Recruitment and Selection Techniques Introduction to Recruitment and Selection Trends

Introduction to Recruitment and

Selection Trends
Introduction

Now that we have entered the new millennium, it has become clear to us that organizations are
seeking to become more competitive. Competitiveness is the source of organizational survival.
Organizations that do not, or cannot, compete have no hope of staying in business for any
period of time.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• discuss how recruitment and selection impacts organizations

• identify the difference between recruitment and selection
• explain the basic ethical issues in recruitment and selection
• link to professional organizations that relate to recruitment and selection
• explain the latest trends influencing recruitment and selection.

Competitiveness?

Competitiveness is some success factor in the market, substantial enough to make a difference,
and sustainable in the face of changing conditions and competitive advantage.

1. The fact is, getting and keeping an advantage in organizations has a lot to do with an
organization’s ability to generate unique products or services that are of value to clients.
This means being able to deliver that knockout punch each and every time is a
competitive advantage.
2. Sustained competitive advantage comes from recognizing that better deployment of
human resources can make organizations more competitive.
3. The most controllable feature we have in our organizations is our staff. It is the staff, the
employees, who in fact provide the organization its competitive advantage because it is
only people that give an organization the capacity to change and adapt, to be more
competitive.
4. Generally, companies gain their edge over their competitors through one or a
combination of the following areas:
a. the cost of their products and services, e.g., Costco
b. the quality of their products and services, e.g., Longo's Fruit Markets
c. their ability to innovate, to consistently deliver new products and services, e.g.
Microsoft.
Recruitment and Selection Techniques Introduction to Recruitment and Selection Trends

The Chart
The following chart outlines the type of employee issues that affect each competitive
edge and the human resource practices that need to be in place to maximize the edge.

Competitive Edges

Cost Quality Innovation

Employee • Sales per • Technical • Employee potential
Examples: employee expertise of staff • Depth of management
• Compensation • Stability and • Resistance to change or
costs mobility of staff adaptability of staff
• Recruitment • Employee • Competition for talent
• Training for competencies
specialized jobs • Management
• Legal obligations style and
• Labour relations philosophy
cost
HR • Encouraging • “work smarter” • Attracting skilled staff
Practices employees to environment • Minimal controls
should work harder • Selecting team • Encouraging risk-taking
concentrate • Jobs designed to players and • Compensation/appraisals
on: enable team-building that emphasize personal
predictable • Good feedback achievement
behaviour mechanisms • Practices that encourage
• Areas that • More flexible people to work differently
facilitate jobs and roles
individual
activities
• Activities that
encourage output
and discourage
risk-taking

Importance of Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment and selection matter in an organization because this is how you bring these
employees into your companies.

Your ability to recruit and select staff as an organization can lead to success or failure for your
company as it seeks to compete in an ever-increasing market.

Recruitment and Selection

Before we begin to study how to do recruitment and selection, let us define the terms.

Recruitment
Recruitment and Selection Techniques Introduction to Recruitment and Selection Trends

Recruitment is the generation of an applicant pool for a position or job in order to provide the
required number of candidates for a subsequent selection or promotion program.

Recruitment has to meet the goals of the organization, but it has to do so while complying with
legal requirements.

It has to recognize that one of the biggest challenges is getting people to apply to your company
to begin with.

So, your company is not just in competition with other organizations at the business level. That
competition actually starts at the point of finding those staff who will make you more competitive
to begin with.

Recruitment and Selection

After recruitment, selection is the next step.

Selection

Selection is the choice of candidates from the previously generated applicant pool in a way that
will meet management goals and objectives as well as current legal requirements.

Selection includes hiring both from outside the organization and the movement of staff within the
organization through promotions and transfer.

Ethics of HR Practice

As HR practitioners, we face the challenge of balancing the needs of the organization versus
the needs of the employees every day. At the same time, as professionals, we have a need to
exercise our obligations as practitioners in the field of human resource management.

This is only one of many ethical decisions that you might be forced to make when recruiting and
selecting staff. What will YOU do?

What do you do, for example, when your employer puts practices into place that you know will
systemically discriminate against visible minorities, then tells you to implement them or be fired?

One of the supports that we have available to us is the code of ethics published by Canadian
HR professional organizations.

Organizations such as:

• the Human Resources Professionals Association

• the Institute of Certified Management Consultants
• the Canadian Psychological Association
• the Canadian Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations
• Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services.
Recruitment and Selection Techniques Introduction to Recruitment and Selection Trends

Today's recruitment and selection operates within a turbulent environment, and our ability to
carry out these functions properly means that we need to understand those broader factors that
will influence our ability to manage within our workplaces.

Let us deal with Canadian socio-economic issues first.

Global Competition

We are operating in a wider economy now and companies can no longer isolate themselves
from the world market, nor do we want to. By operating globally, we create Canadian jobs and
help sustain our economy.

