Essay: Human Resources Process of Planning and Recruitment

The Importance of Planning and Recruiting
Either explicable or implicitly, all organizational strategies will contain human resource aspect. There are however, a long-run debate on whether human resource managers should have an input in the process of strategy making. A crucial element and the crux of the matter in this is the degree to which a link exists between human resource practices and performance of an organization. In recent years, there have been growing efforts to test or establish a causal link between good Human Resource Management based on high trust, high commitment and high productivity. Human resource inputs might emphasize the importance of integrating policies and procedures with a business strategy in which people are seen as a factor of production required to ensure that the business plan is fruitfully implemented(Recruitment Process). The more business plans are based on figures and mathematical models, however, the greater is the need for information about people to be expressed numerically and also for plans about people to be designed to fit into the business plan. The growth of what is Human resource planning techniques through the 1960s provided such information and incorporation of same into comprehensive computer models were a key factor in the development of human resource functions.
According to Fajana (2002). Human resource planning deals with the systematic and continuing process of analyzing a firm’s human resource needs under mutating conditions and developing workforce policies suitable to the longer-term effectiveness of the organization. It is a vital part of corporate planning and budgeting procedures since, human resource costs and forecasts both affect and are affected by longer-term corporate plans.
Planning involves the forecasting of human resource needs in organizations and designing appropriate actions such as recruitment, training and career development based on identified needs. Planning is carried out within the goals and general policy framework of the firm or agency. It is also affected by public policies, changes in technology and availability of manpower.
Human resource planning involves a complex task of forecasting and planning for the right numbers and the right kinds of personnel at the right places and at the right time to perform activities that will benefit the organization in accomplishing its objectives and in helping its members to satisfy their needs. Human resource planning will be successful to the extent that it properly coordinates each of enumerated elements and it is essentially the fitting of resources to business needs in the longer term or shorter term as the case may be.
Human resource planning is a vital ingredient for the success of the organization in the long run. There are procedures to be followed by an organization which ensures that it has the right number and kind of people at the right place and time to enable achieve its objectives. The main functions of human resource department are: human resource planning, selection and recruitment, training and development, career planning, transfer and promotion, risk management, performance appraisal, that are just the key factors.
Recruitment and selection are critical processes for organizations. In recent years, there has been growing evidence that the formation of a positive psychological contract with employees provides the basis for a positive outcome in terms of organizational commitment and motivation. Recruitment and selection are vital tools in the formation of the expectations that form such a contract. With emphasis on a two way flow of communication; employees select an organization that offers them better working conditions and incentives for long term career.
The importance of planning and using the right recruiting programs to recruit the right people in your organization is where long term success will be achieved. James Collins wrote a groundbreaking human resource management book titled ‘Good to Great.’ He said, ‘If you get the right people on the bus you will increase your chances of organizational success.’ Business needs new staff at some point. But recruiting them can be expensive or painful. Both if you’re unlucky. The internet is the technology tool that helps with recruitment process. Tools that were once a trade secret of expensive recruitment agencies are now available to anyone online, at a low cost, and often free. The traditional job board isn’t quite dead. For many roles it’s still the primary source of hire. But smart employers no longer just post and pray for good recruitment of employees. The trick for most businesses is knowing what’s available, and where to start. The internet actively source candidates through a range of other channels which include but not less than resources like LinkedIn which is the obvious alternative to job boards, forums
are an online version of a meetup. There’s a forum for almost any industry or niche. Empoyers will see people displaying their knowledge, expertise, and even complaints or frustrations about their current employer. Using the internet as a planning recruitment source can also bring some doubt. There has been many great examples of improper planning recruitment process that display wrong marketing approach for a specific job. The National Retail outlet posted, looking for casual junior store assistants over summer period. Their process involved that the applicant was to have a telephone interview before a face to face interview. Some of their questions are, What are your life’s goals? What is your main motivation in applying for this role? If you were to be anything in life what would it be? Tell me about your last four jobs (they needed four jobs to apply). Applicants are then asked to complete a psychometric assessment and an aptitude test. There are a few problems with this process. Their target market is 16-18 year old girls who are still at school. So now that we know who their target market is, let us run through their selection criteria again. Must have had at least 4 jobs. What the! What are your life’s goals, who at 16 has life goals? This company complains that they can’t find good people. It’s because they haven’t hired good people to build their recruitment process. There are some Solutions that can be considered. Remove the head of talent acquisition as they are way out of their depth. Change the questions to assess the candidate’s willingness, reliability towards having the job. Change it to group assessment centers where the employee can see the applicants interact with others(IHRG). Therefore, to recruit the right people for the specific job organizations must plan the process of recruitment correctly.
When starting the recruiting process, it is important to be aware of certain legal issues in order to minimize risk. Job postings, interview questions, checking references and making job offers all need to be done in a way that meets legal requirements. In some cases, you could be asking unlawful or even discriminatory questions without even knowing it. The EEOC clearly states when it comes to job postings you must not publish job postings or advertisements that give preference to, race, color, religion, sex, natural origin, age, disability or genetic information. During the interview once you are ready to begin your interviews, there are a few key points to keep in mind when designing questions. You need to ensure your interview process is not intentionally or unintentionally asking questions on prohibited grounds. It is important to describe the job and requirements in a way that gives all applicants a chance to apply. For example, if a position requires regular overtime and has an irregular schedule, do not ask, ‘Do you have children’? One would be assuming a person with children could not work longer hours.
To ensure the candidate can work the schedule one need to ask the question like, ‘This job requires regular overtime and has an irregular schedule, can you meet this requirement’?
If a job requires heavy lifting, one should not ask the question, ‘Do you have a bad back or any medical issues’? One might be discriminating against a candidate with a disability.
To ensure the candidate can meet the physical requirements for the role, one may ask a question like, ‘This job requires periods of heavy lifting for most of the day. Are you able to do this’? It is important to note that you cannot ask questions that are illegal during any stage of the recruitment process including your interview or while conducting reference checks. For example, just as one cannot ask a candidate about a disability in the interview process, one cannot then ask their former employer, ‘How many sick days did they take last year’? However, one can ask if they were reliable and punctual. It is important that one not ‘discriminate between employees by employing an employee of one sex for work at a rate of pay that is less than the rate of pay at which an employee of the other sex is employed by that employer for similar or substantially similar work.’ One must ensure that differences in wages when offers are being made are based on ‘the concept of skill, effort and responsibility, seniority systems where unions exist, merit systems and systems that measure earnings by quantity or quality of production(US EEOC Gov.).’
In all steps of the recruiting process remember the prohibited grounds and make sure all questions are asked in a way that gives all applicants a fair chance to respond based on an organizations job needs. Doing so will minimize the risk and chance that you might be charged with discriminatory hiring practices. Good recruiting is also good ethical and business practice, which will foster your positive reputation and make it easier for you to recruit. In addition, remember that every interview an organization conduct is like an advertising opportunity. Every candidate should leave wishing they would have the opportunity to work for the organization.