Chapter- II

Job Analysis and Human Resource Planning

1 Meaning and Definition

Job analysis is a systematic analysis of each job for the purpose of collecting information as to
what the jobholder does, under what circumstances it is performed and what qualifications are
required for doing the job.

Job analysis deals with complete study of the job embodying every Known and determinable
factors, including

 The duties and responsibilities involved in its performance

 The condition under which the work is carried
 The nature of the task
 The qualification required by workers and
 The condition of employment
Job analysis is the determination of the task which comprises the job and the skills, knowledge,
abilities, and responsibilities required of the worker for successful performance and which
differentiates the job from all other jobs.

The information collected through job analysis relates to the job and jobholder. The requirements
relating to the job are termed as job description; where as the qualities demanded from a
jobholder is known as job specifications.

Job description and specifications are the immediate products of job analysis. The following
chart shows the information, which appears in job description and job specification.

2.1.2 Steps in Job Analysis

Step 1 Decide the use of job analysis information:

It is true that the information generated by job analysis can be utilized for practically all function
of HRM. Never the less, it is important to focus on a few areas in which the job analysis

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information is to be used. These areas can be decided on the base of the need, priorities, and
constraints of particular organization.
Step2 Review relevant background information such as organization chart,
and job descriptions and process flow chart.
Organization chart shows the organization wide division of work, how the job in question relates
to other jobs, and where the job fits in the over all organization. The chart should show the title
of each position and, by means of interconnecting lines, who reports to whom and with whom
the job incumbent communicates. A process flow chart provides a more detailed picture of the
work flow. In its simplest form a process chart shows the flow of inputs to and out puts from the
job you’re analyzing. Finally the existing job description, if there is one, usually provides a
starting point for building the revised job description.
Step 3- Select representative positions. Why? Because there may be too many similar
jobs to be analyze. For example, it is usually unnecessary to analyze the jobs of 200 assembly
workers when a sample of ten jobs will do.
Step 4- Actually analyze the job – by collecting data on job activities, required
employees behavior, working conditions, and human traits and abilities needed to perform the
job. For this step, use one or more of the methods of collecting job analysis information.
Step 5-Verify the job analysis information with the worker performing the job
and with his or her immediate supervisor.
This review can also help gain the employee’s acceptance of the job analysis data and
conclusions, by giving that person chance to review and modify your description of the job
activities.
Step-6 .Develop a job description and job specification
These are the two tangible products of the job analysis. The job description is a written statement
that describes the activities and responsibilities of the job, as well as its important features, such
as working conditions and safety hazards. The job specification summarizes the personal
qualities, traits, skills and background required for getting the job done. It may be a separate
document or in the same document as the job description

2.1.3 Methods of Collecting Job Analysis Information

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The interview
The job analysts interview the jobholders for obtaining information about the job. This method
coupled with observation is considered as the most satisfactory method of job analysis.
Pros
 It’s a relatively simple and quick way to collect information, including information that
might never appear on a written form.
 Skilled interviewer can unearth important activities that occur only occasionally, informal
contacts that wouldn’t be obvious from the organization chart.
 The interviewer also provides an opportunity to explain the need for functions of the job
analysis. And the employee can vent frustrations that might otherwise go un noticed by
management.
Cons
 It can be extremely time consuming because of the time required to schedule, get to, and
actually conduct the interview.
 Distortion in information –whether due to –out right falsification or honest
misunderstanding. Job analysis is often a prelude to changing a job’s pay rate. Employees
therefore may legitimately view the interview as an efficiency evaluation that may affect
their pay. They may tend to exaggerate certain responsibilities while minimizing others.
Observation
Direct observation is especially use full when jobs consist mainly of observable physical
activities –assembly –worker and accounting clerk are examples On the other hand, observation
is usually not appropriate when the job entails a lot of mental activity (lawyer, design engineer).
By personal observation, the analysts can come to know about facts relating jobs though
materials, equipments, working condition etc.
Written narratives or maintenance of record
Under this method, both the employees as well as his supervisor keep a record of various facts
relating to the job. Since each employee keeps a full record of her or his daily operations starts
from beginning till end, this method is going to consume more time than other methods.
Job questionnaires

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Under this method, a questionnaire is circulated among the workers who report the fact about the
job. This method is highly unsatisfactory as it places greater faith in the job holder’s ability to
provide information.
Cons
 A questionnaire is quick and efficient way to obtain information from a large number of
employees.
 It is appropriate to obtain information from a large number of employees in relatively
short period of time

Pros
 Questionnaires can be time consuming and expensive to develop.
 There is a possibility that either the respondent or the job analyst will misinterpret the
information.

Job performance
Under this method, the job analysis actually performs the job under study to obtain first hand
experience of the actual task, physical, and social demands and the environment of the job. This
method can be used only for jobs where skill requirements are low and can be learnt quickly and
easily. This is time consuming method and is not appropriate for jobs requiring extensive
training.
Using multiple source of information
There are obviously many ways to obtain job analysis information. You can get it from
individual workers, groups, or supervisors; or from the observations of job analysts, for instance.
You can use interviews, observations, or questionnaires. Some firms use just one basic approach,
like having the job analysis do interviews with current job incumbents. Yet a recent study
suggests that using just one source may not be wise.

The problem is the potential inaccuracies in people‘s judgments. For example, in a group
interview, some group members may feel forced to go along with consensus of the group; or an
employee may be careless about how he or she completes a questionnaire. What this means is

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that collecting job analysis data from just interviews, or just observations, may lead to inaccurate
conclusions .It is better to try to avoid such inaccuracies by using several sources.

2.1.4 Use of Job Analysis Information

Job analysis is useful for over all management of all personnel activities .while this is a general
statement, it is important to specify the use of job analysis.
Job related data obtained from a job-analysis program are useful in HRP, Recruitment and
selection, training and development, job evaluation, remuneration, performance appraisal, EEO
compliance, job definition, promotion and transfer, employee safety and health, placement and
orientation, setting wage differentials, and compensation.

 EEO compliance- job analysis can also play a big role in EEO compliance .For Example;
employers must be able to show that their selection criteria and job performance are actually
related. Doing this, of course, requires knowing what the job entails – which in turn requires a
job analysis.
 Job definition – a job analysis results in a description of the duties and responsibilities of the
job. Such a description is useful to the current jobholders and their supervisors as well as to
prospective employees.
 Orientation - Effective job orientation cannot be accomplished with out a clear
understanding of the job requirements. The duties and responsibilities of a job must be clearly
defined before a new employee can be taught how to perform the job.
 Employee safety –A through job analysis often un covers un safe practices and
environmental conditions associated with a job. Focusing precisely on how the job is done
usually uncovers any unsafe procedures.
 Manpower planning –It helps in developing labor supply as labor needs are lied dawn in
clear terms.
 Recruitment and selection –Job analysis provides guidance in recruitment and selection of
employees, as specific requirements of the job are lid down in concrete terms. It provides reliable
data on the base of which the employees are selected.

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Promotion and transfer-Job analysis helps in evaluating current employees for promotion
and transfers. If information about the job is available –employees can be transferred from one
department to another with out any complication.
 Compensation –job analysis information is crucial for estimating the value of each job and a
appropriate compensation. Compensation (such as salary and bonus) usually depends on the job
required skills and education level, safety hazards, degree of responsibility, and so on-all factors
you can assess through job analysis.
Training and development –The job information helps in determining the content and
subject matter of training and development program.
 Performance appraisal –The standard of performance for employee can be set on the base
of information provide by job analysis and actual performance can be compared with these
standards. It helps the management in judging the worth of employees.
 Job evaluations-Job analysis provides data determining the value of the job in relation to
other jobs on the bases of which actual wages for the jobs are fixed.

