Recruitment ProcessIntroduction
Recruitment and selection have been identified as the most vital and significant human resources functions. Armstrong and Taylor (2014) have noted that the chief aim of a recruitment and selection policy (R&S) is to essentially ascertain an unambiguous and reasonable recruitment process which can further facilitate the HR workers to opt for the right candidate by emphasizing on their candidature and relevance with the position. Thus, employing most proficient candidate undergoes utmost significance for the prolongation of the success of an organization. Furthermore, Gatewood, Feild and Barrick (2015) have claimed that recruitment and selection process with severe lack of consistency tends to generate inconsistent results. Consequently, substantial level of consistency is regarded as another crucial reason for forming an effective recruitment and selection policy. Cloutier et al. (2015) have mentioned that modern organizations in order to attain utmost consistency must implement pre-determined criteria at all vital stages of the recruitment process to eradicate the risks of bias and favouritism. Modern organizations have been proficiently conducting reference checks before making any appointments with the potential candidate and thus should be executed through consistent approach. Thus, as the per the view of Armstrong and Taylor (2014), organizations operating in current competitive market must use effectual recruitment as well as selection policy as it not only accomplishes desired demands and requirements of a job but further guarantees ability of companies to successfully maintain its commitment in providing equal prospects to employees. The purpose of the following report is to analyse Witcon Companies Limited’s Recruitment and selection process and the way it focus on low cost or high performance. Additionally, the paper will evaluate the way its R&S system integrated into the organization’s strategic management system and further provide relevant recommendations.
Discussion
Company Background and Overview
Witcon Companies Limited distinguished as a food and pharmacy organization primarily provides grocery, general merchandise, apparel, pharmacy, health and beauty, insurance brokerage, credit card, gift card along with telecommunication services in Canada, chiefly operates through three segments namely Retail, Financial Services, and Choice Properties. Reports of Swider, Zimmerman and Barrick (2015) have revealed that Witcon’s being Canada’s food as well as pharmacy head comprises a system of corporate along with independently-manoeuvred outlets in communities across the country and further employs around 200,000 Canadians to its workforce. The primary purpose of Witcon signifies the concept of “Live Life Well” acknowledging the needs as well as welfare of the Canadian population who constitute around one billion visits every year to the company’s outlets. Armstrong and Taylor (2014) have further revealed the position of the company which endeavours to accomplish and surpass those requirements in various ways such as convenient locations which facilitates the company to extend the value spectrum from discount to distinctiveness along with 24*7 available pharmacies and wide range of inexpensive fashion and family apparel.
Witcon’s approach towards high performance
Witcon Companies Limited being Canada’s leading food retailer as well as a chief provider of pharmacies, general merchandise along with financial products and services, has exhibited substantial level of commitment in offering its consumers with an extensive growing as well as achievable range of products and services to accomplish their daily household demands.Witcon with its business operations of over 9500 corporate as well as franchised stores recruits more than 102,000 fulltime and part-time employees. This has led Witcon to successfully generate revenues of around CAD $18 million. The company’s extensive range of business operations has led the company to continually perform in enhancing the level of productivity of its supply chain with a fundamental purpose to guarantee latest and advanced products successfully reach its customer base and at the lowest expenses. Reports of Swider, Zimmerman and Barrick (2015) have revealed that recently because of the mounting threats and competition in the Canadian retail market, Witcon has been aiming to successfully reform its core supply chain capacities. However, the company’s significant emphasis on recuperating shipping, warehouse administration along with forecasting and replacement, the organization has been able to improve its supply chain performance. Additionally, Witcon has proficiently employed a robust and end-to-end set of expertise to facilitate the flow of products to the market place.
Furthermore, Nagendra and Deshpande (2014) have mentioned that during companies approach towards high performance, team strategically used comprehensive expertise in supply chain operations, recruitment and selection process integration with verified methodologies as well as coalition agreements with foremost technology suppliers and distributors to convey a resolution successfully focusing on Witcon’s business requirements. Thus, the company requires personnel across an extensive range of both store-based job positions. Additionally, Cloutier et al. (2015) have highlighted certain areas where the company requires proficient inspection supervisor and managers along with stock handlers, supervisors as well as many specialists such as pharmacists and fashion stylists. Furthermore, the company’s corporate office located in Toronto provides the infrastructure to run Witcon efficiently. Roles here include human resources, legal services, property management, marketing, and accounting as well as information technology. Witcon fundamentally purposes to ensure that all roles work in proper collaboration in order stimulate the company’s business objectives. However, Witcon constitutes a planned procedure intended for its recruitment and selection to exert a pull of applicants for managerial and operational roles.
