RECRUITMENT & SELECTION

UNIT 4
Andrea Livingstone
 What does ‘Recruitment’ and ‘Selection’ means in HR and are
they are interchangeable?
Is it important to recruit and select persons in an organization?
Why and critical points to consider in the process.

Watch this video entitled:

“What is Recruitment & Selection”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeVmteq8D_Q

Highlight two critical points learnt from the video. Share with
the class.

PRE-INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITY
• Explain the importance of recruitment and selection of
employees to an organization
• Identify five (5) factors that influence the recruitment
and selection process
• Describe the recruitment and selection process
• Appraise the internal and external sources of
recruitment available to an organization
• Assess the different selection techniques used by
organizations

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Recruitment and Selection is an important
operation in HRM, designed to maximize
employee strength in order to meet the employer's
strategic goals and objectives. It is a process of
sourcing, screening, shortlisting and selecting the
right candidates for the required vacant positions.

DEFINITION
• Recruitment is a process of identifying,
screening, shortlisting and hiring potential
resource for filling up the vacant positions in an
organization. It is a core function of Human
Resource Management. Recruitment is the
process of choosing the right person for the
right position and at the right time. Recruitment
also refers to the process of attracting, selecting,
and appointing potential candidates to meet the
organization’s resource requirements.

DEFINITION
• Recruitment is a process of identifying,
screening, shortlisting and hiring potential
resource for filling up the vacant positions in an
organization. It is a core function of Human
Resource Management. Recruitment is the
process of choosing the right person for the
right position and at the right time. Recruitment
also refers to the process of attracting, selecting,
and appointing potential candidates to meet the
organization’s resource requirements.

DEFINITION
 The hiring of the
candidates can
be done internally
i.e., within the
organization, or
from
external sources.
The process
should be
performed within
a time constraint
and it should
be cost effective.

RECRUITMENT
Recruitment is one of the most fundamental
activities of the HR team. If the recruitment
process is efficient, then –
• The organization gets happier and more
productive employees
• Attrition rate reduces.
• It builds a good workplace environment with
good employee relationships.
• It results in overall growth of the organization.

IMPORTANCE OF RECRUITMENT
• It determines the current and future job requirement.
• It increases the pool of job at the minimal cost.
• It helps in increasing the success rate of selecting the
right candidates.
• It helps in reducing the probability of short term
employments.
• It meets the organization’s social and legal obligations
with regards to the work force.
• It helps in identifying the job applicants and selecting
the appropriate resources.

IMPORTANCE OF RECRUITMENT
• It helps in increasing organizational effectives for a
short and long term.
• It helps in evaluating the effectiveness of the various
recruitment techniques.
• It attracts and encourages the applicants to apply for
the vacancies in an organization.
• It determines the present and future requirements of the
organization and plan accordingly.
• It links the potential employees with the employers.

IMPORTANCE OF RECRUITMENT
• It helps in increasing the success ratio of the selection
process of prospective candidates.
• It helps in creating a talent pool of prospective
candidates, which enables in selecting the right
candidates for the right job as per the organizational
needs

IMPORTANCE OF RECRUITMENT
Internal Factors as well as External Factors that
influence the recruitment process.
Organizations have control over the internal factors that
affect their recruitment functions. The internal factors
are:
• Size of organization
• Recruiting policy
• Image of organization
• Image of job

FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT

Size of Organization
• The size of the organization is one of the most
important factors affecting the recruitment process.
• To expand the business, recruitment planning is
mandatory for hiring more resources, which will be
handling the future operations.

INTERNAL FACTORS
Recruiting Policy
• Recruitment policy of an organization, i.e., hiring from
internal or external sources of organization is also a
factor, which affects the recruitment process. It
specifies the objectives of the recruitment and provides
a framework for the implementation of recruitment
programs.

INTERNAL FACTORS
Image of Organization
• Organizations having a good positive image in the
market can easily attract competent candidates.
Maintaining good public relations, providing public
services, etc., definitely helps an organization in
enhancing its reputation in the market, and thereby
attract the best possible human resources.

INTERNAL FACTORS
Image of Job
• Just like the image of organization, the image of a job
plays a critical role in recruitment. Jobs having a
positive image in terms of better remuneration,
promotions, recognition, good work environment with
career development opportunities are considered to be
the characteristics to attract qualified candidates.

