Selection Methods For Graduate HR Program Candidates

Imagine you are an Occupational Psychologist.  You have been approached by a large public sector organisation which would like to develop a new method of selecting candidates for their Graduate Human Resources Programme.

Challenges in Selecting Candidates for Graduate HR Programs

Selection as a method used in making choices for organizations and other activities that require making choices on the most appropriate people to hire and in making other decisions is a common activity for most organizations and areas of the economy. As an occupational psychologist an organization has presented in need of a selection method for candidates for the graduate human resource program (Schmidt & Hunter, 2015). According to the organization, the position is applied for by one thousand applicants every year. Out of all the applicants, only one hundred and fifty would be considered for the HR program position. Based on the report provided by the organization, the use of the interviews and application forms is not satisfactory for selection in the program. The various job specifications that the organization considers for the graduates include teamwork, the written communication, personal organization and planning and interpersonal sensitivity (Farr & Tippins, 2017). In this project therefore, a selection method appropriate for use by the organization would be designed. The justification of the method selected would also be defined among other necessary aspects of a selection method study.

The methods used in selecting employees in the Human Resource department for many organizations differ based on the resources of the organization and the staff present within the organization during the time of hiring. The various methods that have been used in selecting candidates include the preliminary screenings; interviews conducted on phone and live interviews among other techniques that have often been used by organizations (Anderson, Lievens, Van Dam & Ryan, 2014). There are also certain Human Resource functions whose major aim is to prove the suitability of the methods used in hiring in proving whether the people selected for the positions are the most appropriate. It is also advisable that the small businesses should consider using these methods in hiring despite being composed of small staffs that would not require such intensive methods in hiring (Barclay, 2015). The methods have been considered as intelligent means of hiring as it might create a lower turnover of applicants as it guarantees long time employees for the organization or small business. The small employees are anticipated to benefit greatly from this program.

Immediately the organization received the adequate application requests for any position that requires employment, the organization should begin examining the various application forms. In this case, the most appropriate method of analyzing the application forms and various documents should commence as the organization goes through all of them. The interviews and screening among other things should be considered during this time (Hom & Griffeth, 2015). During the examination of these application forma and other necessary positions, the organization should have in mind the number of applicants that the organization requires or the amount of work that the organization requires. In most cases, the employers while recruiting would consider fewer employees depending on the available positions for the work, the number decided on by the organization should be one that could be managed easily by the organization (Reilly & Chao, 2012). In most cases the numbers are in 50s, 100s or even more or less depending on the available positions at the organization. The most qualified candidate are preferred for most cases of hiring. For the small businesses that might lack the equipment for screening and other modern techniques, it is advisable that certain techniques such as the amount of working experience of an applicant be considered. Other discrete criteria such as verifiable credentials presented by the applicants should be considered by the small businesses that might not use modern methods in analyzing applicants (Barclay, 2015). However, researchers have proved that screening is a better method of eliminating the most suitable applicants from other applicant’s hence easy time for the employers and organizations. The method is capable of identifying the most appropriate job qualifications as per the quality of the employees.

Common Methods Used in Selecting Candidates

The first step to be considered by an organization would be to perform a telephone interview because all applicants would include their telephone numbers into the application letters. The telephone interviews are helpful in informing the employers whether the applicants are still interested in the positions they applied for (Schmidt & Hunter, 2015). The telephone interviews are a preparation for the advanced interviews for both the employer and the applicant. For small businesses, the telephone interviews are important as it saves them time for performing the live interviews that might be costly and time consuming as the presence and preparation of both the organization and the applicant is required (Farr & Tippins, 2017). The telephone interviews should be conducted immediately after the screening once the most appropriate applicants for the position have been identified.

Through the telephone interview, it is possible to confirm that the applicants are qualified and actual. In some cases, an applicant might apply using fake or borrowed documents among other irregularities within the application forms. The telephone interviews are capable of revealing the reliability of the applicants among other things about the applicants (Anderson, Lievens, Van Dam & Ryan, 2014). The commitment of the applicants through the telephone interviews is another factor that has been used effectively in the practice of selecting employees for any organizations. The needs of the organization are however considered at all times in the practice of recruiting.

The live interviews in most cases are time consuming and expensive, this is the reason why before an interview is performed; another method of elimination is employed to separate some of the employees from others to avail only the required persons for the interviews. The telephone interviews and the preliminary screenings are meant to eliminate some of the employees so that a manageable number of applicants are left (Hom & Griffeth, 2015). The person responsible for the interviews of the recruitment should be the one performing the interviews so that he or she can ensure that the most suitable employees are availed for the positions available for employment. The process used in recruiting should be one that improves the selection method when it results into the most suitable and long term employees for the organization or business that employs the system. For instance, when the recruiter interviews and becomes interested in tem employees, it would be appropriate to hire four or less out of the ten for the method to be considered effective in hiring most appropriate employees (Reilly & Chao, 2012).

