Recruitment & Selection

Chapter Four

Recruitment & Selection

4.1. Employee Recruitment: Meaning and Definition

Recruitment forms a step in the process which continues with selection and ceases with the placement of the candidate. It is the next step in the procurement function, the first being the manpower planning. Recruiting makes it possible to acquire the number and types of people necessary to ensure the continued operation of the organization. Recruiting is the discovering of potential applicants for actual or anticipated organizational vacancies.

According to Edwin B. Flippo, “Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization.”

According to Lord, “Recruitment is a form of competition. Just as corporations compete to develop, manufacture, and market the best product or service, so they must also compete to identify, attract and hire the most qualified people. Recruitment is a business, and it is a big business.”

In the words of Dale Yoder, “Recruiting is a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient working force.”

According to Werther and Davis, “Recruitment is the process of finding and attracting capable applicants for employment. The process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their applications are submitted. The result is a pool of applicants form which new employees are selected.”

Dales S. Beach writes, “Recruitment is the development and maintenance of adequate manpower resources. It involves the creation of a pool of available labor upon whom the organization can depend when it needs additional employees.”

Thus, recruitment process is concerned with the identification of possible sources of human resource supply and tapping those sources. In the total process of acquiring and placing human resources in the organization, recruitment falls in between different sub-processes

4.1.1   Features of Recruitment

  • Recruitment is a process or series of action
  • Recruitment process generally starts when the personnel department receives requisition for recruitment from any department the company.
  •  Locating and developing the sources for recruitment.
  • Identifying the perspective candidate.
  •  Communicating the information about the organization and job.
  • Encouraging the identified candidate to apply for the position offered.
  •  Evaluating the effectiveness of the recruitment process.
  • It is a linking activity as it brings employer and prospective employees together.
  • It is a positive function.
  • The basic function of recruitment is to locate the sources of people required to meet the job requirements.
  • It is a pervasive function- It covers all levels and all categories of people, and management and operational staff. No discrimination is made between any levels or categories. All those who are managers have to involve in recruitment. It is pervasive also because it is required in every department of the organization. All kinds of organizations, profit or non-­profit making, have to follow HRM.
  •  Recruitment is a two-way function as it takes both recruiter and recruits together.

    4.1.2. Purpose of Recruitment

The recruitment process is one of the most fundamental value added HR Processes. The recruitment is especially critical for managers in the organization. The managers use the recruitment process intensively, and satisfaction with Human Resources is mostly about the satisfaction with the recruitment process.

The recruitment process is sensitive to the external and internal changes, and it can be used as the best indicator for the future HR trends. By careful analysis of HR Recruitment Measures, the HR Management team can predict the trends in the job market simply.

The recruitment process is designed to staff the organization with the new employees, and it uses many different recruitment sources to attract the right talent in the defined quality and within a defined time.

The recruitment process has several goals:

  • Find the best talents for the vacancies
  • Manage the recruitment sources
  • Manage the vacancies in the organization
  • Run the internal recruitment process
  • Building the strong HR Marketing platform
  • Co-operation with local and international universities
  • Provide feedback about the trends in the job market

Most recruitment goals are not visible to managers directly, and they use just sourcing of the job candidates as the main outcome from the recruitment process. HR has to use the other outcomes from the recruitment process as it is the source of valuable information.

4.1.3. Factors Governing Recruitment

The factors affecting recruitment can be classified as internal and external factors.