2.1.5 Job Description

It is factual and organized statement describing the job in terms of its title, location, duties,
responsibilities, working conditions, hazards, and relationship with other jobs. It tells us what is
to be done, how it is to be done and why. The main object of job description is to differentiate
from other jobs and to set out it outer limits. Job description is an important document as it helps
to identify the job and give a clear idea of what the job is.

2.1.6 Job specification

It is a statement of the minimum acceptable human qualities required for the proper performance
of the job. It is a record of the physical, mental, social and psychological, and behavioral
characteristics which a person should posses in order to perform the job effectively. Physical
characteristics include height, weight, vision, hearing, health, age, hand foot coordination .etc
mental characteristics consist of general intelligence, memory, judgment, ability to concentrate,
foresight etc. Social and psychological characteristic include emotional stability, flexibility,
personal appearance, pleasing manner, initiative, drive, conversational ability etc. Other personal

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characteristics include sex, education, family, background, job experience, extra-curricular
activities, hobbies, etc.
Job specification tells what kind of person is required for a given job. It serves as a guide in the
recruitment and selection processes. See the typical example of job specification of
compensation manager below.

2.1.7 Job specification of compensation manager

Position title: Manager, wage and salary administration.

Department: Human resource division.
Education and training:
 A bachelor degree with at least 3:00 CGPA
 A degree or diploma in law will be an additional desirable qualification.
 MBA with specialization in HRM.
Experience: At least five years experience in similar position in a large organization.
Age: preferable above 30 years and below 45.
Other requirements:
 Good health
 Fluency in speaking and writing
 Ability to work long hours
 Good knowledge of computer application

2.1.8 Potential Problems with Job Analysis

In analyzing s certain potential problems can occur, some of these problems result from nature of
human behavior , others steams from the nature the job analysis process. Some of the most
frequently encountered problems associated with job analysis are the following:

Top management support is missing

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Top management should at least make it clear to all employees that their full and honest
participation is extremely important to the process .Unfortunately; the message is often not
communicated.
Only a single means and source are used for gathering data.
Managers have many alternatives methods of data collection for job analysis purpose. All too
often, a job analysis relies on only one of these methods when a combination of methods might
provide better data.

The supervisor and the job holder do not participate in the design of the job analysis
procedure
Too many analyses are planned and implemented by one person who assumes exclusive
responsibility for the project. The job holder and his or her supervisor should be involved early
in the planning of the project.

No training or motivation exist for job holders

Job incumbents are potentially a great source of information about job. Unfortunately, they are
seldom trained or prepared to generate quality data for a job analysis. Also, job holders are rarely
made aware of the importance of the data and almost never are rewarded for providing good
data.

Employees are not allowed sufficient time to complete the analysis

Usually a job analysis is conducted as though it were a crash program, and employees are not
given sufficient time to do a thorough job analysis.
Activity may be distorted
With out proper training and preparation, employees may submit distorted data, either
intentionally or not, For example employees are likely to speed up it they know they are being
watched. Employee involvement from the beginning of the project is a good way to minimize
this problem.

There is a failure to critique the job

Many job analyses do not go beyond the initial phase of reporting what the job holder currently
does. These data are extremely valuable, but the analysis should not stop here. The job should be
critiqued to determine whether it is being done correctly or whether improvements can be done.

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2.2 Meaning of Human Resource Planning

Human resource planning involves forecasting the organization’s future demand for employees,
forecasting the future supply of employees within the organization, and designing programs to
correct the discrepancy between the two.

Human resource planning includes the estimation of how many qualified peoples are necessary
to carry out the assigned activities, how many people will be available, and what, if anything,
must be done to ensure that personnel supply equals personnel demand at the appropriate time in
the future.
Human resource planning is the process by which an organization ensures that it has the right
number and kind of people , at the right place, at the right time, capable of effectively and
efficiently completing those tasks that will help the organization to achieve its over all
objectives.
Human resource planning is the process of translating over all organizational objectives, plans,
and programs to achieve specific performance on to work force needs. The systematic and the
continuing process of analyzing an organization’s human resource needs under changing
conditions and developing personnel policies, appropriate to the long term effectiveness of the
organization
The purpose of human resource planning is to ensure that, in the future, the firm has enough
employees with the appropriate skill so that it can accomplish its long-term goals.

2.2.1. Importance of Human Resource Planning

As manpower planning is concerned with the optimum use of human resources, it can be of great
benefit to the organization, in particular and to the nation in general. At the national level, it
would be concerned with factors like population, economic development, educational facilities
and labour mobility. At the level of the organization, it is concerned with requirements, sources
of availability, the welfare of human resources etc. The various advantages (importance) of
human resource planning are discussed below:
1. Improvement of labour productivity: Manpower or human resources as a factor of
production differs from other factors of production. As it is subject to its free will, the
productivity of labour can be improved if the workers are kept satisfied. In other words, just as
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satisfied workers can be productive, dissatisfied workers can be destructive. Therefore, through
proper human resource planning we can improve the morale of the labour and improve labour
productivity.

2. Recruitment of qualified human Resources: Talented and skilled labour has become a scarce
resource especially in developing countries. Therefore, for the long run survival of the firm, it is
essential to recruit the best labour force through proper manpower planning.
3. Adjusting with the rapid technological change: with the change in technology, the job and
job requirements are also changing. Therefore, it is necessary to forecast and meet the changing
manpower, which can withstand the challenges of the technological revolution. “This can be
done only through effective manpower planning.
4. Reducing labour turnover: The labour turnover refers to the mobility of labour out of the
organization due to various factors such as dissatisfaction, retirement, death etc. Due to labour
turnover, a firm will be losing experienced and skilled labour force. This loss can be minimized
only through efficient manpower planning.
5. Control over recruitment and training Cost: Highly skilled personnel are in short supply
and it is very costly to hire, train, and maintain them. A company has to incur heavy costs in
processing the applications, conducting written tests, interviews etc., and in the process of
providing adequate training facilities. In consideration of these costs, it is essential to plan
carefully in relation to the manpower so as to reduce the recruitment and training cost.
6. Mobility of labour: Today, it is very difficult to maintain the qualified personnel in an
organization as they will be moving from one job to another in search of bette4r prospects. In a
free society, human beings enjoy unrestricted mobility from one part of the country to the other.
Therefore, in order to reduce the loss of experienced and skilled labour, every organization must
have a sound system of manpower planning.
7. It can facilitate expansion programmes: In these days of rapid industrial development, every
company goes for expansion of its activities. As a result of the increasing company size, the
demand for human resources also increases. This necessitates proper manpower planning so as
to ensure the continued supply of the required manpower for the firms’ activities.
8. To Treat the Manpower like Real Corporate Assets: today it is being increasingly felt by the
practicing managers and psychologists that men in an organization must be treated like the most

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significant assets. The productivity of a company can be improved only through manpower
planning, recognizing the significance of the human factor in business. Proper manpower
planning considers the fact that satisfied workers can contribute also to the over all profitability
of the firm through improved productivity.

2.2.2 Factors Affecting Human Resource Planning

1. Type and strategy of the organization

2. Organization growth cycle
3. Environmental uncertainties
4. Type and quality of information used to forecast HR needs
5. Nature of the job being filled
6. off-loading the work

Type and strategy of the organization

The type of the organization is an important consideration because it determines the production
process involved, the number and type of staff required, and the supervisory and managerial
personnel required. Manufacturing organizations are more complex in this respect than those that
render services.

