Information on Recruitment & Selection

A sucessful recruitment and selection process can reduce turnover.

The process of hiring an employee involves careful planning throughout all stages. Recruitment and selection are two vital areas of the hiring process, and also where most hiring mistakes occur. As any business owner or human resources manager knows, a hiring mistake can cost a company thousands of dollars in lost wages, training and time.

Recruitment

Recruitment is the process of attracting or seeking out potential candidates for an open position. Ideally, a full job analysis will be done before the recruitment process begins so that the efforts of the human resources department can be properly focused. The recruitment process ends when all interviews are completed, just before a hiring decision is made.

Many companies choose to invest in the services of an executive recruiter or staffing firm to help source and narrow the talent pool. This is especially helpful in smaller companies that lack a human resources department, or for difficult-to-fill job openings within larger organizations.

Recruiting Process

The recruiting process can vary significantly from one job opening to the next. Most commonly, the human resources department will be responsible for creating job descriptions, placing job listings online, networking with other industry professionals and identifying internal employees who may be potential candidates.

Once an ample amount of candidates have applied for the position, the human resources department will narrow down the choices by reviewing resumes, holding first interviews, verifying references and conducting any background checks or testing that is required.

The final phase typically consists of arranging interviews for the top candidates with key management personnel in the company.

Selection

Selecting the right person from the narrowed group of candidates is often a joint effort by human resources and the key managers. Selection is often the most challenging aspect of the hiring process, as differing opinions may complicate the decision. The selection process ends with the induction of the new employee into the company.

Selection Process

Some companies may leave this final decision up to the highest-ranking manager, while others may use a more democratic method that includes the opinions of each interviewer. Whichever method is used, the selection process is when the decision between the top candidates is made. The final offer is decided upon and presented to the candidate.

Outcome

The goal of any recruitment and selection process is to find the right individual to fit within the company culture as a productive member of the overall team. Once the employment offer has been accepted by the newly hired employee, efforts are focused on orientation and training.