Introduction
Recruiting and selecting personnel are two significant activities that differentiate a great company from an average one. The inability to close open positions for a long time impacts the company’s reputation, thus becoming a recurring issue in talent acquisition. This essay aims at addressing challenges related to recruitment and selection and how to overcome them. The paper will also recommend the most effective recruitment and selection sources that the Human Resources department should use.
Selection Challenges and How to Address Them
Verification (Internal)
In most organizations, recruiters have the responsibility of verifying applicants. The recruiter needs to do a background check of every individual with regard to their social, economic, and criminal background. This, therefore, means that the recruiter needs to verify the details given by the individual whether or not he has revealed the details in the interview. This kind of legal check enables the organization to maintain a good reputation. It also allows the recruiter not to hire drug addicts or individuals with a criminal background. This challenge can be addressed by ensuring the recruiters do the recruitment process with extreme care to recruit suitable candidates for the job and preserve the company’s reputation.
Selecting Fairly (External)
Most companies cannot hire diverse candidates. This is, in most cases, caused by unconscious biases (Bruce, 2008). Other than the legal requirements to offer equal opportunities, recruiting objectively is helpful to the organization because it enables the recruiter to recruit the best people for the job without biases. This creates an inclusive working environment demonstrating to potential candidates that the organization is meritocratic. Hiring objectively also enables the company to reap the benefits of diversity. This challenge can be addressed using objective hiring methods such as structured interviews (Bruce, 2008). Recruiters can also use hiring software to avoid biases.
Slow and Many Stages of the Selection Process (Internal)
To attract suitable applicants, a recruiter must select them quickly and shorten the recruitment process. To shorten the hiring process, recruiters should create a recruitment plan that outlines what skills and experience are needed for the vacancy, how much time and resources are necessary for the process, the number of candidates required, and the amount of time needed for the interviews (CPS HR Consulting, 2015). In addition, all the selection team members should be aware of the recruitment plan.
Recruiters can address this challenge by using plain language in the job description. The job advertisements should outline the qualifications needed for the job.
Developing an Efficient Selection Process (Internal)
Recruiters are expected to communicate effectively, evaluate applicants and be aware of all the steps followed in the recruitment process (Bruce, 2008). Recruiters should coordinate communication, which tends to be daunting, especially if the relationship between the hiring managers and the recruiter is not good. In addition to that, administrative roles such as panning interviews take away time that recruiters could have used to ensure the selection process runs smoothly. This challenge can be addressed by investing in an applicant tracking system to enable recruiters to track candidates.
Recruiting Challenges How to Address Them
Job Posting (External)
Some recruiters have difficulty finding the right words to use when putting out an advertisement. This problem can be addressed by doing the following; the words used in the job posting should be framed clearly. The sentences should not prefer a certain race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation (Bruce, 2008). This is guarded by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Recruiters are not allowed to discriminate against candidates because of the social factors mentioned above.
Pre-Employment Assessments (Internal)
Most organizations require potential candidates to engage in a pre-employment assessment. The assessments should avoid discriminating against a protected minority, asking for unreasonably high standards irrelevant to the job. The assessments should also not invade the applicant’s privacy. To validate an assessment, a recruiter should conduct statistical research to prove the pre-assessment measures what it is supposed to measure without affecting a protected group. When choosing a pre-employment assessment provider, a recruiter should ensure the test publisher can prove test validation.
Interview (External)
The questions asked during an interview need to be framed carefully (Bruce, 2008). Like the pre-employment assessment, interview questions should be chosen carefully, so they are not discriminatory. A recruiter must also explain the job requirements so that every applicant can comprehend them. For instance, if a hospital requires a nurse to be on call all the time, the recruiter should explicitly state that instead of asking the nurse if they have other jobs. Regarding disability and religion, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission notes that the employer’s needs should be reasonable and accommodate the applicant’s disabilities, values, and beliefs. This should only be compromised if the accommodations add unnecessary expenses for the employer.
Checking References (Internal)
Recruiters cannot ask applicants about their disability, and the recruiter cannot also ask the applicant’s former employer about their disability. Instead, the recruiter should ask about the applicant’s punctuality, work ethic, performance, and willingness to work together with their colleagues. When doing background checks, recruiters should be aware of federal and state laws. For instance, it is illegal in California not to accept applicants because of their credit status, while in other states, it is legal.
Final offer (External)
When making an offer to an applicant, the recruiter should make sure the offer is based on the skills and responsibilities outlined in the job description. The offer should not be based on discriminatory factors mentioned earlier. The United States Department of Labor regulates legal concerns about wage structure, including minimum salary, overtime compensation, and severance packages. The recruiter should be aware of all these.
Sources of Recruitment
Recruitment sources are divided into two categories: internal and external.
Internal Advertisement
An example of an internal source is an internal advertisement. The existing employees may show interest in the vacancy. Since they are already working for the organization, they are aware of the specification and descriptions for the job (Bruce, 2008). For the existing employees’ benefit, the advisement within the organization is circulated so that employees can apply. This source is effective because the cost is saved because there is no need to provide advertisements for the vacancy. The training cost is also saved because the existing employees are already aware of the nature of the job.
Press Advertisement
An example of an external source of recruitment is a press advertisement. This source gives recruiters a wide choice for selecting the appropriate applicant for the job. It outlines the specifications and descriptions of the vacancy. This source is effective because new talents get the opportunity to apply. There is a possibility of choosing the right person for the job because many people apply for the job.
Selection Sources
Preliminary Screening
Once the recruiter has received sufficient interest in the vacancy, they start screening the application to determine which applicant to contact for the preliminary screening interview. Employers define sufficient interest with regard to the applications received or how long the job has been posted. Small business owners who do not have time to dedicate to screening applicants should screen with reference to discrete rationale such as years of experience or credentials that can be verified. Preliminary screening is effective because it enables recruiters to narrow the selection to applicants with all the requirements needed for the job.
Cultural Fit Selection
In the third round of interviews, in most cases, hiring managers ask questions that will determine if the candidate aligns with the organization’s culture. Other than qualifications, cultural fit is a significant factor in the selection process. An applicant might be highly qualified, but they do not align with the organization’s values. This source is effective because culturally fit employees will be happier at work, thus reducing turnover.
Conclusion
This paper analyses the challenges related to recruitment and selection and how to overcome them. The essay also recommends the most effective recruitment and selection sources that the Human Resources department should use. A recruiter’s experience shapes the company; therefore, overcoming the challenges mentioned above and using the right recruitment and selection sources sets the exacting standards the company needs to remain competitive.
References
Bruce, J. F. (2008). Human resources in healthcare managing for success. ALPHA.
CPS HR Consulting. (2015). Sample recruitment strategy planning template. CPSHR. http://www.cpshr.us
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