The selection process needs to reflect an organisation’s current vision, values and critical success factors. What factors need to be considered and strategies used in reaching effective selection decisions?
Lecture 6
Attracting & retaining talent
*
Introduction
‘recruitment strategies attempt to create a pool of appropriately qualified and experienced people so that selection strategies and decisions can be initiated’
(Nankervis, Compton, Baird & Coffey 2011, p.203)
*
A typical strategic recruitment process
The strategic perspective
Recruiting:
- Creates a pool of appropriately qualified and experienced people
- Is linked to competencies
- Needs to consider both internal and external policies
- Decisions can be dependent on the organisational politics
Strategic recruitment
- The business environment calls for a situational approach to attracting employees
- The recruitment mix will change as the same issues shift to meet the demands of ever-changing global labour markets
- Consideration of the mix of ‘Baby Boomers’, ‘Generation X’ and ‘Generation Y’
- Differences in generation, gender, culture and work–life balance
- Must be dynamic and flow from the mission statement and strategic objectives
Employers of choice and
best employers
- War for talent
- Attracting best talent
- Work/home–life strategies
- Autonomous and meaningful work
- Opportunities for learning
- Fostering internal talent
but
- Be wary of making promises that you cannot keep!
Company branding
- Convince existing and prospective staff that it is an attractive place to work through:
- family– and work–life balance
- leadership and open communication
- Co-development of employee value proposition
*
Recruiting from within
- Filling vacancies above entry level through internal promotions and transfers
- Allows organisations to capitalise on the costs that has been invested in recruiting, selecting and training its current employees
*
External sources of recruitment
*
*
Internal versus external recruiting
Internal versus external recruiting
Applications
- Applications made in person
- Telephone applications
- Application forms
- Résumés
- Response analysis
Retention of key people
- Emphasis was on attracting but moving to retention
‘Attracting key people is only one dimension; the other is keeping them’.
(Nankervis et al 2011, p.228)
*
What are the retention levers?
- Work–life balance
- Workplace culture
- Varied job role
- Management style
- Training
*
International recruitment
- Increasing investment in overseas business markets
- Multi-cultural workforces
- Management of expatriates
- Innovative HRM practices
- Diversity management
Sources of managers for international organisations
- Home country nationals (expatriates)
- Host country nationals (locals)
- Third country nationals
Most multinational enterprises (MNEs) use all three sources
Selection
‘Recruiting yields applicants to be assessed against job requirements’
‘… selection of applicants from within or outside the organisation to fill existing or projected job openings … has far reaching effects on the continued viability of the organisation.’
(Nankervis, Compton & Baird 2008 p. 229)
‘Strategic selection is the linking activities to the organisation’s business objectives and culture’
(Stone, R. , 2008, p. 211)
Matching people and jobs
- Person specifications
- What types of information need from applicant?
- What tests?
- Reduces stereotypes and differentiates qualified/unqualified
- Selection process
SHRM and strategic selection
Obtaining reliable and valid information
Reliability refers to the degree to which interviews, tests, and other selection procedures yield comparable data over a period of time.
Validity refers to what a test or other selection procedure measures, and how well it measures this.
Sources of information
- Organisational and individual career life cycles
- Cultural and attitudinal differences among generations
- Babyboomers
- Generation X
- Generation Y
- Generation Z (Nexters)
The employment interview
‘Essential and popular but ‘fraught with potential traps and legal pitfalls’
(Nankervis et al 2008 p. 237)
Interviewing methods:
- Non-directive interview
- Less structured
- Directive interview
- Highly structured
Interviewing guidelines
- Establish objectives and scope
- Review job requirements
- Establish and maintain rapport
- Active listening
- Body language
- Provide information
- Use questions effectively
- Separate facts from inferences
- Recognise biases and stereotypes
- Avoid `beautyism’
- Avoid halo error
- Control the interview
- Standardise questions
- Keep notes
Interviewing guidelines (cont.)
Employment tests
‘The basic assumption behind such testing is that differences between individuals can be measured and related to future job success’.
(Nankervis, Compton, Baird & Coffey 2011, p.264)
Classification of employment and commercially available tests
- Custom-made tests
- Job knowledge tests
- Job sample tests
Reaching a selection decision
- Systematic consideration of all relevant information about the applicant
- Summary forms and checklists
- Rating against selection criteria
- Realistic job preview
.
Decision strategy
- Factors to consider
- Approach to be used:
- Clinical
- Statistical
- The selection ratio
- Cut-off scores
The costs of getting it wrong
- Further recruitment, training and orientation costs
- Burnout
- Lost opportunity
- Reduced profit and competitive advantage
- Impaired image and reputation
- Reduced internal status
- Impaired recruitment opportunity
- Threatened company viability
- Loss of other key staff
The international perspective
- Identify the job
- Tolerance of cultural differences
- Need to consider partner’s adjustment and family attitudes
- Portable skills and interests
- Ongoing support programs
Summary
- Effective recruitment requires planning.
- External sources are used to find special qualifications, avoid excessive inbreeding and to obtain new ideas and technology
- Legal requirements
- Globalisation and internationalisation
- Decision needs to be systematic
- Goal is to select for success in the job