CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Recruitment and selection are the process of attracting individuals on a timely basis, in sufficient

numbers and with appropriate qualifications (walker, 2009). Some of the process in the selection

include screening applications and resumes, testing and reviewing work samples, interviewing,

checking references and background. Organizations use these processes to increase the

likelihood of hiring individuals who possess the right skills and ability to the successful at their

jobs (walker,2009).

Recruitment and selection is a vital process for every successful organization because

having the right staff improves and sustains organizational performance. The impact of an

organization’s selection system influence bottom line business outcomes, such as productivity

and financial performance a dream for any organization.

In the operation of any organization recruitment and selection is the major function of the

human resource department and recruitment process in the first step towards creating the

competitive strength of organization. Recruitment process involves a systematic procedure from

sourcing the candidates to arranging and conducting the interviews and requires many resources

and time. Accordingly, recruiting and selection are conceived as the process by which

organization solicit, conduct and interest potentials appointees and then establish whether it

would be appropriate to appoint any of them, sisson (1994). Human resources management aims

to ensure that the organization obtains and retains the skilled, committed and well-motivated

work-force it needs.
 Recruitment and selection are the two phases of the employment process but there is a

difference between the two. The recruitment is the process of searching the candidate for

employment and stimulating the to apply for jobs in the organization while selection involves the

series of steps by which the candidates are screened for choosing the most suitable persons for

vacant posts.

Similarly, the basic purpose of recruitments is to create a talent pool of candidates to

enable the selection of best candidate for the organization, by attracting more and more

employees to apply in the organization whereas the basic purpose of selection is to choose the

right candidate to fill the various position in the organization. The recruitment process is the

immediately followed by the selection process, which is the final interviews and the decision

making, conveying the decision and the appointment formalities.

Recruiting is screen as a “positive process of generating a poll of candidates by reaching

the right audience, suitable to fill the vacancy” (Leopold 2002), on the other hand, he stated that

once these candidates are identified, the process of selecting appropriate employees for

employment can begin. This means collecting, measuring and evaluating information about

candidates’ qualifications for specified positions.

Selection therefore, is a process that involves the series of steps by which the candidates

are screened for choosing the most suitable persons for vacant posts.

The more effectively organizations recruit and select candidates the more likely they are to hire

and retain satisfied employees. In addition, the effectiveness of an organization’s selection

system can influence bottom-line business outcomes, such as productivity and financial

performance. Hence, investing in the development of a comprehensive and valid selection

system is money well spent. Recruitment and selection are vital process for a successful
organization, having the right staff can improve and sustain organizational performance (Petts.

1997).

The basic purpose of recruitments and selection is to create a talent pool of candidates to enable

the selection of best candidates for the organization, by attracting more and more employees to

apply in the organization as well as to choose the right candidate to fill the various positions in

the organization which process must be based on merit or technical know-how. With many

benefits of proper recruitment process, it will essential to develop a performance to examine the

effect of recruitment and selection, hence study.

1.2 Statement of The Problem

in recent years, there has been increase in the rate of business failure, closure and at best

low productivity. It was due to low level of organizational performance. To explain the situation,

various factors have been looked into including competitive strategy in an organization. Despite

the conflict between the stakeholders and the employees the personnel have crucial roles to play

in ensuring the resolution of impending conflicts between the management and the employees

for the achievement of goals and objectives of the organization.

Unfortunately, some organizations pay more attention on factors like money incentives

and or physiological factors without giving much attention to the recruitment and selection of

work force. Therefore, the need to ascertain the impact of R&S in organization performance

1.3 Objective of the study

The main objectives of this study are to examine the impact, the study also has the following

objectives:

1. Examine the recruitment and selection policy and process

2. To examine the challenges (if any) conformity R&C in the organization.

1. Is there any form of recruitment and selection policy in the organization?

2. What is the various selection in the organization?

3. Is there any effect of recruitment and selection on organization performance?

1.5 Research Hypothesis

The research hypothesis are: -

Ho: - Recruitment and selection have no significant implicit on organization performance

Ho: -recruitment and selection does not significantly enhance getting competent staff

Ho: - standardized R&S policy has no effect on quality of personnel employed in an

organization.

1.6 significance of the study

the significance of the study can’t be over emphasized. It is believed that apart from the

organization and the institution under review, this study will go a long way in helping

organization in knowing the importance of effective recruitment and selection as a mechanism

for improving organization performance. It will also give an insight into the right step to follow

as to achieving the best place as well as the productivity capacity of individual when serve as a

guideline to management students who wish to carry pout this nature.

