IMPORTANCE OF A WELL-ORGANIZED SELECTION PROGRAM

A well-organized selection program is a vital process since hiring the best employees can
help increase the overall performance of an organization. It is important to prevent committing
bad hires through bad selection processes because it can affect the work negatively and the cost
of replacing bad hires will be high.

To select the most suitable applicant, who can meet the requirements of the jobs in an
organization is the main purpose of a well-organized selection program. To meet the goals and
objectives of an organization, it is important to evaluate various attributes of every candidate
such as their qualifications, knowledge, skills, abilities, talents, experiences, overall attitude, etc.
In this process, the most suitable applicant is chosen after the elimination of the candidates, who
are not suitable for the vacant job.

It is imperative for a company to conduct a well-organized selection program, as a huge

sum of money is disbursed for hiring the right candidate for a job position. It would become a
huge loss for an employer to employ the wrong candidate for a job because the cost incurred for
providing induction and training to those wrongfully hired candidates can never be claimed back
by the organization and not to mention the time and effort that will be wasted for that erroneous
selection program. Hence, the selection is very significant and the process should be perfect for
the advancement of the organization.

A well-organized selection programs provides the following advantages:

 It is cost-effective and offers time and effort efficiency.

 It helps to prevent committing biases while recruiting the right job applicant.
 It can help eliminate the candidate who lacks knowledge, skills, abilities and
proficiencies.
 It offers guidelines in evaluating the candidates further by conducting strict
verification and reference-checking.
 It helps in comparing the different candidates in terms of their capabilities,
knowledge, skills, experience, work attitude, etc.
 A good selection process helps in selecting the best candidate for the requirement
of a vacant position in an organization.

Recruitment and selection process usually starts with recruiting candidates and concludes
with selecting an applicant to hire. Being systematic and thoroughly following each step can lead
to better hires, higher retention rates and lower employee turnover. The following are the seven-
step recruitment, selection and hiring process that an organization can consider, when hiring the
best job applicant for a vacant position:
1. Receive a job order. A job order should include information about the position that a
company is filling and a well-written job description. The job description should tell
potential applicants everything they need to know about the job, including:
 Job title
 Detailed description of the job
 Required and preferred qualifications
 Location
 Salary range

If the job description lacks information, or if it is not written in a way that could attract
top talent, consider revising it.

2. Source candidates. Once the open position has been fully understood, the next step of
the recruitment and selection process is to source candidates. There are many ways a
company can source passive candidates and active candidates. Active candidates are
those actively looking for work while passive candidates are not. Successful recruiters are
able to source both types of candidates. A company can source candidates using the
following tools and sources of recruitment:
 Social media
 Online job boards
 Recruiting database
 Referrals

Social media is a great tool for finding both active and passive candidates. An
organization can post job descriptions on their respective social media platforms. Online
job boards attract active candidates. And, some job board integration works with the
company’s recruiting software, so they can add applicant information directly into their
database. An organization’s recruiting database is a great resource for sourcing
candidates. If they use recruiting software with an applicant tracking system, they have
candidate information stored. They can reach out to candidates to let them know about
the open position. Many people can refer them to top talent. Talk to candidates they
successfully placed. And, they can work with other recruiters in split placements by
sharing job orders and candidates.

3. Screen applicants. Screening applicants is a vital step in the recruitment and selection
process. This is where a company can learn more about each applicant, which helps them
narrow down their candidate pool. They can conduct telephone screenings and include a
variety of pre-screening interview questions. During screenings, ask behavioral interview
questions that allow the company to learn more about the candidate’s personality and
how they would function in the open position. Ask candidates about themselves,
including their work history and career goals. Verify that they understand the job
 description and are qualified. Phone interviews should last about 30 minutes. Though
they won’t be as long as a full interview, companies can still learn enough to help them
narrow down their candidates. Create a candidate scorecard to rank candidates and keep
track of their responses. Take notes so that a company can compare candidates after they
have talked with all of them.
4. Shortlist candidates. Recruitment shortlisting is the process of advancing a few
candidates from the pool. The shortlist of candidates should be around three people.
These are the candidates that an organization wants to invite for a face-to-face interview.
Narrowing down the pool of candidates can be challenging because a company don’t
want to advance the wrong candidates. Take the time to learn about each candidate’s
experiences, qualifications, and personality so that the company can be confident that
they shortlisted the right people.
5. Interview candidates. After a company have narrowed down their candidates, they need
to review the candidate’s information. Then, the interview of the candidates will take
place. Typically, it would be necessary during interviews to take notes, ask questions, and
give opinion afterward. The face-to-face interview helps the company to really get to
know the candidates. They can study their body language and ask more behavioral
interview questions. The interview process helps the company get a feel for the
candidate’s work ethic. Again, use an interview scorecard to rank candidates and
compare them later. Rank candidates on things like experience, education, and skills.
6. Conduct testing. To further test a candidate’s skills, the organization might consider
conducting job-fit tests. A job-fit assessment test helps the organization to determine how
the candidate would mesh with the company. A job-fit test can take anywhere from 30
minutes to one hour. It asks a series of questions candidates must answer honestly. An
organization should also conduct background checks on each candidate. And, they need
to check references to verify information and learn more about the applicant’s character
and work ethic.
7. Extend a job offer. The final stage of the selection process is actually selecting a
candidate. The candidate might try to negotiate the salary the company offers. Assess the
financial resources of the company to see whether the requested salary is possible. If the
candidate declines the job offer, a company will either need to go back to the other top
candidates or restart the recruitment and selection process.
References:

CIPD.Co.Uk, (October 27, 2020), Recruitment: An Introduction,

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/people/recruitment/factsheet#gref

TopEchelon.Com, Blakely-Gray (October 6, 2017), What Is the Recruitment and Selection

Process? , https://www.topechelon.com/blog/recruiter-training/methods-recruitment-
selection-process-example/

Trendstatic.Com, HR Training and Development: HR101, http://trendstatic.com/about-

trendstatic-business-solutions

TutorialsPoint.Com, Recruitment and Selection: What is Selection? ,

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/recruitment_and_selection/what_is_selection.htm