Most organizations, including government agencies, have an outlined recruiting and selection process. Guidelines are documented and administered by human resources, who supervise the process accordingly. This ensures the selection process is strictly followed by hiring managers. Administering policies and procedures for recruitment and selection allows a company to find the best possible candidate for any position within its organization and also promotes growth opportunities for employees.
Types of Recruitment and Selection
In most organizations, recruitment and selection utilizes several outlets: internally, externally or an internal promotional selection. In most cases, a company will allow current employees to apply for the position before posting the position externally.
Internal Recruitment
When a position opens in an organization, it is typically posted on the company's intranet and in common areas, such as cafeterias, break rooms and departmental information boards. If an employee is interested in the position, she is normally required to go through a similar process as an external candidate. The employee will submit her resume and cover letter to human resources, and if she is qualified, the employee will be scheduled for an interview with human resources and the hiring manager.
External Recruitment
If no internal candidates are selected for an open position, the company will post the position externally on Internet job boards, local newspapers and ask its employees for referrals. In most cases, employee referral programs are established and if an employee refers an outside candidate that is hired, the employee will receive a cash bonus. Human resources will screen resumes of candidates that applied, and select resumes that are qualified for the position.
Selection Methods
After an organization selects candidates qualified for the position, it typically contacts them for interviews and testing. Interviewing and testing are determined by the company's guidelines and procedures. In most cases, several candidates are selected and will be screened on a phone interview by human resources and asked to take assessments. Assessments can include personality, technical aptitude or academic assessments depending on the position requirements.
Most organizations will require internal candidates go through the required assessments and interviews, even if they were required to take those assessments when they were originally hired.
After the initial phone screens and assessments, candidates are selected to interview with hiring managers and human resources. In most cases, candidates will be required to meet with several members of the department that they will be working in and can include managers, peers and employees the candidate will be supervising. This ensures the candidate will be a fit for the organization and department she will be working in. In most cases, candidates will be brought back for additional interviews as the hiring team narrows its selection.
The hiring team will then meet and make a collective decision on which candidate it would like to hire. Normally, human resources will contact the candidate and make a verbal offer.
Additional Insight
The recruitment and selection process may take several weeks or months, which can be frustrating for the candidate applying for the position. Although the process can take time, it ensures the right candidate is being hired. This is important to many companies because hiring and training new employees can be costly. Most organization's hiring and training costs can average $7,000 to $30,000 for each new employee, depending on the position. Additional guidelines are put into place for employee retention.