The strategic plan of an organization defines the organizations human resource needs. For
example, a strategy of internal growth means that additional employees must be hired.
Acquisition or mergers, on the other hand, probably means that the organization will need to plan
for layoffs, since mergers tends to create, duplicate or overlapping positions that can be handled
more efficiently with fewer employees
Organization growth cycle
The stage of the organization’s growth can have considerable influence on HRP. Small
organizations in the embryonic stage may not have personnel planning.
Need for personnel planning is felt when the organization enters the growth stage. HR
forecasting becomes essential. Internal development of people also begins to receive attention in
order to keep up with the growth.

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A mature organizations experience less flexibility and variability. Growth slows down. The work
force becomes old as few younger people are hired. HRP become more formalized and less
flexible and innovative. Issues like retirement and possible retrenchment dominate planning.
Finally, in the decline stage, HRP takes a different focus. Planning is done for layoff,
retrenchment and retirement. Since decisions are often made after serious financial and sales
shocks are experienced by the organizations, planning is often reactive in nature.
Environmental uncertainties

The human resource managers rarely have the privileges of operating in a stable and predictable
environment. Political, social, and economic changes affect the organizations. Personnel
planner’s deal with environmental uncertainties by carefully formulating recruitment, selection,
and training and development polices and programs. Balancing mechanism are built in to the
HRM programs though succession planning, promotion channels, layoffs, flexi time, job
sharing, retirement, VRS, and other personnel related arrangements.
Type and quality of information used to forecast HR needs

The information used to forecast HR needs originates from a multitude of sources. A major issue
in personnel planning is the type of information which should be used in making forecasts.

The following are specific information necessary for HRP:

 Job analysis  Management inventories
 Recruitment sources  Available training and development program
 Skill inventories Labor market analysis
Turnover data  Compensation programs
 Retirement plans

Closely related to the type of information is the quality of data used. The quality and accuracy of
information depends up on the clarity with which the organization decision makers have
defended their strategy, organization structure, budgets, production schedule and so forth. In
addition, HR department must maintain well developed job analysis information and human
resource information system that provide accurate and timely data.

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Generally speaking, organizations operate in stable environments are in a better position to
obtain a comprehensive, timely and accurate information because of longer planning horizons,
clearer definition of strategy and objectives , fewer disruptions.
Nature of the job being filled
HR planners must consider the nature of jobs being filled in the organization. Job vacancies arise
because of separations, promotions, and expansion strategies.
It is easy to employ shop-floor workers, but a lot of sourcing is necessary for hiring managerial
personnel. It is, therefore, necessary for the personnel department to anticipate vacancies, as far
in advance as possible, to provide sufficient lead time to ensure that suitable candidates are
recruited.
Off-loading the work
Several organizations off-load part of their work to outside parties either in the form of sub-
contracting. Off-loading is a regular feature for private and public sector. Most organizations
have surplus and they do not want to worsen the problem by hiring more people.

2.2.3 Procedures of Human Resource Planning

The following are the main procedures in HRP:

 Conducting external and internal environmental scanning.
 Determining future HR requirements.
 Determining future HR availabilities.
 Determining net man power requirement (NMPR)
 Developing action plan.
Conducting external and internal environmental scanning
A number of external influences affect the conduct of HR management. These include Economic
conditions, labor market, laws and regulations, and labor union. Accordingly, these factors are
also grist for HR planning.
Of the various areas mentioned through environmental scanning, the labor market is most
directly relevant to HR planning – If tight labor market for employees are expected, the firm
must plan to put considerable time and money in to attracting and retaining the needed talent. It
is also important for an organization to scan its internal environment. The monitoring of key

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indexes such as employee performance, absenteeism, turnover, and accident rates help helps us
to learn what is going on the organization.

2.2.4 Determining Future Human Resource Requirement

This step involves considering what the organization HR needs will be in the future. This
includes the number of employees that will be needed, the type of skills that will be required,
productivity levels needed to complete successfully, and so forth.
The logical place to begin this process is with an organizations business plan (long-term and
operational plan). These plans usually indicate major sales, production, and financial goals. This
information tells the human resource planner whether volumes will be going up, staying above
the same, or going down.
From business plan we can infer whether or not there will be any changes in the basic
technologies the organization use to make, and distribute its products /services. Such changes
typically are introduced as a means of increasing employee productivity and thus reducing future
human resource requirements.

2.2.5 Determining future human resource availabilities

The task here is to estimate the numbers and types of employees that will be available in various
job categories at the end of planning period. This phase of HR planning is designed to answer the
question, “how many and what kinds of employees do I currently have interims of the skills and
training necessary for the future?”. It all begins with an inventory of employees expected to be in
various job categories at the start of planning period. From these figures are subtracted
anticipated losses during planning period due to retirement, voluntary turnover, promotion,
transfers, death, quits, resignation and others.
Determining net manpower requirements
This requires comparing over all personnel requirement with personnel inventory where the
difference is net new requirement.

Human resource program or Action plans

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  Hire new full-time employees
 Offer incentives for postponing retirement
 Re-hire retired employees on part time base
 Attempt to reduce turnover
If a shortage of employees is  Bring in over time for present workers
expected………..  Subcontract work to another company
 Hire temporary employees
 Re-engineer to reduce needs

 Don’t replace the employees who leave (hire freezing)

 Offer incentives for early retirement
 Transfer or re-assign excess employees
If a surplus of employee is expected  Use slack time for employee training or equipment intenance
 Reducing working hours or job sharing
 Lay off employees
 Pay reduction
Demotion
 Termination
 Voluntary resignation inducement

Once the supply and demand of human resource are estimated, adjustments may be needed.
When the internal supply of workers exceeds the firms demand, a human resource surplus exists.
The alternative solutions include: early retirements, demotions, layoffs, terminations, attrition
voluntary resignation inducement, reclassification, transfer, work sharing and hire freezing.

When there is surplus work force trimming of the labor force or downsizing plan will be
necessary. Another method of dealing with surplus labor is to retain all employees but reduce the
work hour (thus realize payroll savings), perhaps to a four-day, 32-hour work week.
Depending on the nature of surplus, a firm may be able to transfer or reassign employees
to jobs in parts of the organization that are still experiencing demand. Or if the firm expects the
surplus to be short-lived and can afforded to keep excess workforce on the pay roll, the company
can use the slack time to provide cross training in related jobs to enhance work force skills an
flexibility. Alternatively, the surplus workers can perform equipment maintenance and engage
themselves in other activities that were postponed when demand was high.