  1.  Internal Factors 
  • Wage and salary policies;
  • The age composition of existing working force;
  • Promotion and retirement policies;
  • Turnover rates;
  • The nature of operations involved the kind of personnel required;
  • The level and seasonality of operations in question;
  • Future expansion and reduction programs;
  • Recruiting policy of the organization;
  • Human resource planning strategy of the company;
  • Size of the organization and the number of employees employed;
  • Cost involved in recruiting employees, and finally;
  • Growth and expansion plans of the organization.
  1. External Factors
  • Supply and demand of specific skills in the labor market;
  • Company’s image perception of the job seekers about the company.
  • External cultural factors: Obviously, the culture may exert considerable check on recruitment. For example, women may not be recruited in certain jobs in industry.
  • Economic factors: such as a tight or loose labor market, the reputation of the enterprise in the community as a good pay master or otherwise and such allied issues which determine the quality and quantity of manpower submitting itself for recruitment.
  • Political and legal factors also exert restraints in respect of nature and hours of work for women and children, and allied employment practices in the enterprise and so on.

4.1.4. Sources and Methods of Recruitment

Source of Recruitment

After the finalization of recruitment plan indicating the number and type of prospective candidates, they must be attracted to offer themselves for consideration to their employment. This necessitates the identification of sources from which these candidates can be attracted. Some companies try to develop new sources, while most only try to tackle the existing sources they have. These sources, accordingly, may be termed as internal and external.

  1. Internal Sources

It would be desirable to utilize the internal sources before going outside to attract the candidates. This will provide possibilities for horizontal and vertical transfers within the enterprise eliminating simultaneous attempts to lay off employees in one department and recruitment of employees with similar qualification for another department in the company.

Promotion and transfers within the plant where an employee is best suitable improves the morale along with solving recruitment problems. These measures can be taken effectively if the company has established job families through job analysis program combining together similar jobs demanding similar employee characteristics. Again, employees can be requested to suggest promising candidates. Sometimes, employees are given prizes for recommending a candidate who has been recruited. Despite the usefulness of this system in the form of loyalty and its wide practice, it has been pointed out that it gives rise to cliques posing difficulty to management. Therefore, before utilizing this system attempts should be made to determine through research whether or not employees thus recruited are effective on particular jobs.

Usually, internal sources can be used effectively if the numbers of vacancies are not very large, adequate, employee records are maintained, jobs do not demand originality lacking in the internal sources, and employees have prepared themselves for promotions.

Merits of Internal Sources

The following are the merits of internal sources of recruitment:

It creates a sense of security among employees when they are assured that they would be preferred in filling up vacancies.

  • It improves the morale of employees, for they are assured of the fact that they would be preferred over outsiders when vacancies occur.
  • It promotes loyalty and commitment among employees due to sense of job security and opportunities for advancement.
  • The employer is in a better position to evaluate those presently employed than outside candidates. This is because the company maintains a record of the progress, experience and service of its employees.
  • Time and costs of training will be low because employees remain familiar with the organization and its policies.
  • Relations with trade unions remain good. Labor turnover is reduced. As the persons in the employment of the company are fully aware of, and well acquainted wit, its policies and know its operating procedures, they require little training, and the chances are that they would stay longer in the employment of the organization than a new outsider would.
  • It encourages self-development among the employees. It encourages good individuals who are ambitious.
  • It encourages stability from continuity of employment.
  • It can also act as a training device for developing middle and top-level managers.

 

Demerits of Internal Sources

However, this system suffers from certain defects as:

  • There are possibilities that internal sources may “dry up”, and it may be difficult to find the requisite personnel from within an organization.
  • It often leads to inbreeding, and discourages new blood from entering and organization.
  • As promotion is based on seniority, the danger is that really capable hands may not be chosen.
  • The likes and dislikes of the management may also play an important role in the selection of personnel.
  • Since the learner does not know more than the lecturer, no innovations worth the name can be made. Therefore, on jobs which require original thinking (such as advertising, style, designing and basic research), this practice is not followed.

This source is used by many organizations; but a surprisingly large number ignore this source, especially for middle management jobs.

  1. External Sources

De Cenzo and Robbins remark, “Occasionally, it may be necessary to bring in some ‘new blood’ to broaden the present ideas, knowledge, and enthusiasm.” Thus, all organizations have to depend on external sources of recruitment. Among these sources are included:

  • Employment agencies.
  • Educational and technical institutes, and
  • Casual labor or “applicants at the gate” and nail applicants.

