UNIVERSITY OF MAKATI

J. P. Rizal Ext., West Rembo, Makati City

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL SCIENCE

Department of Marketing Management

Course Title Title

Module 1 1
Introduction

Recruitment and Selection Dr. Bernie E. Balmeo

Module Contributors

Timeframe One Week

1. Complete the reading assignment

2. View online resources

3. Participate in this week’s discussion

How to Complete this Module?
4. Complete the Module Problem Set

5. Answer review and discussion questions

6. Accomplish Experiential exercises

Teaching Strategies

INTRODUCTION
Recruitment and Selection is the main part of Human Resources Management(HRM). It is
designed to explore the employee strengths to meet the company objectives. In this
module, we will explain the importance of recruitment and selection in achieving
organizational objectives. We will also discuss why HR needs to work in unison with
other units or departments in the organization. Lastly, we will describe the ethical issues
involved in recruitment and selection practices and determine how these issues can be
addressed.
 At the end of this module, students will be able to:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Explain the importance of recruitment and selection

2. Discuss why it is important that HR works in unison with other units in the
organization.

3. List and describe the ethical issues involved in recruitment and selection practices
and how these issues can be addressed.

Introduction:

An effective recruitment and selection policy not only fulfills the requirements of a job
but also ensures that an organization will continue to maintain its commitment to
providing equal opportunity to employees. Adherence to such a policy will let you hire
the best possible candidates for your organization.

The more effectively organizations recruit and select candidates, the more likely they are
to employ and retain satisfied employees. In addition, the effectiveness of an
organization's selection system can influence bottom-line business outcomes, such as
productivity and financial performance.

Importance of Recruitment and Selection in the Success and Failure of an Organization

Recruitment is a business activity that comprises all the processes that are involved in the
identification, attraction, and selection of individuals either from within or without the
organization to fill pre-identified job positions. The recruitment process involves several
activities which include identification and attraction of potential candidates, evaluation of the
latter, and ultimate selection of suitable candidates for the job.

Ideally, the recruitment and selection process is a crucial element of personal and
development activity in all organizations. Irrespective of their size, structure, or orientation
organization tends to hire new people or maintain employees’ current positions via
recruitment and selection (Notes, 2009, Para 2). According to Chermack & Swanson, 2008:
132,) effective recruitment and selection processes and decisions provide ideal means for the
organization to ensure that there is an adequate supply of labor. For an organization to
effectively and efficiently perform the organizational activities thus enabling it to meet its
objectives it must seek adequate and quality human resources. In addition, recruitment
provides the organization with leeway to obtain a new workforce; the latter of which poses as
a potential source of new skills and a point of adjusting attitudes and cultures in the
organization. Recruitment and the related set of activities are crucial in that they aid the
CONTENT organization in obtaining the right number of people to perform the tasks and activities in the
organization and meet the predetermined goals and objectives with absolute effectiveness.

A company with an effective recruiting and selection process also retains employees
through excellent employee management processes. Retaining good employees
reduces turnover and the need to constantly recruit and hire new employees.
 1. Effective recruiting and selection processes lead to better company results. The quality
of products and services is improved when the best employees are hired and retained.
Financial success improves when the best people are identified, hired, trained, and
retained. Fewer people accomplish more, and your organizational structure allows for
more freedom when employees know how to best perform their jobs. Attracting new
employees is easier when your company's reputation for hiring and training is
excellent. There is also less need for a recruiting and selection department if hiring is
not constant.

On the other hand, bad recruitment and selection may guide you to failure.
Below are some of the common failures in the recruitment and selection
process.

Recruitment and Selection Failures

1. Failure to identify organizational selling points

It is important to put one’s self in the candidate’s shoes while

recruiting them. It is necessary to identify the benefits of joining one’s
organization and then being able to present the same to the
candidates. It becomes the duty of managers to inform the candidates
about accomplishments or challenges that can be found in a job,
failure to do this will lead to failure in attracting candidates to your
firm.
2. Failure to stay in touch

It is important to stay in touch with the candidates till

the recruitment and selection process reaches its end. Failure to do
the same might form a wrong image in the mind of candidates as it
might indicate a lack of interest in going towards the next step and
this might lead to the loss of a potential candidate.
3. Failures to conduct an effective in-person interview

At times the judgment based on the first impression might be wrong.

