RECRUITMENT CREDENTIALING, SELECTION, PLACEMENT&

RETENTION

I. INTRODUCTION:
Personnel management is the most important assets of an organization. Planning
for human resources is the important managerial function. It ensures adequate supply,
proper quantity and quality as well as effective utilization of human resources. There is
generally shortage of suitable persons. The organization will determine its manpower
needs and then find out the sources from which the requirements will be met.
II. TERMINOLOGY:
1. Recruitment: It is a process in which the right people for the right post is procured.
2. Selection: It is the process of choosing from among applicants the best qualified
individuals.
3. Administration: It is the organization and direction of human and material resources
to achieve desired ends.
4. Admission: The right or permission to enter
5. Student: A person who studies, especially at college, university etc
6. Discipline: A training in an orderly way of life, order kept by means of control.
7. Turnover: The number of staff that leave a cost centre annually.

RECRUITMENT
INTRODUCTION:
Recruitment is an important function of health manpower management, which
determines, whether the required will be available at the work spot, when a job is actually
to be undertaken. Recruitment procedures include the process and the methods by which
vaccines are notified, post are advertised, applications are handled and screened,
interviews are conducted and appointments are made. Recruitment of nurses are major
concern. Recruitment means finding out of the further workers. It is process of searching
for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for job in an organization.

1
MEANING:
In a simple term, recruitment is understood as the process of searching for and
obtaining applicants for job, from among whom the right people can be selected.
DEFINITION:
1) According to B Flippo: “Recruitment is defined as the process of searching for
prospective employees and stimulating them to apply foe job in the organization”.
2) According to IGNOU Module: “It is a process in which the right person for the right
post is procured”.
3) According to Yoder: “Recruitment is a process to discover the sources of manpower to
meet the requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for
attracting that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective
selection of an efficient working force.”
TYPES OF RECRUITMENT:
There are three types of recruitment:
1. Planned: arise from changes in organization and recruitment policy
2. Anticipated: by studying trends in the internal and external organization.
3. Unexpected: arise due to accidents, transfer and illness.

Planned

Anticipated

Unexpected

LIKAGES OF REQUIREMENT TO HUMAN RESOURCE ACQUISITION

The requirement process is concerned with the identification of possible sources
of human resources supply and tapping those resources, the total process acquiring and
placing human resources in the organization. Requirement fails in between different sub
process like:

2
 Manpower
planning Recruitment

Selecti Placem
on ent

Job
analysis

BASIC ELEMENTS OF SOUND RECRUITMENT POLICY:

 Discovery and cultivation of the employment market for post in the public service
 Use of the attractive recruitment literature and publicity
 Use of the scientific tests for determining abilities of the candidate
 Tapping capable candidates from within the services
 Placement program which assigns the right man to the right job.
 A follow up probationally program as an integral process.

PURPOSES AND IMPORTANCE:

 Determine the present and future requirements of the organization in conjunction
with the personnel planning and job analysis activities
 Increase the pool of job candidates with minimum cost
 Help increase the success rate of the selection process reducing the number of
obviously under qualified or over qualified job applicants.
 Help reduce the probability tat the job applicants, once recruited and selected will
leave the organization only after short period of time.
 Meet the organization’s legal and social obligations regarding the composition of
its work force
 Start identifying and preparing potential job applicants who will be appropriate
candidates
 Increase organizational and individual effectiveness in the short and long term.

3
  Evaluate the effectiveness of various recruiting techniques and sources for all
types of job applicants.

OBJECTIVES OF RECRUITMENT:
To attract people with multi-dimensional skills and experiences that suit the
present and future organizational strategies
To induct outsiders with new perspective to lead the company
To infuse fresh blood at all levels of organization
To develop an organizational culture that attracts competent people to the
company
To search or heat hunt/ head pouch people whose skills fit the company’s values
To devise methodologies for assessing psychological traits
To seek out non-conventional development grounds of talent
To search for talent globally and not just within the company
To design entry pay that competes on quality but not on quantum
To anticipate and find people for positions that does not exist yet.