Currently, more than half of what we produce here is exported outside of Canada. Our biggest
trading partner up to now has been the United States of America, but we are seeing that trade
barriers are coming down. Foreign companies are taking over those in Canada.

So, we need to develop a workforce that is comfortable operating globally, including knowledge
of different languages, knowledge of other cultures, an understanding of what sells where, etc.

Information Technology

A trend for many businesses is to have the client do their own work electronically. Smart cards
have replaced bank tellers and cross border toll collectors, bar codes replace cashiers. We are
even seeing the first grocery stores without cashiers at all.

Just to name a few, technology helps to:

• design Kitchens
• map areas for topographers,
• track packages.

Robotics have replaced jobs traditionally held by persons without high school education.

The access to information has also caused us to do business differently. Even normal working
hours no longer apply. Your clients will want access to you at all hours through their computers.

Information Technology cont.

Technology has taken over our lives. From the tools we use, the equipment in our workplaces,
and the machinery in our factories -we cannot go anywhere without running into technology.

The basis of technological advancement, of course, is the computer. We find the computer
everywhere-from our cars, to our banks, to our voting machines.
Recruitment and Selection Techniques Introduction to Recruitment and Selection Trends

Computers and their technology are seeing significant changes about every 12 months, and
computers have completely changed the way we do our business, especially in client
expectations of us.

We have also seen a significant increase in the skill level of entry level positions, as well as
others in the organization and, overall, the type of work available.

Information Technology cont.

At the same time, there are clients who will resist the computerization of service, so you need to
be able to serve both types of customers or risk losing some. This places a real strain on
companies trying to operate on bare bones.

The speed with which you can do business is incredible. Clients expect the same speed even in
non-technological situations. This has placed stress on workers who are expected to produce
more and more, in less time, and with less help from others.

To add to the problem, the number of early school leavers has created a cadre of uneducated
youth who are our primary pool of candidates. As an organization, this means that you will be
moving from training to education.

The changes in technology are also so rapid that education and training have to become a
persistent part of your repertoire in organizations. No longer is technology training a one-time
thing.

Changing Workforce Demographics

Your ability to recruit and select staff depends, to a great extent, on the labour pool available to
you; that labour pool has been changing significantly over the last 20 years.

There are seven issues related to the makeup of the labour force:

• fewer entrants to the workforce

• aging workforce
• cultural diversity
• immigration
• education
• youth unemployment
• women in the workforce.

Workplace Adjustments
1. Job displacement, Organizational Restructuring and Redefining Jobs

Technology, global competition and the Free Trade Agreement have led to the
elimination of thousands of jobs in manufacturing. Staff consume up to 80% of the
Recruitment and Selection Techniques Introduction to Recruitment and Selection Trends

operational dollar in organizations. It makes a lot of sense for companies that are trying
to reduce costs if those reductions come from staff.

The aging workforce, with fewer new entrants following them, has caused organizations
to flatten their structures, often from as many as 10 levels to only 4 or 5. This type of
restructuring has led to the development of generalists in companies; we have seen this
in the HR area, for example.

With machines taking over, and with the flattening of organizations, jobs are changing
themselves. We are seeing the emergence of multi-skilling and multi-tasking, and our
recruitment of staff means that we need to expand our search to not only those
individuals who have more generic skills, but also to those who are comfortable with
working in changing organizations.

Workplace Adjustment cont.

2. Harnessing Work Teams, Empowering Employees, and Contingent Employment

One of the major changes that we have seen in workplaces is the development of work
teams or project teams. Rather than individuals being responsible for various parts of a
project, the team takes responsibility for the work. Everything from development people
to the shippers. It means that companies can respond more rapidly to the work.

Added to this is the movement of decision-making to the lowest level in organizations.

This means empowering staff to use their own judgment in how the work should be
performed. Quality improvement has benefited a great deal from having staff and teams
figure out the best way to get the job done.

Alternative work arrangements have meant the move from a traditional 5 days a week,
40 hours per week to part-time, flextime, contract work, and telework. For organizations,
this has meant reduced turnover, increased profits, increased productivity, and
increased job satisfaction. It has also meant easier recruitment.

Workplace Adjustments cont.

3. Small Business, Managing Workplace Diversity, Increasing International Scope

Small business is driving the economy with most employment growth coming in this
sector. They need highly adaptable staff.

Given the shortage of talented staff, organizations need to develop strategies to take
advantage of the skills of new immigrants and use technology to integrate individuals
with disabilities.

Not only will cultural sensitivity need to be developed in your organization, there will also
be a lot of competition for those with international experience.
Recruitment and Selection Techniques Introduction to Recruitment and Selection Trends

Summary
In this module, you were introduced to Recruitment and Selection Trends and have discovered
the importance of recruitment and selection and the impact both have on an organization.

You will now be able to discuss how recruitment and selection impacts organizations and
identify the differences between recruitment and selection.

You will also be able to explain basic ethical issues and the latest trends influencing the
recruitment and selection process.