HR Triad in Selection, Accessing Applicants and Building Productive Workforce - Iloka Benneth Chiemelie

1. DISCUSS THE ROLE OF THE HR TRIAD IN SELECTING EMPLOYEES

Considering the fact that human resource management has evolved to a more strategic activity, it has become clear that HRM needs integrated cooperation between HR professionals, line managers and employees. Many researchers have understood this context by arguing that an organisation's fate, its investors, and customers cannot be separated from the fate of its overall workforce (e.g. Schuler et al. 2001; Pfeffer 1998; Beatty/Huselid/Schneier 2003).

Randall and Susan (2005) described HR Triad as the three key partners involved in a strategic and effective human resource partnership which are employees, line managers and human resource professionals.

Figure (1): HR Triad

The figure (1) above illustrates how HRM practices can be integrated to ensure strategic selection of new employees. The role of each key partner is further discussed below as highlighted by Randall and Susan (2005).

LINE MANAGERS

Identify staffing needs – because they are in charge of all staffs and control all activities that take place within their line of management, the help to spot open positions that needs to be filled by new employees based on the productivity level of their current employees or tasks that are not handled by the current workforce.

Help HR define performance criteria – this is unarguably true as they understand the job analysis, specification and descriptions more than the HR department. Thus, they help the HR department to define the required criterion for an open position within their line of management.

Help HR develop selection tools – different job require different selection tool and line managers help HR department to develop the right selection tool for selecting a new employee; whether it is interview, reference or experience related.

Coordinate process with applicants and HR – they also help in coordinating the selection process between applicants and HR department suggesting the best time to select a new employee as well as the type of test required.

Administer some selection tests - once an applicant has been selected, the line managers help administer the right test to determine if they are perfect for the positions. This is another area where they play a crucial role in selection as they are aware of the required skills and expertise needed for filling the open job position.

Comply with laws – they also help in providing the legal requirements for certain positions in the job where recruitment is based on set government rules and regulation. For instance, some countries don't allow employment of foreigners in their sales department and the line manager help the HR department by informing them of these laws to ensure they comply with the set rules and regulations.

Provide accurate reference info – jobs require certain guidelines for undertaking the tasks required, and line managers help in selection by providing accurate reference information for all positions within their line of management. 

HR PROFESSIONALS

Develop/choose reliable and valid selection tests – this is obviously their main area of specialization as they have to ensure that they right candidates are chosen to fill open job positions. Thus, HR professionals are responsible for developing reliable and valid selection tests.

Coordinate selection process – HR Professionals are also responsible for coordinating the selection process to ensure that all selected employees meet set requirements and specifications.

Select and evaluate vendors of selection services – selecting the right vendors for selection services is essential to ensure that there are no preferential treatments for any candidate, and vendors' selection have no emotional attachment but purely based on applicant's potentials. This is also the role of HR Professionals to select and evaluate the right vendors for selection services.

Arrange interviews – once the right candidate has been selected, the next step is to arrange an interview and it is the role of HR Professionals to allocate an interview at a time that is convenient for both the candidate and the company.

Train others involved in selection – as discussed earlier, they are other people involved in selection such as line managers and employees and it is the job of the HR Professional to equip them with the right selection skills.

Keep records and monitor outcomes for legal compliance – while employees are essential for every organisation's success, it is also worthy to note that recruitment of employees that don't meet set rules and regulations by the government of any state will land the company in the wrong arms of the law. Thus, HR Professionals are responsible for keeping all file provided by the candidate to ensure they act as a defensive factor for the company in case of such unwanted circumstances.

EMPLOYEES

Apply for transfers and promotions – once an employee notices an open position that he or she is capable of handling, it is their role to apply for a transfer or promotion to the position.

Identify criteria for evaluating performance – sometimes doing something right in the workforce does not necessary mean doing it the way you are asked to do it. Thus, employees play the role on identifying the criterion for evaluating performance in their job sections.

Interview/select new group members – employees want to fell at home with new recruits and they play an important role in interviewing and selecting new group members to ensure that they are capable of working with and under the group. This is importance because incompetent new group member can distort smooth operations within the group.

Attend training in selection processes – this is also a training process, and employees attend training in selection process to acquire new skills of how to select and recruit new staffs.

2. EXPLAIN THE TECHNIQUES USED FOR ASSESSING JOB APPLICANTS

Elaine (2005) highlighted numerous techniques which are used in assessing job applicants, and each technique depends on the form of assessment adopted by the recruiter. These techniques are further explained below.