PRINCIPLES OF RECRUITMENT:
Recruitment should be done from a central place. Eg: Administrative officer/Nursing
Service Administration.
1) Termination and creation of any post should be done by responsible officers, eg:
regarding nursing staff the Nursing superintendent along with her officers has to
take the decision and not the medical Superintendent.
2) Only the vacant positions should be filled and neither less nor more should be
employed.
3) Job description/ work analysis should be made before recruitment.
4) Procedure for recruitment should be developed by an experienced person
5) Recruitment of workers should be done from internal and external sources
6) Recruitment should be done on the basis of definite qualifications and set
standards.
7) A recruitment policy should be followed

4
 8) Chances of promotion should be clearly stated
9) Policy should be clear and changeable according to the need.
SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT:
The sources of recruitment are:

DIRECT
SOURCES

SOURCES OF
RECRUITMEN
T INDIRECT
SOURCES

I) Internal sources:
Internal sources include present employees, employee referrals, former employee
and former applicants.
Present employees: promotion and transfers from among the present employees can be
good source of recruitment. Promotions to higher positions have several advantages.
They are:
o It is good public relations
o It builds morale
o It encourages competent individuals who are ambitious
o It improves the probability of a good selection, since information of the
candidate is readily available
o It is less costly
o Those chosen internally are familiar with the organization.
However promotions can be dysfunctional to the organization as the advantage of hiring
outsiders who may be better qualified and skill is denied. Promotions also results in
breeding which is not good for the organization.

5
Another way to recruit from among present employees is the transfer without promotion.
Transfers are often important in providing employees with a broad based view of the
organization, necessary for the future.
Employee referrals: this is the good source of internal recruitment. Employees can
develop good prospects for their families and friends by acquainting with the advantages
of a job with the company, furnishing cards introduction and even encouraging them to
apply. This is very effective because many qualified are reached at very low cost. Most
employees known from their own experience about the recruitments for the job what sort
of person is looking for? A major concern with the employee recommendation is that
referred individuals are likely to be similar type (e.g. race and sex) to those who are
already working for company.
Former employees: some retired employees may be willing to come back to work on a
part-time basis or may recommend someone who would be interested in working for the
company. An advantage with these sources is that the performance of these people is
already known.
Previous applicants: although not truly an internal source, those who have previously
applied for jobs can be contacted by mail, a quick and inexpensive way to fill an
unexpected opening.
Evaluation of internal recruitment:
Advantages:
 It is less costly
 Organizations typically have a better knowledge of the internal candidates’ skills
and abilities than the ones acquired through external recruiting.
 An organizational policy of promoting from within can enhance employees’
morale, organizational commitment and job satisfaction.
Disadvantages:
 Creative problem solving may be hindered by the lack of new talents.
 Divisions complete for the same people
 Politics probably has a greater impact on internal recruiting and selection than
does external recruiting.
II) External sources:

6
 Sources external to an organization are professional or trade associations,
advertisements, employment exchanges, college/university/institute placement services,
walk-ins and writer-ins, consultants, contractors.
 Professional or trade associations: many associations provide placement
services for their members. These services may consist of compiling seekers’ lists
and providing access to members during regional or national conventions.
 Advertisements: these constitute a popular method of seeking recruits as many
recruiters; prefer advertisements because of their wide reach. For highly
specialized recruits, advertisements may be placed in professional/ business
journals. Newspaper is the most common medium.
Advertisement must contain the following information:
 the job content ( primary tasks and responsibilities)
 a realistic description of working conditions, particularly if they are unusual
 the location of the job
 the compensation, including the fringe benefits
 job specifications
 growth prospects and
 To whom one applies.
Employment exchange: employment exchanges have been set up all over the country in
deference to the provisions of the Employment exchanges (Compulsory Notification of
Vaccination) Act, 1959. The Act applies to all industrial establishments having 25
workers or more. The Act requires all the industrial establishments to notify the vacancies
before they are filled. The major functions of the exchanges are to increase the pool of
possible applicants and to do preliminary screening. Thus, employment exchanges act as
a link between the employers and the prospective employees.
Campus recruitment: colleges, universities and institutes are fertile ground for
recruitment, particularly the institutes.
Walk-ins, write-ins and Talk-ins: write-ins those who send written enquire. These job-
seekers are asked to complete applications forms for further processing.
Talk-in is becoming popular now-in days. Job aspirants are required to meet the recruiter
(on an appropriated date) for detailed talks. No applications are required to be submitted
to the recruiter.