Public and private employment agencies play a vital role in making available suitable employees for different positions in the organizations. Besides public agencies, private agencies have developed markedly in large cities in the form of consultancy services. Usually, these agencies facilitate recruitment of technical and professional personnel. Because of their specialization, they effectively assess the needs of their clients and aptitudes and skills of the specialized personnel. They do not merely bring an employer and an employee together but computerize lists of available talents, utilizing testing to classify and assess applicants and use advanced techniques of vocational guidance for effective placement purposes.

Educational and technical institutes also form an effective source of manpower supply. Frequently, numerous enterprises depend to some extent upon casual labour or “applicants at the gate” and nail applicants. The candidates may appear personally at the company’s employment office or send their applications for possible vacancies. Explicitly, as Yoder and others observe, the quality and quantity of such candidates depend on the image of the company in community. Prompt response to these applicants proves very useful for the company. However, it may be noted that this source is uncertain, and the applicants reveal a wide range of abilities necessitating a careful screening. Despite these limitations, it forms a highly inexpensive source as the candidates themselves come to the gate of the company. Again, it provides measures for good public relations and accordingly, all the candidates visiting the company must be received cordially.

Advantages of External Recruitment

External sources of recruitment are suitable for the following reasons:

  • It will help in bringing new ideas, better techniques and improved methods to the organization. 
  • The cost of employees will be minimized because candidates selected in this method will be placed in the minimum pay scale.
  • The existing employees will also broaden their personality.
  • The entry of qualitative persons from outside will be in the interest of the organization in the long run.
  • The suitable candidates with skill, talent, knowledge are available from external sources.
  • The entry of new persons with varied expansion and talent will help in human resource mix.

Disadvantages of External Sources:

  • Orientation and training are required as the employees remain unfamiliar with the organization.
  • It is more expensive and time-consuming. Detailed screening is necessary as very little is known about the candidate.
  • If new entrant fails to adjust himself to the working in the enterprise, it means yet more expenditure on looking for his replacement.
  • Motivation, morale and loyalty of existing staff are affected, if higher level jobs are filled from external sources. It becomes a source of heart-burning and demoralization among existing employees.

Methods of Recruitment

Methods of recruitment are different from the sources of recruitment. Sources are the locations where prospective employees are available. On the other hand, methods are way of establishing links with the prospective employees. Various methods employed for recruiting employees may be classified into the following categories.

1. Direct Methods:

These include sending recruiters to educational and professional institutions, employees, contacts with public and manned exhibits. One of the widely used direct methods is that of sending of recruiters to colleges and technical schools. Most college recruiting is done in co-operation with the placement office of a college. The placement office usually provides help in attracting students, arranging interviews, furnishing space, and providing student resumes.

2. Indirect Methods:

The most frequently used indirect method of recruitment is advertisement in newspapers, journals, and on the radio and television. Advertisement enables candidates to assess their suitability. It is appropriate when the organization wants to reach out to a large target group scattered nationwide. When a firm wants to conceal its identity, it can give blind advertisement in which only box number is given. Considerable details about jobs and qualifications can be given in the advertisements. Another method of advertising is a notice-board placed at the gate of the company.

3. Third-Party Methods:

The most frequently used third-party methods are public and private employment agencies. Public
employment exchanges have been largely concerned with factory workers and clerical jobs. They also provide help in recruiting professional employees. Private agencies provide consultancy services and charge a fee. They are usually specialized for different categories of operatives, office workers, salesmen, supervisory and management personnel. Other third-party methods include the use of trade unions. Labour-management committees have usually demonstrated the effectiveness of trade unions as methods of recruitment.

             4.2. Employee Selection

Employee selection is the process of interviewing and evaluating candidates for a specific job and selecting an individual for employment based on certain criteria. Employee selection can range from a very simple process to a very complicated process depending on the firm hiring and the position. Certain employment laws such as anti-discrimination laws must be obeyed during employee selection.