Number of Positions filled by Witcon annually with applied selection techniques
Reports of Stoughton, Thompson and Meade (2015) have revealed that with a number of permanent job opportunities, Witco principally suggests enclosed placements along with internships in a range of areas together with digital, analytics as well as pharmacy. Furthermore, being one of the leading retailers, the company organizes an out-and-out 1-year internship intended for engineering students who are on the completion of Professional Engineering Year in enterprise solutions delivery. Witcon greatly declares the significant impact of its recruitment and orientation approach and processes, which have facilitated and acknowledged its culture to contribute to an attainable incorporation of our new work peers. Reports have revealed Witcon’s annual recruitment to be around 1050 whereby around 0.8% of employees to be engaged on contractual basis with an average age of approximately 28 years.
As workforce planning is identified as a method of examining an organisation’s likely prospective needs and demands for people in relation to numbers, skills and locations, Witcon implements a strategized workforce planning table to set up the potential demands for newly recruited staff by taking into consideration managerial as well as non-managerial positions (Nagendra and Deshpande, 2014). For instance, in 2016, the company estimated a requirement of around 200 new managers in order to maintain its business expansion. Additionally, Swider, Zimmerman and Barrick (2015)have noted that Witcon’s planning process operates each year from the last week in February by focusing on its quarterly re-evaluations in May, August and November to modify the company’s staffing levels along with hire where required. Such a process however permits organizations with adequate time and resilience to attain its demands for employees and further enables the company to acquire its strategic objectives such as for launching new stores and uphold customer service standards.
Internal recruitment- Witco primarily accentuates its internal talent strategy to fill a vacancy. According to Al Ariss, Cascio and Paauwe (2014), such a procedure tends to record existing workers seeking for a growth, either at the equal level or looking for certain promotional opportunities.
External recruitment- In relation to company’s external recruitment, Witcon strategically advertises its vacant positions via its official website or through vacancy boards in its stores. Cappelli and Keller (2014) have stated that Witcon essentially emphasizes on highly lucrative approach of attracting the appropriate applicants. Furthermore, Witcon makes it effortless for potential employees to find out vacancies through simple application process. Moreover, by the means of social media and Witcon’s official website, an applicant can look for vacancies related to local jobs, managerial positions along with positions required at its corporate. Witcon has kept high accessibility of digital application form for applicants to submit directly (Ruiz-Palomino & Martínez-Cañas, 2014). Witcon recently has been showing great inclination towards online recruitment as digital recruitment aims to save greater amount of time to appoint and resulting to the successful attainment of the status of ‘just in time’ recruitment process.
Recruitment Process
Recruitment Process
Source: (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014)
Screening- The stirring competitiveness and threats with increasing entry of retailers in Canadian market, Witcon has been applying screening method of Situational Judgment Tests (SJT) further described as multiple-choice assessments similar to strategically structured interviews. Cloutier et al. (2015) have noted that in SJTs, applicants during this process are given questions based on various hypothetical situations that are relevant to the target job. However, results indicated on the way specific applicant will respond at specific situations and forms decisions. In the view of Swider, Zimmerman and Barrick (2015), the capacity of such a screening process is to strategically envisage the way candidates act in response to complex decisions results SJTs to be one of the finest approaches for managerial and technical positions in Human Resource Management.
Witcon’s Use of Person-Organization Fit Recruitment Model
In relation to theoretical exploration, Person-organization fit recruitment model exhibits considerable capacity to compensate for the gaps in organization’s recruitment and selection research. Meanwhile, Deery and Jago, (2015)s are of the view that Person-organization fit recruitment model further referring to the collaboration between individual and the organization shows that the results related to Person-organization fit can efficiently develop the organizational behaviour, customs and standards in addition to individual ethics and attitudes. However, in recent times, substantial numbers of researcher essentially takes into the account level of rapport and agreement between individuals and organizations. Kristof at this juncture, have mentioned that that individuals and organizations corresponding to the aim of consistency will achieve the basic characteristics of the individual and the organization comprising corresponding parts (Swider, Zimmerman and Barrick, 2015).
Kristof person-organization fit model
Source: (Jabbour and de Sousa Jabbour, 2016)
Furthermore, reports of Swider, Zimmerman and Barrick (2015) have stated that Kristof person-organization fit model while evaluating with other traditional model of recruitment, shows a tendency to rely on the adequate interaction of people and organizations. Additionally, such a recruitment model has been chiefly aiming to improve the work performance of employees by elevating employees’ engagement towards the assigned role. However, while workers’ values and ambition in accordance to organization; workforce tends to produce a high degree of accountability and belongingness (Abraham et al., 2015). Witcon has capably resolute the chief demands for a specific role through job analysis by endorsing knowledge development, skills and facilities every position should constitute and further designing the selection examination in order to select which is identified as the primary mode of interview for the company. However, Jabbour and de Sousa Jabbour (2016) have stated that in these cases of person-organization fit recruitment; applicants are no longer required based on KSAs basic knowledge and expertise. On the other hand, organizations like Witcon focus on other requirements related to social skills, individual prerequisites, and ethics besides personal interest wants.