It is also meant to be helpful to management and staff of United Bank for Africa (UBA)

Nigeria in the course of its operation. Essentially, this research is to guide the management of

any organization on the need for effective recruitment and selection in order to achieve the

desired goals and objectives.

1.7 Scope of the study

organizational performance. This research was carried out as a case study of United Bank for

Africa (UBA) with a view to finding out their general policies on staff recruitment and selection

and how it has impacted its performance. In making this research reliable and result oriented,

people, journals, textbooks, expert on the field and the internet should be consulted.

1.8 Limitation of the study

The major limitation of this study revolves round the policies in recruitment and selection of

personnel in the banking industry. Time to carry out the research work is equally a limitation to

the study as short period was given to complete the research work.

1.9 definition of key terms

To enhance the easy and better comprehension and understanding, the following key

terminologies which run through the length and breadth of this research will be briefly defined.

 Effective: - means the ability to bring about the intended result. It is the achievement of

desired objectives.

 Recruitment: - it is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating

them to apply for jobs in the organization.

 Selection: - it is defined as the process by which business chooses the most suitable

person for vacant position from the list of applicants.

 Human resources: - referred to the people, skills and ability seen as something important

in an organization, the individual work-force.

 Organization: - this is been referred to as a group of people who form a business club

together to achieve a particular purpose and objectives.

University.

 Management: - it refers to the process by which managers created, maintain and operate

purposeful organization through coordinated human effort.

 Business: - this refers to any legal economic activities that involves the production or

manufacturing of goods and services with the satisfaction of consumers or society in

order to make profit.

 Development: - this is a process in which the individual and society interact with their

physical, biological, and interpersonal prospective and transforming them to their benefit

and also for humanity.

 Programme: - this refers to as future plan, events or activities as well as dissemination of

ideas or belief of an event to a particular society. Also, it is a plan of things that will be

done or include in the development of something.

 Productivity: - it is the rate at which a worker, a company, business enterprise or a

country produces goods, and the amount produced, compared with how much time, work

and money is needed to produce them.

2.1 Conceptual Review

2.1.1 the concept of recruitment and selection.

According to Costello (2006) recruitment is described as the set of activities and process used to

legally obtain a sufficient number of qualified people at the right place and time so that the

people and the organization can select each other in their non best short- and long-term interests.

In other words, the recruitment process provides the organization with a pool of potentially

qualified job candidates from which judicious selection can be made to fill vacancies. Successful

recruitment begins with proper employment planning and forecasting. In this phase of the staff

process, an organization formulates plans to fill or eliminates future jobs openings based on an

analysis of future needs, the talent available within and outside of the organization and the

current and anticipated resources that can be expand to attract and retain such talent.

Also related to the process are the strategies an organization is prepared to employ in

order to identify and select the best candidates for it developing pool of human resources,

organization seeking recruit for base-level entry positions often require minimum qualifications

and experiences. At the middle levels, senior administrative, technical and junior executive

positions are often filled internally. The push for scarce, high quality talent often recruited from

external sources, has usually been at the senior executive levels. Most organization utilize both

mechanisms to effect recruitment to all levels. Jovanovic (2004) said recruitment is a process of

attracting a pool of high-quality applicants so as to select the best among them. For this reason,

top performing companies devoted considerable resources and energy to creating high quality

selection systems.
 Recruitment and selection process are important practices for human resource

management and are crucial in affecting organizational success Jovanovic (2004) said,

recruitment and selection are vital functions of human management for any type of business

organization. These are terms that refers to the process of attracting and choosing candidates for

employment. The quality of the human resource of the firm has heavily depends on the effectives

of these two functions. Recruiting and selecting the wrong candidates who are not capable come

with a huge negative cost which business cannot afford. Thus, the overall aim of recruitment and

selection within the organization is to obtain the number and quality of employees that are

required to satisfy the strategic objectives of the organization at minimal cost Ofori & Artyeetey

(2011)

As explain by Opatha (2010) recruitment is the process finding and attracting suitable

qualified people to apply for job vacancies in the organization. It is a set of activities an

organization uses to attract job candidates who have needed abilities and attitudes.

Recruitment of candidates is the function proceeding the selection, which helps create a

pool of prospective employees for the organization so the management can select the right

candidates for the right job from this pool. The recruitment process is immediately followed by

the selection process i.e. the final interview and the decision making. Conveying the decision and

the appointment formalities, Wanous J.P (2009).

