IMPACTS OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY LEGISLATION IN RECRUITMENT PRACTICES


 


Recruitment


 


Introduction


One of the main roles of a firm’s human resource department is the recruitment and selection of the right personnel and staffs. These primary activities are noted as the very first step done in hiring workforce. In selecting the right personnel and staffs, firms take note of several factors; however, positive work attitudes as well as technical skills appear to be the most prioritised qualities needed from personnel and staffs in general (Rowden, 2002). Recruiting or staffing today is taken a lot more seriously and given a lot more thought than it used to be with the use of the information technology system or the internet.  Gaining competent personnel and staffs at all levels of the firm are more than a matter of training.  It stems from changes in recruitment and selection philosophy (Ashkenas et al, 1995).   Staffing the most competent personnel and staffs, staffs and managers is a continuous challenge for the human resource management. 


Typically, the initial operations of a firm are made of informal recruitment and selection processes and the management should be able to consider different provisions for this such as the equal opportunity legislation in recruitment practices. In addition, the use of various selection methods and more objective qualifications became a part of developing hiring decisions; these practices had been observed frequently in larger firms (Barber et al., 1999).  Primarily, the goal is to analyse the impact of equal opportunity legislation in recruitment practices


 


Recruitment Sources


            There are many types of recruitment sources which have been initiated in various corporationss. The corporations’s human resource professionals on the other gain access to a larger pool of applicantsThe context of the equal opportunity legislation for the purpose of recruitment lies on the fact the corporations will provide the information regarding job description and other requirements, and the person to be contacted in case the reader would want to apply.Equal opportunity legislation in recruitment practices can be considered as an effective approach for  recruitment because of the following reasons.  It enable the company to hire qualified employees without any bias.   


 


Recruitment Procedures


            Each firm must recruit and select the appropriate talent for the positions vacant within a firm. The process of recruitment is usually guided by perspectives of equal opportunity legislation in recruitment practices. Affirmative action and equal employment laws significantly govern what public and private firms do to fill vacancies.


To ensure equal opportunity legislation in recruitment practices, test creation, test validation, interviewing techniques, assessment centers, performance-based exams, and other strategies have become techniques used by firms to ensure equity while simultaneously providing a method of evaluation and narrowing candidates to effect a selection within the firm (Williams 1995).


This is often the most visible and most contentious area for HR directors and managers. Firms have outcomes that are often various from applicants; therefore, actions that may be perfectly legitimate and legal on the side of the firm may also receive enormous scrutiny from the public and other entities because it is hard to rationally state that fairness was achieved in the hiring process. Because lawsuits and complaints are usually filed through agencies against firms, a rigidness forms within corporations around the hiring process that often breeds distaste and establishes unrealistic expectations of the selected applicant for positions.


HR recruiting via the internet is referred to as those activities and procedures which are designed to either increase the number or to transform the characteristics of personnel who are willing to consider applying for or acquiring a job . Recruiting the most competent personnel and staffs for each and every corporations is continuous challenge for the human resource management (Henderson, 1996).


 


The recruitment process may include how a firm filters job applicants, the channels of recruitment used and the kind of information conveys by the corporations to job applicants during the process. Recruiting new personnel and staffs to fill existing vacancies is an essential function within HRM. Although internet recruitment is the most demanded sources in this generation, there are five interrelated stages in the recruitment process: planning, strategy development, searching, screening, and evaluation and control. These routine dimensions of the recruiting process are integrated into the daily routine of many HR departments and once a system is established, there appears to be little need for additional planning or analysis with regard to how the recruiting process should proceed.


The planned Internet recruitment should be able to clearly state the mission and objective of the recruitment process to be done. Specifically, the purpose of such policy is to offer a criterion and standard measure for recruiting new personnel and staffs.


 


Specified Criteria


            In recruiting a new employee to fill the vacancy, it is essential that the corporations or the Human resource management should be able to set criteria that will serve as guidelines to choose the most suitable employee for the job or position needed. In this manner, the criteria includes tasks to be handled, tools and technological skills, knowledge requirements, skills and abilities required, work activities that can be handled, job training, and educational attainment.


 


Mechanisms to be used


            In order to identify the most suitable employee who will be given a chance to become the new employee for a corporations, there are various methods to be used which will be included in Employee Recruiting Policy to identify the critical activities in the recruitment process and monitor its results. HRM Recruiting Program clearly states the mission and objective of the recruitment process to be done. Specifically, the purpose of such policy is to offer a criterion and standard measure for recruiting new employee.


            The first mechanism is to have a psychological exam and aptitude test which can be done . This examination is essential to know some personal information about the applicants. These examinations are given by HR Psychologists/Staff. Secondly, the next exam will be to test the knowledge of the applicants in terms of management concept and other skills that will show their potentialities of becoming a good and effective employee.


            After the applicants have taken have taken the examinations, those who passed will be assessed using the interview method which is handled by HR management. Primary and final interview will be conducted to evaluate further those applicants who have survived the thorough examinations. According to Golhar & Deshpande (1997), most personnel and staffs are selected by means of one on one interview; however, along with this technique, written examinations and panel interviews are also used for the selection process. The use of multiple selection techniques will help prevent applicant selection errors. The use of application tests in the selection process is perhaps the most effective method that could be used in combination of the interview method. The result of whom to become the new employee will be based on the criteria set by Human resource management of the firm.


            After all these procedures have been done, the HR management and executives makes the final decision on whether or not the employee will be recruited/hired or not. 


 


Reference


Ashkenas, R, Ulrich, D, Jick, T and Kerr, S 1995, The Boundaryless Firm.’ Breaking the Chains of Firmal Structure, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.


 


Barber, AE, et al. 1999. A Tale of Two Job Markets: Firmal Sise and Its Effects on Hiring Practices and Job Search Behavior. Personnel Psychology, volume 52 issue 4, pp 841-867.


 


Golhar, DY & Deshpande, SP 1997, HRM Practices of Large and Small Canadian Manufacturing Firms. Journal of Small Business Management, volume 35 issue 3, pp. 30-38.


 


Henderson, G 1996, Human Relations Issues in Management. Quorum Books, Westport, CT.


 


Heneman, HG Schwab, DP, Fossum, JA and Dyer, LP 1989, Personnel/Human Resources Management. Irwin, Homewood, IL.


 


Rowden, RW 2002, High Performance and Human Resource Characteristics of Successful Small Manufacturing and Processing Companies. Leadership and Firmal Development Journal, volume 23 issue 2, pp. 79-83.


 


Williams, LC 1995, Human Resources in a Changing Society: Balancing Compliance and Development. Quorum Books, Westport, CT,.


 


 


 



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