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Offering incentives for early retirement is another way of handling surplus labor. Voluntary
Retirement Schemes (VRS) method is widely practiced.
Lay-off is another strategy for dealing with surplus staff. This action is detrimental to both
employees and employers’ .For employees lay –off means joblessness and for the employers, it
means loss of reputation.
Decisions in surplus conditions are some of the most difficult that managers must make, because
the employee who are considered surplus are seldom responsible for the condition leading to
surplus. A shortage of row materials such as fuel or a poorly designed or poorly marketed
product can cause an organization to have a surplus of employees.
As a first approach to dealing with a surplus, most organizations avoid layoffs by relying on
attrition, early retirements, and creation of work and the like. Many organizations can reduce
their work force simply by not replacing those who retire or quit.
When the internal supply can not fulfill the organization’s needs, a human resource shortage
exists. The alternative solutions include: recruitment, selection, and placement, training and
development, retraining and redeployment, retention plan, transfer, recalling employees who
were previously laid off.
Intense global competition, rapid technological change, and fears caused by recent work force
reductions have also lead many organizations to increase their use of part time workers,
subcontractors, and independent professionals in response to changing demands.
Using these kind of employees give an organization far more flexibility in dealing with
temporary shortages or surplus than do maintaining more traditional full-time employees for all
jobs.
Recruitment and selection – After the job vacancies are known, efforts must be made to identify
sources and search for suitable candidates. The selection program should be professionally
designed and, among other considerations, special care must be taken to ensure compliance with
the reservation polices of the government.
Employees are hired when there are job vacancies However, employees should consider other
alternatives to hiring additional full-time employee. For instance, employers might encourage
employees nearing retirement age to continue working by building an increment in the pension
formula and to reward extra years of service more heavily, or they might re-hire retired
employees on a part –time basis. If vacancies are caused by high turnover, employers should

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attempt to identify the cause of turnover and employ remedial measures. If successful, this
course of action would save recruiting and training cost and might substantially improve
employee’s attitudes.
Hiring new employees would be unwise if there is a likelihood of the demand peaking quickly
and then return to a lower level. In such situations, employers could institute an over time
scheme rather than hire additional employees. Even if over time needs to be compensated at
higher rate of wages , it may still be more economical than hiring , training and providing
benefits to new employees who are not needed over the long term. Alternatively, employers may
choose to subcontract some work to another company during the peak demand or acquire
temporary workers from firms specializing in such services.

Finally, the entire way the work is done can be analyzed and modified for grater efficiency, so
that fewer staff is needed. Business process Reengineering (BPR) helps firms eliminate
unnecessary activities and steps, thus eliminating employee requirement.

Training and development – The training and development programme should cover the number
of trainees , required ; training and development program necessary for the existing staff:
identification of resource personnel for conducting development programs, frequency of training
and development programmes: and budget allocation for such programs.

Retaining and Redeployment – new skills are to be imparted to existing staff when technology
changes. When the product line is discontinued, its employees are to be redeployed to other
departments where they could be gainfully employed.

Retention plan- retention plan covers actions which would help reduce avoidable separations of
employees.

3.1 Meaning and Definition of Recruitment

Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply
for jobs in the organization. Source of manpower can be internal or external.

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Recruitment is the process of attracting potential new employees to the organization. This HR
program is closely related to selection, because it supplies a pool of qualified applicants from
which the organization can choose those best suited for its needs.

Recruitment refers to the process of generating job applicants. Obviously, if an organization fails
to obtain applicants who are qualified for the job, it will face a problem in selection phase, like
wise, if too few applicants apply, an organization may be unable to fill all of its vacancies. It is
therefore critical for organizations to identify and properly utilize effective recruitment practice.

Recruitment needs are of three types –planned, anticipated and unexpected. Planned needs arise
from changes in organization retirement policy. Resignation, death, accidents and illness give
rise to unexpected needs. Anticipated needs refer to those movements in personnel, which an
organization can predict by studying trends in external and internal environments.

3.1.1 Features of Recruitment

 Recruitment is a process or a series of activities rather than a single act or event.
 Recruitment is linking activity as it brings together those with job (employer) and those
seeking jobs (employees).
 Recruitment is a positive function as it seeks to develop a pool of eligible person from
which most suitable ones are selected.
 The basic purpose of recruitment to locate the source of people required to meet job
requirements and attracting such people to offer themselves for employment in the
organization.
 Recruitment is an important function as it makes possible to acquire the number and type
of persons necessary for the continued function of the organization.
 Recruitment is a pervasive function as all organizations engage in recruitment activity.
But the volume and nature of recruitment varies with the size, nature and environment of
the particular organization.
 Recruitment is a complex job because too many factors affect it. E.g., image of the
organization, nature of job offered, organizational polices, working conditions,
compensation levels in the organization and rate of growth of the organization etc.

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3.1.2 Purpose and Importance

The general purpose of recruitment is to provide a pool of potentially qualified job candidates.
Specifically the purposes are to:
1. Increase the pool of job candidates at minimum cost
2. Helps to increase the success rate of selection processes by reducing the number of
visibly under qualified or overqualified job applicants.
3. Helps to reduce the probability that job applicants, once recruited and selected, will leave
the organization only after a short period of time.
4. Meeting the organization’s social and legal obligation regarding compensation of its
work force.
5. Begin identifying and preparing potential job applicants who will be appropriate
candidates
6. Increase organizational and individual effectiveness in short term and long term.
7. Evaluate the effectiveness of various recruiting techniques and sources for all types of job
applicants.
The negative consequence of poor recruitment process speaks volumes about its role in an
organization. The failure to generate an adequate number of reasonably qualified applicants can
prove costly in several ways:

 It can greatly complicate the selection process and may result in lower selection standard
 The poor quality of selection means extra cost on training and supervision and decline in
productivity
 Further more, when recruitment fails to meet organization’s need for talent, a typical
response is to raise entry-level pay scale. This can distort traditional wage and salary relation
ship in the organization, resulting in unavoidable consequences.

. Factors Governing Recruitment

Given its key role and external visibility, recruitment is naturally subjected to influence of
several factors. This includes external as well as internal factors.

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External factors Internal forces
 Supply and demand  Recruitment policy
 Unemployment rate  HRP
 Labor market Recruitment  Size of the firm
 Political and legal consideration  Cost
 Sons of soil  Growth and expansion
 Image

Fig.3.2 Factors Governing Recruitment

External factors
Supply and demand of specific skill in the labor market
If the demand for a particular skill is high in relative to supply, an extra ordinary recruiting effort
may be needed. For instance, the demand for programmers and financial analysis is likely to be
high than their supply as opposed to the demand for non-technical employees.

Unemployment rate
When unemployment rate in a given area is high, the company’s recruitment process may be
simpler. The number of unsolicited applicant is usually high or greater, and the increased size of
the labor pool provides better opportunity for attracting qualified applicants. On the other hand,
as unemployment rate drops, recruiting effort must be increased and new sources explored.

Political and legal consideration

Reservation of jobs for minorities, physically handicapped, children of socially and politically
oppressed and other back ward class (OBCS) is a political decision. There is a strong case for
giving preference to people hailing from less advantageous section of the society. Reservation
has been accepted as an inevitable by all section of the society. The Supreme Court also has
agreed up on 50% reservation of seats and jobs.

Sons of soil
A preference to sons of soil is another political factor. Political leaders clamor that preference
must be given to people of their respective states in matters of employment.
Company’s image (organizational over all reputation)
Often, it is not money that is important. It is the perception of the job seekers about the company
that matters in attracting qualified prospective employees.

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Location of the organization
The location of the enterprise and the relevant labor market play a major role both in the nature
of recruitment and in the composition of the work force .This influence arises due to the local
situation where the organization operates. In short, the location of the firm has a direct and
important bearing on the recruitment process.
Internal factors
Recruiting policy of the organization
Most organizations have a policy of recruiting internally (from own employees) or externally.
Generally the policy is to prefer internal sourcing, as own employees known the company well
and can recommend candidates who fit the organization’s culture.