Figure (2): techniques for assessing job applicants as adopted from Elaine (2005)

TECHNIQUES USED IN KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSA) BASED EASEMENTS

Cognitive ability test – this technique is used to measure numerous mental abilities such as mathematical and verbal abilities reading comprehension and reasoning abilities. This technique has been proven to be vital in predicting job performance and is frequently used in making selection decision for numerous job positions. It basically involves an open choice question administered to applicants for them to fill up with the right answers.

Job knowledge test – this is mainly used in situation where applicant is required to have possess certain knowledge of the job prior to application. It measure critical knowledge and expertise areas needed for performing a job specifically. Just like the cognitive ability test, it also consists of open questions that applicants have to fill with the appropriate answers.

Personality test – this technique is used to access relevant personality traits such as conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, openness to experience and emotional stability which are needed in performing certain jobs. Unlike other form of techniques, it is oral and activity based as the evaluation is based on experiment with the applicant rather than just asking questions.

Biographical data – this technique involves asking applicants questions that covering their background, personal characteristics and interests. This technique has also been shown to be an effective predictor of job performance based on the idea that the best prediction of future performance is based on past performance.  Therefore, it involves understanding how an applicant performed in past areas that are related to the area of job they will be designated to perform.

Integrity test – it measure the attitudes and experiences that are related to the honest, trustworthiness and dependability of an individual. Like many of other tests discussed, integrity tests are typically multiple-choice in format and administered via a paper-and-pencil instrument or a computer.

Structured interview – this is the most common assessment technique used amongst organisations. While most of the interviews are conducted in an unstructured manner which implies that the questions are according to the interviewer's choice, structured interview involves specific type of questions that are designed to assess crucial KSAs required in specific job positions.

Physical fitness test – this is used in certain selection situations, and it required applicants to perform general physical activities which are used in assessing their overall fitness, strength, endurance and other physical capabilities required for performing the job.

TECHNIQUES USED IN TASKS BASED ASSESSMENT

Situational judgement test – this involves simulating the actual situations that applicants will encounter in the job and offer viable option for handling the simulated situation. The applicant is expected to identify the best or sometimes both the best and least way to handle this situation. This is commonly used in jobs that require precision and quick decision making process such as pilot recruitment and selection for an airline industry. The process can be written, verbal, practical or a combination of all.

Work sample test – this involves submerging applicants to task or work activities that illustrates the tasks the applicant will be required to perform on the job. They are designed to measure all forms of job tasks, but normally used in technical-oriented tasks such as operating equipment, repairing, and troubleshooting equipment, organizing and panning work etc. this technique is administered by practically allowing the applicant to perform the job and evaluating his performance.

Assessment centers – an assessment centre is typically used for assessing high-level managerial and supervisory competencies. Applicants are asked to complete a series of exercise that simulates real situations that they will face in the hob and asked to handle the situation as if they were in the real situation. This technique can last at least for day or even several days and include role-play exercises, in-basket exercises, analytical exercises and group discussion exercises.

Physical ability test – this technique is regularly used in assessing applicants for physically demanding jobs such as military and rescue. The test is similar to work sample test because they require individuals to perform certain task that they will perform if chosen. The score is usually on a pass or fail bases.  

3. IDENTIFY THE KEY QUESTION TO BE ADDRESSED WHEN DESIGNING PRACTICES FOR TRAINING AND DEVELOPING COMPETITIVE WORKFORCE

Organisations are face with numerous questions of how to improve that workforce towards gaining competitive advantages, but these questions are not always answered as they are multitude of conditions that need to be harnessed. However, the key questions that need to be addressed when designing practices for training and developing competitive workforce are addressed below.

How to improve cognitive knowledge – the essence of any competitive workforce lies within their cognitive abilities which is a combination of what they know, the way they organise these information and strategies for gaining the information. This question must be addressed to ensure that the right training and development practices are devised because different people have different learning approach.

What are the best ways to develop employees' skills – while cognitive knowledge is essentials, the skills required in performing the task is at the root of any training and development programs and it is a common question organisations address when developing effective training and development practices.

How to influence affective response – the design of training and development practices all carry the same exact objective of changing certain elements of their workforce such as improving innovation and creativity, changing attitudes and behaviour of increase cooperativeness amongst the workforce and it is a common question that is stressed on when designing training and development practices.

How to encourage ethical behaviour – ethical behaviours are essential as it reduces cost production costs within the organisation and the question of how to encourage ethical behaviour amongst a workforce is also a common issue of concern when designing effective training and development practices. On the other hand, ethical practices such as caring for fellow employees, idea and knowledge sharing also improve the productivity of the organisation.

