What are the steps involved in the recruitment and selection process?

Having the right person, in the right place, at the right time, is crucial to organizational performance. Therefore recruitment is a critical activity and should incorporate the following steps:

Step 1 - What’s the job? Gather information about the nature of the job.

·          The content (such as the tasks) making up the job

·         The job’s purpose

·         The outputs required by the job holder

·         How it fits into the organisation’s structure

·         The skills and personal attributes needed to perform the role effectively.

This analysis can form the basis of a job description and person specification.

Step 2 - Prepare a job and person profile

A person specification or job profile states the necessary and desirable criteria for selection.

Increasingly such specifications are based on a set of competencies identified as necessary for the performance of the job. Include:

• ·         skills, aptitude, knowledge and experience
• ·         qualifications (which should be only those necessary to do the job - unless candidates are  recruited on the basis of future potential , for example graduates)
• ·         personal qualities relevant to the job, such as ability to work as part of a team.

The document formed from the person specification can then be used to inform the criteria you use to shortlist applicants.

Step 3 – Finding candidates with the help of internal and external methods of recruitment

Step 4 - Managing the application process

There are two main formats in which applications are likely to be received: the curriculum vitae (CV) or application form. It is possible that these could be submitted either on paper or electronically and the use of e-applications (Internet, intranet and email) is now part of mainstream recruitment practices

Application forms

Application forms allow for information to be presented in a consistent format, and therefore make it easier to collect information from job applicants in a systematic way and assess objectively the candidate’s suitability for the job.

CVs

The advantage of CVs is that they give candidates the opportunity to sell themselves in their own way and don’t have the restrictions of fitting information into boxes as often happens on an application form. However, CVs make it possible for candidates to include lots of additional, irrelevant material which may make them harder to assess consistently.

Step 5 - Selecting candidates

Selecting candidates involves two main processes: short listing and assessing applicants to decide who should be made a job offer.

Short listing

The process of short listing involves slimming down the total number of applications received to a shortlist of candidates you wish to take forward to the more detailed assessment phase of the selection process.

When deciding who to shortlist, it is helpful to draw up a list of criteria using the person specification. Each application can then be rated according to these standards, or a simple scoring system can be used

Assessment

A range of different methods can be used to assess candidates. These vary in their reliability as a predictor of performance in the job and in their ease and expense to administer. Typical methods include:

 General interview

 Competency based interview

 Role play

 Presentation

Step 6 - Making the appointment

Before making an offer of employment, employers have responsibility for checking that applicants have the right to work in the country and to see and take copies of relevant 

Contract

Offers of employment should always be made in writing. But it is important to be aware that an oral offer of employment made in an interview is as legally binding as a letter to the candidate.

References

A recruitment policy should state clearly how references will be used, when in the recruitment process they will be taken up and what kind of references will be necessary (for example, from former employers). These rules should be applied consistently.

Medical examinations

It is reasonable to require completion of a health questionnaire where good health is relevant to the job. Any particular physical or medical requirement should be made clear in the job advertisement or other recruitment literature.

Step 7 – Induction

Induction is a critical part of the recruitment process, for both employer and new employee. An induction plan should include:

• ·         Orientation (physical) - describing where the facilities are
• ·         Orientation (organisational) - showing how the employee fits into the team and how their role fits with the organisation’s strategy and goals
• ·         Health and safety information - this is a legal requirement
• ·         Explanation of terms and conditions
• ·         Details of the organisation's history, its products and services, its culture and values
• A clear outline of the job/role requirements