7
Consultants: ABC consultants, Ferguson Association, Human Resources Consultants
Head Hunters, Bathiboi and Co, Consultancy Bureau, Aims Management Consultants
and The Search House are some among the numerous recruiting agents. These and other
agencies in the profession are retained by organizations for recruiting and selecting
managerial and executive personnel.
Contractors: Contractors are used to recruit casual workers. The names of the workers
are not entered in the company records and to this extent, difficulties experienced in
maintaining permanent workers are avoided.
Radio Television:
International Recruiting: Recruitment in foreign countries presents unique challenges
recruiters. In advanced industrial nations more or less similar channels of recruitment are
available for recruiters.
MODERN SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT:
 Walk-in
 Consult in
 Tele recruitment: Organizations advertise the job vacancies through World Wide
Web (WWW)
RECRUITMENT PROCESS / STEPS:
As was stated earlier, recruitment refers to the process of identifying and attracting
job seekers so as to build a pool of qualified job applicants. The process comprises five
inter-related stages, via:

8
 Planning

Strategy
development

Searching
STEPS

Screening

Evaluation &
Control

FACTORS EFFCTING RECRUITMENT:

All organization, whether large or small, do engage in recruiting activity, though
not to the same extent. This differs with:
1) The size of the organization
2) The employment conditions in the community where the organization is located
3) The effects of past recruiting efforts which show the organization’s ability to
locate and keep good performing people
4) Working conditions an salary and benefit packages offered by the organization-
which may influence turnover and necessitate future recruiting
5) The rate of growth of organization
6) The level of seasonality of operations and future expansion and production
programs.
7) Culture, economical and legal factors etc.

CREDENTIALING
INTRODUCTION
Credentialing is the process of establishing the qualification of licensed
professionals, organizational members or organizations, and assessing their background
and legitimacy. Many health care institutions and provider networks conduct their own
9
credentialing, generally through a credentialing specialist or electronic service, with
review by a medical staff or credentialing committee. It may include granting and
reviewing specific clinical privileges and medical or allied health staff membership.
DEFINITION
1) Credentialing is the process by which selected professionals are granted privileges to
practice within an organization. In health care organizations this process has been largely
confined to physicians. Limited privileges have been granted to psychologists, social
workers and selected categories of nurses, such as nurse anesthetists, surgical nurses, and
midwifes. Russell C Swan’s burg
2) Credentialing is the process of establishing the qualifications of licensed professionals,
organizational members or organizations, and assessing their background and legitimacy.
3) A credential is an attestation of qualification, competence, or authority issued to an
individual by a third party with a relevant de jure or de facto authority or assumed
competence to do so.
PURPOSE OF CREDENTIALING
The purpose of credentialing is:
1) To prevent a problem before it happens.
2) To research the qualifications and backgrounds of individuals and companies.
Credentialing is also the process of reviewing and verifying information.
SIGNIFIANCE
Credentialing is very significant because it shows that an individual or company
performing a service is qualified to do so. For example: your doctor must have certain
credentials to prescribe medicine to you.
LEGAL PROTECTION
It is a good idea to have credentialing process to protect you and your business
from a lawsuit or other legal problems. For instance, let’s say you hire a teacher to work
in your day care center, and this person is a sex offender. The credentialing process
could have prevented this through a background check.
PROFESSION
Almost all professions require, to a certain degree, some sort of credentials. Police
departments, Firefighters, lawyers, accountants and nurses all need credentials. You need
credentials to drive a car or semi-truck. All states require citizens to take a driving test.

10
 HEALTH CARE CREDENTIALING
DEFINITION:
Health care credentialing is a system used by various organizations and agencies
to ensure that their health care practitioners meet all the necessary requirements and are
appropriately qualified. The credentials may vary depending on the specified area of the
practitioner. For example: An X-ray technician may have different credentialing forms
than an osteopathic physician.

WHO IS CREDENTIALED?
1) Practitioners: Medical Doctors (MD), Doctor of osteopathy (DO), Doctor of Podiatric
Medicine (DPM), Doctor of Chiropractic (DC), Doctor of dental Medicine (DMD),
Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), Doctor of Optometry (OD), Doctor of Psychology
(PhD) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
2) Extenders: Physician of assistant (PA), Certified Nurse Practitioner (CRNP), Certified
Nurse Midwife (CNM).
Facility and Ancillary service Providers: Hospitals , Nursing Homes, Skilled Nursing
Facilities, Home Health, Home Infusion Therapy, Hospice, Rehabilitation Facilities,
Freestanding Surgery Centers, Freestanding Radiology Centers, Portable X-ray Suppliers,
End Stage Renal Disease Facilities, Clinical Laboratories, Outpatient Physical therapy
and Speech Therapy providers, Rural Health Clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers
Orthotic and Prosthetic providers and Durable Medical Equipment (DME) providers.