Thus, Person-organization fit recruitment model not only emphasizes on innovativeness and increase the productivity level of enterprises, but further has imperative practical implication in the RandS process. Furthermore, according to Yu (2014), as job analysis is a vital foundation for R&S process it essentially decreases the recruitment of carelessness and enhances the level of applicability. Likewise, the purpose of job analysis is primarily to classify and regulate the essential knowledge, expertise, talent needed for the vacant position of the organization (Schuler & E. Jackson, 2014). As long as a comprehensive and inclusive analysis of the required job responsibilities and qualifications fulfilled, person-organization fit recruitment has the ability to progress to the following step exertion.
Effective role of R&S system in Witcon’s Strategic Management
Witcon in order to build as well as sustain a competitive advantage, appropriate human capital is crucial. As R&S system has been identified as a major Human Resources Management purpose, the company aims to aggregate wide range of strategic practices along with decisions. In the view of Ruiz-Palomino and Martínez-Cañas (2014), for each stage of R&S system, the existing employees tend to develop understanding and skills related to the scenarios that may develop to execute a new role in the organization. However, through such comprehensive R&S System, Witcon has witnessed several advantages whereby high significant with cost efficiency is primarily attained by internal recruitment and further vacancies can be announced through newsletters along with communication boards as well as intranet systems. Through this R&S system, according to Engert, Rauter and Baumgartner (2016), modern organisations attain the ability to successfully establish a dedicated personnel base due to their increasing level of integration towards company’s actions and engagement towards its workforce. For example, Witcon on their recruitment procedures comprises an internal Talent Strategy, where the company primarily evaluates the status of any existing employee who has been seeking for an opportunity to attain any internal move in the company. However, there can be observed certain arguments in such recruitment process, where the best fit for the vacancy cannot be working presently in the organization (Shammot, 2014).
Human rights principles followed by Witcon’s R&S Process
Witcon’s ‘Blue Culture’ promotes an inclusive and dignified work environment by incorporating justifiable and unbiased recruitment and selection system for all applicants with dignity and fairness, and essentially sustaining a workplace which strictly disregards any acts of discrimination, inequality and violence. According to Jabbour and de Sousa Jabbour (2016), as welcoming potential employees with diverse backgrounds and competence, diversity generates a wide-range of affluence of experience for modern organizations in this competitive market to develop as an improved team. Talent acquisition managers are expected to work in amalgamation and resolve issues in a positive manner by respecting the company’s privileges as well as safeguarding their confidential information. At this juncture, it has been noted that companies such as Witcon operating as an inclusive workforce fundamentally disregards acts of prejudice, favouritism, harassment or hostility. The company’s regulations and policies related to R&S process are in opposition to these discriminatory behaviours extend to improper exploitation of social media and activities outside the premises of workplace if there is a connection to Witcon. Furthermore, such an association to Witcon has observed implications where the company aims to conduct force on any co-worker, or where the behaviour could likely impact unconstructively on the organization’s justifiable interests (Cappelli & Keller, 2014).
Several companies as per the reports of Swider, Zimmerman and Barrick (2015) in recent times have shown utmost dedication in successfully sustaining human rights and completely uphold the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization Core Conventions along with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It has noted that Witcon has been exhibiting considerable amount of dedication to report any form of unjustifiable act during the R&S process to successfully uphold human rights in the company’s supply chain management. Moreover, in order to focus on company’s supply base explicitly, Witcon necessitates maintenance of extensive range of labour principles which have been established in the Base Code of the Ethical Trading Initiative (Deery & Jago, 2015). Since last two years, companies such as Witcon has established a due diligence development in order to guarantee proper identification and emphasis on HR resources in areas of critical risks and challenges.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion it can be stated that R&S process has been functioning as a key input to the sustainment of competitive advantage.In addition to this, recruiting applicants with accurate and most efficient competencies the right people and selecting these candidates to coach, develop as well as work is a major characteristic in any organisation. It has thus been noted that the whole recruitment and selection strategy has transformed and evolved to advance form whereby the onus show significant reliance on the modern business enterprises to strategically advertise, magnetize and further retain most efficient talents. These developments have led Witcon to rely on digital or online recruitment devices along with various other software and information methods to generate new skills with utmost proficiencies like never before.
Recommendations
Witcon
in order to increase its employee base and gain greater amount of competitive
advantages in the Canadian retail market must set up a workplace customs and ethnicity which primarily attracts permanent and
reliant employees. Strategies based on competitive market remuneration for
every obtainable vacancy with highly exceptional salary benefits packages, as
well as vigorous working environments can be considered as constructive and
productive ways to set up an inviting work culture. Thus Witcon by accurately
endorsing work active traditions and values to its potential employees can make
it undemanding for the company and the applicants to strategically determine areas
for permanent and abiding career within the organization.
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