Introduction
Nowadays with a huge number of the working places available alongside with the incessant flow of unemployed people, willing to obtain a job, the methods and strategies of people managing acquires emphasized importance. Employers and employees correspondently, companies and people, have their own views and these two parties of the managing process elaborate their own requirements and expectations. This paper describes the job position and the roles of the writer. This paper will also reflect on the successful recruitment and selection process the writer has experienced.
The job position and roles
From remodeling to reinvention, almost anything goes. Almost daily, creative thinking, penetrating analyses, and experience combine to discredit long-held assumptions about organizational structures, processes, and behaviors. Managing paradox is a growing challenge (Clardy 1996). The traditional economics of personnel administration and operational staffing is considered suspect. Intuitive thinking and questioning the assumptions of traditional approaches are welcome (Burack 1993). The stagnant straight-line thinking of past decades is shifting toward a more creative direction (Bowers Edens, & Salas, 2001). Several major developments are driving these changes, long underway in some companies and industries. Key developments include the quality-value-service dictum, continuing cost containment and reduction, and the rediscovery of the value of human resources. All of these driving forces are interrelated (Burack 1993). The need to manage the personnel in the changing environment paved the way for the emergence of the Human Resources officer position. One company that needed a human resource officer is PCCW Solutions. PCCW is recognized as the largest telecommunication enterprise in Hong Kong. PCCW operates in many small business units. PCCW offers products and services in fields like Telecommunications services, Television and Media Content, IT Services, PCCW Solutions and Infrastructure. PCCW has made contributions to ICT and IT; such contributions include landline telecommunications, mobile telecommunications, broadband internet and PCCW solutions. The ICT and IT contributions provided innovation for the industries in Hong Kong and other parts of the world. There are various drivers for change; one is increasing innovation/IT knowledge.
The Human Resource officer position requires one to have good people skills because he will relate with different kinds of people. The human resource officer makes sure that all activities done by the personnel are in agreement with the goals of the company. Moreover the HR officer provides a bridge of communication between the upper management and the personnel. Lastly the HR officer gives feedback and suggestions on the performance and activities of the personnel. The position was opened because of the need for some changes in the company particularly on the relationship between the management team and the personnel. Before any hiring was done, various individuals from within and outside the organization was interviewed and tested to see if they fit the requirements for the HR officer position. After some time the commendable applicants as well as this writer was put into few more interviews and tests to sort out the most qualified for the job. When this writer and two others were left, we were given practical examination to see who can perform well under various situations. After the writer was chosen for the position, the management team gave trainings and advices on how the Hr officer position can be done well.
Key Elements in Recruitment and Selection Process
The Recruitment process
The purpose of the staffing process is to target workers most likely to perform the jobs in an organization efficiently. This entails an attempt to identify the kind of information necessary for predicting each candidate’s probability to succeed or fail in adjusting to work prior to being hired by the organization (Tziner 1990). Today’s successful organizations need to hire the most qualified people they can at the most competitive price. Before an organization is able to hire an individual, it must locate qualified applicants who are interested in working for the organization. How does an organization attract these qualified people? Through the recruitment process and it represents one of the major responsibilities of the HRM function (Howitt 2001) It is a responsibility that if not effectively and efficiently completed can almost single-handedly ensure limited success for the organization. Recruitment is the process by which organizations discover, develop, seek, and attract individuals to fill actual or anticipated job vacancies (Korman & Kraut, 1999). Recruitment is directly related to both HRM planning and selection. Recruitment can be quite expensive when one considers the cost of advertising, agency fees, employee referral bonuses, applicant and staff travel, relocation costs, and recruiter salaries. Although recruitment can be quite expensive, organizations have not always treated it as systematically as other HRM functions, such as selection. However, in recent years organizations have increasingly recognized that failure to systematically recruit employees can impact their success (Sims 1998).There is every indication that organizations will continue to see the value of recruitment to their success. The magnitude of an organization’s recruiting effort and the methods to be used in that recruiting effort are determined from HRM planning. Recruitment follows HRM planning and job analysis and goes hand in hand with the selection process by which organizations evaluate the suitability of candidates for various jobs (Sims 2002). The actual act of identifying candidates or recruiting for the best personnel was formerly the sole and inclusive responsibility of the recruiter along with his or her other job responsibilities as time passed the sourcing job has been split into various people who have dedicated roles and job functions.