COMPOTENTS OF CREDENTIALING
As with physicians, the components of a credentialing system for nurses would be:
1) Appointment: Evaluation and selection for nursing staff membership.
2) Clinical privileges: Delineation of the specific nursing specialties that may be
managed types of illnesses or patients that may be managed within the institution for
each member of the nursing staff.
3) Periodic reappraisal: Continuing review and evaluation of each member of the
nursing staff to assure that competence is maintained and consistent with privileges.
CRETERIA FOR APPOINTMENT:
Criteria for appointments would include proof of licensure, education and training,
specialty board certification, previous experience, and recommendations.

11
Clinical privileges criteria would include the proof of specialty training and of
performance of nursing procedures or specialty care during training and previous
appointments.
PRINCIPLES OF CREDENTIALING ACCORDING TO (ANA)
A report of the Committee for the study of Credentialing in Nursing was made in
1979. It included fourteen principles of credentialing related to:
1) Those credentialed.
2) Legitimate interests of involved occupation, institution, and general public.
3) Accountability
4) A system of checks and balances
5) Periodic assessments
6) Objective standards and criteria and persons competent in their use
7) Representation of the community of the interests
8) Professional identity and responsibility
9) An effective system of role delineation
10) An effective system of program identification
11) Coordination of credentialing mechanisms
12) Geographic mobility
13) Definitions and terminology
14) Communications and understanding.
SELECTION
INTRODUCTION
“The selection process starts when applications are screened in the personnel
department. Selecting includes interviewing, the employer’s offer, acceptance by the
applicant, and signing of a contract or written offer”.
Those applicants who seem to meet the job requirements are sent blank job-application
forms and are directed to fill them up and return the same for further action. The job
application form is one of most important tools in the selection process.
DEFINITION
“It is the process of choosing from among applicants the best qualified individuals,
12
 Selecting includes interviewing, the employer’s offer, acceptance by the applicant, and
signing of a contract or written offer”. Selection may be carried out centrally or locally,
but in either case certain policies or methods are adopted.
SELECTION POLICIES
1. Application forms
The issue and receipt of application forms is the administrative responsibility, and much
of the preliminary work is handled by the clerical staff under the supervision of the
administrative head of the college. The information contained in the application form and
reports received in connection with them should be systematically tabulated and filed as
they are useful for evaluating the effectiveness of the form, analyzing entrance standards,
assessing academic achievement with subsequent performance, and knowing from which
parts of the state or country the students are most frequently admitted or apply for
admission.
The application form should elicit the following information
Name
Address
Age of the candidate
Name of parents or guardians
Occupation of father
Details of education
Details of employment
Particular aptitudes or abilities
It may also ask the student to write short easy on her interests and her reasons for
choosing nursing as a career. It should give details of any material she should submit
such as a medical certificate, evidence of date of birth etc. and should give the exact
address to which it should be sent. The names of the persons given as references should
be asked to furnish information regarding the candidate’s character and personality, and
the information to be given by the head teacher should include candidate’s attendance at
school, studies completed, grades, rank in class and his or her own evaluation of the
candidate’s suitability of nursing.
 A job application form serves three main purpose:
1) It enables the hospital authorities to weed out unsuitable candidates.

13
2) It acts as a frame of reference for the interview.
3) It forms the basis for the personal record file of the successful candidates
2. Selection committee:
Usually the selection occurs in the college itself. Otherwise, if the selection is carried
outside the college, it is important that at least representatives of the college be a part of
committee and as far as possible students be selected for a specific college according to
its individual admission policies and the programme it offers.
The members of the selection committee should include
a) The head of the college of nursing
b) Professor
c) Representative of the local controlling authority
d) Representative of the nursing division of the state
e) An educational psychologist
The procedure for selection should consist of a personal interview of the candidate
and possibly a separate interview with her parents. It may also include tests of previous
achievements, both written and oral, to assess her knowledge of various subjects such as
Arithmetic, English, the regional language and general science and her ability to express
herself orally and in writing. If psychological tests are given, only those devised by
experts in their field should be used.
It should be made clear to them that final acceptance for the course will be subject
to a satisfactory medical report and assessment during the preliminary training period.
The college should make every effort to start the course on the appointed day with the
full quota of students. Only in exceptional circumstances should students be admitted
later and in their cases, special arrangement should be made for them to cope up with the
other students.
3. Orientation programme:
After admission an orientation programme is to be conducted to make the students
aware of the college rules, hostel rules and the hospital and the college building and
associated parallel medical education departments. Orientation should be given by a
senior faculty of the college of nursing. Orientation programme may take three to five
days.
4. Development of master plan:

14
 When a particular batch is admitted the class teacher may draw a master plan
according to which the whole programme is planned. Date of examinations and periodic
evaluation measures etc are formulated.
5. Parent teachers association:
All parents are enrolled in the parent teachers association and this will help to have
a contact between the family members and teachers. This will help to improve the
administration. Meetings of PTA are held frequently and the parents are kept informed of
the students progress.
Before taking any disciplinary actions PTA members are called when students
unrest occurs due to certain problems. Thus parents are also involved in the
administration of students.
STEPS IN SELECTION: The steps which constitute the employee selection process
are the following:

STEPS IN SELECTION

Interview by personnel department

Pre-employment tests-written/oral/practical
Interview by department head
Decision of administrator to accept or reject
Medical examination
Check of references
Issue of appointment letter.

