QUESTION
You are to prepare a report on how your organisation will / does manage recruitment, selection and induction processes.
1. Select an organisation or workgroup to use for a case study. Describe the organisation and/or workgroup, its sources of labour and a brief outline of current policies and practices.
2. Either:
2.1.Develop a set of policies and practices for recruitment, selection and induction for your organisation which will ensure that effective recruitment, selection and induction occurs; or
2.2.If your organisation has a set of policies and practices, you may evaluate these rather than develop new ones. Your evaluation must:
- · identify current strengths and weaknesses, and
- · recommend new or modified policies and practices.
3. Justify your decision and clearly explain:
3.1.how recommended policies and practices will enable your organisation to meet its strategic corporate goals, and
3.2.how they will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the recruitment, selection and induction process.
4. Plan an evaluation of the recommended policies and practices. Your response must show that you can:
4.1.explain the link between corporate strategic planning, human resource planning and recruitment and selection
4.2.consider the impact of equal opportunities and other legislative requirements on recruitment and selection
4.3.plan the evaluation of the policies and practices and identify performance indicators to demonstrate efficiency and effectiveness.
Your response must be presented as a legible, literate and grammatically-correct written report in an accepted business-style format.
When addressing these points refer to the individual Performance Criteria for each of the Elements of this unit to guide your thinking. Note however, you do not need to specifically and separately address each individual performance criteria, rather ensure it is covered in the broad content within your report. There is no set word limit, however as a guide you should aim for a report of around 2000 – 2500 words.
SOLUTION
Introduction:
In context with multi-national companies, recruitment cycle has a very significant role as retention of employees as well as employer branding both are directly related with recruitment of right employees in the organization. Therefore the stages of recruitment and selection in multi-national companies are very deeply scrutinized. Recruitment cycle is the complete process of managing the ample amount of personnel force in an organization and the complete life cycle of recruitment includes Planning, Advertising, recruitment, selecting staff, induction, identifying training needs, performance appraisal, moving on. [Ployhart, 2011]
Wal-Mart world’s largest retail firm has a very basic but effective method of recruiting staffs and sales persons, they believe in hiring the work force which will be dedicated towards quality assurance, environment friendliness and great working ability. Therefore all the recruitment is done on world class standards so that every single member of their team feels uniquely fulfilled, challenged and capable of successfully accomplishing day to day operations [walmart.com ,2012]. The initial stage starts with planning of organizational long term as well as short term goals which helps to realize the legislative requirements which the organization is having. It can also be said that the current job descriptions and the upcoming job descriptions are matched henceforth creating need for following recruitment policies and procedures. The second stage of recruitment cycle starts with company’s advertising over a wide geographic area so as to accumulate a huge pool of candidates. It may account for advertising through job portals, newspapers, existing networks i.e. employee references, magazines, television and most effectively through internet marketing and recruitment agencies. The phase of selecting staff from interviewed candidates starts when knowledge, skills, ability and other characteristics of interviewed candidates match with company needs and goals. Selection is a negative process in any company as here aspiring candidates are rejected so as to find an appropriate match. Several screening methods exists that may be used in selection of right candidates for example: resume review, scoring in interview, reference validation. Reference check is an important process in Wal-Mart because the ability the individual is claiming needs to be authenticated. Wal-Mart does reference check through telephonic coordination or sometimes through mail marking. Beginning with name, address, identity, accuracy of commitment made in the new company and legal background check all are inevitably done to assure the professionalism and relevance. Wal-Mart does background checking through employee verification companies whose aim is to verify educational background check, criminal background check and work experience background check. These reference check companies are dedicated towards professional, unbiased and scrupulous actions having a reliable investigation team for the respective job.
