FREE ESSAY ON EMPLOYEE SELECTION

EMPLOYEE SELECTION

Selection is increasingly important as more attention is paid to the costs of poor
selection, and as reduced job mobility means that selection errors are likely to stay
with the organization for longer. (Torrington and Hall, 1998, p221)
The selection decision has always been important as the way for a company to obtain the
human resource that is appropriate for the job and company. There are many methods for
selection such as: testing, advertising, completing application form, screening,
corresponding with the prospective employee. Among these, the two principal selection
methods, which most are used, are application forms, and interviews. In fact, it is not
just one selection method used in practice. Generally, two or more methods are often used
in combination.
Comparison Of Strengths
Selection is two-way process. The interview is a necessarily medium of two-way
communication. It supplements the information in the pre-procedures such as application
form and reference. It also provides the further particulars respectively to help both
ends take decisions. 
On one side, the interviewer usually has some basic information from the application form
or test, and these may require further face-to-face communication to clarify. For the
selector, the interview can provide some further evidence and clues concerning the
applicant's personal data, circumstances, career pattern and attainments, powers of
self-expression, range and depth of interests, intelligence and special aptitudes,
behavioural patterns and preferences which selectors are interest in. On the other side,
because interview has a broad range of topics, the employer has the opportunity to
introduce the company and explain job details in depth. Applicant also has a chance to
ask questions about the job and the company. Therefore, he/she can collect the
information he/she required for his/her own selection decision. For the applicant, the
main purpose of the selection interview is to get the information, which can help he/she
to make an informed decision of whether to accept the job.
Selection interview enhances the reliability of pre-process (such as application form and
reference test). As above, the reliabilities of application form and reference need to be
proved. Actions speak louder than words, a skilled interviewer can find some attestations
form the feedback and behaviour of the applicant. It is also an opportunity for both ends
to clarify misunderstands between them.
Some functions that other methods cannot instead. In an interview, some assessment like
the potential compatibility of two people who will have to work together cannot be
approached by any other way. The interview, therefore, is valuable in that the way to
both potential employee and potential employer. 
Application form on the other hand provides preliminary information about candidates that
will help further selections especially for interview. It makes the selection procedure
easier and encourages interviewer to use those forms as the basic information for their
interview. It saves the time spent in the interview, and makes it more pertinent. As
employers pay more attention to the validity of interviews for employment purposes, the
application forms are increasing used as one of the ways of improving the quality of
decision-making. They provide sufficient amount of data for selectors to analyse.
Therefore, the selectors will have enough time to prepare the further questions and
topics before the face-to-face discussion comes in.
It makes it easy to compare and contrast the candidates. Generally, application forms
provide standardised synopsis of the applicant's history and abilities. It is easy for
the selector to assess education and experiences between candidates. Because application
form provides standard information, it is less likely to be influenced by the subjective
of the selectors. Compared with the interview where the judgement of the selector is
influenced by individual characteristics such as dress and appearance, the application
form is a databased method. It is more objective.
It is save time. It can filter out the distinctly unsuitable candidates and make the
further selection focus on the most promising candidates. Therefore, it will save the
time of further selection. It provides human resource backup. Even if some applicants are
not selected, they may more suitable for another job that is not recruited this time.
Therefore the organization can set up a Human Resource Bank to keep and sort those forms
for a period. When that job needs recruit, the Human Resource Bank can provide suitable
candidates immediately, especially in the case of emergency recruitment.
Comparison Of Weaknesses
Selection interview is a subjective selection method: Early information from application
form or reference has a disproportionate influence on the final outcome. Some
interviewers make their decisions very quickly. Occasionally interviewer only needs few
minutes to make the decision on whether accept or reject a candidate. The remainder time
of the interview they will use to seek some evidences to confirm that their first
impression was right. Interviewer seldom changes his/her tentative opinion formed from
the application form and reference or the appearance of the candidate. Interviewer places
more weight on evidence that is unfavourable than favourable for the candidates. 
When interviewer has made up his/her mind very early, his/her behaviour betrays the
decision to the candidate. That will influence the candidate's confidence.
It always has an ideal applicant stereotype in the interviewer's mind to compare with
candidates. That will heavily influence the search for information and decision-making.
The stereotype and the related concept of implicit personality theory will substitute to
seek specific information from the candidates.
Generally, the applicant's non-verbal behaviour will has a significant impact on
interviewer. However, some applicants feel nervous during the interview. Their behaviours
therefore, may give a bad impress to the interviewer. Although the behaviour may not
their original character, at last, that bad impress may lead to the fatal decision. 
Age, disability, appearance, gender, race, physical attractiveness, interviewer's ratings
may influence the interviewer's decision. This maybe is the fatal weakness of interview,
because the interviewer picks people whom he/she likes. He/she likes people who are
similar in some way to himself/herself. 
Interview has low validity and reliability when used on its own. Interview is limited to
find answers to questions such as what is the motivation for work of the candidate,
his/her potential compatibility for adjusting to the social context of the job. It takes
time. There is only one candidate to be interviewed in a time. The more candidates the
more time it taken. However, in order to find more suitable person, it always as many
candidates as possible. Interview therefore is taking the most time of whole selection
procedures. Different candidate has different advantages and shortages. It is difficult
to compare.
Application Form on the other hand is incomprehensive. The recruiter always tries to make
the application form brief and standard. The form, therefore, only provides limited
information. Further more, this kind of selection method is based on the certification
and work experience. The logic of an application form is that because the candidate has
been taught or trained to do something (or has done it already), he/she must be good at
it. However, the logic is faulty — even if someone has been trained or has done the
same job before, it is not to say he/she must be better than other candidates. Some jobs,
like designer, need not only knowledge but also inspiration. This sill is hard to judge
by this kind of selection method. Therefore, the information provided by the application
form is insufficient. 