1) Interviewing:
Interviewing is the main method of appraising an applicant’s suitability for a post.
This is the most intricate and difficult part of the selection process. The employment
interview can be divided into four parts:
 The warm-up stage
 The drawing-out stage
 The information stage

15
  The forming an-opinion stage
Main objectives of an interview:
1) For the employer to obtain all the information about the candidate to decide about his
suitability for the post.
2) To give the candidate a complete picture of the job as well as of the Organization.
3) To demonstrate fairness to all candidates.

THE INTERVIEW LETTER:

Name and Address of the hospital

INTERVIEW LETTER

Date

Address

Dear

With reference to your application dead for the post of .

I am pleased to call you for an interview at on in the personnel department.
You are required t fill up the enclosed job-application form and bring it with you at the time of the interview.
Please bring your original certificates and certificates and testimonials with you. We look forward to seeing you.

Your sincerely,

( Personnel Manager )

INTERVIEWING FUNCTIONS OF THE PERSONNEL MANAGER:

The responsibilities of the personnel manager are:
A) To screen the application of the candidate
B) To give information about
a) general nature of work
b) hours of work
c) pay-scale, allowances and starting total salary

16
 d) fringe benefits
e) leave policy
f) ‘brief’ information about the background of the hospital
g) To discover any differences in the expectations of the hospital and those of the
candidate.
The responsibilities of the department head are:
A) To review the job-application form to check pertinent data on experience;
B) To assess the professional competence of the candidate
C) To give detailed picture of the job requirement to the applicant;
D) To advise the personnel manager if he thinks that the previous training or experience
or both of the applicant justifies a higher starting salary.
2) Pre-employment tests:
To ensure selection of the most suitable candidates for various posts, interviews
should be conducted carefully & pre-employment tests should be held in a systematic
manner wherever necessary & possible.
For certain Categories of post, there is a need for testing the professional competence of
the candidates. These tests can broadly be divided in to four types:
1) Tests of general ability- intelligence
2) Tests of specific abilities- aptitude tests
3) Tests of achievement-trade tests
4) Personality tests- Tests of emotional stability, interest, values, traits etc.

1) Tests of general ability: These tests can give a useful indication of candidate’s
mental caliber. It has been observed that for various professions, there is an optimum
level of I.Q.while selecting individuals who have I.Q.s within the required optimum
range-not higher or lower.
2) Tests of aptitude: aptitude tests measure whether an individual has the capacity or
latent ability to learn a new job, if given adequate training .These tests measure skills
& abilities that have the potential for later development in the person tested.
3) Tests of achievement: Tests of achievement measure the present level of proficiency
that a person has achieved. In hospitals, these tests can be used for typists,

17
 stenographers, laboratory technicians, radiographers, etc. These tests can also be used
at the end of training programmers to assess the level of proficiency achieved.
4) Personality tests: Personality tests are used to assess certain personality
characteristics. These tests are used in selecting candidates for sales jobs, supervisory
job, management trances, etc., because certain personality characteristics are essential
to succeed in such jobs.
2) Final approval by the head of the hospital:
In some hospitals, the selection committee consists of one person from the
personnel department, the department head/supervisor of the concerned department and
one representative of the head of the hospital. After the interviewing all the candidates,
the selection committee submits its recommendations for approval to the head of the
hospital, who is generally the hiring authority.
In other hospitals, the head of the hospital may prefer to interview all the
candidates himself for the key jobs and leave it to the selection committee for the less
vital jobs. In case of appointment of a department head, one expert is also usually
included in the selection committee. Different hospitals adopt different policies according
to their own convenience for the selection of their employees. Generally this authority
lies with the Medical superintendent or Administrator or Business Manager or Chief
Executive who is legally termed the ‘Occupier’.
4) References:
The references provided by the applicant should be cross-checked to ascertain his
past performance and to obtain relevant information from his past employer and others
who have knowledge of his professional competence.
The references letters should be brief and should require as little writing as
possible by the person to whom it is sent. If it is directed to a former employer, it should
ask for the following data:
 Date of joining
 Date of leaving
 Job title
 Last salary drawn
 Promotion/demotion, if any
 Unauthorized absentee record
 Reason for termination/ leaving
18
  Ability to work with others
 Dependability
 Emotional stability
 Health conditions
 Does the employee habitually borrow money?
 Would you re-employ?
 Any other information
5. Medical examination:
The medical examination of a prospective employee is an aid both to the employee
and to the management. The selection of the right type of employee who can give his best
and be happy requires a thorough knowledge of his physical capacities and handicaps.
The purpose of the medical examination is threefold:
a) It is for the protection of the applicant himself to know whether that job will suit him
or not from the medical point of view.
b) It is for the protection of the other employees so that they are not at risk of any
communicable or other disease which the prospective employee may have.
c) It is for the protection of the employer as well, so that he may avoid selecting a wrong
person.
The medical examination will eliminate an applicant whose health is below the standard
or one who is medically unfit.
6) Joining report by the employee:
When new employees reports for joining, he should be given an appointment
letter, his job description and handbook of the hospital. He should be asked to submit his
joining report. A model appointment letter and joining report form are given.