INTERNAL FACTORS
External factors are those that cannot be controlled by an
organization. The external factors that affect the
recruitment process include the following:
• Demographic Factors
• Labour Market
• Unemployment rate
• Labour laws
• Legal considerations
• Competitors

EXTERNAL FACTORS
• Demographic factors – Demographic factors are
related to the attributes of potential employees such as
their age, religion, literacy level, gender, occupation,
economic status, etc.
• Labor market – Labor market controls the demand
and supply of labor. For example, if the supply of
people having a specific skill is less than the demand,
then the hiring will need more efforts. On the other
hand, if the demand is less than the supply, the hiring
will be relative easier.

EXTERNAL FACTORS
• Unemployment rate – If the unemployment rate is high in
a specific area, hiring of resources will be simple and
easier, as the number of applicants is very high. In contrast,
if the unemployment rate is low, then recruiting tends to be
very difficult due to less number of resources.

• Labor laws – Labor laws reflect the social and political

environment of a market, which are created by the central
and state governments. These laws dictate the
compensation, working environment, safety and health
regulations, etc., for different types of employments. As
the government changes, the laws too change.

EXTERNAL FACTORS
• Legal considerations – Labour Legislation (Labour Laws
of Jamaica) passed by government, will have a positive or
negative impact on the recruitment policies of the
organizations.

• Competitors – When organizations in the same industry

are competing for the best qualified resources, there is a
need to analyze the competition and offer the resources
packages that are best in terms of industry standards.

EXTERNAL FACTORS
• Recruitment is a process of finding and attracting the
potential resources for filling up the vacant positions in an
organization. It sources the candidates with the abilities
and attitude, which are required for achieving the
objectives of an organization.
• Recruitment process is a process of identifying the job
vacancy, analyzing the job requirements, reviewing
applications, screening, shortlisting and selecting the right
candidate/s.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS
• Recruitment planning is the first step of the recruitment
process, where the vacant positions are analyzed and
described. It includes job specifications and its nature,
experience, qualifications and skills required for the job,
etc.

• A structured recruitment plan is mandatory to attract

potential candidates from a pool of candidates. The
potential candidates should be qualified, experienced with
a capability to take on the responsibilities required to
achieve the objectives of the organization.

RECRUITMENT PLANNING
Identifying Vacancy
• The first and foremost process of recruitment plan is
identifying the vacancy. This process begins with receiving
the requisition for recruitments from different department
of the organization to the HR Department, which contains:
• Number of posts to be filled
• Duties and responsibilities to be performed
• Qualification and experience required

IDENTIFYING THE VACANCY

Job Analysis
• Job analysis is a process of identifying, analyzing, and
determining the duties, responsibilities, skills, abilities, and
work environment of a specific job. These factors help in
identifying what a job demands and what an employee
must possess in performing a job productively.

IDENTIFYING THE VACANCY

The following steps are important in analyzing a job:
• Recording and collecting job information
• Accuracy in checking the job information
• Generating job description based on the information
• Determining the skills, knowledge and skills, which are
required for the job
The immediate products of job analysis are job descriptions
and job specifications.

IDENTIFYING THE VACANCY

Job Evaluation
• Job evaluation is a comparative process of analyzing,
assessing, and determining the relative value/worth of a job
in relation to the other jobs in an organization.
• The main objective of job evaluation is to analyze and
determine which job commands how much pay. There are
several methods such as job grading, job classifications,
job ranking, etc., which are involved in job evaluation.
Job evaluation forms the basis for salary and wage
negotiations.

IDENTIFYING THE VACANCY

In the recruitment process it is critical to search for the
right candidate/s.

RECRUITMENT
• Internal and External sources are used to advertise the
vacancies:

NOTICE OF THE VACANCY

Internal Sources
• Promotions
• Transfers
• Former Employees
• Internal Advertisements (Job Posting)
• Employee Referrals
• Previous Applicants

NOTICE OF THE VACANCY

External Sources
• Direct Recruitment
• Employment Exchanges
• Employment Agencies
• Advertisements
• Professional Associations
• Campus Recruitment
• Word of Mouth

NOTICE OF THE VACANCY

Screening/Shortlisting starts after completion of the process
of sourcing the candidates. Screening is the process of
filtering the applications of the candidates for further
selection process.
Screening/Shortlisting is an integral part of recruitment
process that helps in removing unqualified or irrelevant
candidates, which were received through sourcing. The
screening process of recruitment consists of three steps:
• Review of Resumes and cover letters
• Conduct telephone interview (optional)
• Identify suitable candidates
IDENTIFYING SUITABLE APPLICANTS
• Evaluation and control is the last stage in the process of
recruitment. In this process, the effectiveness and the
validity of the process and methods are assessed.
Recruitment is a costly process, hence it is important that
the performance of the recruitment process is thoroughly
evaluated.