Shy and introvert candidates might be misjudged due to their reserved
behavior whereas extrovert candidates might lead interviewers to
focus on personality instead of skills. Therefore, it is important to plan
CONTENT things well in advance. Ensure that the questions formulated will be
effective in confirming the talent and skills of a candidate and then
train your interviewers accordingly to avoid ‘Hiring the wrong person.
4. Failure to conduct a reference check

Reference check must be on the priority list of a recruiter, failure to

which leads to gaps in information and leaves a recruiter with no
 option of comparison. References are important for confirmation of
the various skills that candidates offer.
Failures to implement a good  recruitment process  results in hiring the
wrong candidate.

Strategic Recruitment and Selection Need

The main objective of Recruitment and Selection is an organized, transparent, and fair
recruitment process to incorporate the right people into the company.

The strategic importance of the Recruitment and Selection Process gives to the
companies the following benefits:
 Help build your brand as an employer. When a company begins to hire, the
public, potential candidates, and the market observe it.
 Reduces turnover and increases employee morale. When an organization hires
the right people, the result is happier workers doing meaningful work.
 Attracts an important group of applicants. A planned recruitment effort includes
identifying the best methods to search for the most qualified candidates.
 Hiring speed. A well-designed Recruitment and Selection Process quickly
resolves a vacancy. Therefore, the interruption in production or services due to
a lack of personnel can be completely controlled or eliminated.
 The success of a company is guaranteed with the best employees when they are
happy and doing a meaningful j

Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy

Today, business moves faster than ever—it’s a platitude, but it’s also never been more
true. Technologies, industries, and consumers themselves are continually evolving in a
digitally-driven market, and companies are continuously shifting their strategic focus to
keep pace. 

This culture of change has a significant impact on people. Every business decision has a
real-life impact, and HR departments are specially equipped to inform strategy and help
employees navigate the resulting changes. 

Consider these reasons why it’s so important for HR to align with business strategy: 

 Move-in lockstep with the rest of the company: Goals are always more
achievable when there is universal buy-in and alignment across teams. 
 Give HR initiatives a strategic focus: In today’s changing economy, there are
countless ways to recruit, train, attract, invest in, and support employees. But it’s
impossible to tackle every initiative all at once. Aligning with business strategy
 gives HR a strategic focus and helps prioritize goals. 
 Secure the right talent: Good talent is always valuable, but companies may need
to invest in different skill sets or roles at different times. Understanding the
strategic goals of the business will help HR attract and retain the right talent at
the right time. 
So how does HR become part of the broader business decision-making process? How do
HR departments move from a reactive, service-oriented function to a more executive-
level, strategic one? 

Align and set your HR goals

The main strategic role of HR is to create goals to help meet key business
objectives. Goals may vary depending on the company’s strategic plan, but
focusing on HR fundamentals is an excellent place to start. Here are some areas
CONTENT of HR most commonly affected by broader strategic business shifts. 

 Organizational structure

The way companies are organized largely depends on their current

strategic objectives and growth stages. If a company is in a high-growth
stage, it may have a sales-driven culture with more sales employees and
sales executives in decision-making roles. Mature companies with a
retention-focused strategy may hire more customer success roles. 

 Employee compensation

Maybe current business goals are more focused on employee retention or

culture-building. Conversely, perhaps the company needs to cut costs. In
either case, the compensation structure may be an important
consideration. When HR is aligned and informed on these goals, they can
make strategic decisions to help the organization meet them. 

 Employee development

Depending on the business goals and immediate initiatives, it may be

necessary to train employees on new skill sets. Some employees may
resist additional roles and responsibilities, so the role of HR in these
situations is to both evangelize additional training and ensure teams are
developed to keep pace with shifting needs. 

 Performance reviews

Clear business strategies are also tied to clear KPIs. With HR aligned on
these performance benchmarks, it can better evaluate employee
 performance and provide more actionable feedback during review
discussions. 

CONTENT  Change management 

As a people-focused department, HR often has the best pulse on

employee sentiment throughout the organization. It makes sense, then,
that HR can act as effective advocates and change agents in implementing
business strategy, creating a blueprint for employee engagement and
success. HR departments can encourage employees to share their
feedback on new business strategies or technology investments to ensure
any changes or strategic shifts make sense from an operational
perspective. 

2. Formulate specific actions to hit those goals

Once you’ve aligned and set goals, it’s time to develop action plans to execute
your HR strategic vision. Focus on developing and improving processes for
recruiting, hiring, employee development, and performance reviews. 