The current recruitment process focuses on making sure that the most qualified personnel can be hired by the company. In this process various things are considered and that includes the educational achievement, capabilities, educational background and skills of the applicant. Companies can either use their own HR to recruit personnel or they avail the services of employment agencies who will hire the staff for them. In some cases in house recruitment is used as an alternative recruitment process. The recruitment process involves around three steps. The first step is sourcing. In this step the main function is to let people know that there is a job vacancy in the company. In sourcing, the company makes sure that it leverages its techniques so that it can identify candidates in any easily accessible public forum. Sourcing requires the uncovering of candidate information via various methods to uncover data on people, their role, title, responsibilities and how they will fit in the job. This step involves advertising for the job and researching for possible applicants for the job. In advertising for the job, various means are used and that includes the Internet, general newspapers, job ad newspapers, professional publications, window advertisements, job centers, and campus graduate recruitment programs.
In the case of this writer, the HR group of the company posted on the internet the vacancy for the HR officer position. This writer saw the advertisement on the company’s website. After analyzing the qualifications for the position, this writer then submitted the qualifications and requirements to the HR department. After the qualifications and other information have been gathered, this writer was contacted by the HR group of the company for the initial interview. The initial interview focused on knowing the applicant at an initial level. An option for the company is to make use of agencies that will be its partner in choosing for a good applicant. In researching for possible applicants, the company makes use of all available resources and data. In this stage the company makes use of an internal list of personnel that they deem to be perfectly fit for the job. This is done when advertising doesn’t work and when the company wants the employee to come from within the company’s internal database. The company used the services of an outside agency to recruit as much potential applicants as possible. The next part of the recruitment process includes the selection of probable employees.
Selection
The job of orienting hiring managers is one that can require a significant amount of competency and skill on the part of hiring process facilitators, typically HR professionals. Managers need to be educated and influenced so that they understand the need for and the benefits of a rigorous selection process (Zwell 2000). Selection involves determining whether one is really suitable for the job. Suitability for a job is assessed by looking for skills in communication, typing, and computer related skills (Farr Schuler & Smith 1993). Qualifications may seen by the company through the résumés, job applications, interviews, educational or professional experience, the testimony of references, or in-house testing, such as for software knowledge, typing skills, numeracy, and literacy, through psychological tests or employment testing (Schminke 1998) Selection is one of the last processes in hiring an employee. In this part of the hiring process, the employees who showed consistency in every activity in the process is set aside for training to determine whether he/she can keep up with the demands of the job. The first part of the selection process is strategic selection.
Strategic selection
A new focus on maintaining core businesses and outsourcing other activities has led to the downsizing of many HR departments, with various recruitment and selection functions contracted out to external vendors. The trend toward integration across business functions presses for a synthesis of recruitment and selection activities. Formerly competing organizations have developed strategic alliances for recruitment and selection in order to increase flexibility and adaptability in hiring and employment. As a result of such changes, the role of the HR professional in recruitment and selection has itself changed dramatically (Zwell 2000). Strategic selection was done by PCCW using interactive means wherein this writer engaged in interviews with the members of the organization. The hr team of the company gave various types of questions to all applicants and each was given considerable time to provide answer to the questions. The hr team made sure that there was minimal pressure given to the applicants. The questions of the HR team of PCCW focused on gaining the applicant’s background particularly on the educational achievements, the former employers, the birthplace of the applicant and other personal information. The questions of the HR team of PCCW were focused on determining the work ethic of the applicants, how the applicants deal with all kinds of people in the organization, how does the applicant survive a stressful event and how the applicants handle various situations in the company. The hr team adjusted to every type of answer given by the applicant particularly on how they responded to a situation that happened in the old job.