The Importance of Screening and Elimination to Recruitment Process

In some cases, the four or three selected from the list should be presented to the hiring manager who would end up with at least two of them depending on the positions available for hiring. For a small business, the hiring manager might take the position of a recruiter because there would be a smaller number of applicants hence easy to manage (Berry, 2013). Irrespective of the manner in which the interviews and the examinations are conducted, it is necessary for the organization to consider conducting the live interviews as they are the most suitable practice that results into more reliable employees that would work for an organization over a long time (Bevan & Fryatt, 2013). The interviews might be costly and time consuming but they are an effective means of hiring that should be considered by all organizations while hiring.

As part of the interviews, there is a section of the interviews that is targeted to understand whether the applicant is aware and suitable for the employment position based on the culture of the organization. This has been the most determinant part for most interviews in the world today because most organizations value their cultures more than any other things (Rees & Ed, 2012). In order to attain such qualifications from an applicant, the interviewer, who is the employer in most cases would present the applicant with certain questions whose responses would show the understanding of the applicant on the organizational culture for the respective organization hiring. When the culture of the organization is examined, the qualifications of the applicant are not considered. The qualifications are ignored because without the organizational culture qualifications, it would not be easy to employ even the most qualified employee out of the applicants (Ekuma, 2012). The culture of an organization is therefore, more important than other job qualifications based on what most organizations consider while hiring. The value of the applicants is raised the moment it is realized that they are conversant with the culture of the organization even when their other qualifications are not better than other applicants who are highly qualified in other aspects of employment as considered by the organization (Behling, 2015). Culture of any organization is a subjective factor that managers consider while hiring and it has been used as an important factor while hiring.

After an organization is satisfied with an applicant and he is presented by the job offer, the applicant is presented by a job offer that is conditional. The conditional job offer provided for the selected applicant would be terminated anytime as the employee is still under monitoring by the organization even after he has started working for the organization (Cascio & Aguinis, 2015). This offer in most cased is provided to the applicant who emerged as the best after the organization performs its examinations on the applicants in the process of recruiting. The second best candidate is however, kept close just in case the first recruit fails to deliver as expected by the organization. The conditional job offer also helps the selected applicants in doing his or her best for the organization during his or her first moments while taking the new job. In the vetting process, other characters of the employee that might have not been identified during the primary interview are studied (Bevan & Fryatt, 2013).

The Role of Interviewing in the Recruitment Process

The background of the employee and drug use among other things are all tested during this time. The method is an important way of avoiding certain mistakes while hiring because not all features of an employee would be realized the moment he presents himself for the interview or through the application documents (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright, 2016). The confirmation of the background information of the employee are important as it is used in ensuring that the information given during application and interviews were true and not just manipulated to impress the employer (Berry, 2013). Once a candidate passes all these vetting tests, he is considered for the position and as a result he would be provided with a final job offer. In case the second best candidate in the hiring process was asked to expect response from the organization, this would be the perfect time to send them a letter informing them to move on because the position has been offered to the first applicant permanently (Scarborough, Chambless, Becker, Check, Clainos, Eng, & Smith, 2016).

In this case study, a method is required to help the organization in hiring one hundred and fifty out of the one thousand applicants for the Human Resource program positions yearly. The organization has cited the application forms and the interviews as ineffective ways of selecting the candidates for the position (Highhouse, 2013). In this proposal therefore, a suitable method of selecting the most suitable one hundred and fifty candidates for the Human Resource program out of the one thousand applicants would be designed. In this proposal the screening method should be the first to be considered because of the large number of applicants compared to the number of recruits required by the organization (Cascio, 2016). The screening method as the primary method in selecting the candidates for the position should be capable of eliminating the applicants at least from the one thousand to four hundred applicants. The four hundred candidates as selected by the screening system should be passed through intensive interviews in order to isolate others who would not be more suitable for the program.

The other procedure should involve two hundred candidates or less for the Human Resource program. Out of the two hundred selected candidates, one hundred and fifty should be allowed to take the program but temporarily as they are passed under a vetting process where those with unsuitable qualities that were not identified earlier would be eliminated and replaced by those put in waiting (Gilliland, 2015). The process should be continued for two weeks when the candidates put in waiting should be set free as the ones selected for the program are assured through permanent registration that they have secured the available positions in taking the Human Resource program.