EVALUATION & CONTROL

INTERNAL & EXTERNAL SOURCES OF
RECRUITMENT
Internal Sources of Recruitment:
• Promotions
• Transfers
• Recruiting Former Employees
• Internal Advertisements (Job Posting)
• Employee Referral
• Previous Applicants

EVALUATION & CONTROL

Internal Sources of Recruitment:
• It is simple, easy, quick, and cost effective.
• No need of induction and training, as the candidates
already know their job and responsibilities.
• It motivates the employees to work hard, and increases the
work relationship within the organization.
• It helps in developing employee loyalty towards the
organization.

ADVANTAGES
Internal Sources of Recruitment:
• It prevents new hiring of potential resources. Sometimes,
new resources bring innovative ideas and new thinking
onto the table.
• It has limited scope because all the vacant positions cannot
be filled.
• There could be issues in between the employees, who are
promoted and who are not.
• If an internal resource is promoted or transferred, then that
position will remain vacant.
• Employees, who are not promoted, may end up being
unhappy and demotivated.
DISADVANTAGES
External Sources of Recruitment:
• Direct Recruitment
• Employment Exchanges/Secondment
• Employment Agencies
• Advertisements
• Professional Associations
• Campus Recruitment
• Word-of-mouth Advertising

EXTERNAL SOURCES
External Sources of Recruitment:
• It encourages new opportunities for job seekers.
• Organization branding increases through external sources.
• There will be no biasing or partiality between the
employees.
• The scope for selecting the right candidate is more,
because of the large number candidates appearing.

ADVANTAGES
External Sources of Recruitment:
• This process consumes more time, as the selection process
is very lengthy.
• The cost incurred is very high when compared to recruiting
through internal sources.
• External candidates demand more remuneration and
benefits.

DISADVANTAGES
 • Have you attended a job interview?
• How did you feel before, during and after the interview?

You will watch a video entitled:

“Top Interview Tips: Common Questions, Body

Language and More”
https://youtu.be/HG68Ymazo18
Share points from the video

Activity
• An interview is a purposeful exchange of ideas, the
answering of questions and communication between two
or more persons.
• An interview refers to a conversation with one or more
persons acting as the role of an interviewer who ask
questions and the person who answers the questions acts
as the role of an interviewee.
• The primary purpose of an interview is to transfer
information from interviewee to interviewer.
• Interviews can be either formal or informal, structured
or unstructured.
INTERVIEWS
• Structured Interview: In this type, the interview is
designed and detailed in advance. A structured interview is
pre-planned, accurate, and consistent in hiring the
candidates.

• Unstructured Interview: This type of interview is an

unplanned one, where the interview questionnaire is not
prepared. Here, the effectiveness of the interview is very
less and there is a tremendous waste of time and effort of
both the interviewer and the interviewee.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
• Group Interview: In this type of interview, all the
candidates or a group of candidates are interviewed
together. Group interviews are conducted to save time
when there is a large number of applications for a few job
vacancies. A topic will be given to discuss among the
candidates and the interviewer judges the innovativeness
and behavior of each candidate in the group.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
• Depth Interview: Depth interview is a semi-structured
interview, where the candidates have to give a detailed
information about their education background, work
experience, special interests, etc. And the interviewer takes
a depth interview and tries in finding the expertise of the
candidate.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
• Stress Interview: Stress interviews are conducted to
discover how a candidate behaves in stressful conditions.
In this type of interview, the interviewer will come to
know whether the candidate can handle the demands of a
complex job. The candidate who maintains his composure
during a stress interview is normally the right person to
handle a stressful job.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
• Individual Interview: In an individual interview, the
interview takes place one-on-one i.e., there will be a
verbal and a visual interaction between two people, an
interviewer and a candidate. This is a two-way
communication interview, which helps in finding the right
candidate for a vacant job position.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
• Formal Interview: A formal interview held in a formal
way, i.e., the candidate will be intimated about the
interview well in advance and the interviewer plans and
prepares questions for the interview. This is also called as
a planned interview.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
• Informal Interview: Such interviews are conducted in an
informal way, i.e., the interview will be fixed without any
written communication and can be arranged at any place.
There is no procedure of asking questions in this type of
interview, hence it will be a friendly kind of interview.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
• Panel Interview: Panel interview, as the name indicates,
is being conducted by a group of people. In this type of
interview, three to five members of the selection
committee will be asking questions to the candidates on
different aspects. The final decision will be taken by all
the members of the panel collectively.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
• Exit Interview: Exit interviews are conducted for those
employees who want to leave the organization. The
importance of the exit interview is to discover why an
employee wants to leave his job.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
SELECTION
• Selection is the process of picking or choosing the right
candidate, who is most suitable for a vacant job position in
an organization. In others words, selection can also be
explained as the process of interviewing the candidates
and evaluating their qualities, which are required for a
specific job and then choosing the suitable candidate for
the position.