Another related policy is have temporary and part time employees. An organization hiring
temporary and part time employees is in a less advantageous position in attracting sufficient
applicants.
In multinational corporations (MNCs) there is a policy relating to the recruitment of local
citizens .MNCs operating in different countries prefer local citizens as they can understand local
languages, customs, and business practices better.
Quality of HRP
A major internal factor that can determine the success of recruiting programme is whether or not
the company engaged in HRP. In most cases, a company cannot attract prospective employees in
sufficient number and with the required skill over night. It takes time to examine the alternatives
regarding the appropriate source of recruits and the most productive methods of obtaining them.
Once the best alternatives have been identified, recruiting plans may be made. Effective HRP
greatly facilitates the recruiting efforts.
Size of the organization
Size is another internal factor that can determine the success of the recruiting process. An
organization with one hundred thousand employees will find recruiting less problematic than an
organization with just one hundred employees.
Cost of recruiting
Recruiters must operate within budgets. Careful HRP and forethought by recruiters can minimize
recruitment costs. The best cost saving measure is to use proactive HR practices to reduce
employee turn over, thus, minimize the need for recruiting. Recruiting for multiple job openings

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simultaneously can also works. Evaluating the quality, quantity and cost of recruitment helps
ensure that it is efficient and effective.
Growth and Expansion
An organization registering growth and expansion will have more recruiting on hand than the
one which finds its fortunes declining.

3.1.2. Sources and Methods of Recruitment

An organization may fill particular job either with some one already employed by the
organization or with some one from out side. Each of these sources has advantages and
disadvantage.

Internal sources: Internal sources consists of the following

Present employee-permanent, temporary and casual employees already on the pay of the
organization are good source. Vacancies may be filed up from such employees through
promotion, transfers, and upgrading and even demotion. Transfer implies shifting of an
employee from one job to another with out any major change in the status and responsibilities of
the employee. On the other hand, promotion refers to shifting of an employee to a higher position
carrying higher status, responsibilities and pay

Retired and retrenched employees who want to return the company may be rehired.

Methods of internal recruitment

Internal recruitment methods can be closed internal recruitment or open internal recruitment
systems.

Closed internal recruitment system

In this system employees are un aware of job openings and therefore don’t have the opportunity
to formally apply. Most informal closed system is based on managerial nominations, where in
employees are simply nominated by managers where there is a job opening.
Disadvantages of closed internal recruitment system
 Nominations may be based on favoritism towards specific individuals or biases versus
various protected group.

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  Unintentionally, highly qualified candidates will be over looked.
Open internal recruitment system -Job posting and bidding

Job posting and bidding is an open internal method of recruitment in which notices of available
jobs are posted in central locations through out the organization and employees are given a
specified length of time to apply for the available jobs. Other methods used in publicizing jobs
include memos to supervisors and listing in employee publications. Normally the job notices
specifies the job title, rate of pay, and necessary qualifications. The usual procedure is for all
applicants to be sent to the human resource department for an initial review. The next step is an
interview by the prospective manager .Then a decision is made based on qualifications,
performance, length of service, and other pertinent criteria.

Internal sources have the following advantages

 Morale and motivation of employees improved when they are assured that they will be
preferred in filling up vacancies at higher levels. A sense of security is created among
employees.
 Suitability of existing employees can be judged better as record of their qualifications and
performance is already available in the organization. Chances of proper selection is higher
 It promotes loyalty and commitment among employees due to sense of job security and
opportunities for advancement.
 Present employees are already familiar with the organization and its polices. Therefore, time
and cost of orientation and training are low
 The time and cost of recruitment are reduced, as there is little need for advertising
vacancies, or arranging rigorous tests and interviews.
 Relations with trade unions remain good because union prefer recruitment particularly
through promotion.
 Filling of a higher-level job through promotion within the organization helps to retain
talented and ambitious employees. Labor turn over is reduced.
 It improves return on investment of human resource.

Internal source, how ever, suffer from some demerits:

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First, it may lead to inbreeding. Second, if promotion is based on seniority, really capable
persons may be left out. Third, the choice of selection is restricted. More talented outsiders may
not be employed. Mobility of labor is restricted. Chances of favoritism are higher and the limited
talent of inside restricts growth of business. Finally, this source of recruitment is not available to
a newly established enterprise.
External sources
Depending on the qualifications desired, employees may be attracted from a number of out side
sources.
External sources of recruitment lie outside the organization. These are;
High school and vocational schools
Colleges and Universities
Competitors and other firms
The unemployed

High schools and vocational schools

Organizations who want to recruit clerical and entry level operatives employees often depend on
high school s and vocational schools. For example, if you want to hire a fresh engine mechanic
or electrician for home appliance repair and so on, you need to contact vocational schools that
you know.

Colleges and universities

Colleges and universities represent a major recruitment source for many organizations. Potential
professional, technical and management employees are found in these institutions. Many
organizations recruit graduates from Jimma University, Mekelle University, Addis Ababa
University and others.
Competitors and other firms
Competitors and other firms in the same industry or geographic area may be the most important
source of recruits for positions in which recent experience is required .Smaller firms , in
particular look for employees who have been trained by large organizations because they do not
have resource to train their employees.
The Unemployed

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Qualified and experienced people may become unemployed for various reasons. Companies may
go out of business, cut back operations, or be merged with other firms, leaving qualified workers
with out jobs. Employees may some times fire simply due to difference on ideas with their boss.
These unemployed people are valuable sources.
Methods of External Recruitment
By examining recruitment sources, a firm determines the location of potential job
applicants .What comes next is to attract these applicants by specific recruitment methods. The
basic external recruitment methods are as follows:
 News paper advertisements
A method of job recruitment by advertising in a newspaper. When you look at the edition of
news papers such as ADDIS ZEMEN, ETHIOPIAN HERALD, and the REPOERTER, you will
find page after page job advertisements. Given the popularity of newspaper advertisements (ads),
it is not surprising that this source has several advantages. First, job ads can be placed quite
quickly, with little lead time. News paper ads permit a greater deal of flexibility in terms of
information; they also target specific geographic area. On the negative side , news paper ads
tends to attract only individuals who are actively seeking employment, while some of the best
candidates , who are well paid and challenged by their current jobs, fail to even be aware of
these openings. Also, a company may get many applicants who are marginally qualified or
completely unqualified for the job. Thus, this source may generate a great deal of administrative
work for the organization, with little in return.
 Television and Radio advertisements
A method of job recruitment by advertising open positions using television and radio spots. This
recruitment sources offers several potential advantages, particularly compared with news paper
ads. First, television and radio ads are more likely to reach individuals who are not actively
seeking employment. Television and radio ads also enable the organization to target the audience
more carefully, by selecting the channel or station and the time of day the advertisement is aired.
On the negative side, television and radio ads are rather expensive. In addition airtime may be
quite costly. Also, because the television and radio ads is simply seen or heard, potential
candidates may have a difficult time remembering the information, making application difficult.
For this reason, some employers choose to use the television or radio ads as a supplement to a

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more traditional news pepper ads. In sum, despite their costs, television and radio ads may be
highly effective recruitment sources.
 Campus recruiting
Recruiting on college and university is common practice of both private and public
organizations. In college recruiting the organization sends an employee, called recruiter, to a
campus to interview candidates and describes the organizations to them. Coinciding with the
visit, brochures and other literature about the organization are often distributed. The organization
may conduct seminars at which company executives talk about various facets of the
organization.
From the employer’s perspective, campus recruitment offers several advantages, as well as
several shortcomings. On the positive side, many organizations find the college campus an
effective source of applicants. The placement center typically helps locate applicants have at
least some qualification, since they have demonstrated the ability and motivation to complete a
college degree. Another advantage of campus recruitment is that students generally have lower
salary expectations than more experienced applicants.