PLACEMENT
INTRODUCTION:
Placements are a credit bearing part of a degree course and all placements
optional. If a student opts out of a placement or there is no placement available, this
means that placement is not guaranteed.
DEFITION: State of being placed or arranged.

19
IMPORTANCE PLACEMENTS:
The school of service management believes that taking a placement is one of the
most important decisions you can make in your university carrier. Not only will you
benefit from building personal confidence during your placement year but you will also
establish contacts in your chosen sector which may provide invaluable for graduate
opportunity.
IMPORTANCE OF SELECTION AND PLACEMENT:
 To fairly and without any element of discrimination evaluate job applicants in
view of individual differences and capabilities
 To employee qualified and competent hands tat can meet the job requirement of
the organization
 To place job applicants in the best interests of the organization and the individual
 To help in human resources man power planning purposes in organization
 To reduce recruitment cost that may arise as a result of poor selection & placement
exercises.
PLACEMENT TEAM:
Our current placement team consists of a placement coordinator & four academic
tutors, each with specialist knowledge relevant to the degree courses you under the
supervision are studying. These tutors advice and support you throughout your
preparation for placement.

PROMOTION
INTRODUCTION:
The promotion policy is one of the most controversial issues in every organization.
The management usually favours promotion on the basis of merits, and the unions
vehemently oppose it by saying that managements resort to favoritism. The unions
generally favour promotions on the basis of seniority. It is hence essential to examine this
issue and arrive at an amicable solution.
DEFINITION:
A change for better prospects from one job to another job is deemed by the employee as a
promotion”.
FACTORS IMPLYING PROMOTION:

20
The factors which are considered by employees as implying promotion are:

An increase in salary

A better future An increase in

prestige
FACTORS
IMPLYING
PROMOTIO
N

Additional supervisory
An upward movement
responsibility
in the hierarchy of jobs

NATURE AND SCOPE OF PROMOTION:

 Seniority versus merits: There has been great deal of controversy over the
relative values of seniority and merit in any system of promotion. Seniority
will always remain a factor to be considered, but there be much greater
opportunity for efficient personnel, irrespective of their seniority, to move up
speedily if merit is used as the basis for promotions. It is often said that at
least for the lower ranks, seniority alone should be the criterion for
promotion. One cannot agree with this. The quality of work is more
important in the lower ranks as in the higher.
There are some who argue against this plea and advocate the merit policy for the
following reasons:
1) They believe that mere length of service evidence only of continued service but
are surely no indication of vast experience.
2) Promotion on the basis of seniority saps the initiative of the employees. Once they
realize that promotions in the organization are on the basis of seniority alone, they
lose all enthusiasm for showing better performance. Therefore, in terms of getting
the best out of employees, the merits of the individual employee will have to be
considered.

21
 3) There are individual differences amongst persons working o the same of them are
most efficient, some barely average and some below average. If their differences
are not distinguished and they are uniformly rewarded, all individual will
gradually sink to the level of the below-average employee.

