Professional Documents
Culture Documents
0 Introduction
Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuses
on recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in
the organization. Human Resource Management can also be performed by line managers.
Answer: Departments are the entities organizations form to organize people, reporting
relationships, and work in a way that best supports the accomplishment of the
But, a department can be organized in any way that makes sense for the customer.
Additionally, the human resource function serves to make sure that the company mission,
vision, values or guiding principles, the company metrics, and the factors that keep the
The most common Human Resource jobs that are grouped in the Human Resource
Department are the Human Resources Director, Human Resources Generalist, and
Human Resources and employees who are organized around providing a specific
Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues
match the best potential candidate for the organisation, diplomacy, marketing skills (as to
sell the position to the candidate) and wisdom to align the recruitment processes for the
the organisation- are constantly facing new challenges in Recruitment. The biggest HR
challenge in Recruitment for such professionals is to source or recruit the best people or
In the last few years, the job market has undergone some fundamental changes in terms
saturated job market, where the practices like poaching and raiding are gaining
momentum
HR professionals are constantly facing new challenges in one of their most important
function- recruitment. They have to face and conquer various challenges to find the best
to keep in tune with the changing times, i.e. the changes taking place across the
• Process analysis – The immediacy and speed of the recruitment process are the
Strategic prioritization – The emerging new systems are both an opportunity as well as
a challenge for the HR professionals. Therefore, reviewing staffing needs and prioritizing
the tasks to meet the changes in the market has become a challenge for the recruitment
professionals.
The number and categories of manpower required should be specified in the recruitment
programme which is derived from the manpower plan. In addition, there will be demands
for replacements or for new jobs to be filled, and these demands should be checked to
ensure that they are justified. It may be particularly necessary to check on the need for a
In a large organisation it is useful to have a form for requisitioning staff. However, even
when a requisition form is completed, it may still be necessary to supplement the brief
information contained in the form about the job, and it will almost certainly be necessary
to check on the specification. If a requisition form is not available, then the job has to be
analysed and a job description and job specification prepared. Existing descriptions and
specifications should be checked to ensure that they are up-to-date. It is also necessary to
A job description defines the overall purpose or role of the job and the main tasks to be
carried out. A good job description is vital to the success of a selection procedure because
it is the foundation upon which all other processes are based. The personal or job
specification and, in turn, the advertisement and interviewing, testing and assessment
qualifications, experience and personal qualities required by the job holder and any other
necessary information on the special demands made by the job, such as physical
conditions, unusual hours, or travelling away from home. They should also set out or
refer to terms and conditions of employment such as salary, fringe benefits, hours and
holidays.
analysis of the knowledge and skills needed to carry out the job. These should therefore
be specified. The list should be as exact as possible so that at the interviewing stage the
interviewer can ask direct questions about what the applicant knows or can do. The
biggest danger to be avoided at this stage is that of overstating the qualifications required.
Perhaps it is natural to go for the best, but setting an unrealistically high level for
among recruits when they find their talents are not being used. Understating requirements
When the requirements have been agreed, they should be analysed under suitable
headings. There are various ways of doing this; the most familiar being the seven-point
plan developed by Alec Rodger and the five-fold grading system produced by Munro
Fraser. Other more complex methods include job component analysis and repertory grids.
The Seven-point plan covers: physical make-up, attainments, general intelligence, special
aptitudes, interests, disposition, and circumstances. The five-fold grading system covers:
Of these systems the seven-point plan has the longer pedigree. The five-fold grading
scheme is simpler, in some ways, and places more emphasis on the dynamic aspects of
the applicant’s career. Both provide a good framework for interviewing although a more
simple approach used by many interviews is to start from the analysis of the knowledge
and skills required and go on from there to define the minimum and optimum education,
qualifications, training and experience needed to succeed in the job. This leads on
definition of other requirements such as age limits, location of work, travelling, night or
shift work. The more complex systems can be used in circumstances where the jobs
themselves are fairly complicated and the numbers to be recruited or trained are large.
Attracting candidates is primarily a matter of identifying, evaluating and using the most
retaining candidates are being met or anticipated, it may be necessary to carry out a
preliminary study of the factors that are likely to attract or repel candidates - strengths
Two part-time clerical or data processing people can do one job. We meet the needs of
the person who can only work part time, and we will have two people who are trained on
workers, and even students. People working full-time jobs elsewhere who need extra
work will be attracted to odd-hour scheduling. If they see how enlightened your
management is in providing for employees’ needs, they may be attracted to work for us
full time.
