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4
People Resourcing
224
References
Beardwell, J (2007) Human resource planning, in
(eds) J Beardwell and T Claydon, Human Resource
Management: A contemporary approach, 5th edn,
Essex, Pearson, pp 189–224
Cappelli, P (2009) A supply chain approach to
workforce planning, Organizational Dynamics,
38 (1), pp 8–15
CIPD (2010a) Workforce Planning: Right people,
right time, right skills, London, CIPD
CIPD (2010b) Annual Survey of Resourcing and
Talent Planning, London, CIPD
Reilly, P (1999) The Human Resource Planning
Audit, Cambridge, Cambridge Strategy
Publications
Rothwell, S (1995) Human resource planning, in (ed)
J Storey, Human Resource Management: A critical
text, London, Routledge
18
Recruitment and
selection
Key ConCePts and terms
Biodata
Criterion measure
Employer brand
Employer of choice
Intelligence quotient (IQ)
Job board
Knowledge, skills and abilities
(KSAs)
Person specification
Predictive ability
Psychological test
Psychometric test
Recruitment
Recruitment process outsourcing
(RPO)
Reliability (test)
Role profile
Selection
Validity (test)
Web 2.0
LearnIng outComes
On completing this chapter you should be able to define these key concepts. You should
also understand:
●
The recruitment and selection process
●
Defining requirements
●
Attracting candidates
●
Processing applications
●
Selection methods – interviewing and tests
●
References and offers
●
Dealing with recruitment problems
225
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4
People Resourcing
226
Introduction
Recruitment is the process of finding and engaging
the people the organization needs. Selection is that
part of the recruitment process concerned with
deciding which applicants or candidates should be
appointed to jobs. Recruitment can be costly. The
2013 CIPD survey of resourcing and talent planning
found that the average recruitment cost of filling a
vacancy for a director or senior manager was £8,000
while for other employees it was £3,000.
The recruitment and
selection process
The stages of recruitment and selection are:
1
Defining requirements.
2
Attracting candidates.
3
Sifting applications.
4
Interviewing.
5
Testing.
6
Assessing candidates.
7
Obtaining references.
8
Checking applications.
9
Offering employment.
10
Following up.
Defining requirements
The number and categories of people required may
be set out in formal workforce plans from which are
derived detailed recruitment plans. More typically,
requirements are expressed as ad hoc demands for
people because of the creation of new posts, expan-
sion into new activities or areas, or the need for a
replacement. These short-term demands may put
HR under pressure to deliver candidates quickly.
Requirements are set out in the form of role
profiles and person specifications. These provide
the information required to post vacancies on the
company’s website or the internet, draft advertise-
ments, brief agencies or recruitment consultants
and assess candidates by means of interviews and
selection tests.
Role profiles
Role profiles define the overall purpose of the role,
its reporting relationships and the key result areas.
For recruiting purposes, the profile is extended to
include information on terms and conditions (pay,
benefits and hours of work); special requirements
such as mobility, travelling or unsocial hours; and
learning, development and career opportunities.
The recruitment role profile provides the basis for a
person specification.
Person specification
A person specification, also known as a recruitment
or job specification, defines the knowledge, skills
and abilities (KSAs) required to carry out the role,
the types of behaviour expected from role holders
(behavioural competencies) and the education,
qualifications, training and experience needed to
acquire the necessary KSAs. The specification is set
out under the following headings:
●
Knowledge – what the individual needs
to know to carry out the role.
●
Skills and abilities – what the individual
has to be able to do to carry out the role.
●
Behavioural competencies – the types of
behaviour required for successful
performance of the role. These should be
role-specific, ideally based on an analysis of
employees who are carrying out their roles
effectively. The behaviours should also be
linked to the core values and competency
framework of the organization to help in
ensuring that candidates will fit and support
the organization’s culture.
●
Qualifications and training – the
professional, technical or academic
qualifications required or the training that
the candidate should have undertaken.
●
Experience – the types of achievements
and activities that would be likely to
predict success.
●
Specific demands – anything that the
role holder will be expected to achieve in
specified areas, eg develop new markets or
products; improve sales, productivity or
levels of customer service; introduce new
systems or processes.
Chapter
18
Recruitment and Selection
227
●
Special requirements – travelling, unsocial
hours, mobility, etc.
It is advisable not to overstate the requirements.
Perhaps it is natural to go for the best, but setting an
unrealistically high level for candidates increases
the problems of attracting applicants and results in
dissatisfaction among recruits when they find their
talents are not being used. Understating require-
ments can, of course, be equally dangerous, but it
happens less frequently.
1
Knowledge of:
– all aspects of recruitment;
– sources of recruits;
– different media for use in recruiting;
– relevant test instruments (OPQ qualified).
2
Skills and abilities in:
– interviewing techniques;
– test administration;
– role analysis.
3
Behavioural competencies:
– able to relate well to others and use interpersonal skills to achieve desired objectives;
– able to influence the behaviour and decisions of people on matters concerning recruitment and other HR
or individual issues;
– able to cope with change, to be flexible and to handle uncertainty;
– able to make sense of issues, identify and solve problems and ‘think on one’s feet’;
– focus on achieving results;
– able to maintain appropriately directed energy and stamina, to exercise self-control and to learn new
behaviours;
– able to communicate well, orally and on paper.
KSA and competency requirements for a recruitment adviser
The KSAs and competencies defined in the role
profile form a fundamental feature of the selection
process, which becomes more of a person-based than
a job-based approach. They are used as the basis for
structured interviews and provide guidance on which
selection techniques, such as psychological testing
or assessment centres, are most likely to be useful.
The following is an example of the key KSA and
competencies parts of a person specification for an
HR recruitment adviser.