The Significance of Organizational Culture in Recruitment

The first step after accepting the one thousand application forms would be passing the forms through the screening method of selection. The screening method is a better and effective method that would ensure that the number of applicants is reduced effectively without any kind of discrimination (Ekuma, 2012). The screening tools are used in case the number of applicants is huge and would be inappropriate to manage like in this case where one thousand applicants would be managed in order to recruit one hundred and fifty candidates. The screening method is appropriate in ensuring that the best out of the applicants based on their resumes and other possible documents are examined thoroughly through the system. The system is effective as it has been used in many areas where it did not disappoint (Cascio, 2016). The installation of the equipment might be difficult but its use is cheaper and more effective than other methods used in the past. The method is used in this case would ensure that the Human Resource program ends up with the most suitable candidates though it is not the last stage of the selection procedure.  

The following procedure after the preliminary screening should be the telephone interviews. Every candidate should ensure that he or she leaves a number through which they would be contacted. The telephone interviews are important first in ensuring that the candidates selected are still interested in the Human Resource program positions (Rees & Ed, 2012). It is also possible to understand the candidates further through the telephone interviews because any controversial issues within their documents would be cleared in case they were not identified in the preliminary screening of the applicants (Scarborough, Chambless, Becker, Check, Clainos, Eng, & Smith, 2017). While conducting the applicants, their documents should be held at hand as reference. The telephone interviews should last for two weeks as the screening on the other hand lasted a shorter time because they are performed through a machine unlike making the phone calls (Gilliland, 2015). Calling and interviewing the two hundreds or less employees chosen by the system might no be easy for the recruiters as it requires more details and time. For this organization is is proposed that at least ten recruiters should be hired to help making the process possible and as effective as possible without getting tires while avoiding boredom as well. The program should be conducted effectively within the time frame provided for the telephone interviews.

The Conditional Job Offer

Live Interviews

Through the telephone interviews, some of the applicant might be eliminated. The live interviews are preferred even when the telephone interviews appear effective and useful. The live interviews are believed to be sincere as many judgments would be made based on the reaction of the candidates to certain questions and activities during the interview. The live interviews in this case should last for two months so that is as effective as possible (Kluemper & Rosen, 2014). The procedure in which the interviews should be conducted should be such that the applicants are arranged in an alphabetical order. The alphabetical order arrangement is one of the ways through which fairness would be attained through the interview. The organization should handle ten or less candidates per day such that all candidates are handled effectively without any pressure based on time (Cascio & Aguinis, 2015). After the interviews are completed, the organization’s managers should ensure that proper analysis methods are used in identifying the most suitable candidates for the Human Resource program. It is not only the role of the recruiters to ensure that the most suitable employees for any position but also the role of the managers of the organization to assist in recruiting the best candidates for the Human Resource program.  

Vetting

The vetting process is another examining procedure in which the selected candidates are refined before they are fully considered as the recruits for the position. After the interviews, the organization through various processes should be able to recruit the amounts of candidates required (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright, 2016). These candidates are not automatically proved as the desired candidates but would be passed through a vetting process to eliminate some of them who might show any weaknesses while in operation. If any of the candidates show weaknesses, it would be necessary that the organization considers a replacement as the candidates might be a burden to the organization while there are other better candidates who are just victims of the selection methods (Spector, 2013). In this case the vetting process should take two weeks of full engagement. After the two weeks the weaker candidates shall have been replaced as all the qualified candidates would be proved as suitable for the various positions required for the Human Resource program (Scarborough, Chambless, Becker, Check, Clainos, Eng, & Smith, 2016). In this case the one hundred and fifty candidates shall have been confirmed after the two weeks as the most suitable for the position. The vetting process has been the last stage of recruiting over a long time hence it should be treated carefully the recruiters and the managers of the organization.  

Conclusion

In conclusion, designing a selection method during the process of recruiting is an important practice for most organizations as it ensures the organization qualified and most appropriate employees. The selection methods employed for use by an organization would in one way or another define its success (Highhouse, 2013). Though the selection method might be a tiresome procedure that is also expensive for the bigger organizations, it should be considered as one of the most important practices in an effective organization. The processes of hiring differ based on the size of the organization and the number of employees required by the organization.  For most organization where larger turnout of applicants is experienced, it is recommended that the first step be the screening method where the applicants are isolated accordingly for a manageable number to be attained. However, the screening method might be expensive for small businesses because the installation of the device might be expensive (Kluemper & Rosen, 2014). Other methods like work experience should therefore be used in such cases. After screening it would be appropriate to consider the telephone interviews because through them it is possible to know whether the selected applicants are still interested in the positions. The live interviews and vetting should all be done in a way that ensures that the system is as effective as possible.

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