Tuesday 4 May 2010

Selection

Selection is the Ultimate goal to choose the best person for the job, it is important to select people accurately for interview, business need to be very clear about the requirements of the job and about the kind of person they are looking for, ways in which this is done is through the following stages:

Preparing job descriptions and person specifications then carefully planning how and when to advertise, then identifying the strengths and weakness of job applications Via curricula vitae and letters of application and finally then short listing candidates.

The main objectives of selection are:

To gather as much information about the candidates as possible

To organise and evaluate and evaluate that information

To assess each candidate and To give information to applicants

To forecast (as far as possible) performance on the job

To judge whether the applicant wishes to accept an offer

Test can be done before or at the time of the interview, these test could be unlawful if they discriminate against candidates of a particular race, sex or age or even who may have a disability. These tests should be only used if they are relevant to the job and are well designed, these can be very time consuming and costly for both employee and the organisation.

The three different selection methods that could be used in an organisation are:

Interviews- is a conversation between two or more people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information about the interviewe.

During an interview the candidate is assed against a set criteria for a job.

The advantages and disadvantages of an interview are:

Advantages-

The Interviewer can look into deeper into a response given by an interviewee.
Interviews produce a higher response rate.

It is direct communication, which allows you to adapt the questions and clarify any doubt and have a better face to face discussion

Disadvantages-
It is very time consuming.
It is not used for a large number of people.
The Interviewer may be biased and ask closed questions

Assessment centres- These used by large organisations where the individual and group exercise take place it can sometimes be over a few days, often including an interview, psychometric tests, group discussions and tasks, written exercises and presentations. They can be expensive and time-consuming.

The advantages and disadvantages of Assessment centre

Advantages-

They are measurably cost-effective in the long run

Candidates are assessed by a group of trained assessors

Candidates often enjoy themselves and show more commitment

Disadvantages-

It can be expensive and can take up a lot of space and a lot of employee’s time to organise and run.

At the start of the assessment centre, candidates can be understandably nervous and intense as there is competition between them

A great deal of planning before the event is necessary, for example booking facilities, coordinating the diaries of a number of senior managers, preparing the tests and test materials.

Psychometric tests are tests to find out whether individuals have the right sorts of personalities or dispositions to carry out particular types of work, it asses an individuals personality, drivers and motivations, often by means of a paper and pencil questionnaire, this is commonly used within a work place as they believe they are reliable indicators of the sociability/personality of individuals. They predict whether individuals will fit into the organisation and its existing culture.

The advantages and disadvantages of this are:

Advantages

They are professionally developed and checked for reliability and validity

Administered and scored in a standardised format

Scores can be compared to norms for relevant groups

Disadvantages

They are not always a good indicator of future performance

They should not be used unless there is a proven need and a suitably qualified person to administer them

Often require a fee when you use them

One of the Interviews I have been for was for a Sales assistant job in House Fraser and I felt that the interview was very effective and I was offered the job after, as they asked me questionnaires about relevant skills and experiences I have and any new skills I could offer and bring into this organisation, so they could match me with the right job and provide me with something on my level and what I am looking for. I felt that the interviewer was relaxed and understanding and did listened to me as well making me feel comfortable and important. I also felt that a wide range of opportunities was offered and I could ask about anything that I felt I was not sure about. The face to face process of the interview was very effective overall which made me clear about what the job was asking and how I would fit into that culture.

I interviewed my brother and asked him whether he feels personality tests used within a selection procedure are advantageous?

And his feed was ‘ If personality test are done properly it can be very useful to an employer and they will find the right person that will fit in their organisation. The tests will also help reduce the chances that an employer will hire a poor performer, it will also helps to reduced any bias in the hiring process so therefore I think that is a good process to use as you can find out a lot about the employer’.

Conclusion

Overall I have come to a conclusion that the recommendations that I would make to improve selection processes is to offer more something else to candidates who are unsuccessful or to give them another opportunity. But overall I am happy with the selection process as it is a vital stage for any organisation and therefore this is done equally and fairly to help select the right people.


References:

Lecture Notes Week 17 & 18

Knights, D. and Willmott, H. (Eds.) (2006) Introducing Organisational Behaviour and Management. London, Thompson.

Mullins, L. (2007) Management and Organizational Behaviour. 8th Ed.

http://www.teamfocus.co.uk/advantages_of_psychometric_testing.htm (Accessed 29th April 2010)

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