When creating an optimized action plan, it’s important to have a clear

understanding of your organization’s current structure and identify any gaps or
shortcomings in your processes. Where should you invest more in recruiting? If
budgets are tight, what training or employee development programs need to be
in place to maximize the productivity and effectiveness of your existing talent?
How many sales reps does HR need to hire in a specific territory?

The ability to visualize where every player fits into the larger organization can
help HR departments align employees to business strategy, maximize efficiency,
and see data in context to drive better decisions. Org charts and related visuals
can help HR departments optimize organizational structure at every level and
make better people decisions, such as: 

 Assigning employees where their skills can make the most significant impact
 Making informed decisions about pay, equity, and performance
 Modeling current and future org structures to determine how best to scale your
business

3. Track and measure performance

Historically, the role of HR has lies in the “softer,” people-focused side of the
business. However, people analytics is now the new HR, and HR departments are
 just as responsible for reporting on the performance of their initiatives as any
other department. 

With human resource alignment around data-driven goals, HR leaders can ensure
that decision-making not only aligns with strategic business objectives but also
helps drive those goals. HR leaders can analyze data from sales, marketing, and
accounting to break down departmental silos and better align with overall
business goals.

Data-driven human resource alignment

According to a Bersin by Deloitte study, data-driven HR teams are four times

more likely to be respected by their business counterparts, which can result in
more input in strategic decision-making. By combining departmental data and HR
data and visualizing it all in a single workspace, HR departments can better align
their decisions to business strategy. Consider the ways these types of people
analytics can impact the broader business:

Employee analytics: Measure the performance of all the HR initiatives in terms of

cost, time, and performance, then use a dashboard to track recruiting times,
onboarding speed, employee satisfaction, and employee salaries. This data-
CONTENT driven approach to people management helps HR departments evaluate pay
disparities, track employee retention, identify trends, and see critical employee
metrics that will provide quick insights for better decision-making.  

Benefit: Efficient onboarding, improved employee satisfaction, and

retention

Talent analytics: Today, effective talent acquisition goes way beyond budget and
headcount. HR departments can rely on algorithmic data to quickly sift through
deep pools of qualified applicants to attract and retain top talent.  

Benefit: Identify and attract higher-quality employees and improve workforce

planning

Predictive analytics: Set up indicators to see when an employee is at risk of

leaving the company. HR departments can use data to identify risk facts and
predict employee churn and how this will affect the company.

Benefit: Better retention and employee planning

Career Paths in Recruitment and Selection

A career in recruitment can be a fulfilling choice for individuals interested in talent

acquisition, client services, and career development. Recruiters may find opportunities as
regular, full-time employees with a single organization or may tend to a portfolio of
clients to fulfill their hiring needs. Understanding the benefits of a career in recruitment
can help you determine if this career is right for you.

Understanding the benefits of a career in recruitment can help you to determine

whether this profession is right for you.

1. Career Development. A career in recruitment can provide you with valuable

opportunities to develop skills that could contribute to your professional growth.
Skills like communication, critical thinking, and organization could apply to future
positions and help you advance your career in the industry. Often, recruitment
agencies choose to promote their employees internally, instead of seeking
external employees to fill management and leadership positions. Developing
your skills and gaining experience as a recruiter could increase your chances of
internal career advancement.

2. Entrepreneurial Opportunities. There are many aspects of working as a recruiter

that can prepare you for starting your own recruiting business. Many
recruitment tasks require self-management, organization, and managing a
portfolio of clients. All these skills could prepare you to offer your recruitment
services as an independent contractor, providing an exciting entrepreneurial
opportunity.

Additionally, the nature of recruitment often provides you with flexibility in your
workday. This flexibility can provide you with a greater sense of work/life
balance, increased productivity, and time to pursue other professional and
personal ventures.

3. Earning Potential. The earning potential of a career in recruitment is another

notable reason to pursue this profession. The national average salary for
recruitment specialists is $52,874 per year. Recruitment specialists are often in
entry-level positions, making the earning potential for management and senior-
level recruiters even more impressive. The national average salary for
recruitment managers is $68,441 per year.