Selection policy
The selection policy of the company involves many things and it affects the members of the HR group and the applicants themselves. Those members of the HR group who will select the admirable applicants would have to know the rules of the organization and they need to be trained to select the personnel well. The members of the HR group should consider the needs of the company and what kind of person will fit the company’s culture and tradition. The members of the HR group should be free from any bias or discrimination towards the applicants. The hr group needs to be fair and unpartisan in choosing the applicants that have good credentials. The members of the HR group are always reminded about the importance of records during the selection process. The members of the HR group are trained in dealing with various demands the applicant has. The hr group for the selection process will compose of one high ranking officer of the hr division, the immediate superior of the applicant and one member of the hr division, Applicants who passed the initial selection processes are the ones that will only be allowed to participate in other activities of the selection process. The selection policy of PCCW and its HR department focused on making sure that the chosen applicant had enough experience on Hr duties. Members of the HR group of the company used situational examples in the interview so that they can test how all of the applicants would respond to a specific situation. The situational questions can be described as something that happens almost everyday. Most of the applicants gave a favorable answer to the questions of the members of the company’s HR group.
Validity of the selection procedures
Most jobs will be done better if filled by people selected because of their relevant traits. Finding a relevant basis requires thought and work, but focusing on designing, developing, or using procedures for personnel decisions should not obscure the importance of other management tools. Observational and interview methods are useful when studying a single job where adequate information can be obtained from a few experts. When simultaneously studying sets of related jobs, especially in multiple locations, survey research may be the preferred method of collecting observations (Guion 1998). The content of selection procedures defended on the basis of content validity must match the content defined by the job analysis. Selection procedures defended only on the basis of content validity may be used only with a minimum cutting score; although words in the Guidelines refer to circumstances where ranking is permitted, the words necessarily imply criterion-related data (Guion 1998). There can be different selection procedures but it will not be valid if it does not give PCCW the most acceptable personnel. The selection procedure of the company focuses on knowing the applicant thoroughly and identifying the applicant’s desirable attitude. The selection procedure carefully dissected the applicant and then analyzed the applicant’s qualities that set him apart from the others. The selection procedure was aligned with the purpose of the selection process. The selection procedure used communication techniques ranging from personal communication to the use of advanced selection technologies such as interactive and automated communication systems.
Steps in the selection process
In the selection process four steps are used by the company. The first step includes comparing the similar traits the current company’s employees have. In doing this the company will know which trait they will deem as the most important requirement for the applicants. The company gathered data about their productive employees and they singled out the trait that unifies them, the company then checked if the applicants have such trait. The company has a t ally of all traits each employee has and then it cross references it with the traits their best personnel has. The second step includes the use of proven handwritten or computerized tests to determine which among the employees have the best chance to perform well in the organization. The handwritten or computerized tests concentrated on determining the human skills of the participants and it determined the best traits of the participants. The third step includes the interview with high ranking members of the company. This is done to determine how the applicant would maintain their composure amidst the pressure from high ranking members of the company. The questions in the third step are harder than the other interviews since this is the final interview and it is a factor in making hiring decisions. The last step is the analysis of all data acquired. In this step the members of the hr group of the company is on the process of determining which applicant fits the position. In this step the applicants were analyzed to see which fits well the available position and which applicant have the trait needed by the company. This writer was able to pass all parts of the selection process and was able to impress the interviewers.
Conclusion
The need to manage the personnel in the changing environment paved the way for the emergence of the Human Resources officer position. This position requires one to have good people skills because he will relate with different kinds of people. The human resource officer makes sure that all activities done by the personnel are in agreement with the goals of the company. Being in an HR officer is not an easy position, having that position requires a lot of responsibility to recruit, select and train the employees that will help the whole company reach its goals. The HR officer has to make sure that he/she follows the standards set by the HR group. The human resource group has an important role in the company. HR has the role of recruiting and selecting the employees the company needs. The current recruitment process focuses on making sure that the most qualified personnel can be hired by the company. In this process various things are considered and that includes the educational achievement, capabilities, educational background and skills of the applicant. Companies can either use their own HR to recruit personnel or they avail the services of employment agencies who will hire the staff for them. In some cases in house recruitment is used as an alternative recruitment process. Selection is one of the last processes in hiring an employee. In this part of the hiring process, the employees who showed consistency in every activity in the process is set aside for training to determine whether he/she can keep up with the demands of the job. Training helps a company create employees that can be relied upon and can create products that give satisfaction to the clients.
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