3. Allow professional and clerical workers, such as writers, typists, data processing
people who have a home computer, draftspersons, and others who can work just as well
from home as from your office, to work at home and bring the work in at scheduled
times. We can pay by the hour by asking them to keep time cards; we can pay a salary; or
in some cases we can pay them as independent contractors. Adapt the method of payment
to the individual and the company needs. As long as payment complies with all necessary
4. Use retired workers for special projects. Whether they retired from our company or
another company, if they have needed skills and abilities, they can do special projects at
home or in our office. There is a distinct possibility that a critical worker shortage lies
5. Create an ad hoc committee in-house with engineers, accountants, and the same types
of people we are trying to hire. They can help us come up with new ideas for recruiting.
They also can add a networking element with a variety of professional associations.
6. More than 70 percent of the women in Asia today work outside the home. Be sure your
ads and recruiting literature appeal to women. Ask women currently on our staff for new
recruiting ideas.
7. Set up a hotline for people who might be interested in a job with your company to call
in and get information about specific jobs. Keep one hotline open during evening hours
8. In every company there are people who, if given the chance to learn a new skill, could
do so in a very short period of time. Can a data clerk learn a job one or two levels above
the current assignment? Can a secretary learn a job as a report writer or a project
coordinator? Can an older clerk learn new skills and become a warehouse or purchasing
supervisor? Are you being creative and thoughtful in looking inside your own company
for talent? An investment in training might bring a better return than recruiting costs.
9. Consider organisational change as an alternative staffing method. If we can not hire a
specific person, consider an alternative move. Case Example: One company had two
managers in its data processing organization one manager for business systems and one
manager for technical mineral systems. We lost the mineral systems manager and could
not replace that person immediately with another qualified individual. A discussion about
organisational alternatives brought excellent results. They reorganised the data processing
function. The manager of business systems had a good general background and
knowledge of the mineral systems function, had a great deal of credibility with both
groups, and was an excellent manager. When they were unable to find an experienced
mineral systems manager, they decided to reorganise by putting both groups under the
business systems manager and beefing up the technical mineral systems group by adding
10. Upfront bonuses, a perk once reserved for senior executives, has become a way to
attract middle management. The perk helps combat inflation while not upsetting
first year salary. Once paid, the candidate is free to walk away. No matter how large the
bonus may appear, its impact on a candidate’s financial well-being is soon dissipated.
11. Make an effort to recruit and employ handicapped workers. Forward thinking
companies like Control Data allow workers like technical writers to work at home while
receiving employee benefits. The Xerox Corporation has an excellent programme for
employing disabled workers, and AT&T has developed a programme to train managers
of disabled people.
The analysis of strengths and weaknesses should cover such matters as the national or
local reputation of the company, pay, fringe benefits and working conditions, the intrinsic
interest of the job, security of employment, opportunities for education and training,
Candidates are, in a sense, selling themselves, but they are also buying what the company
has to offer. If the labour market is a buyer’s market, then the company which is selling
itself to candidates must study their needs in relation to what it can provide.
The aim of the study might be to prepare a better image of the company for use in
aim of showing where the company needs to improve if it is to attract more or better
candidates. The study could make use of an attitude survey to obtain the views of existing
employees.
2.3.3 Sources of candidates
The main sources of candidates are: internal, by means of a search or ‘trawl’, as the Civil
other external sources, unsolicited letters or casual callers, and recommendations from
employees.
sources. It depends upon the type of job to be filled, the relative difficulty of attracting
candidates, the area in which the company operates and the history of success or failure
Advertising
Advertising is the most obvious method of attracting candidates. Nevertheless, the first
question to ask is whether an advertisement is really justified. This means looking at the
experience, that they will not do. Consideration should be given as to whether it might be
better to use an agency or a selection consultant. When making the choice, refer to the
three criteria of cost, speed and the likelihood of providing good candidates. The
potential candidates against other employees; create and maintain interest - the
advertisement has to communicate in an attractive and interesting way information about
the job, the company, the terms and conditions of employment and the qualifications
required; stimulate action - the message needs to be conveyed in a manner which will not
only focus people’s eyes on the advertisement but will also encourage them to read to the
end and stimulate action in the form of a sufficient number of replies from good
candidates.
guideline for use of such agencies is in order. There are firms in business today that are
not as reliable as they should be. They practice such shady policies as churning, which is
the practice of placing a candidate and then recruiting that same person into another
company several months later, thus collecting two placement fees. Another questionable
Here are a few questions we might ask about an employment agency or search firm
1. Question the background and professionalism of the people we will be working with.
person will be less formal and on guard - and observe his or her interpersonal skills and
what he or she says about other clients. Then ask yourself if this is the type of person we
4. How well does the person know our industry and the positions we will have to fill?
5. Does the recruiter ask the right questions and have the right insights?
7. What is the firm’s current work level? Will they have the appropriate time to devote to
our company?
time interviewing applicants who are not qualified. We need to work smart at attracting
the right people. Following are seven steps to consider adding to your selection process:
Step 1. Much time is spent interviewing applicants for jobs when the position’s
specifications and the actual requirements of the job are not clear. Many times even
hiring managers have not defined the job clearly in their own minds. Job responsibilities
are frequently blown out of proportion, resulting in too high an expectation of the job on
the part of the person hired. To avoid a lengthy, costly recruiting process and a poor
selection decision, it is important to know the precise job specifications, including daily
Step 2. A brief discussion with the hiring manager could save hours of interviewing time
later. It is important to understand what the manager wants in the person to be hired.