If you decide to begin your own recruitment business or offer your recruiting
services as an independent contractor, your earning potential may be even
greater depending on your entrepreneurial methods, range of clients, and size of
the portfolio.
4. Diversity of Tasks. The variety of tasks associated with recruitment professions is
another benefit of this career choice. Your daily tasks as a recruiter may vary,
depending on your current clients, the size of your portfolio, and the stages of
the hiring process. This diversity of tasks can help you maintain engagement with
your work, remain motivated, and contribute to your fulfillment and emotional
satisfaction at work. Common tasks recruitment professionals may complete
daily include:

o Identify current and future hiring needs

o Source candidates through databases, networking sites, and social media
platforms
o Screen candidates through primary calls and assessments
o Discuss interview dates and times with hiring managers
o Perform employment verification checks
o Discuss roles and job descriptions with candidates
o Post and update advertisements

5. Innovation. The technology used for recruitment efforts continues to evolve and
update. Social and professional networking sites, as well as candidate databases,
have become valuable recruitment tools. Working as a recruiter can allow you
interesting opportunities to use new, innovative methods to match candidates
with your clients. Messaging systems and video call services have also made
interviewing and screening candidates easier, regardless of their location. This
can help you source candidates from a wide range of applicants by considering
remote candidates or candidates willing to relocate for the position.

6. Friendly Competition. The recruitment industry can be a competitive field. Many

recruiters may feel this friendly competition is a powerful motivator to complete
their tasks and fulfill their client's expectations. Competition can also encourage
you to continually reflect on your performance, update your methods and learn
from others in your field. Doing so can help you reach your fullest potential as a
recruiter, provide new opportunities and contribute to your overall success in
this industry.

7. Positively Impact Others. As a recruiter, you may have the opportunity to make
a positive impact on the lives of others. For your clients, you can help them
select and hire qualified candidates who can add value to their organization. For
your candidates, you can help pair them with positions and employers where
they'll succeed, feel valued and enjoy professional fulfillment. Contributing to
the happiness and success of others can help you feel more fulfilled and
emotionally satisfied with your career and could contribute to your productivity,
success, and well-being.

8. Employee Benefits. Another notable benefit of pursuing a career as a recruiter is

the benefits you may receive in this career. If you're employed with a
recruitment agency, you may enjoy full-time benefits from your employer. This
could include health insurance, dental and vision insurance, employer-
 contributed retirement and savings plans, paid time off, and paid holidays. If you
decide to pursue an independent career as a contractual recruiter, you can also
include these benefits in your contractual agreements. For example, if you have
a client with several or long-term hiring needs, you may request to enroll in their
employee benefits programs.

Ethical Issues and Considerations in Recruitment and Selection

There are several ethical and legal issues that you must consider about the recruitment
and selection process. Ethical issues are those not governed by law but considered the
right processes to follow to be fair and equal to all.

Employees must be aware of the latest opportunities and legislation and ensure that
they comply with it or risk prosecution.

Here are eight more examples of ethical issues in  recruitment and selection:

1. Requiring candidates to pay for their services

Reputable recruiters, those who have a proven track record of success, do not
need to charge candidates. That’s because they make enough placements
with their clients to earn a comfortable living. Not only that, but they
recognize that top candidates are a valuable commodity.

You do not attract top candidates by charging them for your services. They’re
not going to pay you. So if you’re charging job seekers for your services, then
chances are that they’re not top candidates. This is why you might not be
making a lot of placements in the first place.

2. Altering the job description

Sure, the job is real. The job order does exist. However, in an attempt to make
the position look more inviting, the recruiter may write a job description with
strategically deceptive changes. The most obvious way is to inflate the salary
and other compensation. Or perhaps make the responsibilities seem more
prestigious than they are. This is straight-up dishonest.

3. Advertising non-existing jobs

But wait! Here’s something even MORE dishonest. That would be a recruiter
posting, presenting, or advertising a job that does not even exist. Or one
that’s already been filled. Why do this? To harvest resumes, of course. Then
that same recruiter can contact the candidates later on when they have
actual job orders and positions to peddle.

4. Altering a candidate’s resume

 If you thought that altering a job description was bad, this is even worse.
Beware the recruiter who asks for your resume in a format in which they can
easily alter it. Do they tell the candidate that they’re altering their resume?
No, they do not. Their only objective is to get candidates in front of hiring
managers for interviews. If a candidate needs a “resume enhancement,” so
be it.

5. Presenting an “expiring offer” to a candidate

A recruiter sends an offer to a candidate. The catch: the candidate has only a
limited amount of time to make a decision. If they don’t, the offer will be
rescinded. Did the hiring authority mandate the time limit? Nope. The
recruiter, in their infinite wisdom, is hoping to pressure the candidate into
accepting the offer. A recruiter is more likely to try this if they’ve altered the
candidate’s resume by eliminating contact information in an attempt to
control the lines of communication. A double-whammy!

