Recruitment and selection

Recruitment and Selection

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Recruitment and Selection

Introduction

Human resource management is a vital process in any organization irrespective of its size and areas of operation. It is a function that involves all aspects that are related to the human resources or the people in a given organization. It falls under one of the most important constituents of the management function; staffing. Some of the aspects include recruitment and selection, coordination and management of the employees in an institution. Human resource management also touches on issues such as communication and motivation, compensation and benefits, employees’ performance appraisal, safety and welfare, and training among others. It is a function that works towards enhancing an organization’s overall efficiency and effectiveness through the smooth operation of the activities involved; an aspect that translates to increased productivity and productivity (Billsberry, 2008, p. 56). This piece of work gives an in-depth discussion of the concept of human resource management. However, much emphasis will be given to the aspect of recruitment and selection at Maldives Harbour Construction and Road Development Company Limited (MHCRD) and the problems involved. Some of the issues of concern in this area include; nepotism and favouritism, political interference, brain drain and lack of qualified and experienced people in the local pool, over qualification syndrome, physical location of an organization as well as other challenges of internal versus external recruitment and selection.

Discussion

Maldives Harbour Construction and Road Development Company Limited (MHCRD) is a state-owned corporation and hence the government of Maldives has great influence on its day to day operations. It is a renowned company in the construction industry in South Asia and beyond. It was started as a manufacturing firm, with a variety of patented products that are in a position to revolutionize the construction industry in the country, through enhanced quality (MRDC 2013, par 1). As any other organization, MHCDR has faced a number of challenges in its management practices and the recruitment and selection practice in particular. This section will provide an in-depth analysis of the problems associated with the recruitment and selection in the company as well as ways of handling them in an effective manner.

According to Doornenbal, Stitselaar and Jansen (2012, pp. 18), the human resource in an organization should be considered as a valuable asset and handled in an appropriate manner. In a great way, the employees influence the success or failure level of a company through the efforts they put towards making use of other assets in the organization. However, it should be noted that it is only through appropriate management of the human resource that increased efficiency and productivity can be achieved. The recruitment and selection practice at MHCDR is associated with a number of problems, which in one way or the other affects the organization in a negative manner. Some of the challenges include the following;

Nepotism and favouritism

Nepotism and favouritism affects the recruitment and selection practice at MHCDR negatively. Favouritism entails giving special attention to an individual not because they do a great job but for reasons that are outside the job performance. It mostly happens when the top management develop relationships beyond the workplace. Nepotism is a form of favouritism and entails favouring family members whereby they could be hired or promoted over other candidates or workers just because they are family members. Nepotism and favouritism at MHCDR has manifested itself in different ways. For instance, since it is a state-owned corporation, the government has great influence on all its operation. For this reason, there is a tendency of unjustly offering job opportunities to individuals who belong to the government ruling party. In most cases, these individuals do not qualify for the positions and thus, they are not in a position to deliver or execute their duties effectively (Piotrowski & Armstrong, 2006, pp. 492).

There is also the issue of higher management influence on the recruitment and selection process. This beats objectivity in the whole process and the employees selected for different positions are not picked based on their qualifications and what they can do for the company. In many instances, the top management at MHCDR takes advantage of their positions in the company and offer jobs to their relatives and friends. This is quite wrong and should be discouraged under all costs. The parliament members of the ruling party have also had a stake in the recruitment and selection process in the company. They may refer individuals to be recruited in the company and it becomes difficult for the management to go against their wishes. Another major issue in the recruitment and selection process at MHCDR is lack of a strict procedure for the practice. In some cases, candidates are picked and offered job opportunities without going through the in the recruitment and selection process (Taylor, 2006, pp. 486).

Some of the negative effects associated with nepotism and favouritism include lowering employees’ morale as they sense the unfairness involved in doing things. There is also resentment towards those favouring employees as well as towards the favoured employees. In some cases, some employees may find it wise to leave the company since they feel unappreciated despite their hard work. Another negative effect of nepotism and favouritism in an organization is overlooked potential whereby some few employees are continually favoured thus missing out on skills and talents possessed by others and could be beneficial to the organization. There are also legal implications associated with nepotism and favouritism. When an employee feels discriminated against, they could take legal action, an aspect that could cost the organization a great amount of money in terms of attorneys’ and other legal fees. All these could in one way or the other hinder the organization’s growth and development (Mathis & Jackson, 2008, pp. 59).