SELECTION
• Selection is an important process because hiring good
resources can help increase the overall performance of the
organization.
• The purpose of selection is to choose the most suitable
candidate, who can meet the requirements of the jobs in an
organization, who will be a successful applicant.
• Meeting the goals of the organization, by evaluating
various attributes of each candidate such as their
qualifications, skills, experiences, overall attitude, etc. In
this process, the most suitable candidate is selected.

IMPORTANCE OF SELECTION
 RECRUITMENT SELECTION
• Recruitment is defined as the • Selection is defined as the
process of identifying and process of choosing the right
making the potential candidates for the vacant
candidates to apply for the positions.
jobs • Selection is called as a
• Recruitment is called as a negative process with its
positive process with its elimination or rejection of as
approach of attracting as many candidates as possible
many candidates as possible for identifying the right
for the vacant jobs candidate for the position

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RECRUITMENT &

SELECTION
• Employee selection is a process of putting a right
applicant on a right job.
• Selection of an employee is a process of choosing the
applicants, who have the qualifications to fill the vacant
job in an organization.
• Selection is a process of identifying and hiring the
applicants for filling the vacancies in an organization.
• Employee selection is a process of matching
organization’s requirements with the skills and the
qualifications of individuals.

SELECTION DEFINITIONS
• Its costly to recruit and hire employees
• Company objectives are better achieved by workers who
have being properly selected based on their qualifications
• Applicants have varying degree of intelligences, aptitudes
and abilities.
• An incompetent worker is a liability to the company
causing direct losses in terms of sub standard performance
and low productivity and can be a potential source of
problems to management.
• Labour laws protect employees making it difficult to
terminate or dismiss an incompetent employee.
•
IMPORTANCE OF SELECTION
• It is cost-effective and reduces a lot of time and effort.
• It helps avoid any biasing while recruiting the right
candidate.
• It helps eliminate the candidates who are lacking in
knowledge, ability, and proficiency.
• It provides a guideline to evaluate the candidates further
through strict verification and reference-checking.
• It helps in comparing the different candidates in terms of
their capabilities, knowledge, skills, experience, work
attitude, etc.

ADVANTAGES OF SELECTION
• Step 1- Preliminary Screening, Application Blank and
Interview
• Step 2 – Employment Interview
• Step 3 – Employment Testing (Assessment Centres)
• Step 4 – Background Investigation /Reference Check
(Police Record)
• Step 5 – Final Interview
• Step 6 – Selection Decision
• Step 7 – Physical Examination (Medical Test/s)
• Step 8 – Placement on the Job

SELECTION PROCESS AND STEPS

• Salary negotiation is done ahead of issuing an offer letter.
This is the heart of recruitment and selection process,
wherein the actual worth of a right candidate will be
evaluated. The remuneration offered should be balanced,
acceptable and agreed by both the parties – the employer
and the employee.

SALARY NEGOTIATION
• Making a job offer is the final stage of recruitment and
selection. Once a candidate is selected, he/she will be
issued an offer letter, which describes the designation, job
location, role, responsibilities, remuneration, benefits, and
a few terms related to the company policies.

SALARY NEGOTIATION
• Do Not Delay: Issue an offer letter as soon as a candidate
is selected, especially if the resources are limited.
• Put the job offer on the table: While issuing an offer
letter, do not wait for the right time. Contact the selected
candidate over phone and give him a verbal confirmation
that he/she is selected to fill the position vacant.

MAKING THE JOB OFFER

• Set a deadline to accept the offer: Once the offer is
issued to the candidate, set a reasonable deadline to accept
the offer. Take a confirmation from the candidate that
he/she should join as per the date of joining mentioned in
the offer letter.
• Stay connected: Even after the offer is accepted by the
candidate, it is the responsibility of the hiring manager to
be in touch with the selected candidate, till he/she joins the
organization.

MAKING THE JOB OFFER

• Set a deadline to accept the offer: Once the offer is
issued to the candidate, set a reasonable deadline to accept
the offer. Take a confirmation from the candidate that
he/she should join as per the date of joining mentioned in
the offer letter.
• Stay connected: Even after the offer is accepted by the
candidate, it is the responsibility of the hiring manager to
be in touch with the selected candidate, till he/she joins the
organization.

MAKING THE JOB OFFER