Step 3. Identify the best recruiting source for the open position. The interviewing process
will be successful only if we are able to attract the most qualified candidates for the job.
We frequently have to try several sources until we are successful at attracting the best
Credentials for the position, Experience in the field, Past successes, Can do qualities,
business.
and so on.
Step 6. Conduct a thorough selection interview. Cover such items as education, work
experience, the can do qualities of the applicant; watch for good listening skills, speaking
and interpersonal skills. Determine the applicant’s technical expertise by asking open-
ended questions about job assignments. Encourage open discussion by putting the
Step 7. After we have put together a complete file of information on our top three
candidates, the hiring manager must make a decision based on the data collected. We
recommend using a form to evaluate the top candidates initially. A form tends to make us
more objective about the data gathered. Ask ourself which candidate best fits the job
specifications and the internal environment of the department and the company.
2.4.1 Interviewing
Interviewing today is a whole new process. Many of today’s applicants are as aware of
the interviewing process as the company interviewer. Smart applicants are well prepared
for the interview, and it is tough to elicit the data we need to make a wise hiring decision.
Because interviewing has become such a widely practiced skill, there is a need for human
There is a way to put top achievers on our payroll and cut our company’s turnover at the
same time. Make the most of job interviews. Pinpoint in advance those qualifications
necessary for the job we are filling. And make sure the interview focuses on how the job
applicant will fit the bill. Here are some effective techniques many company presidents
use to boost the odds that the person they hire today will become tomorrow’s top asset:
1.Do some comparison shopping before we sit down with an applicant. Pull a few
resumes of some of our successful employees to see how the applicant’s experience
stacks. we will have a clear idea of which qualifications point to success in that particular
job.
2. Get a second opinion. Involve our supervisors to see what their ideas are. They will
have a different perspective to add. Send the applicant’s resume to the supervisor and ask
if he or she would hire this person. And find out the reason why the supervisor would or
would not hire the prospect. When we send the resume to the supervisor, do not indicate
any preference or dissatisfaction. If we do, the supervisor will most likely just second our
opinion.
stake. Check on the applicant’s powers of observation. Let us say the prospect has
worked for a company manufacturing corrugated boxes. Ask him or her to explain the
production process and cost-cutting procedures used by that company. Then ask what
changes the prospect initiated. A detailed answer with suggestions for good changes
4. Keep the spotlight on the candidate. Try to avoid the trap of talking about what
naturally interests us /our own business. Tell a candidate just enough about our company
so he or she can relate any personal or work experience to our company’s operations. The
spotlight is on the candidate’s ideas, even while the executive tells about the company.
Usually, applicants learn as much about the company as we do about them all in a give-
and-take conversation.
5. Fit the applicant to the job. Conduct the interview according to the position the
applicant is seeking.
6. Look for “take charge” qualities. In particular, look for salespeople who are
aggressive. Move the applicant’s chair about four feet away from our desk before the
interview. Then, observe what happens when the applicant comes into the office. The
person to look for is the one who moves the chair closer to us. This person is aggressive.
He or she does not feel that just because the chair was far away from the desk, it should
stay there. This type of person will pursue a sale even after an initial turndown.
3.0 Findings
3.1 Recruitment in an Organization
At the same time we are also recruiting foreign skilled workers. There are guidelines for
employing foreigners as set by the Malaysian government. There are two main
categories: expatriate personnel (mainly white-collar workers and resident representatives
of foreign companies) and unskilled workers. Companies with more than US$2 million
foreign capital will be given resident status for five foreign workers on a permanent basis.
Companies with foreign capital below US$2 million are subject to conditions such as
requirement to train Malaysian employees and to transfer technology.
Employees are also equipped with skilled and soft training once recruited in to our
organization. Other benefits such as annual leaves and medical benefits will be clearly
briefed to the candidates once we decided to take them in for service. one common
requirement to all staffs will be to work hard and smart and to be dedicated and
responsible on their job.
References
5. Douglas, John, Klein Stuart, Hunt David (1985) The strategic managing of human
resources.
6. Dorio Mare A. (1989) Personnel manager’s desk book. Prentice Hall, New Jersey.