A Study on the Effectiveness of Recruitment and Selection Process of Entry Level Managers of Selected Enterprises in Bangladesh

Abstract

Recruitment is the process of finding and attracting applicants for the employers’ job positions on a timely basis, in sufficient numbers and with appropriate qualifications. Whereas selection is the process of choosing qualified & competent candidates from a group of applicants who are suitable for a particular position and organization. Recruitment and selection are important for procuring human resources & creating competitive advantages that are necessary for the organizations to compete with others. Organizations always try to attract the most talented people. These talented people would be the major players, as they can ensure the growth of the firm. Organizations must have some selection strategy that ensures the fit between qualities of the individuals and company’s organizational goals. In addition to this poor selection can increase the injury for the organization. Poor selection process can waste more time and money. If organizations want to be successful in selection process, they must follow some of the selection strategies. The objectives of this study are to examine the existing recruitment and selection policies and practices for managerial selection in the enterprises, to evaluate effectiveness of recruitment and selection policies and practices for managerial selection, to compare the recruitment and selection policies and practices for managerial selection of different sectors, to examine the existing model on recruitment and selection policies and practices of managers and to develop a model for recruitment and selection policies and practices for managerial selection on the basis of findings of the study. This study was descriptive and explorative. This study tried to find out present practices and also the limitations in the recruitment and selection practices of the sample enterprises. This study used mixed method or triangulation. It means this study used both qualitative and quantitative method for collecting data. structured questionnaire has been used for collecting quantitative data. For collecting qualitative data Semi structured questionnaire has been used. Data have been collected through mixed method into two phases. For first phase semi- structured interview and Focus Group Discussion(FGD) have been used across different levels of line and HR personnel. Questionnaire has been designed for collecting quantitative data for the second phase. Data have been collected from line managers, HR personnel and also from entry level managers. Both primary and secondary sources have been used for this study. Primary sources include FGD, In-depth interview, Semi-structured interview and questionnaire survey of HR personnel and managers. Whereas secondary sources include articles on reputed Journals, Books, Websites, Newspapers and also unpublished reports. For quantitative study number of respondents was 320 which comprise HR personnel, top managers, mid-level managers and also first line managers. As the respondents are heterogeneous group, purposive or judgmental sampling has been used for selecting respondents. For qualitative study, number of respondents was 23 which comprise the HR personnel of different manufacturing and service-oriented organizations. Respondents are expert in HR area. Interviews have been taken from these 23 HR personnel for avoiding the repeated answer. Non-parametric test has been used for analyzing quantitative data analysis. By using NVIVO software, qualitative data have been analyzed. The majority respondents gave their positive opinion about written recruitment & selection policies, recruitment & selection strategies, assessment center and personality test are necessary for selecting managerial personnel. This study also found that person –job fit & person-organization fit are also important for effective R & S process. There is no significance difference about their opinion regarding internal & external recruitment. Organizations have used both the internal and external sources for managerial personnel. Moreover, this study also found that proper & updated job analysis & proper human resource planning are essential before recruiting & selecting for a vacant position. In addition to this, effective recruitment and selection are also related with employees’ job satisfaction as well as employee’s performance. The factor analysis identified thirteen factors affect the effectiveness of recruitment and selection process cumulatively explain 64.50 % of total variance. Based on quantitative-data a model on effectiveness of recruitment and selection has been developed. Qualitative data analysis is mainly analyzed based on two cases. One manufacturing sector and another one service sector. In both cases, effective recruitment & selection practices ensure right people in the right place at the right time. It must be related with company vision, nature of job and HR policies. Effective recruitment and selection must have aligned with organizational long-term strategy. It includes the recruitment and selection methods like application form, screening, assessment centre test, written test, final selection. It focuses on HRP, job analysis, preparing job description, job specification, recruitment policy, corporate image and so on. In both cases, selection criteria for the managers include honesty, innovative, creative, professionalism, technical competency, behavioral competency, communication skills, personality, leadership quality, decision making quality, IQ and interpersonal ability. Though most of the respondents said that written recruitment & selection policies are crucial for effective recruitment & selection (R & S) process but there are few organizations in this study who have written recruitment & selection (R & S) policies. Most of the HR personnel in manufacturing sector said that they do not have any competency-based assessment centre for managerial selection process. Very few HR personnel from service sector said that they have training centres and some of them outsourced their assessment centre activities. Most of the HR personnel from manufacturing sector said that they have taken personality test whereas most of them from service sector said that they do not take any personality test for selecting managers. Moreover, HR personnel from manufacturing sector said that there is no link between recruitment & selection (R & S) practices with performance, whereas HR personnel of service sector said that recruitment & selection (R & S) practices & employees’ performance are related. In both cases, person-job fit & person-organization fit measured by previous experience, professional qualification, personality test, communication skills, interpersonal skills, leadership skills and so on. Organizations used both internal and external source of recruitment. Internal sources are less costly and take less time whereas external sources ensure diversity, more qualified candidates. Internal recruitment can same money as well as motivate the employees. External sources promote employer brand, maintain the legal requirements. Internal source focuses on nepotism whereas external source can take more time. Most of the respondents said that there is a positive relation between HR practices and job satisfaction. It can measure through satisfaction survey, KPI- key performance indicator, turnover rate, productivity rate. If the selection test is based on competencies then it would be valid. Based on employees’ present performance, it can be said that selection test was valid. If the performance of the managers is effective and efficient, then recruitment and selection process must consider as reliable and valid. Most of the respondents in both cased said that they have job description and reviewed on yearly basis. Most of them said that they used employment consultant and recruitment agency. The reasons behind the ineffective recruitment and selection are no connection with organizational goals, no assessment centre, biased interviewer, external influence and so on. Person-job fit, person-organization fit, behavioral skills, organization culture, HR practices, working environment, motivation, peer group, team members are the factors that affect the performance of the organizations. Learning oriented workforce can identify through interview and assessment centre test in both cases. Person- oriented criteria are more important that job-oriented criteria as job-oriented criteria can update through training. In both cases, HR personnel, top managers and line managers are responsible for recruitment and selection process. Organizations mainly use newspaper, internet and referrals for recruitment purpose. Moreover, some other recruitment sources are also used by the organizations like executive search, employment consultant & recruitment agency. Both cases (service and manufacturing sector) have requisition form for recruitment purpose and have considered legislative requirement while recruiting. In today’s competitive organization, executives must be cable of doing more things. So, they must have leadership and managerial skills and they must be productive and innovative. Through recruitment, organizations try to attract the talented people. Through valid & reliable selection tools, organizations select the right people for the right position. Organizations must analyze the benchmark job position for preparing job description and job specification. Job description must be reviewed by the organizations on timely basis. Organizations have to develop human resource planning strategy that must relate with organizational main strategy. Organizations must develop written recruitment and selection policies regarding internal- external recruitment & R & S cost that must consistent with overall organizational policies. Effective Selection process can maintain validity and reliability of the selection tests. Effective recruiting can attract talented people also try to retain them. Organizations should focus on effectiveness of recruitment and selection process because it can ensure the long-term performance of the organizations.