Review of Recruitment and Selection Guidelines
Executive summary
In line with the organization’s interest of expanding to open up new offices in Hobart, various changes need to be made regarding its selection and recruitment process to avoid any mistakes. The procedures that are out of date need to be revised and up-dated to be in line with the organization vision. Healthcare United needs to recruit 500 more employees and this will be effectively facilitated through the managers and HR officers joining hands to make the process smooth and efficient where the best candidates will be selected to occupy the new position and maintain the well-built reputation of the company.
Introduction
Healthcare United is an organization that has a policy outline of employing the most qualified and experienced healthcare professional that will provide satisfactory services to all its clients. The healthcare institution embarks on a rigorous exercise from the point a vacant position presents itself from the point of advertising available position, internally and externally, conducting interviews and recruitment to the point of offering jobs to the most qualified and trained profession. Over the years the organization has grown opening up branches in two major sites, Victoria as well as NSW and employing 1500 well trained professionals. To expand the business and provide further sizes to more people, the organizational management decided to open a branch in Hobart. The new office would require staff and the organization was willing to employ 500 more trained and qualified employees to fill in those positions, the process is to be carried out in three stages. Healthcare United only settles for the best candidates to offer employment in its firm, which is why its recruitment policy is highly detailed and followed to the latter.
The main aim of the report is to analyze the different recruitment policies that Health care United used to employ in a bid to get the most qualified candidate work for the organization. The report will highlight the different methods, policies and procedures adopted by the organization addressing the key areas adopted in 2000 up against its recent procedures adopted by the organization in the year 2010 together with all the different recruitment policies and supporting legislation.
Body
The main purpose of its rigorous recruitment, selection and training process is to provide the best human resource available to deliver the services offered in the most effective way possible. The recruitment and selection process that was formulated in 2000 has undergone changes and in the year 2010, Healthcare United formed new rule, procedures and policy guidelines to suit its recruitment process. An analysis of the different methods employed by the healthcare institution in 2000 and its reassessment in 2010 was analyzed and the findings and recommendations presented in this report.
There are a number of key areas that need to be analyzed in the 2000 recruitment and selection policy that is contrary to the one revised in 2010. Factors that were considered in the revision included;
1. Policies and procedures that went contrary to the new policies enacted for 2010. This was due to the change in staff and management in the organization over time the 10 year time frame.
2. Various areas and selection techniques were outdated in comparison with recent and more dated practice and research. The organization has to make an effort to keep its word of providing the best services to its clients. This move was in line with the vision of the organization of not only providing the best qualified healthcare professional, but to also keep up-to-date on its technology meant for use by both its staff and clients. The organization has to devise innovative practices and procedures internally and externally and to provide world class facilities as well as procedures that offer fair and friendly competition. Any procedures that did not meet the vision of the organization had to be revised.
3. Some selection techniques previously used in 2000 did not comply with the country’s contemporary legislation. This meant that there removal was not formidable as they were not in line with the legislation.
The various first hand key areas that needed to be addressed for selection and recruitment included;
a. Timeframes
Healthcare United 2000- required up to 2-3 weeks maximum period for the purpose of selecting candidates and recruiting them. The time line needed for advertising the job vacancies was set at 20-25 working days for both internal and external applicants.
Healthcare United 2010- have a requirement of 2-3 weeks’ timeframe depending on the number of applicants for the purpose of selection and recruitment of qualified and successful candidates.
b. Personnel involved
Healthcare United 2000- the process of selection and recruitment was solely left to be the responsibility of the Human Resource department. It was seen as their department of dealing with all the employees in the department and was therefore given the responsibility of ensuring that all vacant and new positions were filled with highly qualified healthcare professionals. According to the old legislation, it was a requirement that the interviewing panel consist of three interviewers with two coming from the HR department and one from the job-related department. The third administration member had to be highly qualified with years of experience and was given only three questions to as the candidate during the interview.
Healthcare united 2010- managers are given the prime responsibility of recruiting and selecting candidates to fill in the vacant positions with the Human Resource department only acting as support staff. According to the new legislation, the management is given full authority of interviewing the candidates and giving providing the successful candidates with job offers. The HR department only provides assistance to the managers by organizing for the interview, searching for a venue, compiling and contacting the shortlisted candidates, providing memos to internal applicants and preparing job contracts to the successful candidates. Their main role is to ensure that the selection and recruitment process goes on smoothly and take over after the interviews by conducting induction exercises to the newly recruited personnel.
c. Documentation
Healthcare United 2000- the HR department were tasked with the responsibility of all documentation. They were in-charge of preparing the advertisements in the media, prepare a list of the candidates, and prepare permission for position forms whenever a vacant position was available, organize the resumes and list the candidates in order of the Yes, NOs and maybes. They also had to prepare job contracts for the successful candidates and prepare copies that contained notes concerning all the unsuccessful applicants.
Healthcare United 2010- the manager are given the prime responsibility over the entire process of selection and recruitment while having the HR department only provide support to them. The new company regulations require the senior management to approve of all the vacant positions filed as available and order for an advertisement to be placed and authorize for the recruitment and selection process to commence to fill in the positions. Senior management selects the managers to carry out the selection and recruitment in liaison with the HR department that will provide the necessary assistance to the process.
d. Training
Healthcare United 2000- the organization policy had the HR department possess the responsibility in terms of organizing for training of all the new recruits. The HR department ensured that all the qualified candidates were taken through a process of induction to familiarize them with the company rules and regulations, conditions and terms of their contract. They as well carried out training exercises for the recruits to help them better understand their tasks and to provide the best service to the organization’s clients.