Evaluation:
While evaluating the current policies and practices, it was found that being one of the top organizations in retail sector majorly all human resource practices were appropriate and as per the need of the firm. Some factors which needs attention and inclusion in HR policy of the firm is by putting training needs in category of recruitment life cycle as the task is just not complete without proper training and orientation. Induction training is the initial preparation done before taking up a post. To help new people get acquainted with the job culture, old employees, seniors and peers. Wal-Mart has a systematic induction programme ranging between seven days to one month. It is critical time for an employer to take commitment from the new employee towards the company. Training should always be accompanied by proper evaluation so as to judge the potential of staff as well as prepare work to do for upcoming team meeting or on the job trainings. Performance appraisal in the firm is usually done at the end of probation period and then annually. It is should not just be limited to productivity check method but should have a wider meaning in context with the organization. Performance appraisal should be done on a very large and motivating scale. It should not merely be a method to rate your performance at the end of year but it can be considered as a reviewing stage where non performing employees are alarmed at their impotence and on the same time performing individuals are appreciated for their ability through means of appraisal certificates, monetary benefits, perks and incentives. All top class big companies are very alarmed in terms of PMS/PAS because it is genesis to achievement of vision of the company. [Davis et al, 2009]
In the process of identifying strengths and weaknesses in recruitment, selection and induction policies, the followings points came into focus:
Strengths:
• hiring the work force which will be dedicated towards quality assurance
• environment friendliness and awareness of the people selected for the job
• Great working ability of newly recruited employees through strong and strategic recruitment.
• Every single member of their team selected in the firm feels uniquely fulfilled.
• All employees are capable of successfully accomplishing day to day operations
• Proper planning of organizational long term as well as short term goals which brings transparency in recruitment.
• Advertising over a wide geographic area and use of modern methodologies so as to create immense pool of candidate.
• Strong reference check and legal background check to ensure quality employees.
Weaknesses:
• Understanding the training needs and its actual implication
• Linking the performance appraisal with training analysis
• There should be proper help to new people in order to get acquainted with the job culture and job responsibilities.
• Performance appraisal should not merely be a method to rate your performance at the end of year but a method of motivation.
• There should be increased concentration on managing with workforce diversity during recruitment process. Higher workforce diversity would bring more expansion ideas and alternatives in the firm apart from the parent country in some developing countries.
Recommendations:
The recommended strategies and practices will help the organization to grow and meet its desired goals more easily and swiftly. It could be attained because by identifying the training needs of the employees and enhancing the induction training process, organization will have more motivated and self directed employees as training brings awareness about the job and practical approach of the job thereby bringing chances for lesser mistakes and customer complaints. Another important fact to be considered is performance appraisal should be more modernized and rectified as the method is still limited somehow to appraisal and monitoring of functions but should be changed to performance management program of motivating employees for their good work and by such rewards and recognition employees will gain loyalty and sense of belongingness towards the firm. Performance appraisal could also be linked to analysis of training needs and that could be done by means of evaluating the performance after appraisal is over. By evaluating the performance report, it becomes easier for organization’s top officials to analyze the key areas of need for training and organization’s human resource team could work on them and provide necessary counseling session wherein employees are free to discuss with the human resource professional about the reasons for non-performance or the key factors that are stopping the employee from performing well in the firm. Why performance appraisal is being considered as a strategy of recruitment, selection and induction is because of the fact that duty of recruitment doesn’t end with employee’s first footstep in the office but it continues till induction of the employee on the job, his performance, his analysis of the work atmosphere and also the first performance appraisal of the employee. Another key concept is realizing the performance indicators and implementing those while recruiting staff and selecting people for the organization. The key performance indicators are compliance and grievance of customers against any particular employee or team on regular basis, cross-selling of products by the sales and marketing staffs. Another performance indicator is basic responsibility areas and key responsibility areas marking on scale of performance, feedback of customers about sales-staff, customer service, delivery of goods and services, time management. The induction programme in firm is not up to the mark