Due to the fact that organizations are always fortified by information technology to be

more competitive, it is natural to also consider utilizing this technology to re-organize that

traditional recruitment and selection process through proper decision techniques, with that both

the effectives and the efficiency of the process can be increased and the quality of the

recruitment and selection decision improved.

to apply whereas selection is a negative process as it involves rejection of the unsuitable

candidates. Recruitment also, is concerned with tapping the sources of human resources whereas

selection is concerned with selection the most suitable through various interviews and tests, and

finally, there is no contract of recruitment established in recruitment whereas selection results in

a contract of service between the employer and the selected employee.

Recruitment is the process of identifying and attracting a group of potential candidates

from within and outside the organization to evaluate for employment. Once these candidates are

identified, the process of selecting appropriate employees from employment can begin. This

means collecting, measuring and evaluating information about candidates’ qualifications for

specified positions. Organization use these practices to increase the likelihood of hiring

individuals who have the right skills and abilities to be successful in the target job, Leopold

(2002)

2.1.2 The Recruitment and Selection Process.

A number of recent studies have suggested that some recruitment processes are more

effective than others in terms of the value of employees recruited.

Miyake (2002) indicate that while advertising is usual for job vacancies, applicants were

sometimes recruited by word of mouth, through existing employees. Besides being cheaper, the

“grapevine” finds employees who stay longer (low voluntary turnover) and who are less likely to

be dismissed (low voluntary turnover). People recruited by word of mouth stay longer because

the have a clearer idea of what the job really involves. Miyake (2002) review five studies in

which average labor turnover of those recruited by advertising was 51 percent. The labor

turnover for spontaneous applicants was 37 percent and turnover for applicants recommended by
existing employees was 30 percent. One hypothesis proposed to account for this was the “better

information” hypothesis. It was argued that people who were suggested by other employees were

better and more realistically informed about the job than those who applied through newspapers

and agencies. Thus, they were in a better position to assess their own suitability. Better informed

candidates are likely to have a more realistic view of the job, culture of the organization and job

prospects.

Recruiting is seen as a “positive process of generating a pool of candidates by reaching the

right audience, suitable to fill the vacancy” Leopold (2002) is the process of searching the

candidates for employment and stimulating them to apply for the jobs in the organization.

Leopold (2002) states further that the first step of recruitment is to put forward a job analysis

which is important for both the organization and the candidate is not necessary.

However, if the job is needed a job description usually consists of the job title, where the job

is located, what the key purpose of the job is, what are the main duties that the job entails and

what roles it plays in the success of the organization, is compiled.

In agreement with Leopold, Wanous (1992), highlights that the steps involved in the formal

recruitment and the selection process are often fairly standard, but there are numbers of factors to

consider along the way. Initially, the recruiting manager should draw up a job description and

person specification for the vacant role if these are not already available. The steps involved in

formal recruitment and selection process are:

Step i: - identity vacancy

Step ii: - prepare job description and person specification

Step iii: - advertising the vacancy

Step iv: - managing the response

Step vi: - arrange interviews

Step vii: - conducting interview and decision making

The recruitment and selection are the major function of the human resource department and recruitment

process is the first step towards creating the competitive strength and the recruitment strategic advantage for

the organizations. Recruitment process involves a systematic procedure from sourcing the candidates to

arranging and conducting the interviews and requires many resources and time. Sisson (1994)

Similarly, Hall and Torrington (1998), states that a general recruitment is as follows. The

recruitment process begins with the human resources department reviewing requisitions for

recruitment from any department of the company. These contains: preparing the job description

and person specification. Locating and developing the source of required number and type of

employees (Advertising etc).

Short listing and identifying the prospective employee with required characteristics as

well as arranging the interviews with the selected candidates, conducting the interview and

decision making. The recruitment process is immediately followed by the selection process i.e

the final interviews and the decision making, conveying and the appointment formalities.

2.1.3 Source of recruitment

Every organization has the option of choosing the candidates for its recruitment process from

two kind of sources; internal and external source the source within the organization itself (like

transfer of employees from one department to other, promotions) to fill a position are known as

the internal sources of recruitment.

known as the external source of recruitment, Schmidt and Hunter (1998).

They further explain that external recruiting seeks to fill vacancies with current employees. It

is the most common approach, notify present employees and encourage them to apply for

positions in which they are qualified, ask present employee for referrals, often those referrals are

other current employees. According to them, internal recruitment is advantageous in a sense that

it increases morale, retain employees, attendance and work records are known, and less training

necessary. However, they say is disadvantages because it encourages lack of new ideals, may

settle for less qualified to avoid hurt feelings, and bring ripple effect creating other vacancies.