On the negative side, the campus recruitment suffers from several distinct disadvantages
compared with other recruitment sources. First, most of the applicants have little or no work
experience. Thus, the organization must be prepared to provide some kind of training to
applicants they hire. Second, campus recruitment tends to depend on the season. Third, campus
recruiting can be quite expensive for organizations located in another city. Costs such airfare,
hotels, and meals for recruiters as well as applicants visit can become quite higher for
organizations located at a distance from the university. On the other hand, for organizations
located in the same city as the university, campus recruiting may be a highly cost –effective
source.
 Walk ins/unsolicited applications

Many applicants search for job either by walking in to the organization and completing an
application blank or by mailing a resume in the hope that a position is available. Corporate image
has a significant impact on the number and quality of people who apply to an organization in this
manner. Compensation policies, working conditions, relationship with labor, and participation in

26
the community activities are some of the many factors that can positively or negatively influence
an organization’s image.

The major advantage to companies using this source is the relatively low cost, because the
company is not spending money to collect/gather the resumes. On the other hand, there are
several disadvantages. First, although there are no advertising costs, there is a cost associated
with processing and storing the resumes and application blanks. Second, minorities are less
likely to apply for jobs that have not been advertised.
Thus, heavy reliance on this approach may lead to the under representation of minorities in the
work force, which could result in legal problems. This source tends to favor applicants who are
actively job searching; highly qualified applicants who are satisfied with their current jobs are
unlikely to apply.

 Employee referrals

Many organizations involve their current employees in recruiting process. These recruiting
systems may be informal and operated by word of mouth, or they may be structured with definite
guidelines to be followed. Incentives and bonuses are some times given to employees who refer
subsequently hired people.

Employee referral programs have pros and cons. Current employees can and usually will provide
accurate information about the job applicants they are referring, especially since they are putting
their own reputation on line. The new employees may also come with a more realistic picture of
what working in the firm is like after talking with friends there. But the success for the campaign
depends a lot on employee morale. And the campaign can back fire if an employee’s referrals are
rejected and the employee becomes dissatisfied. Using referrals exclusively may also be
discriminatory if most of the current employees and their referrals are male or white. Other draw
back to the use of employee referrals is that cliques may develop within the organization because
employees tends to refer only friends or relatives

An external source offers the following advantage:

 People having the requisite/necessary skill, education and training can be obtained.

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  as recruitment is done from a wider market, best selection can be made irrespective of
caste, sex, or religion
 Expertise and experience from other organization can be obtained.
 This source of recruitment never “dries up”. It is available to even new enterprises.
 It helps to bring new blood and new ideas into the organization, their orientation and
training is necessary
External sources, however, suffer from the following disadvantages;
- It is more expensive and time-consuming to recruit people from outside. Detailed
screening is necessary as very little is known about the candidates
- The employees being un familiar with the organization, their orientation and training
may not be necessary
- If higher levels are filled from the external source, motivation and loyalties of
existing staff are affected.

3.1.4. Organizational Inducement in Recruitment

The objective of recruitment is to attract a number of qualified personnel for each particular job
opening .Organizational inducements are all the positive features and benefits the organization
offers to attract job applicant’s .The most important organizational inducements are:
organizational compensation system
career opportunities and
organizational reputation
Starting salaries, frequency of pay raises, incentives, and the nature of the organizational fringe
benefits can all influence the number of people attracted through the recruitment process. For
example, an organization that pays the low starting salaries have a much more difficult time
finding qualified applicants than do organizations that pay higher starting salaries.

Organizations that have a reputation for providing employees with career opportunities are also
more likely to attract a large pool of qualified candidates through their recruiting activities,
Employee and management development opportunities enable present employees to grow
personally and professionally; they also attract good people to the organization. Assisting present
employees in career planning develops feelings that the company cares. It also acts as an
inducement to potential employees.

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Finally, the organizations over all reputations, or image, serves are an inducement to potential
employees. Factors that affect an organization’s reputation includes its general treatment of
employees, the nature and the quality of it products and services, and its participation in worth
wile social endeavors.

3.2 The Meaning of Selection

Definition -1
Selection is the process by which an organization chooses from a list of applicants the person or
persons who best meet the selection criteria for the position available, considering current
environmental conditions.

Definition-2
Selection is the process of matching the qualification of applicants with job requirement.
Selection divides all applicants into the categories- suitable and unsuitable, selection may be
described as a process of rejection because generally more candidates are turned away than the
hired.

Selection differs from recruitment. Recruitment technically precedes selection. Recruitment involves
identifying the source of manpower and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization. On the
other hand, selection is the process of choosing the best out of those recruited. Recruitment is positive
as it aims at increasing the number of applicants for wider choice or increase selection ratio. Selection
is negative as it rejects a large number of applicants to identify the few who are suitable for the job.
Recruitment involves prospecting or searching whereas selection involves comparison and choice of
candidates. The purpose of selection is to pick up the right person for every job. Selection is an
important function as no organization can achieve its goals with out selecting the right people. Faulty
selection leads to wastage of time and money and spoil the environment of the organization.

3.2.1 The Significant of Employee Selection

Effective selection is highly important for an organization’s future success because;

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 Selection is more powerful ways of improving productivity. Selecting qualified and competent
employees improves the benefits an organization reaps.

 Selection decision is a long lasting decision. Once the decision is made reversing it is very
difficult .If an organization hires poor performers, it can not be successful long, even if it has a
perfect plan and good control systems. In today’s business what makes the difference is kind of
human resource you have, not technology or financial resource.

 Selection affects other HR functions. If less qualified people are selected, then it will be necessary to
budget funds for training them.

3.2.2 Environmental Factors Affecting the Selection Process.

 Legal considerations
HRM is influenced by legislation, executive orders, and court decisions. Managers who hire
employees must have extensive knowledge of the legal aspects of selection. They must see the
relationship between useful and legally defensible selection tools.
 Speed of Decision Making
The time available to make the selection decision can have a major effect on selection process.
 Organizational hierarchy
Different methods of selection are taken for filling positions at varying levels in the organization. For
example, extensive background checks and interviewing would be conducted to verify the experience
and capabilities of the applicant for the sale’s manager position. On the other hand, an applicant for a
clerical position (secretary) would most likely taken only a word processing test and perhaps a short
employment interview.

Applicant pool (labor market)

The number of qualified applicants for a particular job can also affect the selection process. The
process can be truly selective only if there are several qualified applicants for a particular position.
When the applicants are very few, then selection process becomes a matter of choosing whoever is at
hand.
 Probationary period

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Many firms use a probationary period that permits them to evaluate an employee’s ability based on
established performance. Probationary period is required for either of the following two reasons.
1. A substitute for certain phases of the selection process (If the an individual can successfully
perform the job during the probationary period, other selection tools may not be needed) or
2. A check on the validity of the selection process (to determine whether the hiring decision was a
good one)

3.2.3 Selection Criteria

At the core of any effective selection system is an understanding of what characteristics are essential
for high performance. This is where the critical role of job analysis in selection becomes most
apparent, because that list of characteristics should have been identified during the process of job
analysis and should now be accurately reflected in job specification. Thus, from a performance
perspective, the goal of any selection system is to accurately determine which applicants posses the
skill, knowledge, ability and other characteristics detected by the job. Different selection criteria may,
indeed, be needed to assess these qualitatively different (KSAOs).
Categories of criteria

The criteria typically used by organizations for making selection decision can be summarized in
several broad categories: education, experience, physical characteristics, and other personal
characteristics.