PROMOTION POLICY:
The promotion policy is one of the most controversial issues in every organization.
The management usually favors promotion on the basis of merits, and the unions
vehemently opposite by saying that management resort to favoritism. The unions
generally favor promotions on the basis of seniority. However, in practice, both seniority
and ability criteria should be taken into consideration; but in order to allay the suspicious
of the trade unions, there should be written promotion policy which should be clearly
understood by all.
Promotion policy may include the following:
1) Charts and diagrams showing job relationships and ladder of promotion should be
prepared. Those charts and diagrams clearly distinguish each job and connect various
jobs by lines and arrows showing the channels to promotion. These lines and arrows
are always based on analysis of job duties. These charts do not guarantee promotion
but do point out various avenues which exist in an organization.
2) There should be some definite system for making a waiting list after identification and
selection of those candidates who are to be promoted as and when vacancies occur.
3) All vacancies within the organization should be notified so that all potential
candidates may complete.
4) The following eight factors must be the basis for promotion:
 Outstanding service in terms of quality as well as quantity
 Above average achievement in patient care and for public relations
 Experience
 Seniority
 Initiative
 Recognition by employee as a leader
 Particular knowledge and experience necessary for a vacancy and
 Record of loyalty and cooperation

22
 In some instances, it may be possible to use pre-employment test, to determine eligibility
for the vacant position.
5) Though the department heads may initiate promotion of an employee, the final
approval should be with top management because a department head can think only of
the repercussions of the promotion in his department while top management looks at
it from the point of view of the organizations a whole. The personnel department can
help at the stage by proposing the names of prospective candidates out of the existing
employees in the organization and also submit their performance appraisal record of
the last few years to the department head.
6) All promotion should be for a trail period. In case the promoted person is not found
capable of handling the job. Normally, during this trail period, he draws salary at the
higher pay-scale, but it should specially be made clear to him in writing that if his
performance is not found up to the work, he will be reverted to his former post at the
former scale.
7) In case of promotion, the personnel department should carefully follow the progress
of the promoted employees. A responsible person of the personnel department should
hold a brief interview with the promoted person and his department head to determine
whether everything is going on well or not. The promotional post should be continued
after the satisfactory report of the department head.

ADVANTAGES OF A SOUND PROMOTION POLICY:

From a scientific management view point, a sound promotion policy has many
advantages.
 It provides an incentive to employee to work more and show interest in their work.
They put in their best in their best and aim for promotion within the organization.
 It develops loyalty amongst the employees, because a sound promotion policy
assures them of their promotions if they are found fit.
 It increases satisfaction among the employees.
 It generates greater motivation as they do not have to depend on mere seniority for
that advancement.
 A sound promotion policy retains competent employees, and provides them ample
opportunities to rise further

23
  It generally results in increased productivity as promotion will be based on an
evaluation of the employee’s performance.
 Finally, increases the effectiveness of an organization

SOLUTION TO PROMOTION PROBLEMS:

Difficult human relations problem can arise in promotion cases. These problems may be
reduced to the minimum if extra and following principles are observed.
In promoting an employee to a better job, his salary should be at least one step above
his present salary.
Specific job specifications will enable an employee to realize whether or not his
qualifications are equal to those called for.
There should be a well-defined plan for informing prospective employees may know
the various avenues for their promotion.
The organization chart and promotion charts should be made so that employees may
know the various avenues for their promotion.
The promotion policy should be made known to each and every organization.
Management should prepare and practice promotion policy sincerely.

RETENTION
NURSE RETENTION
By Lee Ann Runy
An Executive’s Guide to Keeping One of Your Hospital’s Most Valuable
Resources
With no end in sight for the nation’s nursing shortage, hospitals are placing greater
emphasis on retaining their current RN staff. It’s a complex process, requiring in-depth
knowledge of the needs and wants of the nursing staff and lots of creativity. “You have
to know what motivates nurses to stay,” says Pamela Thompson, CEO of the American
Organization of Nurse Executives. To that end, many hospitals regularly conduct
retention or exit surveys to understand what’s on nurses’ minds.