In addition, Schmidt and Hunter (1998) demonstrate also that external recruiting may be

effective in certain situations, it includes the ability to attract the most qualified individuals, a

reduction in resentment, the ability to bring in new ideals, and recruitment from minority groups

but to the contrary is calls for the need for more training, the chance of loosing current

employees to new opportunities elsewhere, and the risk of the unknown regarding the new

employee.

External recruiting resources can be used to locate, identify and attract qualified applicants,

and they include :- Newspaper adverts, specialized journals and publications, professional

organizations, educational institutions, public empowerment services, private employment

agencies, labour unions and trade associations, walk-in and mail-ins, and the internet as a new

resource, Taylor and Collins(2000) and are the present employees, unsolicited applicants,

educational and professional institutions public empowerment office, private empowerment

agencies, employees referrals, help wanted advertising walk-in, Schmidt and hunter (1998).
 In their literature Taylor and Collins (2000) and Schmidt and hunter (1998), they agree that a

combined approach is probably the most common to make the most of the advantages of each

and further highlight the factors that influence both sources.

Factors affecting recruitment Taylor and Collins (2000) and Schmidt and Hunter (1998) from

the above, the source of recruitment and selection are through internal and external sources.

However, recruitment and selection is faced with lots of challenges.

2.1.4 Challenges of recruitment and selection.

The practice of recruiting and selecting employees for business organizations undoubtedly suffer

some challenges due to the fact that it involves human beings. By nature human beings are not

perfect and these imperfection, sometimes reflect in the recruitment and selection process.

i. Compensation/rewards

According to Mondy, (2008), If the compensation package of a company is inferior to those

provided by other competitors, hiring and retaining the best talent will be difficult or

impossible. He further suggested that if the safety and health records of the organization is

poor as compared to those of other competitors, it will be difficult to hire and retain the best

talents in the organization. Compensation is the monetary reward payment to an employee

for work done. This means that compensation and health and safety records of a company

are important tools use to attract and retain best talents. It also means that best talents will

not go to or stay with an organization that has low and poor compensation and health and

safety records.

ii. Technical advice

In the views of Batty J. (1974), the practice whereby some line or functional managers in

some organizations leave the entire process of engaging employees to the human resources
 personnel is quite wrong and is in opposition to the idea behind the personnel function

namely, to advise on employee selection. As stated earlier, technically, it is the functional

manager who selects the best candidate for job opening. This is so because of the fact that

the new employee is coming to work under the departmental manager and he can not blame

anybody should in case the employee performs poorly. There is the tendency of “passing

the back” in case of employee poor performance especially where the departmental

manager was not part of the selection process.

iii. Biases

According to Poole et al., (1999), recruitment and selection processes are complex and

involve human decision making. Unfortunately, however, human information processing

capabilities are limited. Therefore, managers rely sometimes on inferences and shortcuts in

judgment, and biases become a critical issue. In their view human judgment biases can affect

the objective and quality of the selection process. According to Cascio, (1992), the lack of

preparation for interviews allows the selection decision to be biased by information or

characteristics that are not related to the performance of the job. These biases can take the

form of first impression, gender and attractiveness the degree to which the applicant matches

the stereotypes formed by the interviewer before the interview and even the amount of

silence or nonverbal cues present in the interview. The use of structured interviews may

result in the interview being dominated by the interviewer and, as a consequence, the

interviewees may feel overwhelmed and unable to perform their best.

2.1.5 The selection techniques

Organization employ a variety of selection techniques and statistical theory is used to give

credibility to techniques that attempt to measure people organization also need to consider
reactions of applicants to selection methods and an important factor is the perception of fair

treatments Gatewood and Field (1994). The interview is the oldest and most widely used of all

the selection techniques along with application forms and letters of reference, referred to as the

classic trio.

Once applications have been received for the role, the selection process should be clear and a

time able drawn up. There are a number of methods a company can use at the selection stage.

These include identifying whether the candidates has the required skills and experience from

their application or CV face-to-face interviews, assessment centers and completion of case

studies or presentations. Many company like to conduct initial telephone interviews to draw up a

short list of candidates, Dipboye (1992).

Furthermore, Schmidt and Hunter (1998) states a good selection requires a methodical

approach to the problem of finding the best matched person for the job selection process :

preliminary interview, selection tests, employment interview, reference and background analysis,

physical examination, job offer and empowerment contract, and the stages in selection process

include:-

Stage 1:- screening of application forms

Stage 2:- Test- intelligence, aptitude, technical, psychometric, ability, interest.

