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Selection

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SelectionThe objective of selection decision is to choose the individual who can most successfully perform the job from the pool of qualified candidates. The selection procedure is the system of functions and devices adopted in a given company to ascertain whether the candidates’ specifications are matched with the job specifications and requirements or not. The selection process cannot be effective until and unless:

1. Requirements of the job to be filled, have been clearly specified (job analysis, etc.)

2. Employee specifications (physical, mental, social behavioural, etc.) have been clearly specified.

3. Candidates for screening have been attracted.

Thus, the development of job analysis, human resource planning and recruitment are necessary pre-requisites to the selection process. A breakdown in any of these processes can make even the best selection system ineffective.

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Essentials of Selection Procedure

The selection process can be successful if the following requirements are satisfied:

1. Some one should have the authority to select. This authority comes from the employment requisition, as developed by an analysis of work-load and work-force.

2. There must be some standard of personnel with which a prospective employee may be compared, i.e. a comprehensive job description and job specification should be available beforehand.

3. There must be a sufficient number of applicants from whom the required number of employees may be selected.

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Using Selection Agencies/Consultants

Some private agencies/consultants in India perform the function of recruitment and selection so as to enable the organisations to concentrate on their functions. The advertise, conduct tests and interview and provide a short list. Some companies have started using the services of these agencies as they provide expertise and reduce work load.

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The organisations has to take these following factors into consideration in selecting an agency or a consultant:1. Reputation, effectiveness, sincerity and punctuality

of the organisation;2. Advertisement copy, design and media plans of

various agencies;3. Amount of fee, payment period and mode;4. Objectivity, fair and justice in selection;5. Selection techniques to be adopted, particularly

psychological tests, interview methods etc.6. Competence of the human resources of the

agency/consulting firm.

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The company has to do the following in case of using an agency or a consultant:

1. Briefing the agency about the requirements, terms and conditions and employment;

2. Providing job and employee specifications and helping the consultant in modifying them;

3. Checking and reviewing the draft of the advertisement;

4. Ensuring that all arrangements are made for conducting tests and interview.

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Factors Affecting Selection Decisions

The goal of selection is to sort out or eliminate those judged unqualified to meet the job and organisational requirements, whereas the goal of recruitment is to create a large pool of persons available and willing to work. Thus. It is said that recruitment tends to be positive while selection tends to be somewhat negative.

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A number of factors affect the selection decision of candidates.

The important among them are:1. Profile matching

2. Organisational and social environment

3. Successive hurdles

4. Multiple correlation

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1.Profile MatchingTentative decisions regarding the selection of candidates is taken in advance. The scores secured by these known candidates in various tests are taken as a standard to decide the success or failure of other candidates at each stage. Normally, the decision about the known candidates is taken at interview stage. Possible care is taken to match the candidate’s bio-data with the given specifications.

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2. Organisational and Social Environment:

Some candidates who are eminently suitable

for the job, may fail as successful employees

due to varying organisational and social

environment. Hence, candidates’ specifications

must match with not only job specifications but

also with organisational and social

environmental requirements.

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3. Successive Hurdles:

In this method hurdles are created at every stage of selection process. Therefore, applicants must successfully pass each and every screening device in case of successive hurdles.

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4. Multiple Correlation:

Multiple correlation is based on the assumption that a deficiency in one factor can be counter-balanced by an excess amount of another. A candidate is routed through all the selection steps before a decision is made. The composite test score index is taken into accounting the selection tests. Hence, for border line cases multiple correlation method is useful and for other successive hurdles method is useful.

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Selection Procedure

There is no standard selection process that can be followed by all the companies in all the areas. Companies may follow different selection techniques or methods depending upon the size of the company, nature of the business, kind and number of persons to be employed, government regulations to be followed etc. Thus each company may follow any one or the possible combinations of methods of selection in the order convenient or suitable to it.

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Steps in Scientific Selection Process

1. Job Analysis 2. Recruitment 3. Application Form4. Written Examination 5. Preliminary Interview6. Business games 7. Group discussions8. Tests 9. Final Interview 10. Medical examination

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1. Job Analysis : Job analysis is the basis for selecting the right candidate. Every organisation should finalise the job analysis, job description, job specification and employee specifications before proceeding to the next step of selection.

2. Recruitment: Recruitment refers to the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in an organisation. It is the basis for the remaining techniques of the selection and the latter varies depending upon the former

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3. Application Form: Application form is also known as application blank. The technique of application blank is traditional and widely accepted for securing information from the prospective candidates. It can also be used as a device to screen the candidates at the preliminary level. Information is generally required on the following items in the application forms: (i) Personal background information (ii) Educational attainments. (iii) Work experiences. (iv) Salary (v) Personal details (vi) References.

4. Written Examination: The organisations has to conduct written examination for qualified candidates after they are screened on the basis of the application blank so as to measure the candidate’s ability in arithmetical calculations, to know the candidates’ attitude towards the job, to measure the candidates’ aptitude, to know the candidates’ attitude towards the job, to measure the candidates’ aptitude, reasoning, knowledge in various disciplines, general knowledge and English language.

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5. Preliminary Interview: The preliminary interview is to solicit necessary information from the prospective applicants and to assess the applicant’s suitability to the job. Preliminary interviews are short and known as stand-up interviews or sizing-up of the applicants or screening ,interviews.

6. Business games: Business games are widely used as a selection technique for selecting management trainees, executives trainees, and managerial personnel at the junior, middle and top management positions. Business games help to evaluate the applicants in the areas of decision-making, identifying the potentialities, handling the situations, problem-solving skills, human relations skills etc.

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7. Group discussions: The technique of group discussion is used in order to secure further information regarding the suitability of the candidate for the job. Group discussion is a method where groups of the successful applicants are brought around a conference table and are asked to discuss either ma case study or a subject-matter. The candidates in the group are required to analyse, discuss, find alternative solutions and select the sound solution. A selection panel observes the candidates very closely and rank them according to their merit.

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8. Tests: The next stage in the selection process is conducting different tests. The objective of the tests is to solicit further information to assess the employee suitability to the job.

8. Final Interview: Final interview is usually followed by testing. This is the most essential step in the process of selection. In this step the interviewer matches the information obtained about the candidate through various means to the job requirements and to the information obtained through his own observation during interview.

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10.Medical examination: Certain jobs require certain physical qualities like clear vision, perfect hearing, unusual stamina, tolerance of hard working conditions, clear tone, etc. Medical examination reveals whether or not a candidate possesses these qualities. Medical examination can give the following information (i) Whether the applicant is medically suited for the specific job. (ii) Whether the applicant has health problems or psychological attitudes likely to interfere with work efficiency or future attendance. (iii) Whether the applicant suffers from bad health which should be corrected before he can work satisfactorily (such as need for Spectacles) (iv) It reveals the applicant’s physical measurements. (v) And it is used to check the special senses of the candidates.