 Formal education

An employer selecting from a pool of job applicants wants to find the person who has the right
abilities and attitudes to be successful. A large number of cognitive, motor, physical, and
interpersonal attributes are present because of genetic predispositions and because they were learned
at home, at school, on the job and so on. One of the more common cost- effective ways to screen of
many of these abilities is by using educational accomplishment as a surrogate for of summary of the
measures of those abilities. Rather than using a selection test to measure each of these, the
organization might simply require that applicants have proof that they have completed the specified
level of education. For certain jobs, the employer might go one or more steps further than simply
requiring than a certain educational level has been achieved; The employer may stipulate that the

31
 education (especially for college-level requirements) is in a particular area of expertise, such as
accounting or management. The employer might also prefer that the degree be from certain
institutions that the grade point average be higher than some minimum, and those certain honors
have been achieved.
Experience and past performance

Another uses full criteria for selecting employees is experience and past performance. Many selection
specialists believe that past performance on a similar job might be one of the best indicators of future
job performance. In addition, employers often consider experience to be a good indicator of ability
and work related attitudes. Their reasoning is that a prospective employee who has performed the job
before and is applying for a similar job must like the work and be able to do the job will.
 Physical characteristics
In the past, many employers consciously or unconsciously used physical characteristics as a criterion.
Studies found that employers were most likely to hire and pay better wages to taller men, and airlines
choose flight attendants and company receptionists on the base of beauty. Many times such practices
discriminated against ethnic groups, women, and hind capped people. For this reason, they are now
illegal unless it can be shown that a physical characteristic is directly related to effectiveness at work.
Fore example, visual acuity (eyesight) would be a physical characteristic that could be used to hire
airline pilots. It might not, however, be legally used for hiring a telephone reservations agent for an
airline.
 Personality characteristics and personality type
Personal characteristics include marital status, sex, age, and so on. Some employers have, fore
example, preferred “stable’’ married employees over single people because they have assumed that
married people have a lower turnover rate. On the other hand, other employers might seek out single
people fore some jobs since a single person might be more likely to accept a transfer or a lengthy over
sees assignment. Age, too, has some times been used as a criterion. While it is illegal to discriminate
against people who are over the age 40. However, minimum and maximum age restrictions for the job
be used only if they are clearly job related. Thus, age should be used as a selection criterion only after
very careful thought and consideration.

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 3.2.4 Selection Process
The selection process consists of a series of steps. At each stage facts may come to light, which may
lead to rejection of the applicant. It is a series of successive hurdle or barriers, which an applicant
must cross. These hurdles are designed to eliminate an unqualified candidate at any point in the
selection process. However, every selection procedure dose not contains all these hurdles. Moreover,
the arrangement of these hurdles may differ from organization to organization. There is no standard
selection procedure to be used in all organization or for all jobs. The complexity of election
procedure increase with the level and responsibility of the position to be filled. The strategy and
method used for selecting employees varies from firms to firm and from one job to another.

Completing and screening of the application form

Preliminary interview

Employment test

Second or follow up or diagnostic interview

Reference cheek

Physical (medical examination

Final decision or final approval

Fig .3.3: Basic steps in selection

Steps involved in employee selection may be described as under:

Application blank: Application form is a traditional and widely used device for collecting
information from the candidates. Small firms design no application form and ask the candidates to
write details about their age, marital status, education, work experience, etc. on a plan of sheet of
paper. But big companies use different type of application forms for different jobs. The application
form should provide all the information relevant to selection.
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Preliminary interviews: The preliminary interview is used to determine whether the applicant’s
skills, abilities, and the job preferences match any of the available jobs in the organization, to explain
to the applicant the available jobs and their requirements, and to answer any questions the applicant
has about the available jobs or the employer. A preliminary interview is usually conducted after the
applicant has completed the application form. It is generally a brief, explanatory interview screens out
unqualified or uninterested applicants. Interview questions must be job related and are not subject to
demonstration of validity.
Employment test: A technique that some organization uses to aid their selection decisions is
employment test. An employment test is a mechanism that attempts to measure certain characteristics
of individuals. The basic categories of tests are:

 Aptitude test –means of measuring a person’s capacity or latent ability to learn and perform the
job
 Psychomotor test–test that measures a person’s strength, dexterity, and Coordination.
 Job knowledge test –Tests used to measure the job related knowledge of the applicants.
 Proficiency test- tests used to measure how well a job applicant
can do a sample of the work to be performed in the job.
 Interest test –tests designed to determine how a person’s interest compared with the interest of
successful people in a specific job.
 Personality test –tests that attempt to measure personality traits.
 Polygraph test –the polygraph, popularly known as the lie detector, is a device that records
physical changes in the body as the test subject answers serious of questions. he polygraph
records fluctuations in blood pressure, respiration, and perspiration on a moving roll of graphic
paper. The polygraph operator makes a judgment as to whether the subject’s response was
truthful or deceptive by studying the physiological measurements recorded on paper
 Graphology (hand writing analysis) - use of trained analysis to examine a person’s hand
writing to assess the personality, emotional problems, and honesty.

Secondary or follow-up interview or Employment interview

Most organizations use the second or follow up interview as an important step in the selection
process. Its purpose is to supplement information obtained in other steps in the selection process

34
to determine the suitability of an applicant for a specific opening. All questions asked during an
interview must be job related
There are different types of interview and different organizations use one or more of them to
make their selection choices. Interview types that are generally used are discussed below.

Structured interview
In this form of interview, the interviewer follows a predetermined approach designed to ensure
that all pertinent factors relating to he candidate’s qualifications suitability for the job will be
gone over. This type of interview also allows an interviewer to prepare in advance, questions that
are job-related and then complete a standardized interviewer evaluation form. The purpose of
such a form is to retain documentation at may be useful later on reply.
Semi-structured interview:
Here only the major questions to be asked are worked out beforehand. The interviewer also has
the option to prepare in-depth questions in certain areas. Clearly, the interviewer, in this
approach, needs to prepare more adequately and his role also has greater flexibility than in the
structured style. During the course of the interview, where the occasion rises the interviewer has
the freedom to probe In a greater detail those areas, which appear to require further investigation,
The interviewer’s objective, in the semi-structured format, should be to achieve the ideal balance
between adequate structure facilitating exchange of factual information, with adequate freedom
to develop a clear perception of the candidate’s work.
Unstructured interview
This may be defined as the process of active listening. Normally used in psychological
counseling, it is also widely used in selection. The interviewer has a wider canvas and the choice
to prepare a list of topics to be covered rather than the question s. little preparation is required on
the part of the interviewer. The interviewer asks general questions designed to prompt the
candidate to discuss him or her self and often uses a thought or idea expressed on one response
as the base for the next question. The tremendous plus point of the unstructured approach is the
freedom the interviewer has to adapt both to the changing situations and a variety of candidates.
The difficulties, however, lie in the maintenance of job –relatedness and obtaining of comparable
data on each applicant. Spontaneity is the chief characteristics of this approach but the pitfalls are

35
daunting. In the hands of untrained interviewer, biases invariably creep in and digressions,
discontinuity and a host of subjective elements may well destroy or negate the fundamental
objective of selecting the best available talent.