Stage 3:- selection interview

Stage 4:- selection decision

Lastly according to Digboye (1992) selection methods vary between applications and

resumes used to selected qualified applicants which both include written documents that ccan be
used to determine if a candidate meets basic job requirements employment tests used to test job

skills, personality, or written intelligence / aptitude; they must be reliable and valid others are

personal interviews used to compare information on the application and usually allow a chance

to discuss the job face-to-face, the interviewer can ask questions, but can be applicant as well as

reference cheeks that provide additional information about the application.

2.1.6 IMPORTANCE OF RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

a) It Ensures Transparency in The Hiring Process

A recruitment and selection policy ensures that all the procedures related to hiring and

selection are performed transparently, and all the members involved (the hiring manager,

HR, etc.) are following the recruitment process with having complete confidence over the

end-result. Moreover, being transparent also means that candidates are always informed

about the status of their application and informed if they are awarded a job.

b) It Paves the Way for Merit-Based Hires

An effective recruitment and selection policy ensures that the overall recruitment process

is being conducted in a fair and legitimate manner. It makes sure that discriminatory

behavior is avoided at any stage of the overall recruitment process – a candidate should

never be discriminated on the basis of his gender, race, age, religion, or nationality. A fair

and authentic policy allows a candidate to take legal action if they feel they’re being

discriminated against any factor. Moreover, every job application should be should be

treated in a confidential manner.

c) It Provides Consistency

A recruitment and selection process that is not consistent gives inconsistent results. Thus,

consistency is another reason for having an effective recruitment and selection policy.
 Organizations should make sure not to set different selection criteria for each candidate

as it will then not be possible to determine the effectiveness of each individual. To

achieve consistency, a standardized process should be followed. Instead, it will be more

beneficial if organizations apply pre-determined criteria at all stages of the recruitment

process as it will eliminate the risks of bias and discrimination. Also, companies should

conduct reference checks prior to making any appointment with the candidate and should

be performed in a consistent manner.

d) It Lends Credibility to an Organization

Another reason for having a set recruitment and selection policy is to show that an

organization is credible enough for applying. Today, there are several job vacancies that

are not genuine and many candidates get trapped into the hands of fake companies.

Hence, for gaining reliability, a company should follow specific application procedures

that will make the candidates feel confident for the position they are applying.

e) It Helps Write an Appropriate Job Description

Having a good recruitment and selection policy is essential because it assists the

organization in writing an accurate job description. An appropriate job description is an

integral part of the overall recruitment process as it clearly describes what primary and

secondary tasks will be performed along with the core competencies for a particular role.

2.1.7 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION AND

ORGANIZATION PERFORMANCE.

The effective recruitment and selection of employee is a fundamental HRM activity, one that

if managed well can have a significant impact on organizational performance as well as lead to a
more positive organizational image, recruitment and selection are vital process for a successful

organization, having the right staff can improve the sustain organizational performance.

Also, effective recruitment and selection is central and crucial to the successful functioning

of the organization as it depends on finding people with the necessary skills, expertise and

qualifications to deliver the organizations strategic objectives and the ability to make a positives

contribution to the values and aims of the organization Sisson (1994).

On the other hand, better recruitment and selection strategies result in improved

organizational outcomes. The more effectively organizations recruit and select candidates, the

more likely they to hire and retain satisfied employees. In addition, the effectiveness of an

organization selection system can influence bottom-line business outcomes, such as productivity

and financial performance. Hence, investing in the development in a comprehensive and valid

selection system in money well spent, Hall and Torrington (1998)

Recruitment, as a human resource management function, is one of the activities that impact

most critically on the performance of an organization recruitment and selection also has an

important role to play I ensuring worker performance and positive organizational outcomes it is

often claimed that selection of workers occurs not just to replace employees or add to a

workforce but rather aims to put in place workers who can perform at a high level and

demonstrate commitment.

Recruitment and selection play a pivotally important role in shaping an organization

effectiveness and performance, if organizations are able to acquire workers who already posses

relevant knowledge skills and aptitudes and are also able to make an accurate prediction

regarding their future abilities, recruiting and selecting staff in an effective manner can both
avoid undesirable costs. Pilbeam and Carbridge (2006) provides a useful review of potential

positive and negatives aspects noting that :- the recruitment and selection of employees is

fundamental to the functioning of an organization, and there are compelling reasons for getting it

right. Inappropriate selection decisions reduce organizational effectiveness, invalidate reward

and development strategies, are frequently unfair on the individual-recruit and can be distressing

for manager who have to deal with unsuitable employees. Recruiting and selection is very

important for the survival of every organization and appraised from time to time in order for

them to be abreast with new trends and challenges. When employees are developed it help

increase their performance and help sustain the growth of organization.

2.1.8