Effective Methods of Employee Selections

 Selection Interviews

A most common method of employee selection is “Interviews” (Armstrong and Taylor 2020). Armstrong also stated that there are few ways to conduct interviews. The traditional face-to-face interview is the most common way which establishes close contact between the interviewer and the candidate is something that Armstrong and Taylor (2020) have elaborated on in their book. He has also mentioned conducting interviews via telephone calls and video or Skype calls as valid methods in this section.  He has further mentioned bout two types of interviews, Structured and unstructured interviews.

A smooth screening of resumes to be performed to remove applicants whose education, experience, or work history does not match the job profile and select the right profile will save time and effort (Meneses and Kleiner, 2002).

Structured Interviews: -

This will be done in a defined framework where all candidates ask a set of predetermined questions and answers are rated through a rating system that indicates whether the candidate has the required knowledge, skills, abilities, and level of behavioral competencies (Armstrong 2012).

A directive interview is a highly structured interview that closely adapts to a detailed set of questions in specially formulated forms (Nankervis et al. 2020).  Further, Nankervis has mentioned, that the training, as well as the standardization of the procedure required for the structured interview, have contributed to its high results.

Competency-based interviews are falling under the structured interview section which can be used to assess those who don’t have work experience, especially graduates or school leavers (Armstrong and Taylor 2020).

Unstructured Interviews: -

This is also known as a non-directive interview where the interviewer asks open questions and allows the candidate to talk freely (Nankervis et al. 2020). More responsibilities fall on interviewers’ shoulders as he/she has to carefully listen to the candidate and grab all important points is something highlighted by Nankervis.

Selection Testing

Selection tests are used to measure the level of abilities, intelligence, personality traits, aptitudes, and achievement capabilities of candidates with evidence (Armstrong and Taylor 2012). Different types of tests mentioned by Armstrong were intelligence tests, ability tests, and aptitude tests.

Psychological and Psychometric tests are two famous components in this section (Nankervis et al. 2020). As per Nankervis et al., the psychological test has become more polar during World War II as it has been used as a selection tool to recruit soldiers.

Some companies are making use of psychological tests, handwriting analysis, and decision-making software for employee election or elimination of potential candidates (Perry and Kleiner 2002, p. 9). However, perry and Kleiner think that these entries are subject to claims that infringe on the applicant's right to privacy. 

Job knowledge tests: -

Some organizations are following this strategy to measure applicants’ level of understanding of a particular job (Nankervis et al. 2020).

 Job sample tests: -

As per Nankervis et al. (2020), this particular test is conducted by allowing the candidate to perform some activities that are actually part of the job going to be done.

Assessment Centres

This is known as the most sophisticated selection method to measure candidates’ different skills such as communication, social and analytical (Henderson, 2017)

This selection method can be effectively used for international managerial candidates from a large pool. The variety of tools available in this method is capable of measuring candidates’ capability of adapting to a different cultural environment (Nankervis et al. 2020).

According to Armstrong (2012), below are some of the key features of assessment centres,

• One-to-one role-plays and group exercises that show the behavior of the job
• Candidates are interviewed and tested
• Measure the competencies required to perform the job
• Allow candidates to interact with each other and assess
• Several trained appraisers or observers are used to increase the objectivity of the assessments

Figure 1.0 - Employers should consider “Can Do” and “Will Do” factors in selecting personnel

(Source : Nankervis et al. 2020, p. 244)

Figure 2.0 - Correct and erroneous selection decisions

(Source : Nankervis et al. 2020, p. 245)

References

Armstrong, M and Taylor, S 2020, Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, 15^th edn, Kogan Page, UK

Armstrong, M, 2012, Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, 12^th edn, Kogan Page, UK

Henderson, I 2017, Human Resource Management for MBA and Business Masters, UK.

Meneses, A and Kleiner, BH, 2002, How to Hire Employees Effectively’ in Management Research News, vol. 25, no. 5, p. 39

Nankervis, A, et al. 2020, Human Resource Management: Strategy and Practice, 10^th edn, Cengage, Australia.

Perry, A, and Kleiner, BH, 2002, ‘How to Hire Employees Effectively’ in Management Research News, vol. 25, no. 5, p. 9