Stress interview:
This is a special type of interview designed to asses and provides use full information as to
whether a person would be able to cope with stress on the job or not. Stress interviews are
deliberate attempts to create tension and pressure in an applicant to see how well he or she
responds to those tensions and pressures. Methods used to induce stress, ranges from frequent
interruptions and criticism of an applicant’s opinion, to keeping silent for an extended period of
time.
Depth Interview/ Extensive Interview
In this case, an attempt is made to cover completely the life history of the applicant and develop
a comprehensive profile based on in-depth understanding of the frozen aspects of the frozen
aspects of his or her personality such as education, extra-curricular activities, early childhood
experiences, etc. as well as the flexible aspects such as hobbies, interests, hopes, desires,
aspirations, goals etc. This is a time consuming and costly approach best suited for executive
selection rather than blue or white collar workers, its major advantage is in getting a complete,
detailed understanding of the candidate but the price paid in terms of time and money need to be
carefully weighed.
Interview problems
Despite the wide spread use of the employment interview, it continues to be the source of a
variety of problems of the selection process. There is no doubt that problems of reliability can
develop in the use of interviews when they are less structured or conducted by relatively
untrained interviewers.

Following is a list of some sources of errors in the interview process.

Contrast effects or Hallow effect: The order of interviewees’ influence ratings. For instance,
Strong candidates who succeed weak ones look even stronger by contrast
Similarity to interviewer: interviewee’s similarity in sex, age, ethnicity, religion and or attitude

36
to interviewer’s may lead to favorable evaluation at the expense of the expectations of the job.
Non-verbal signals: interviewers often fall in to the trap of using non- verbal behavior patterns
as a basis for reaching a decision. Factors such as how a candidate looks, sits in the chair ,
maintains eye contact, fidgets or his or her facial expressions may be allowed to become
overriding criteria and this can easily in by –passing competent candidates
Interviewer lack of knowledge: Where this happens there is almost invariably a miscarriage of
justice. The interviewer’s lack of familiarity with job requirements prevents him or her from
identifying those characteristics in the candidate that makes him or her suitable for the job.
Instead, he or she might well be eliminated for the wrong reasons.
Over –emphasis on negative characteristics: quite often, there is a natural human tendency on
the part of interviewers to succumb to the pitfall of assigning undue emphasis to one or two
negative qualities of the applicant . Very many good aspects suited to the job at hand may be
ignored in the process, the interviewer must consciously attempt to look beyond small drawbacks
in the candidate and take an objective, brad –based view.
Snap judgment: there is a tendency for the interviewers to make up their minds on the first
impression of the candidate. Based on the first observation of the applicant and the first few
minutes of discussion, a judgment is arrived at which in fact, may be quite erroneous. Too often,
interviewers from an early impression and spend the rest of the time looking for evidence to
support it. The attempt, on the other hand, should be to collect comprehensive information about
the candidate and reserve judgment until various aspects and areas have been probed.
Legal Consideration in interview;
1. Don’t ask applicant if they have children, or what child care arrangements they have
made.
2. Don’t ask an applicants age.
3. Don’t ask whether the candidate has physical or mental disability that would interfere
with doing a job (The law allows the employers to explore the subject only after making a
job offer that is conditioned on satisfactory completion of a required physical, medical or
job skills test).
4. Don’t ask for such identifying characteristics on height or weight on an applicant.
5. Don’t ask female candidates for the maiden name.
6. Don’t ask applicants about their citizenship.

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 7. Don’t ask applicants about their arrest records. You are, however, allowed to ask whether
the candidate has ever been convicted of a crime.
8. Don’t ask if a candidate smokes because there are several state or local ordinances that
restrict smoking in certain buildings, a more appropriate question is whether the applicant
is aware of the regulations and is willing to comply with them.
Reference checks: The applicant is asked to mention in his application form the names and
addresses of two or three persons who know him or her well. They may be his or her previous
employers, head of educational institutions or public figures. The organization contacts them by
mail or telephone. They are requested to provide their frank opinion about the candidate with out
incurring any liability. They are assured that all the information supplied will kept confidential.
Selection decision
In most of the organizations, the human resource department carries out selection process. The
decision of this department is recommendatory. The executive of the concerned department
finally approves the candidates short-listed by the department.

Physical examination or Medical evaluation:

Applicants who have crossed the above stages are sent for a physical examination either to the
company’s physician to the medical officer approved for the purpose. Such examination serves
the following purposes:
It determines whether the candidate is physically fit to perform the job. Those who are
physically unfit are rejected.
It reveals existing disabilities and provides a record of the employee’s health at the time of
selection. This record will help in settling company’s liability under the workmen compensation
act for claim of an injury.
It prevents the employment of people suffering from contagious diseases.

Final approval or hiring decision

Employment is offered in the form of an appointment letter mentioning the post, the rank, the
salary grade, and the date by which the candidate should join and other terms and conditions in
brief.

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3.2.5 Reviewing the Hiring Process
After completing the hiring, the selection process should be evaluated. Here are some
considerations in the evaluation:

 What about the number of initial applicants? Where there too many applicants? Too few?
Does the firm need to think about changing its advertisement and recruiting to get the
results desired?
 What was the nature of the applicant’s qualification? Were the applicants too qualified
enough? Perhaps the advertisements need to be re-worked to attract more appropriate
candidates. In this case, using a job description can help.
 How cost effective was the advertising? A simple way to measure is to divide the cost
(not only in dollars but in your time) by either the number of total applicants or the
number of applicants that you considered seriously.
 Were there questions that needed to be asked but weren’t?
 How well did the interviewers do? One way to determine this is to ask the new employee
to critique the interviewing process.
 Did employment tests support or help the hiring decision? If not, may be the firm will
have to reconsider the kinds of tests it is administering. Further, the evaluation process
should help the firm decide if the cost and the time involved in the testing is worth it.
Would you have come to the same hiring decision without testing?

Orientation

Definition and Meaning

Orientation is a process for introducing new employees to the organization, its mission, its
activities and programs as well as her/his job. An employee handbook is often used in an
orientation session.

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The orientation process is similar to what sociologists called socialization. Socialization occurs
when a new employee learns the norms, values, work procedures and patterns of behavior and
dress that are expected in the organization

The handbook serves as a ready reference to the material covered during the orientation session.
The orientation of new employees can provide a great refresher or learning opportunity for their
colleagues, who can be asked to present information or guide the newcomer.

3.3.2 The Purpose of Orientation

 To make the new employee feel welcome

 To reduce the anxiety and hazing of the employee on the first day
 To socialize the employee to the values, standards and desirable behaviors of the
organization
 To help the new employee be successful in his/her job
 To enable the new employee to quickly become productive
 To reduce start up costs of new employees
 To develop realistic job expectations, positive attitudes towards the employer and job
satisfaction
 To start building the relationship between the employee and the supervisor

3.3.3 Guidelines
Instead of a quick and information-overloaded orientation program, a more systematic and
guided procedure is appropriate. The following are a few guidelines for such a program:

 Orientation should begin with the most relevant and immediate kinds of information and
proceed to the more general policies of the organization. It should occur at a pace that the
new employees is conformable with
 The most significant part of orientation is the human side: giving new employees
knowledge of what supervisors and coworkers are like, telling them how long it should
take to reach standards of effective work and encouraging them to seek help and advise
when needed.

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  New employees should be “sponsored” or directed in the immediate environment by an
experienced worker or supervisor who can respond to questions and keep in close touch
during the early induction period.
 New employees should be gradually introduced to the people with whom they will work,
rather than given a superficial introduction to all of them on the first day. The object
should be to help them know their coworkers and supervisors.
New employees should be allowed sufficient time to get their feet on the ground before job
demands on them are increased.

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