             4.2.1. Selection criteria

Effective recruitment depends on finding a pool of applicants pre-qualified for a particular position. A quality selection process means assessing which of these people have the appropriate skills necessary for the job and which can assimilate well as part of the staff.

A.Needs Determination

You cannot effectively recruit people for a position in your company without first identifying exactly what qualities and skills are essential for that particular job. For example, if you want to hire someone for a customer service position, you would look for applicants educated in phone etiquette as well as front desk organizational and computer skills. You would also need the candidate to have a warm personality, professional appearance and the ability to quickly problem-solve to satisfy customers and increase their confidence in your company.

B.Pool Selection

Many employers make the mistake of placing classified advertisements all over the World Wide Web and in local print newspapers. This reaches out to too great a number of individuals, which causes a deluge of calls and emails to your office. Many of these come from people who are not qualified for the job you want to fill. It is better to design a recruitment program that presents only those people who are likely to possess the skills needed for the position. One way to find them is to hire a recruiting specialist who assesses candidates for you. This is effective but costly. Another method is to talk directly with professionals who can lead you to candidates. For example, if you need someone with mechanical skills, talk to the educators at technical schools who can lead you to competent applicants.

C.Interviewing Technique

Effective selection of the best people for positions in your company requires you to be skilled at the interview process. You must focus on what candidates say in order to accurately determine whether they can handle the job. For example, if this is a highly technical position, you have to be able to tell if the candidate has the experience and skills necessary. She has to be able to “talk the talk” so you know that she understands the position and can tackle the work with expertise. Spend time developing the questions you will ask in interviews. Stay away from generic queries such as “what is your best attribute” and instead present typical scenarios that occur in your company and ask the potential employee how she would handle them. Select candidates who demonstrate verbally the ability to manage problems and better your company with their expertise.

D.Observation Skills

You can often tell as much about job applicants from their mannerisms and expressions as from their words. Part of your selection for a job position should focus on how a candidate behaves non-verbally. Look at body clues for confidence factors. For example, consider whether the person stands up straight, looks you in the eye and radiates that he can perform well in a position with your company. This is the type of person likely to do well. On the other hand, watch for clues that a candidate is insecure in his abilities. These signs can include frowning, repetitive motions such as rubbing his forehead and avoiding eye contact. Look for these as indicators but do not focus solely on them, because you need to consider the whole picture of verbal skills, non-verbal skills and the person’s resume.

 

             4.2.2. The selection process

The selection procedure is concerned with securing relevant information about an applicant. This information is secured in a number of steps or stages. The objective of selection process is to determine whether an applicant meets the qualification for a specific job and to choose the applicant who is most likely to perform well in that job. Selection is a long process, commencing from the preliminary interview of the applicants and ending with the contract of employment (sometimes).

The major factors which determine the steps involved in a selection process are as follows: Selection process depends on the number of candidates that are available for selection. Selection process depends on the sources of recruitment and the method that is adopted for making contact with the prospective candidates.

Various steps involved in as selection process depend on the type of personnel to be selected. All the above factors are not mutually exclusive, rather these operate simultaneously. In any case, the basic objective of a selection process is to collect as much relevant information about the candidates as is possible so that the most suitable candidates are selected