24
For hospitals that have successfully implemented retention programs, the trick seems to
be in providing good working environments and professional development and to
accommodate individual lifestyles.
“Most of the time, if nurses feel challenged and have the opportunity to grow in their
career, they will be happy,” says Stacey Brull, R.N., director of magnet/professional
development at Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore. The hospital offers courses for
certified nurse assistants and licensed practical nurses to become registered nurses. It also
offers a program for RNs to receive their bachelor of science in nursing degree.
The stresses of the job can be compounded by responsibilities outside of the workplace.
Hospitals are doing what they can to support nurses on a personal level, which is where
creativity mostly comes into play. From concierge services that help nurses with errands
to day care to flexible scheduling, hospitals are doing whatever it takes to allow nurses to
focus on their work and keep them in their jobs for years to come.
DEFINITION:
Staff choose to stay for long periods within a cost centre, turnover is under is 10%
annually.
IMPORTANCE OF STAFF RETENTION:
 The advantages of staff retention are fairly clear. Most importantly perhaps, key skills,
ideas, knowledge and experience remain within your organization. Client
relationships and networks are also preserved in conjunction with all the income that
these areas generate.
 Conversely, losing your key employees lays open the possibility that these people will
than assume roles with your direct competitors. As a result those invaluable skills,
ideas, knowledge, experience, relationships and networks are all transferred to another
organization.
 On top of all these there are also direct costs involved in losing key employees. The
cost of replacing such an individual includes advertising, recruitment agency fees and
the time spent conducting actual interview process. Further more it is also worth
considering the time and expense spent on the induction new employees and lost
revenue during the recruitment and bedding in process.
 All though an element of employee churns is both inevitable and healthy. It is
nevertheless clear that retention brings substantial benefits to your organization.
Whilst attrition involves significant direct and indirect financial costs.

25
PRINCIPLES ANE ELEMNTS OF A HELPFUL PRACTICE AND WORK
ENVIRONMENT:
To foster staff retention, organizations need to develop environments in which
nurses want to work. Among other things, nurses want safe workplaces that promote
quality health care. “It’s the role of the nurse executive and nurse manager to establish a
work environment that supports professional practice,” says Pamela Thompson, CEO of
the American Organization of Nurse Executives. “That’s one key piece to retention.” It’s
also important that nurses play an active role in shaping their environment. “Nurses want
to work in a place that brings high quality to patients and know they have a role in the
process,” says Susan Shelander, director of recruitment and retention for Memorial
Hermann, Houston. Creating such an environment is not easy.
The Nursing Organizations Alliance developed a set of principles to help hospitals and
other health care entities create positive work environments. More than 40 nurse
organizations, including AONE, have endorsed the principles.
NINE PRINCIPLES TO HELP FOSTER STAFF RETENTION:

1)Respectful collegial • Team orientation

communication and behavior • Presence of trust
• Respect for diversity

2) Communication-rich culture • Clear and respectful

• Open and trusting

3) A culture of accountability • Role expectations are clearly defined

• Everyone is accountable

4) The presence of adequate • Ability to provide quality care to meet

numbers of qualified nurses client/patient needs
• Work and home life balance

5) The presence of expert, • Serve as an advocate for nursing practice

competent, credible, visible • Support shared decision-making
leadership • Allocate resources to support nursing.

6)Shared decision-making at all • Nurses participate in system, organizational

levels and process decisions
• Formal structure exists to support shared

26
 decision-making
• Nurses have control over their practice.

7)The encouragement of • Continuing education/certification is

professional practice and supported/encouraged
continued growth/ development • Participation in professional association
encouraged
• An information-rich environment is
supported.

8) Recognition of the value of • Reward and pay for performance.

nursing’s contribution

9) Recognition of nurses for • Career mobility and expansion

their meaningful contribution to
the practice

FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION

PROGRAMS:

1) Sustained leadership commitment to workforce as a

strategic imperative.

2) A culture centred around employees and patients.

3) Work with other organizations to address workforce

needs

4) Systematic and structured approach to four

strategies outlined in the 2002 AHA report, “In Our
Hands.” They include: foster meaningful work,
improve the workplace partnership, broaden the base to
attract a more diverse workforce and collaborate with
other organizations, including other hospitals in the
community and schools, to ensure an adequate
workforce in the future.

5) Excellence in human resource practice

27
JOURNAL ABSTRACT:
Preparing Students for Early Work Conflicts
To improve college students' skills in resolving workplace conflict, the authors
studied the types of workplace conflicts that students encounter with peers or supervisors
in part-time or seasonal work and with whom they discuss these conflicts. The authors
found that most students report conflicts that are process or relational in...
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Linda Roussel, Management and Leadership for Nurse Administrators, 4 th Edition,
Jones and Bartlett publications; 2006.
2. B.M Sakharkar, Principles of Hospital Administration, Jaypee Publications 1998.
3. B.T Basavanthappa, Nursing Administration, jaypee Publication, New Delhi 2 nd
Edition 2009.
4. Janne Dunham-Taylor, Joseph Z Pinezuk, Health Financial management for nurse
managers, 4th Edition, Jones & Bartlett publishers, London; 2006.
JOURNAL:
1. Student, Associated Content, Professional Development, Recruitment &
Selection,Career...White papers 2008-04-19.
2. Student Recruitment Strategies George N Root. http://www.ehow.com.

28