Recruitment and Selection
Summary of Case:
·
A young woman shares her story on being hired
and working for the clothing company Abercrombie
·
There was no interview process, but the staff,
or so called “Models” were hired based on physical appearance and Western
beauty standards.
·
The newly hired employees were to scout for
new “models” based on a checklist of physical attributes. Those that did not
meet the checklist would work in the back.
·
The company strictly laid out rules for
employers looks and clothing during service.
·
The company is now making attempts to change
their hiring process, after a serious of lawsuits and charges of discriminatory
behavior.
Challenges:
·
Abercrombie makes a HR process mistake and
leaves itself vulnerable to lawsuits and discrimination charges by not ensuring
job related selection.
·
Physical attributes do not determine whether a
person is great at retail.
·
There was no actual interview or other background
check to determine whether the woman (or the other applicants) were suitable
for the job.
·
Hiring decisions were highly discriminatory,
only taking on minorities to avoid lawsuits.
·
Abercrombie sells a “lifestyle” and is highly
brand conscious, and want their employees to represent that brand. This focus
on physical attributes is highly discriminatory. The brand cannot be connected
to one opinion of physical attractiveness.
Key Concepts, Theory and Models
The hiring process of a company needs to be well thought through,
in order to avoid complaints and possible law suits. The hiring process
consists of three equally important aspects:
- Recruitment
- Selection
- Socialization
1.The recruitment can take place through several different
channels (current employees, websites, agencies, social media, customers etc.).
It is important to gather a vast pool of applicants, if the company has more
than one position to fill. ( L. Gomez-Mejia, D. Balkin, R. Cardy, 2012, p.
199-205.)
In the case of Abercrombie,
the recruitment took place in a public place, based of physical appearance. A
member of the staff would make the decision on whether a person checked the
criteria and invite said person to a “group interview”.
According to Business News Daily, the best sources to find the best
talents is to use social media, ask current employees to market the position or
recommend someone, to market compensation packages, to make use of technology and
hire someone off-site, and to be quick with the hiring process ( N. Taylor, 2016).
2. The selection requires reliable and valid
testing of the applicants to ensure the best hiring decision. But before one
starts testing candidates, it is crucial for the employer to determine what
kind of traits, skills and performance they are looking for in their new
recruit. By looking at the job description and carefully considering what
attributes are needed, a company can find an above average candidate, that eventually
will yield up to 40 % more profit! On the other hand, making a poor recruitment
decision, will cost the company. Unqualified or unmotivated employees require
more guidance, more supervision, and can lead to higher numbers of employee
turnover. (. (L. Gomez-Mejia, D. Balkin, R. Cardy, 2012, p. 199.). According to
the Boston Consulting Group, recruiting ranked number one out of 22 in HR
functions having the highest impact of revenue and profit. So, making good
recruitment decisions is a key part of any business strategy and HR department.
(J.Sullivan, 2015)
Once the characteristics and qualifications
needed have been determined, there are several different selection tools for
the employer to make use of. Some of the tools are deemed more reliable than others
(L.
Gomez-Mejia, D. Balkin, R. Cardy, 2012, p. 208-216.) In my experience the most used tools in Finland are: Application form,
Pre-written letter of recommendation, Interviews, ability tests and personality
tests. In addition, some employers demand a background check. Other tools can
also be used. The authors of the book “Managing Human Resources”, presented the
benefits and cons of the different tools.
An application form helps the employer screen a
large pool of candidates, and reduces the number of acceptable applicants
significantly. A letter of recommendation is often useful, if it is detailed and
tells more specific skills, instead of just being a positive recommendation.
Interviews can either be unstructured or unstructured. An unstructured
interview has its downsides, as personal chemistry and bias influences the
hiring decision. A structured interview, with set questions and a panel that
makes notes, is more valid, and eliminated problems. The applicants are also
more easily compared with set questions. Ability tests are highly reliable and
valid. The applicants get to prove cognitive, physical or work ability by being
given a set of tasks to complete. The tasks are often strongly connected to the
set job description and gives valuable insight into the applicant’s
capabilities. Personality tests are being used by many companies, especially if
the company utilizes an agency to complete the recruitment. Whether the tests are
reliable is still under discussion, and validity is also being questioned. Does
a certain personality trait make you good at a certain job? Making hiring decisions
based on personality traits may leave the company vulnerable to lawsuits. (L. Gomez-Mejia,