in terms of its real purpose being solved. The organization takes induction programme as a method of introducing new employees on the job but in actual sense the extent of induction programme should be increased and it should help the people get acquainted with the job culture and all job responsibilities in the current firm. Induction programme should also be accompanied with induction training consisting of HR training where employee will be introduced with HR policies and practices and technical training where employee should be told about his or her job responsibilities, methods of accomplishing those job responsibilities, rewards for good work, necessary alerts and key factors which should be prevented from taking place, for example major or common mistakes which has been seen by previous people on work, if it would be initially told to newly recruited employees, it may prevent errors from taking place. Another recruitment strategy change requirement is in case of workforce diversity management. The concentration of workforce towards one common community or racial uniformity or gender uniformity can be alarming at present sage where organizations are highly conscious about their diversity factors, this one factor has not been very dominantly been implemented in Wal-Mart which should be changed. The diversity management should be increased as workforce diversity increases organizations scope of expansion and new ideas being implemented as a result of diverse workforce, for the firm to pioneer in developing countries as well and expand itself in places of extreme difference in culture, it should increase its diversity management techniques like including diversity management as a key feature of strategic recruitment, employee’s assignment of work should be linked to diversifying the team of employees on the job and many other such methods. [Hayden et al, 2002]
Conclusion:
Thus it can be said that Wal-Mart is a highly competitive and globally known firm which has several strengths which leads it towards good performance and competitive advantage. Some of them as noted above are highly adaptive and flexible recruitment, selection and induction policies, preparation of future need of recruitment and selection beforehand only in order to minimize the gap in work continuity, highly groomed and technically sound advertising strategies which gives it extra coverage to create a wide variety of applicants for recruitment, ensuring selection process is well managed and best of people get selected on the job. For this they have strong referral check in their firm, legislative background check of the selected employees so that future problems and cost of separation on immediate basis could be minimized and much other strength that makes the firm pioneers in the business of retail sector world-wide. Despite of such good practices and technology, some loopholes were found which if rectified through certain changes in human resource practices could fetch even better results for the firm. The firm was found to be less responsive after the recruitment process is done, the need for properly managed and better induction training of the newly recruited employees, there is also an immense need for study of training needs in the firm as employees are majorly involved in on the job training that in this case is learning by doing. [Zenith consulting] Although it is a cost effective method of training the employees but proper training could increase employee’s perfection at work. Apart from this workforce diversity and regional touch for local businesses should be increased and uniformity in staff should be avoided, team building should be promoted on diversity basis and there should be increase in percentage of minorities working in the firm. All these recommendations may fetch unbelievable outcomes for the firm as it is already a market trend setter and the best known name in the world of retail business. An organization is the assemblage of all departments and entities converging together to achieve a common goal through flow of data and information through well knitted information system and resource planning. Wal-Mart is the most effective organization having good culture and ethics which it has gained in world market after globalization. [Cisco] The organization works through massive corporate campaign, entering into markets of countries having lower economic stability and accelerating the responsiveness and buying habits, thus the human resource network and recruitment style and pattern at it deserves appraisal at high grades.
References:
1. Robert E. Ploy hart, 2011, staffing in the 21st century, journal of management, Doi- 10.1177, < http://www.uk.sagepub.com/wilton/Online%20readings/Chapter%206/Ployhart%20article.pdf>
2. walmart.com, human resources, viewed on 11th April, 2011, < http://careers.walmart.com/hr-benefits/>
3. Julie Davis, David Merriman, Lucia Samayoa, Brian Flanagan,
Ron Baiman and Joe Persky, 2009, The Impact of an Urban Wal-Mart Store on Area Businesses, viewed on 11th April, 2012, viewed on 11th April, 2011,< http://luc.edu/curl/pdfs/Media/WalMartReport21010_01_11.pdf>
4. Patrick Hayden, Seung Lee, Kate McMahon, Mike Pereira, 2002, Wal-Mart, viewed on 11th April, 2012, <http://allman.rhon.itam.mx/~oromero/Wal_Mart_CaseStudy.pdf>
5. www.zenith-consulting.com, how to exploit Wal-Mart weaknesses, viewed on 11th April, 2012,< http://zenith-consulting.com/research/walMart/Wal-Mart-Strategy.pdf>
6. Cisco –retail customer success story, The Wal-Mart story, viewed on 11th April, 2012, <http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/779/ibs/vertical/retail/Wal-Mart.PDF>
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