Topic outline

  • General

  • Topic 1

    Introduction

    • In this session we look at the first stage of managing people – attracting and selecting staff. Recruitment and selection are usually considered as one process. However, we will make the distinction here...

  • Topic 2

    1: Overview

    • The session begins by looking at how it can be difficult for a manager in the process of recruitment and selection to maintain objectivity. Drawing up clear criteria to use throughout recruitment and selection...

  • Topic 3

    2: Effective recruitment and selection

    • The key to successful recruitment is to ensure that the criteria of suitability are overt and relevant to the job itself. Once these criteria are agreed and shared it is possible to make more rational...

  • Topic 4

    3 Person-job fit or person-organisation fit?

    • It is important for both the job applicant and the organisation to ensure that the right job goes to the right person. Taking the wrong job may be just as disastrous for the employee as for the organisation....
    • The traditional approach to recruitment and selection is based on the view that organisations should specify the requirements of the job as closely as possible and then look for individuals whose personal...
    • This approach stresses that people's behaviour and performance are strongly influenced by the environment in which they find themselves. So being successful in a job in one organisation does not necessarily...

  • Topic 5

    4: Specifying job and person requirements

    • To find the right person for the job, you need to have an accurate idea of the job itself and of the particular skills and attributes it demands. This can be carried out in a series of stages, as shown...
    • Job analysis involves examining a job systematically and in detail. There is no single way of doing this. Direct observation may be helpful if you are analysing repetitive manual jobs, for example. Discussion...
    • The broader organisational requirements can be as important as the specific ones for the job itself. The organisation needs creativity, flexibility, the ability to work in a small team, and so on, from...
    • From your analysis of the job you can write a job description which will state what the job holder is responsible for and what they are required to do (seeExample 1).
    • Once the job and organisational analyses and the job description have been completed (see Figure 1), the next stage is to write a specification of the kind of person needed to fill the job you have just...
    • Where an existing member of staff is applying for a post, you will already have knowledge of their personality, skills, fit with the organisation and so on. However, whether the job they are applying for...
    • You have now established the criteria for recruiting the kind of person you are looking for; the next step is to find someone who meets these criteria. Obviously, you must make it known to people that...
    • If you are managing the recruitment process by a traditional route you will now need to consider advertising the vacancy. Your organisation may have a specific policy or rules governing advertising. The...
    • One way of offering more information than can be put into an advertisement is to send further particulars to people who respond. These could explain, for example, current and future developments within...
    • It is common to shortlist up to six applicants per position, but the exact number may reflect the time you have available for interviewing and the strength of the applicants. The important point is to...
    • References can be useful, but they do have some limitations: no one would supply the name of a referee who was likely to give a bad reference. However, it is always a good idea to request them of the candidates...
    • In the past people have tended to see selection primarily as organisations choosing between individuals. However, we must not forget that candidates are also making choices: about whether to write in for...

  • Topic 6

    5: Methods of selection

    • Traditionally, the interview has been the main means of assessing the suitability of candidates for a job. Almost all organisations use the interview at some stage in their selection process. Similarly,...
    • There are various types of tests and ways in which they might be used as part of the selection process (seeBox 5). Before using any kind of test you should ensure that you know why you are using it and...
    • The aim of the selection interview is to determine whether the candidate is interested in the job and competent to do it. A selection interview also has the following functions:
    • In a panel interview one member will need to take the chair; this person will then be responsible for initiating, controlling and closing the interview. It is also the role of the chair to link and control...
    • Up to now we have been considering how to control and conduct the main body of an interview. There remains, however, the need to draw it to a satisfactory close. You should remember that, while you are...

  • Topic 7

    6: Summary

    • This session has looked at specifying the requirements of a job by drawing up a job description and a person specification. We considered how you might indicate the qualities required of individuals in...

  • Topic 8

    References and Acknowledgements