D. Balkin, R. Cardy, 2012, p. 208-214.)
Sandra Hess, ranks the different employee selection tools, and
ranks work samples and work simulations as the best method for ensuring future
job performance. She also points out that cognitive tests to measure logical
ability and reasoning gives a great understanding of a person’s ability to
tackle problems and explore solutions. Cognitive ability has a direct link to
job performance in multiple job types, but is especially critical for the
performance in complex positions. ( S.Hess, 2016)
In the Abercrombie case, no tools were used to determine, whether
an applicant was suitable for the position or not. The company is taking a major
risk in completing their employment decisions based on looks. If a person,
tried to apply for a job at Abercrombie, and doesn’t meet the checklist of
physical attributes, and therefore does not get hired, he or she could sue the
company for discriminatory behavior. This would probably lead to the company
being convicted, as they have no set hiring process, and cannot prove that the
applicant lacked the qualifications or skills to complete the retail job.
3.Socialization is an important part of the recruitment process,
that often gets overlooked. After deciding on a suitable candidate, it is
crucial to complete the orientation into the company to make the new recruit
feel at home in the team. (L. Gomez-Mejia,
D. Balkin, R. Cardy, 2012, p. 199.) Once the effort has been made to find a
suitable candidate, it is wise to take care of that relationship and make the
recruit want to stay in the company.
The woman in the Abercrombie case, described a very bizarre
behavior after the “selection” had been made. The new recruits got ordered to
look a certain way, and to complete certain job related tasks. The recruitment
process does not seem to be the only faulty aspect of Abercrombie, but the
employee rights also seemed very limited. Young people being forced to work
overtime and dress in a sexual way, for example.
News articles related to recruitment and selection
In the following sections I will briefly present two news articles
related to recruitment and selection. The first one, describes the new trend of
finding the right people, the ones that are motivated but may lack a certain
set of skills. Especially smaller companies, make their hiring decisions based
on personal characteristics, drive and motivation, and put less value on formal
education, degrees or prior work experience. This is a new trend that is
emerging, and therefore I wanted the present this article in addition to the
material from the course literature.
The second article presents a case of an unsuccessful recruitment process,
that lead to a settlement of 24 million USD. Making sure that the hiring
process is indiscriminate is a key part of HR, and the article shows the
importance of constantly evaluating HR process and recruitment practices.
“Seek These 7 Character Traits To Avoid The Risk Of Bad Hires”
Making a bad recruitment decision is immensely expensive for a
company. Forbes lists seven characteristics that are nonnegotiable when hiring
new employees: Respect, belief, loyalty, commitment, trust, courage and
gratitude.
At Fishbowl, candidates are asked to give examples of situations
when they have exemplified said traits during an interview. The traits lead to
better-than-average hiring decisions and a higher retention rate. Instead of
looking for a set of qualifications or skills, Fishbowl is successfully looking
for the “right people”.
“Secret Service Settles Discrimination Lawsuit with Black Agents”
The American Secret Service has paid a compensation of 24 million
USD and is set to reform its recruitment system after a class-action lawsuit
for discrimination against African-American applicants.
The plaintiff accused the Secret Service of not hiring
African-American applicants, and not promoting them during their career. The
Secret Service has admitted to discriminatory practices and is now reforming
its Human Resources Process. The Secret
Service will lean on outside experts to consider their practices and to remove
any room for discriminatory processes.
http://www.voanews.com/a/secret-service-settles-discrimination-lawsuit-with-black-agents/3680891.html
(23.1.2017)
Litterature;
J, Sullivan, 2015, “Bad Recruiting? It Can Cost Your Company a
Whole Lot of Money”, Talent Management
and HR, https://www.eremedia.com/tlnt/bad-recruiting-it-can-cost-your-company-a-whole-lot-of-money/
(23.1.2017).
L.R Gomez-Mejia, D.B Balkin, R.L Cardy, 2012, “Managing Human
Resources”, 7th Edition, chapter 5 and 3. Pearson Education Inc. New
Jersey
N. Taylor, 2016, “Six ways to
ensure you are recruiting the best talent”, Business
News Daily, (http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6252-tips-for-recruiters.html),
23.1.2017
S.Hess, 2016, “6 Talent Assesment Tools, Ranked from Most to Least
Effective”, Furst Person, (http://www.furstperson.com/blog/which-talent-assessment-tools-are-the-most-accurate)
23.1.2017
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