06: Selection Process – HRM Now! by Top Hat

Bring Back the Boomerang

February 27, 2020 by rmcfadden

When one hears the word “boomerang,” the first thought that comes to mind is usually an Australian hunting tool, or a toy. The interesting thing about a boomerang is that it always comes back.

Now the word “boomerang” has been used to conceptualize ideas about returning children and returning employees. “Boomerang kids” are children that come back home to live with their parents after a period of independence. Similarly, “boomerang employees” are employees that come back to a workplace they left to work somewhere else for a period of time.

For many employers, the thought of bringing back a former employee is abhorrent; the immediate reaction is to think of the former employee as being disloyal for leaving in the first place. Research, however, is saying that there is value in re-hiring employees that have left an organization.

According to research by Robert Half, a company that has been providing recruitment and staffing solutions for over 70 years, 94% of senior managers would re-hire former employees, and 52% of former employees would consider returning to their previous workplaces. These are interesting statistics that HR professionals should consider.

In addition to the research above, another study out of the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School and Texas A&M University found the following list of advantages that resulted from re-hiring former employees:

Boomerang employees save costs and allow a company to recoup some of its investment in recruiting, training, and developing new staff.
Boomerang employees bring new perspectives acquired in other work environments, some of which may have come from working for a close competitor.
Boomerang employees bring more social capital back to the firm.
Boomerang employees tend to be more loyal upon their return than those who have never left.

While there is research that supports the value of boomerang employees, there may be some risks to consider as well. These risks are outlined in an article in the HR Daily Advisor: the employee may not be a good fit for the organization, they may be a job-hopper, or there may be an unresolved issue with them that was not adequately addressed or resolved in the past.

These potential risks must be weighed against the possible benefits of re-hiring a former employee. In a time of low unemployment, which North America is currently experiencing, HR departments may want to align with the thoughts of 94% of senior managers, and consider developing a formal boomerang re-hiring program.

Discussion Questions:

Your HR Department has decided to consider developing a formal boomerang re-hiring program:

What would be the first step in that program?
How would you stay in touch with former employees?
Develop a set of specific interview questions that you would ask to assess the prospect of re-hiring an employee. How would these questions differ from interview questions for a new candidate?

Serving the Candidate as a Customer

January 20, 2020 by esoostar

As humans, it is natural to have certain reactions when we meet a new person. These reactions shape our perception of the other person. They also determine whether or not we want to continue to engage with that other person. If the experience with the other person is positive, we enjoy our mutual interactions and look forward to extending the time we spend with each other. If the experience of engagement is negative, most of us look forward to cutting off the time spent with that other person as quickly as we can.

With this in mind, the recruitment role taken on by the human resources practitioner can make or break a candidate’s job-seeking fortunes. As recruiters, we may find ourselves reacting to a particular candidate based on our own individual and personal perspectives. If the personal reaction is positive, the recruitment process with that candidate continues. If the reaction is negative, the process with that candidate stops. Either way, our responses as recruiters, in this type of approach, are based on our own self-interests and are not in support of the best interests of the organization that we must represent. The results from this type of approach are not good: the business interests of the organization are not met; the valid interests of the job-seeking candidate are not met; and the legitimate interests of meeting our human resources’ legal, ethical, and professional obligations are not met.

In order to meet the legitimate interests of the business and recruitment process, viewing the candidate as a customer can provide assistance in shaping the recruiter’s frame of reference. A customer service approach for the recruiter is explored in this article posted by HRD magazine.

As noted in the article, when the recruiter is able to use a customer service-based approach, the candidate and the recruiter both experience a better process. The result may be the same in that the candidate is not the successful choice for the organization; however, the credibility of the hiring process and its results are not put at risk when the recruiter has done their job by serving in the best interests of others.

Discussion Questions:

If you experienced ‘ghosting’ by a recruiter during a job application process as a candidate, what impressions were you left with of the recruiter and the company you wanted to join? Would you re-apply as a candidate in the future?
From an HR perspective, how can you monitor and adapt your personal reactions (positive or negative) during the recruitment process in order to maintain objectivity and reduce recruitment risks?
In your opinion, what is the value of using a customer service-based approach for job candidates? Explain your rationale.

Search Firms – Yes or No?

November 4, 2019 by esoostar

Recruiting agencies, talent search firms, executive recruiting companies, head hunters – all of these provide recruitment and staffing services for businesses who may not be able to or want to carry out a recruitment process internally. The decision to use an external search firm for recruitment purposes is usually based on the availability of common business variables such as time, money, and resources. It may be a more efficient approach to use an external recruiting firm if the internal resources are not available to complete the tasks. Having said that, not all recruitment campaigns benefit from the use of an external process or firm.

The opportunities for and challenges of outsourcing recruitment campaigns are reviewed in Canadian Business’ online magazine.

Click here to read the article.

As noted in the article, the issue of cultural fit is one of the concerns that must be addressed. It is critical that an external recruiter has more than the basic understanding of the technical qualification and skills requirements needed for the position to be filled. Effective recruiters must be able to ascertain or assess whether or not the potential candidate will ‘fit’ the organization’s cultural needs, before offering the candidate into the field for consideration.