4. DESCRIBE THE IMPORTANT FACTORS IN PROVIDING PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK.

WHAT TO MEASURE

There are numerous criterion used in determine the dimensions at which an individual, a team or workforce is to be measured. This is an important measure because the organization needs to be exact in relation to what they want to measure in order to ensure accurate feedback from the right department or employee. Things measured under this category are:

Personality traits - personality trait based criterion focuses on individual characteristics such as loyalties, communication ability, dependability and leadership in determining the feedback for each employee.

Objective results – this feedback focuses on what an individual or group achieved or produced rather than how they achieve or produced it.

Multiple criterions – for most jobs, performing well will require a integration of numerous criterions, thus numerous criterions are taken into consideration when adopting to multiple criterion approach as it measures not just what is achieved, but how it was achieved and who was responsible for achieving it.

WHEN TO MEASURE

Another facto taken into consideration is timing of when to measure performance feedbacks and timing should reflect strategic considerations. The three common approaches to timing performance measurement and feedbacks are focal-point, anniversary and natural span. These approaches are further discussed below.

Focal-point approach – this approach involves measuring performance and providing performance feedback of each employee approximately at the same time span. The major advantage is that the feedback process can be linked to organisational and business planning process and can be fixed with operational calendar within the organisation. Because the time is approximately the same, the performance of each individual and department can be compared against each other.

Anniversary approach - this approach distributes performance measurement and feedback evenly over the calendar year. This is because review and feedback of each employee can be based on the date they joined the company. For instance, a new employee can have his first review and feedback in 5months time and a subsequent review from 6^th to 12^th month within the year, thus making it possible for all the employees to be reviewed and feedback provided at the same time.

Natural time span – as the name implies, employees' performance are measured and feedback issued at the time deemed most appropriate for such activity. Researchers argue that this is a better approach as results will be irrelevant or unrealistic is performance are measure either early or too late.

HOW TO MEASURE

Finally, the third factor put into consideration when providing employee feedback is how to measure their performance. Since performance feedback starts by judging an employee's performance which finally leads to the issuing feedbacks on judgements, it is necessary to ensure that biasness is reduce or eliminated in the process and this makes the factor of how to measure and employee's performance a crucial consideration in performance measurement.

Comparative format – this involves providing performance feedback based on comparing an employees with other employees especially those working in the same department and undertaking the same task. This is ideal as it presents a clear picture of an employee's performance based on what was achieved against what is supposed to be achieved as supported by number of employees who achieved what is supposed to be achieved.

Absolute standard format – this is a feedback format that involves reviewing employee's performance following set standards and providing feedback on their performance with the same set standards later than comparing employees. This approach has been proven to be more utilized as the set standards are based on job analysis, thus it is easy to spot areas of weakness and strengths of each employee.

5. DISCUSS SOME ETHICAL ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH RECRUITING

Recruitment process is tedious on its own, as HR professionals have to deal with the always difficult task of determining the right candidate from a pool of applicants to fill their open job positions. Thus, it is susceptible to certain unethical practices and some of these issues are as discussed below

Issue of biasness – the most common issue in recruitment is the chances given to each candidate and researches argue that these chances should be based on set recruitment standards, but the case is not always as it should be. Biasness involves given an applicant a more possible recruitment chance even when the applicant in some cases doesn't seem to be the best candidate for the job and this is a common issue in recruitment.

Racial discrimination – another common issue is racial discrimination and this issue results from biasness in the recruitment system. This unethical issue involves giving preference to individuals from certain races more employment opportunity rather than focusing on the capabilities of all applicants

Divergence from set standards – also another issue that is rooted in biasness and preferential treatment is divergence from set recruitment standards. This involves either changing all recruitment process or some of the process to favour one person or disfavour another person. This is a serious issue as it can both waste applicant's time and resource.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beatty, R. W./Huselid, M./Schneier, C. (2003): New HR metrics. Organizational Dynamics, 2: 207-121.

Elaine, D.P. (2005) "Assessment Methods: A guide to implementing formal assessments to build a high-quality workforce". Available at: http://www.pdri.com/images/uploads/Selection_Assessment_Methods.pdf [Accessed on: 29-03-2012].

Pfeffer, J. (1998): The human equation. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Randall, S.S. and Susan, E.J. (2005) "A Quarter-Century Review of Human Resource Management in the U.S.: The Growth in Importance of the International Perspective", Journal of management revue, vol .16, No. 1. Available at: http://chrs.rutgers.edu/pub_documents/A%20Quarter%20Century%20Review%20of%20HRM%20in%20the%20US.pdf [Accessed on: 29-03-2012].

Schuler, R. S./Jackson, S. E./Storey, J. (2001): HRM and its link with strategic management. In: J. Storey (ed.): Human Resource Management: A Critical Text. London: Thomson Learning: 114-130.