  1. Application Pool:  Application pool built-up through recruitment process is the base for selection process. The basic objective at the recruitment level is to attract as much worthwhile applications as possible so that there are more options available at the selection stage.
  2. Preliminary Screening and Interview: It is highly noneconomic to administer and handle all the applicants. It is advantageous to sort out unsuitable applicants before using the further selection steps. For this purpose, usually, preliminary interviews, application blank lists and short test can be used.  All applications received are scrutinized by the personnel department in order to eliminate those applicants who do not fulfill required qualifications or work experience or technical skill, his application will not be entertained. Such candidate will be informed of his rejection.
  3. Application Blank or Application Form: An application blank is a traditional widely accepted device for getting information from a prospective applicant which will enable the management to make a proper selection. The blank provides preliminary information as well as aid in the interview by indicating areas of interest and discussion. It is a good means of quickly collecting verifiable (and therefore fairly accurate) basic historical data from the candidate. It also serves as a convenient device for circulating information about the applicant to appropriate members of management and as a useful device for storing information for, later reference. Many types of application forms, sometimes very long and comprehensive and sometimes brief, are used. Information is generally taken on the following items:
  1. Biographical Data: Name, father’s name, data and place of birth, age, sex, nationality,
    height, weight, identification marks, physical disability, if  any, marital status, and number of  dependants.
  2. Educational Attainment: Education (subjects offered and grades secured), training acquired in special fields and knowledge gained from professional/technical institutes or through correspondence courses.
  3.  Work Experience:  Previous experience, the number of jobs held with the same or other employers, including the nature of duties, and responsibilities and the duration of various assignments, salary received grades, and reasons for leaving the present employer.
  4. Salary and Benefits: Present and expected.
  5. Other Items: Names and addresses of previous employers, references, etc. An application blank is a brief history sheet of an employee’s background and can be used for future reference, in case needed.
  1. Selection Tests: Many organizations hold different kinds of selection tests to know more about the candidates or to reject the candidates who cannot be called for interview etc. Selection tests normally supplement the information provided in the application forms. Such forms may contain factual information about candidates. Selection tests may give information about their aptitude, interest, personality, which cannot be known by application forms. Types of tests are;
  1. Aptitude Tests: These measure whether an individual has the capacity or talent ability to learn a given job if given adequate training. These are more useful for clerical and trade positions.
  2. Personality Tests: At times, personality affects job performance. These determine personality traits of the candidate such as cooperativeness, emotional balance etc. These seek to assess an individual’s motivation, adjustment to the stresses of everyday life, capacity for interpersonal relations and self-image.
  3. Interest Tests: These determine the applicant’s interests. The applicant is asked whether he likes, dislikes, or is indifferent to many examples of school subjects, occupations, amusements, peculiarities of people, and particular activities.
  4. Performance Tests: In this test the applicant is asked to demonstrate his ability to do the job. For example, prospective typists are asked to type several pages with speed and accuracy.
  5. Intelligence Tests: This aim at testing the mental capacity of a person with respect to reasoning,  word fluency, numbers, memory, comprehension, picture arrangement, etc. It measures the ability to grasp, understand and to make judgment.
  6. Knowledge Tests: These are devised to measure the depth of the knowledge and proficiency in certain skills already achieved by the applicants such as engineering, accounting etc.
  7.  Achievement Tests: Whereas aptitude is a capacity to learn in the future, achievement is concerned with what one has accomplished. When applicants claim to know something, an achievement test is given to measure how well they know it.
  8.  Projective Tests: In these tests the applicant projects his personality into free responses about
                pictures shown to him which are ambiguous.

Rules of Good Testing

  • Norms should be developed for each test. Their validity and reliability for a given purpose should be established before they are used.
  • Adequate time and resources must be provided to design, validate, and check tests.
  • Tests should be designed and administered only by trained and competent persons.
  • The user of tests must be extremely sensitive to the feelings of people about tests.
  • Tests are to be uses as a screening device.
  • Reliance should not be placed solely upon tests in reaching decisions.
  • Tests should minimize the probabilities of getting distorted results. They must be ‘race-free’.
  • Tests scores are not precise measures. They must be assigned a proper weight age.
  1. Interview: An interview is a procedure designed to get information from a person and to assess his potential for the job he is being considered on the basis of oral responses by the applicant to oral inquiries by the interviewer. Interviewer does a formal in-depth conversation with the applicant, to evaluate his suitability. It is one of the most important tools in the selection process. This tool is used when interviewing skilled, technical, professional and even managerial employees. It involves two-way exchange of information. The interviewer learns about the applicant and the candidate learns about the employer.