The information provided by the application form needs to be further proved. There are at
least two probabilities that will influence the reliability. One is whether all the
information of the forms is true. Evidently, not all applicants are honest. It is
possible that the information was magnified, omitted or even not existed. The other is
whether the selector misunderstands the information of the form. Because the selection
only based on the data without confirmed, then the selectors use some models or logic
make some conclusions. It is probably to misunderstand.
Application form cannot get feedback. On one hand, the selector cannot let the applicants
to clarify whether the selector has misunderstood them; on the other hand, some
applicants know nothing about the organization. They argue: I have that ability, but I
just don't know they want to know that. If only they give me a chance to explain…
cannot feedback is an unmistakably shortage of application form for both sides.
It is a heavy job for file work. Generally, application form provides maximum applicants.
Some books, therefore, argued that the application form provided sufficient candidates.
It was an advantage. However, if the organization puts its advertisement in a right media
for other selection methods, it will attract enough applicants too. What they lack to
consider is, the application form also provides more inappropriate applicants than any
other selection methods do. Evaluate them and subsequent administration becomes a heavy
task.
CONCLUSION
Each method has its strengths and weaknesses. No one is perfect. So, the best way for
selection is that the two methods combined together to use their strengths and limited
their weaknesses. For example, interview has low validity and reliability but if use it
in association with biographical information (from the application form) may increase
both of them. One combination is use application form to collect preliminary information
about the applicants' background and the performance of their previous job. Using two or
three references increase reliability. After evaluated all the performance of the
candidate form the two steps, the decision can be made. 
PART B
Employer Responsibility and Individual Development 
There's no doubt about it - companies have to invest in employee training if they want to
stay competitive in business and recruiting. An employee puts in his time and expertise
to keep the company competitive. Hence, it's the company's responsibility to do the same
for the employee. A company should provide such positive reinforcements to get the best
out of its employees. If a company wants to retain trained and skilled staff, it needs to
invest in continuing that training and those skills. Employees like to feel that their
employers are invested in their (the employees') success. Equally important is the
credibility of the company to the public. If the employees are not perceived as highly
trained and informed, the perception of competence is damaged
There is a widespread agreement that employers have a key role in enabling individual
employees to develop their skills. Though some responses questioned the level of employer
commitment to employee learning, particularly in relation to development opportunities,
which are not directly job-related. Commitment to part-time staff and staff on short-term
contracts is also raised. Employers can encourage employees to increase their skill
levels by creating an organisational learning climate with organisational and personal
training strategies which links participation in training to staff appraisal. Individual
action plans leading to enhanced salaries and promotion prospects were seen as the best
means of motivating staff to develop their skills. In addition to offering opportunities
through, the organisation employers can provide valuable practical support such as study
time off, paying fees, providing loans for books and materials and mentoring. It is also
important that employers are seen to value learning and to recognise and reward the
efforts of staff who pursue learning opportunities. Employers and employees may not
always agree on training priorities and the emphasis of company training needed to shift
somewhat from strictly job-related skills training to a broader learning base, which
encourages employees to seek opportunities for learning. There is much praise for those
large organisations, which had invested in in-house learning centres but a recognition
that only very large companies could afford to do this. On a smaller scale other
possibilities such as employers' scholarships is worth development. Employees will take
the development transferable skills seriously if they feel that training is something,
which they are directly involved in, responsible for, and gives them options, not
something that is 'being done to them'. 
Increasing individual responsibility for skills transferability, in which employees and
managers are expected to be aware of the potential relevance of their skills across
diverse functions of the organisation, has problems. As organisations become increasingly
complex it becomes more difficult for individuals to keep up with the ways in which their
skills can contribute to organisational success. To combat this problem line managers are
taking on the role of learning facilitators, coaches and mentors. This, in turn, creates
the need for a new type of training in 'soft' people skills for these managers.
It is important for industries today to update and continuously improve employee skills.
This not only keeps the employees current, it allows for standardization of practices and
procedures that can result in more uniform work practices. Most employees will appreciate
the upgrades and be more apt to produce more as they will know that they are working to
current practices. This updating will also reduce mistakes, paying for the upgrade in the
long run. 
In addition to these, adequate training is a major component of an employer's
responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace. Employer can't assume people know
how to work safely without instruction. He must make sure everyone knows and uses proper
work procedures, and don't let people devise their own techniques. Some workers may feel
intimidated or confused by new equipment and processes. Employer must encourage these
people to speak up, and ensure they have lots of time to familiarize themselves with new
routines or machines.
An organization has many responsibilities to its employees but continual training is not
enough for the good employee. A "good" employee has also responsibility to keep him or
herself able to serve their company as best they can -- this includes keeping themselves
up to date on all industry changes. It is the employee's responsibility to continually be
aware of new happenings. The employee needs to take the initiative to either take
advantage of classes or to take courses at a local college or attend workshops. It
certainly is the employee's responsibility to keep abreast with developments. In almost
all professions, those who stay up-to-date are leaders, while those who prefer to rest on
previously gained laurels are left behind. 
REFERANCES:
http://www.managementfirst.com/career_management/art_interview.htm A brief history of the
selection interview: may the next 100 years be more fruitful
http://www.dbm.com/hr/what/new12.html Ten Steps to establishing a Learning Organization
The Truth About Training When You Need It and How to Get It by Kathy Simmons, IMDiversity
Career Center
http://careerplanning.about.com/careers/careerplanning/library/weekly/aa052498.htm The
Virtual Job Club: Your Guide to Succeeding On the Job Search Job Interviewing