Some of the strategies that MHCDR could embrace to deal with the challenge of nepotism and favouritism include fostering and promoting professionalism in the organization. Providing training on the issue of favouritism and its negative effects and facilitating communication especially with regard to reporting favouritism in a confidential manner could also avoid this vice at MHCDR. There should also be a strict procedural process of recruitment and selection, which ensures that all considerations are reflected upon. Finally, when an incident of favouritism is identified, it should be dealt with in an effective manner to avoid a repeat of the same. The process should be compatible with the goals and objectives of MHCDR. The aims of a recruitment and selection procedure should always be the focus. They include ensuring equal opportunities for all applicants and minimizing the chances of losing the workers once they have successfully been hired among others (Taylor, 2006, pp. 484).

Political interference

Political interference at MHCRD is an issue of concern when it comes to recruitment and selection of employees. The human resource managers usually find themselves going against the stipulated standards or ways of carrying out the process for fear of being sidelined or even losing their jobs. There is considerable polarisation at MHCRD. The politicians have great power and are in a position to interfere with the recruitment and selection process in the company. For instance, they may refer candidates for appointment to various positions in the organization and their wish is fulfilled based on the fact that the company is state-owned and the government has great influence on the decisions made (Ordanini & Silvestri, 2008, pp. 386).

This challenge could be avoided by strictly adhering to a well stipulated recruitment and selection procedure and not allowing any outside interference. Despite the fact that the company is state-owned, the policies should be set such that the stakeholders do not affect the growth and development of the company in a negative way.

Brain drain and lack of qualified and experienced people in the local pool

Expertise is a vital element when it comes to the recruitment and selection of employees in any organization. The employees placed for various positions should be qualified and have adequate knowledge regarding their jobs, as a way of ensuring that their performance is enhanced. However, it is not a guarantee that an organization gets the qualified personnel in its locality. In the case of MHCRD, the organization has faced the problem of inadequate qualified and experienced individuals from the local population. For this reason, the company is forced to recruit from other areas and most expatriates are quite costly to acquire and maintain in the company. This is an aspect that makes the company rely on less qualified and inexperienced individuals who turn out less productive and require lot of training as a way of enhancing their productivity as well as that of the entire organization (Taylor, 2006, pp. 481).

Over qualification syndrome and Physical location of an organization

In as much as lack of qualified individuals in the locality is a challenge for MHCRD, over qualification syndrome is also experienced. When job vacancies arise in the company, it receives many applications for a given position and upon evaluating the applications and credentials; a candidate who lives very far from the organization could be identified as the most appropriate individual for the position. There could be some communication problems especially for those in the islands, an aspect that makes it impossible to reach them. The human resource manager is therefore left with no option other than taking the next best available candidate, who could not fit well for the position (Piotrowski & Armstrong, 2006, pp. 494).

The geographical location of an organization is also an influential factor in the recruitment and selection process at MHCRD. The company is located relatively far from islands and this means that many individuals from the islands could be disadvantaged as a result of distance and challenges involved. Qualified and experienced people may find themselves turning down job offers based on the fact that it could require them to relocate and stay away from their families. Relocating with their families could be another option but it could be impossible due to many factors. It could also be very costly for them (Branine, 2008, pp. 499).

Challenges of internal versus external recruitment and selection

Piotrowski and Armstrong (2006, pp. 491) assert that an organization can either be done internally by recruiting within the company, or externally by recruiting individuals from the outside. Both approaches are linked with some benefits and drawbacks and it is upon an organization to make the right choice at any given time. At MHCRD, both strategies are used. Some of the benefits of internal recruitment and selection include cost saving and having adequate knowledge on the strengths and weaknesses of an insider as opposed to a person from outside. Promoting an individual from the company also acts as an incentive to the other employees to work harder. Some of the challenges of internal recruitment and selection include having to replace the employee who has been promoted. The promotion could also be viewed to be unfair by other employees. Additionally, an insider is less likely to input significant criticism needed to get the organization working in a more effective way. On the other hand, external recruitment and selection has the advantage of drawing upon a large pool of talent as well as bringing new experience and ideas to the organization. However, it is more expensive and the organization may not get an individual who is as effective as they seemed to be on paper during application and interview (Ordanini & Silvestri, 2008, pp.383).

MHCRD should always evaluate the need for recruitment and selection at any particular situation and make the right decision on the strategy to use based on the benefits and drawbacks involved as well as the expectations in question. For instance, it is better to consider external recruitment if the company clearly knows that they lack the skills and knowledge needed in a particular position, even if it will be costly.

