission Statement     :  Customer is God and we keep our God happy.

Besides earning reasonable profit for its shareholders, is "To satisfy the customer" by executing quality work at competitive costs and in the given time period. The mission of the company is to ensure that the quality policy is understood, implemented and maintained at all levels in the organization.

QUALITY POLICY      :        We at ABC 

• Providing value for money and excellent after sales service.
• Practicing continual improvement techniques.
• Being socially responsible by effectively utilizing resources.
• Ensuring professional growth of our employees through continuous training.

Since 1976, ACME Group has been studying Mumbai with landmarks in over fifty-eight projects, all colorful, sturdy, high-rise projects. A buyer can make his choice from a variety of locations, amenities, lifestyles and price options, which ranges from just over a half million rupees to fifteen million rupees.

Besides offering variety like a one-stop-shop for homes, Acme operates as a veritable service oriented group. Acme offers all services under roof including choosing a property to Home Loans to Stamp Duty & Registration Assistance. Every ABC flat is earthquake resistant, and designed as per Vaastu Shastra more often than not.

Yet to add to Mumbai's grandeur are ABC's ongoing projects like ABC Mall a Shopping Zone, besides residential projects like, A,B,C  in western suburbs. Also introducing shortly, XYZ in Thane.
ABC Co. has been consistently handing over possession of flats in time and it maintains transparency in all its dealings, which is a commendable practice for any business house in this industry. The marketing team goes the extra mile to customize major deals as required by a client. The experienced customer service department is well versed with the entire process of mandatory paper work involved in buying and selling of flats. They provide customized solutions for every legal formality.

ACTUAL STUDY

Actual study was a visit to ABC Co. Proper appointment was granted by the concerned person. I wasn't kept waiting long. Everything was as per schedule. Later I met Mr. X, Head HR. The atmosphere was very warm and the ambiance was good. We had to remove our footwear outside...this shows the organizational culture. Then the actual discussion about recruitment and selection started. Knowledge was imparted on both the sides.

The HR team in ABC Co. consisted of 3 persons. Mr. Y, Recruiter and  Admin. He has been in this organization since a long time. HE started working in the field of HR since 1988. Later did LAW. 10 years after working  he did part time MBA from ITM in New Bombay.  People’s opinion about Mr Y is that He does not market himself well enough. So He gets paid lesser than his counterparts.  He works @ 50% of market rate. When Y was HR, it was not as glamorous as it looks today. Today HR is recognized and publicized. 

TABULATION

	ABC	Fairgrowth	Contactx
What is Recruitment	Inducting manpower to fill up current and future vacant position on ensuring a right fit	Choosing the best candidate	Sourcing the right Candidate for the right job.
How often the process takes place	As required	Twice in a year	As and when there is requirement of manpower with a client.
Main sources of Recruitment	Placement agencies, Newspaper Ads, Referral, Portals	Job Portals and Head Hunting	Job Portals, referencing, networking, internal database.
Selection Criteria	Domain knowledge, Competency, Family Background, Track Record, Etc.	Confidence and ability to commit	Communication, Qualification, Job profile, employment history and most important his attitude.
Openness to negotiate	NO	Very much	Negotiation is very important on both fronts with the candidate and clients.
Problems during Recruitment and Selection	Cultural Background issues, Salary band problems,	Candidates not joining after offer acceptance	Sourcing the right candidate for a technical position ,candidates not attending the interview ,lack of feedback from the clients
Does MONEY make you MOVE	Profile, Compensation and benefits along with money is important	Not so much but definitely a factor to be considered.	Job Scope and satisfaction, remuneration, growth makes me switch.

Note: The above table shows details about various companies Opinion about Recruitment and Selection on the basis of the mentioned criteria. They are highly subjective as they are personal opinion

FINDINGS

“Recruitment is inducting manpower to fill up current and future vacant positions and ensuring a right fit.”        

   A rightly said and a well defined concept.  At Acme recruitment is done as per requirements and not on timely basis. The main sources they use for this purpose are Placement agencies, newspaper ads, referral i.e. internal as well as external sources, and finally job portals.  The procedure takes time depending on the position vacant. If the position is that of a senior level employee then it takes a longer duration. And the position such as that of a driver can be decided on the day of interview itself.

Criteria that they look for is domain knowledge, competency. Qualification, family background, tracks record and so on.  There are certain problems or say hurdles that also occur during the process. There might be issues regarding salary bands, cultural background, and many a times the candidate does not join after committing. Then this process becomes time consuming. Negotiation is an important aspect of recruitment and selection. The company is not so keen in renegotiating. But still is the candidate is exclusive then they might consider.

The next step after selection is training and placing on job. There are times when the job becomes monotonous and you feel like looking for a change. Then what do you do? Acme has a solution. These are called methods of retaining an employee. It is done by training and development, schemes, compensation survey, and employee satisfaction survey.

ANALYSIS On the basis of Findings

Before you go for recruitment you have to find out the details about a particular position. So how is it done? 

The gap comes through the concerned department. They in turn inform the HR. They also give the job description as well as the age limit and qualifications required along with other requirements. Today there is a lot of buzz about n term called ‘competency’. This is also mentioned by the department. The Head of Department of the concerned department takes active part in the recruitment and selection procedure. At times he/she is present right from stage 1.  It might be possible that the CVs shortlisted by the HR are not accepted by the concerned HOD. So this is discussed further between them in a free flowing and detailed manner.

It is difficult to retain an employee once he has made up his mind. Still efforts are made by the company with regards to his retention. It is very important to bridge the gap between the candidate and the job. Also today there are many environment friendly schemes.

CONCLUSION

Today the environment is very hostile. Every day new techniques of recruitment and selection are defined. Today the candidate had many options available in the market. As the economy is growing at around 8.4% and the opening of many avenues has always been an added advantage. The construction and real estate industry is growing at a very high speed.

Infrastructure is improving and better technology is being made available day after day. By the end of the day you have to see what the cost of the candidate to the company is. He has to be selected in an orderly manner. One wrong step can lead to the loss to company as well as waste of time and skills of the candidate where it is not required.

RECOMMENDATIONS

There would be no recommendations as such. But the gestation period between the interview and selection should be reduced. A position kept vacant for a long time can lead to instability in an organization, especially in a construction industry which is growing considerably.  Also there should be a facility of a suggestion box and direct interaction with the senior most executives, directors, etc.

The office timings are too long that is morning 9:30 am till evening 7:00 pm. This may turn away many prospective candidates coming for the vacant positions.  To top it all they do not have any of the Saturdays off. You can always have rotating Saturday’s off.We have the multinational culture today. The demand at least alternate Saturdays off.

Finally, the HR Department. Since all the people in HR don’t have a degree in management and hardly have any experience in the field. They have to either recruit trained professionals, or people with proper degree and knowledge. HR here at ABC ...it needs to be stronger, and a bit bigger.

BIBLOGRAPHY

1.     Fundamentals of Human Resource Management  (Indian Edition)

-                 Decenzo & Robbins

2.     Human Resource Management      -           K  Aswathappa

3.     The HR Answer Book                   -            Smith & Mazin

ACME CONSTRUCTIONS

QUESTIONNAIRE

NAME:     

DESIGNATION:

DATE:

1.     According to you what is recruitment?

2.     How often do you recruit?

3.     Which sources do you use to recruit?

4.     How long does it take for you to recruit an employee?

5.     What do you look for when you are interviewing a candidate?

6.     What are the problems faced during the recruiting process?

7.     How free are you towards candidate’s further negotiation?

8.     What is the next step after selection?

9.     How do you retain an employee?

10.  Does money makes you move or it is something else? Please specify.