Types of interviews:

Interviews can be classified in various ways according to:

  1. Degree of Structure:
  1. Unstructured or non directive: in which you ask questions as they come to mind. There is no set format to follow.
  2. Structured or directive: in which the questions and acceptable responses are specified in advance. The responses are rated for appropriateness of content.

Structured and non-structured interviews have their pros and cons. In structured interviews all applicants are generally asked all required questions by all interviewers. Structured interviews are generally more valid. However structured interviews do not allow the flexibility to pursue points of interests as they develop.

  1. Purpose of Interview:

A selection interview is a type of interview designed to predict future job performance, on the basis of applicant’s responses to the oral questions asked to him.

A stress interview is a special type of selection interview in which the applicant is made uncomfortable by series of awkward and rude questions. The aim of stress interview is supposedly
to identify applicant’s low or high stress tolerance. In such an interview the applicant is made
uncomfortable by throwing him on the defensive by series of frank and often discourteous questions
by the interviewer.

  1. Content of Interview:

The content of interview can be of a type in which individual’s ability to project a situation is tested. This is a situation type interview.

In job-related interview, interviewer attempts to assess the applicant’s past behaviors for job related information, but most questions are not considered situational.

In a behavior interview a situation in described and candidates are asked how they behaved in the past in such a situation.

While in situational interviews candidates are asked to describe how they would react to situation today or tomorrow. In the behavioral interview they are asked to describe how they did react to the situation in the past.

Principles of Interviewing

To make it effective, an interview should be properly planned and conducted on certain principles; Edwin B. Flippo has described certain rules and principles of good interviewing to this end:

  • Provide proper surroundings. The physical setting for the interview should be both private and comfortable.
  • The mental setting should be one of rapport. The interviewer must be aware of non-verbal behavior.
  • Plan for the interview by thoroughly reviewing job specifications and job descriptions.
  • Determine the specific objectives and the method of the interviewing.
  • Inform yourself as much as possible concerning the known information about the interviewee.
  • The interviewer should possess and demonstrate a basic liking and respect for people.
  • Questions should be asked in a manner that encourages the interviewee to talk. Put the applicant at ease.
  • Make a decision only when all the data and information are available. Avoid decisions that are based on first impressions.
  • Conclude the interview tactfully, making sure that the candidate leaves feeling neither too elated nor frustrated.
  • Maintain some written record of the interview during or immediately after it.
  • Listen attentively and, if possible, protectively.
  • Questions must be stated clearly to avoid confusion and ambiguity. Maintain a balance between open and overtly structured questions.
  • ‘Body language’ must not be ignored.
  • The interviewer should make some overt sign to indicate the end of the interview.

Interviewing is largely an art, the application of which can be improved through practice.

  1. Background Investigation: The next step in the selection process is to undertake an investigation of those applicants who appear to offer potential as employees. This may include contacting former employers to confirm the candidate’s work record and to obtain their appraisal of his or her performance/ contacting other job-related and personal references, and verifying the educational accomplishments shown on the application.

The background investigation has major implications. Every personnel administrator has the responsibility to investigate each potential applicant. In some organization, failure to do so could result in the loss of his or her job. But many managers consider the background investigation data highly biased. Who would actually list a reference that would not give anything but the best possible recommendation? The seasoned personnel administrator expects this and delves deeper into the candidate’s background, but that, too, may not prove to be beneficial. Many past employers are reluctant to give any information to another company other than factual information (e.g., date of employment).