Other recommendations for MHCRD

An effective recruitment strategy would go a long way in solving most of the recruitment and selection challenges at MHCRD. Branine (2008, pp. 502) argues that the process can be costly and ineffective if it is not done in a systematic and proactive way. A suitable recruitment strategy would ensure that the company has the necessary knowledge and skills needed in meeting present and future operational and strategic requirements. It also ensures that supply matches the demand requirements and at the same time enhancing the pool of potential applicants. In addition, it enhances organizational effectiveness, increases the likelihood of a suitable candidate accepting a given job order and generally improves the selection process by making sure that only the applicants that qualify for the position are selected for further investigation. This saves on time and other expenses since recruiting ineffectively is costly as poor recruits may necessitate further recruitment. The organization also enjoys the benefit of enhanced employee morale and reduced labour turnover.

The competency approach of recruitment and selection is also a good strategy in achieving success in an organization. MHCRD can greatly benefit from it. It involves making selection decisions with an aim of taking the most suitable individual to undertake a given job in terms of their present or potential competencies. The employees should also be flexible enough and in a position to change job roles. The competencies model has the advantage of identifying capabilities required to undertake a job well, instead of focusing on individual characteristics. According to Furtmueller, Wilderom and Tate (2011, pp. 248), compared to traditional models, the competency-based model may be a more significant way of strengthening recruitment and selection in the present dynamic world of work as well as working towards contributing efficiently to securing high performance.

Adhering to the existing legislation regarding recruitment and selection is also a good way of enhancing the process. For example, MHCRD should observe the Equality Act 2010, which aims at offering a simpler and consistent legal structure for preventing discrimination based on aspects such as age, gender, religion and sexual orientation among others. The discrimination can be direct, indirect, discrimination by association, perception discrimination, victimization and harassment (Wadham, Robinson, Ruebain & Uppal, 2010, p.112). By promoting equality in the workplace, the Equality Act can prevent aspects of favouritism and nepotism by ensuring that every individual is given equal considerations.

Conclusion

The above discussion shows how recruitment and selection is an essential process in an organization. However, it is a management function that is associated with a variety of challenges and hence, it should be handled with great care to ensure that all goes well. An organization should be ready to fully invest in the recruitment and selection process as well as other human resource management practices, as a way of ensuring that the workers are in a position to offer the best in the workplace. In turn, this translates to efficiency and effectiveness in the workers’ performance, an aspect that contributes to the overall success of the organization. Although there are different strategies to handle the various challenges of the recruitment and selection process at MHCRD, a strict procedural strategy of doing it would do a great deal in eliminating most of the challenges and ensuring that only the best are recruited for different positions in the organization, purely based on their qualification and potential. It helps in eliminating various costs for instance that involved in the recruitment of less qualified staff that may require a lot of training or even replacement in the future.

Reference list

Billsberry, J. 2008. Experiencing recruitment and selection. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Branine, M. 2008. “Graduate recruitment and selection in the UK: A study of the recent changes in methods and expectations.” Career Development International, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 497-513.

Doornenbal, E., Stitselaar, W., & Jansen, L. 2012. “Recruitment & Selection.” Christian University of Applied Sciences, pp. 1-20.

Furtmueller, E., Wilderom, C., & Tate, M. 2011. “Managing recruitment and selection in the digital age: e-HRM and resumes.” Human Systems Management, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 243-259.

Mathis, R.L and Jackson, H.J. 2008. Human Resource Management. 12th ed. New York: Cengage learning.

MRDC. 2013. Maldives Road Development Corporation Limited (MRDC). [Online] Available at;http://www.mrdc.com.mv/f/_about.phphttp://www.buzzle.com/articles/benefits-of-human-resource-management.html. [Accessed 24 Aug 2016].Ordanini, A., & Silvestri, G. 2008. “Recruitment and selection services: Efficiency and competitive reasons in the outsourcing of HR practices.” The International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol.19, no.2, pp. 372-391.

Piotrowski, C., & Armstrong, T. 2006. “Current recruitment and selection practices: A national survey of Fortune 1000 firms.” North American Journal of Psychology, vol.8, no.3, pp. 489-496.

Taylor, S. 2006. “Acquaintance, meritocracy and critical realism: Researching recruitment and selection processes in smaller and growth organizations.” Human Resource Management Review, vol.16, no.4, pp. 478-489.

Wadham, J., Robinson, A., Ruebain, D., & Uppal, S. 2010. Blackstone’s guide to the Equality Act 2010. Oxford: Oxford University Press.