The issue of cultural fit is a tricky one to navigate, especially for public sector organizations. An example of this may be provided through the recent recruitment scandal connected to the hiring campaign for the position of Commissioner with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). An executive search firm was hired on behalf of the provincial government to conduct the campaign at a cost of forty thousand taxpayer dollars. It is not unusual for public sector organizations to use executive search firms, given the constraints and obligations to ensure that taxpayer money is used in open and transparent process for all involved. Unfortunately, this particular campaign resulted in the controversial appointment of an allegedly unqualified individual with political and social connections to the current premier of the province. The appointee eventually withdrew from the process, but the impact of the scandal remains.

Click here to read about the search firm conducting the OPP recruitment campaign.

One could argue that the appointment was based on ‘cultural fit’ factors. These factors, however, have the taint of political manipulation which infected the entire process including the reputation of the search firm itself. This is most unfortunate given the fact that search firms do not make the final hiring decisions, the organization’s leaders do.

Using an external search firm does not provide for the abdication of decision making responsibility on the part of the employer. While the process itself may be outsourced, the hiring decisions remain internal with all of the leadership accountabilities and responsibilities linked to those decisions intact.

Discussion Questions:

As you plan for your career in HR, what are the benefits of working exclusively for a recruiting agency?
What are the cost-benefit considerations for an organization looking to hire talent through a recruiting agency?
How should organizational leadership positions be filled? Through an internal (HR driven) process or through an external (executive search firm) process? Explain your rationale.

Mass Hiring Made Easy?

May 31, 2019 by esoostar

In our recruitment and selection studies, we focus on the importance of ensuring that all of the processes we use as HR professionals follow a consistent and well-planned approach to individual hires.

We spend a lot of time, both in theory and in practice, making sure that we use the right approach to select the right person for the right job. The question arises, how does this approach support mass hiring as a recruitment project?

Mass hiring takes place when an organization has to recruit and select numerous candidates for multiple jobs within a very short time frame. This differs from the concepts linked to individual selection processes. Typically, the scope of a mass hiring recruitment plan is based on filling as many positions as quickly as possible with the most likely candidates who fit a broad set of job-related requirements. Call it a bulk, volume, or mass recruitment project, the basic elements of sound human resources practices must still be in place in order to make solid hiring decisions as the end result.

As the time-to-fill-rate for a mass hiring process is critical, the use of technology based tools provide for the elimination of time wasting steps which bring little value to an overall bulk recruitment strategy. This includes the use of mobile texting to make the application process simpler and faster. The Canadian Home Depot retail chain has recently implemented a ‘Text-to-Apply’ process in order to fill thousands of possible vacancies across the country.

Click on the link to read about Home Depot’s mass hiring process.

As noted in the article, while Home Depot has implemented easy steps for potential candidates to apply, they continue to maintain a standard set of requirements for all applicants. In order to be considered, candidates must meet at least two fundamental business needs which include the delivery of ‘excellent customer experience’ in a ‘values driven team’ environment. These business needs are articulated on the company’s website, which also gives us another example of a technology-based tool that is used for effective recruitment practices.

Click on the link to peruse the Home Depot Careers website.

Mass hiring and open-forum recruitment processes, as implemented by organizations like Home Depot, do not necessarily mean a reduction in the quality of candidate requirements. In fact, these processes appear to require an increase in the quality and quantity of effective human resource management in order to ensure that recruitment and selection is clearly aligned with organizational strategy.

Discussion Questions:

Identify three potential risks and benefits of using a ‘Text-to-Apply’ process as part of a mass hiring recruitment campaign.
From a Human Resources perspective, what steps or processes would you put into place that assess a candidate’s ability to fit the business needs identified by Home Depot?
What does the Home Depot – Careers website tell you about its culture and work environment?

Ontario Employments Statistics: Oh, How Things Change

September 14, 2018 by rmcfadden

Canada’s employment numbers are on a teeter-totter; every month they’re up and down. A look at employment numbers in August 2018 versus July 2018 reveals how much things can change.

Statistics Canada reports that the unemployment rate went up 0.2 of a percentage point from 5.8% to 6.0% in August 2018. You might think that doesn’t seem like much, but it is interesting to look at the figures behind the percentages; they are what should be of interest to the HR practitioner.

Across Canada there was an astonishing loss of 92,000 part-time positions in August, but on the other hand 40,400 new full-time positions were created. It could be argued that though more jobs have been lost than created, an increase in full-time positions represents movement towards higher quality, more secure, jobs.

Another interesting employment statistic is that Ontario lost a whopping 80,100 jobs in August 2018, having gained 60,600 in July. An even more alarming static is the loss of 22,100 positions in the professional fields. These jobs in sciences and the technical industry are supposed to be in demand, and in theory a little more secure than those in other fields, but that may not be the case.

Click here to read the full CBC article on August’s job numbers.

So, what do all these employment numbers mean to the HR practitioner? It’s very hard to know if we’re seeing a blip or the start of a downward trend. However, what is certain is that HR departments need to be aware of monthly employment numbers as they shift, and develop proactive recruitment and HR planning strategies that enable future labour shortages or surpluses to be addressed.

Discussion Questions:

What could be the cause of such drastic changes in Canadian employment levels?
If you were called into an organization as a recruitment consultant, what steps would you recommend the HR department take to be proactive?
How have these lower employment numbers affected Canadian wage rates?
Identify three things an employer can do if they feel a labour surplus issue is on the horizon for their organization. Identify the pros and cons of each strategy.