  1. Physical Examination: After the selection decision and before the job offer is made, the candidate is required to undergo physical fitness test. Candidates are sent for physical examination either to the company’s physician or to a medical officer approved for the purpose. Such physical examination provides the following information.
  • Whether the candidate’s physical measurements are in accordance with job requirements or not?
  • Whether the candidate suffers from bad health which should be corrected?
  • Whether the candidate has health problems or psychological attitudes likely to interfere with work efficiency or future attendance?
  • Whether the candidate is physically fit for the specific job or not?
  1. Approval by Appropriate Authority: On the basis of the above steps, suitable candidates are recommended for selection by the selection committee or personnel department. Though such a committee or personnel department may have authority to select the candidates finally, often it has staff authority to recommend the candidates for selection to the appropriate authority. Organizations may designate the various authorities for approval of final selection of candidates for different categories of candidates. Thus, for top level managers, board of directors may be approving authority; for lower levels, even functional heads concerned may be approving authority.
  2.  Final Employment Decision: After a candidate is finally selected, the human resource department recommends his name for employment. The management or board of the company offers employment in the form of an appointment letter mentioning the post, the rank, the salary grade, the date by which the candidate should join and other terms and conditions of employment. Some firms make a contract of service on judicial paper. Usually an appointment is made on probation in the beginning. The probation period may range from three months to two years. When the work and conduct of the employee is found satisfactory, he may be confirmed. The personnel department prepares a waiting list and informs the candidates. In case a person does not join after being selected, the company calls next person on the waiting list.
  3. Evaluation: The selection process, if properly performed, will ensure availability of competent and committed personnel. A period audit, conducted by people who work independently of the human resource department, will evaluate the effectiveness of the selection process.

              4.3. Orientation Induction

According to John Bernardin, “Orientation is a term used for the organizationally sponsored, formalized activities associated with an employee’s socialization into the organization.”

Billimoria has defined orientation as, “Induction (orientation) is a technique by which a new employee is rehabilitated into the changed surroundings and introduced to the practices, policies, and purposes of the organization.”

Orientation is one component of the new employee socialization process. Socialization is the ongoing process of instilling in all new employees prevailing attitudes, standards, values, patterns of behavior that are expected by the organization and its departments.

Thus, orientation is a process through which a new employee is introduced to the organization. It is the process wherein an employee is made to feel comfortable and at home in the organization. The new employee is handed over a rulebook, company booklets, policy manuals, progress reports and documents containing company information which are informational in nature. It is responsibility of the human resource department to execute the orientation programme.

       4.3.1. Purpose of Orientation  

Once the candidates are selected for the required job, they have to be fitted as per the qualifications. Placement is said to be the process of fitting the selected person at the right job or place. Once he is fitted into the job, he is given the activities he has to perform and also told about his duties. Generally the information given during the orientation programme includes-

  • Employee’s layout
  • Type of organizational structure
  • Departmental goals
  • Organizational layout
  • General rules and regulations
  • Grievance system or procedure

In short, during Orientation employees are made aware about the mission and vision of the organization, the nature of operation of the organization, policies and programmes of the organization.

The main aim of conducting Orientation is to build up confidence, morale and trust of the employee in the new organization, so that he becomes a productive and an efficient employee of the organization and contributes to the organizational success.Proper Placement of employees will lower the chances of employee’s absenteeism. The employees will be more satisfied.

4.3.2. Levels of orientation

 

Training of employees takes place after orientation takes place. Training is the process of enhancing the skills, capabilities and knowledge of employees for doing a particular job. Training process moulds the thinking of employees and leads to quality performance of employees. It is continuous and never ending in nature.

 

Importance of Training

Training is crucial for organizational development and success. It is fruitful to both employers and employees of an organization. An employee will become more efficient and productive if he is trained well.

Training is given on four basic grounds:

  1. New candidates who join an organization are given training. This training familiarizes them with the organizational mission, vision, rules and regulations and the working conditions.
  2. The existing employees are trained to refresh and enhance their knowledge.
  3. If any updating and amendments take place in technology, training is given to cope up with those changes. For instance, purchasing new equipment, changes in technique of production, computer impartment. The employees are trained about use of new equipments and work methods.
  4. When promotion and career growth becomes important. Training is given so that employees are prepared to share the responsibilities of the higher level job.

 

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