6. Faking a relationship with an employer

Why have a real relationship with a client when you can have a FAKE one
instead? In this situation, the recruiter tells candidates that there are
premium job opportunities available at prestigious Company C. The
candidates, who would love to work at Company C, trip all over themselves to
give their resumes to the recruiter.

The recruiter, in turn, tries to use the resumes to market MPCs (Most
Placeable Candidates). If Company C tells the recruiter to “go pound salt,” the
recruiter then makes something up to tell the candidates. Heck, they’ve been
lying their butt off to this point. Why stop? Throw another lie on the fire.

7. Discrediting a candidate’s current employer

This one strikes close to home for candidates. That’s because the recruiter
contacts a candidate and tells them something about their employer that is
not true. (“I hear they’re going bankrupt.”) Why? To undermine the
confidence that the candidate has in their employer and prompt them to look
elsewhere. Is what they’re saying true? No, it’s yet another lie. A LIE, I tell
you!

8. The “tag team” approach to closing the deal

Why be deceitful with only one person, when you can involve somebody else?
Invite somebody else to the party! Here’s how it works:
 A recruiter has been working with a candidate who has decided to take
another offer and not their client’s offer. That means NO recruiting fees are
collected. Since that is not acceptable, the recruiter enlists the help of a
friend (quite possibly another recruiter). That friend calls the candidate and
poses as a recruiter from another agency. As you might expect the candidate
lets the friend know that they’ll soon be joining Company D.

As you might imagine, the friend undermines the candidate’s confidence in

Company D. How, you ask? By, of course, lying. “I’ve heard terrible things
about their company culture.” “I know people who swore they would never
work there again.” “They just went through a round of layoffs.” Etc. etc. That
makes the candidate question their decision so that they go with the “safer
choice,” which is the recruiter’s client.

And yes, the friend receives a cut of the recruiter’s commission. Drinks are on
them!

These are all ethical issues in recruitment and selection. More precisely, they
could be described as unethical issues in recruitment and selection. As
unfortunate as it is that they occur, what’s even more unfortunate is that there is
probably a recruiter somewhere right now who is engaging in one of these
unsavory practices.

Activity 1:

Businesses rely on effective and efficient recruitment to help contribute to their success.
There are a large number of different methods that can be used for recruitment and
selection.

You have been asked to consider how a large business manages its recruitment and
selection process to ensure that they are successful in not only recruiting the best
ASSESSMENT candidates for the job but their overall business success. You should consider a business
with at least 250 employees that you know well. Consider using a local business that you
can contact or visit for information.

You have been asked to prepare a report that looks at the recruitment and selection
process of your selected business. When preparing your report you should evaluate how
the recruitment processes are used to contribute to the success of the business. To
 properly evaluate the recruitment process concerning the success of the business you
should explain their recruitment and selection process and provide reasons for their
choices. You should analyze the different recruitment methods that the business uses
and explain how these processes are ethical and adhere to current employment law.

Plan

• What should be the focus of my report?

• What do the command words ‘explain’, ‘analyze’, and ‘evaluate’ mean?

• Will I need to speak to anyone at my chosen business to conduct my research? Do

• Am I on track to meet my deadline?

• Is there any part of the report I am struggling to find information about?

Review

• Did I complete the task in a way that I am happy with?

• Did I ask for assistance when it was needed?

• Is there anything I would do differently in future assignments?

Research

Go on to the website and find the latest legislation relating to documents and the right
to work in the UK. Consider how this legislation would affect a hiring manager in a small
business.

Review Questions:

1. Why do you think Recruitment and Selection is the most important HR function?
2. Why HR must work in unison with other units in the organization.
A 3. Why is ethics in the recruitment and selection process important?
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N Readings:
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The Impact of Effective Recruitment and Selection Practice on Organizational
E
N Performance. (A Case Study at the University of Ghana).
 https://globaljournals.org/GJMBR_Volume16/3-The-Impact-of-Effective-Recruitment.pdf

Recruitment and Selection-The Most Important HR Function

https://empxtrack.com/blog/recruitment-and-selection-the-most-important-hr-
function/
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REFERENCES

Accel-Team (2009) Human Resource Management: Function 2: Recruitment and

selection of employees. Web.

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/recruitment-selection-affect-organization-structures-
20904.html
https://www.glocalrpo.com/blog/recruitment-selection-failures/

https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/aligning-human-resources-and-business-strategy

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/careers-in-recruitment

https://www.topechelon.com/blog/unfair-recruitment-practices/