Healthcare United 2010- the managers have the task of training the new recruits and having the HR department help the managers in their roles. The managers trained the recruits gave them tasks and assessed their performance through a performance evaluation. Recruits that were lazy or did not meet up to their expectation were referred to the HR department for disciplinary matters. The management recommended employees to senior management for further training such as off shore seminars to increase their knowledge and make them more qualified in their work.
e. Monitoring and evaluation.
Healthcare united 2000- the responsibility of monitoring the progress of the employees and evaluating their performance was the work of the HR department. The chairperson that was in-charge of the selection process was a member of the HR department and was assisted by an administration staff from the job related department who helped to monitor and analyze the performance of the new recruits in accordance with the stipulated and agreed level of performance.
Healthcare United 2010- the General Manager is held in-charge over the monitoring and selection process receiving assistance from a group of trained selection panel and managers in the respective job related fields. The General Manager is kept up-to-date on the performance of the organization and any well performing employee is taken noted and rewarded by the organization on recommendation from the managers. In case of poor performance, the General Manager maintains the authority to dismiss any employee for mis-conduct in accordance with the rules and regulations on the organization.
Recommendations
These are the key areas that were proposed for revision due to the change in legislation over the years and some becoming outdated as a result of change in recruitment policies of the organization. All the key areas need to be efficiently updated and revised and the staff needs to be trained of any new responsibility they might have been given concerning the selection and recruitment process. The organization needs to take note of any changes in the corporate world of how to better improve the process in an effort of hiring efficient and well trained personnel.
There are various procedures that Healthcare United has to apply and follow, all meant to help in its recruitment policies of hiring the most qualified healthcare professionals in the firm. These procedures were present in 2000 but over time they have become inconsistent with the operations of the organization and have warranted a change that was implemented in 2010. The new procedures adequately summarized the new methods and techniques to be used in a bid to improve their recruitment system however; the report intends to show a detailed summary of differences between the current procedures and the old procedures used by Healthcare United in 2000. The differences as presented by the report include;
1. Vacant position analysis
Healthcare United 2000- once a position became vacant, an analysis had to be done to determine whether filling that vacant was necessary or not. The manager would request the HR department for ‘Permission of position form’ they would fill their part of ‘permission to recruit form’ after which, they would return it to the HR department for close scrutiny and analysis. The form would be completed by HR and forwarded to the senior manager for approval from where the HR department would embark on exploring their options and legislation on matters of filling the position.
Healthcare United 2010- this procedure is contrary to 2010 as in the current system, all responsibility is given to the managers to oversee the process of analyzing the vacant position. This showed that the procedure was contrary to 2010 policy. The procedure was also outdated and needed reeving since current research proves that the procedure is handled solely by the managers and it also emphasizes non-compliance with the current legislation.
2. Position description
Healthcare United 2000- it provided that the position be analyzed by the HR department by the use of a description template that included matters such as position title, key objectives, qualifications required and terms to be met. They occasionally consulted the managers about position description the senior manager would have to sign off on it.
Healthcare United 2010- there was need for the position to be revised since it was contrary to the 2010 policy. The current research conducted showed that it was the work of the manager to carry out a description analysis in a bid to determine the qualifications required to fill the job position. The company legislation for 2010 also recommended the use of managers to carry out the procedure. Managers in the job related department were better suited for the task as they were familiar with the requirements of the position and the terms required working in that department.
3. Advertisement
Healthcare United 2000- it was a requirement that a vacant position be advertised internally before any external advertisement were done. The procedure required the advertisement to be made in the HU newsletter, intranet or notice boards for a period of 10 working days before it was published and advertised externally for another 10 working days.
Healthcare United 2010- there was need for the procedure to be revised as it went contrary with the research that requires the advertisement for the vacant position be done both internally and externally at the same time for ten working days. The procedure also goes against the 2010 legislation that requires the General Manager to approve of any special exemptions made for the internal recruitment.
4. Short listed applicants
Healthcare United 2000- the requirements were that the short listing procedure be done by the HR department. However, all internal applicants had to be interviewed directly. The HR organized the list into piles of ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘maybe’. The HR compiled the list of the internal applicants and the shortlisted candidates.
Healthcare United 2010- the revision was necessary as it was contrary to the 2010 legislation that required the process to be handled by the managers with assistance from the HR where necessary. Recent research showed that the year 2000 process was outdated as it still portrayed the notion that the process was carried out by HR yet this was incorrect.
5. Interview preparation
Healthcare United 2000- the HR were given the responsibility of organizing the interview that were conducted at the head office. The interview panel consisted of three members with the chairman being a member of the HR department. Standard questions for the interview panel meant for the interview assessment. This procedure was done by the HR with some assistance from the managers.
Healthcare United 2010- the procedure was not revised as it was not contrary to the 2010 legislation that still provided that the procedure be carried out by the HR department. Research shows that it complies with the 2010 legislation requirements.
6. Interview applicant
Healthcare United 2000- the requirement is that the interview should be conducted at the head office. Each interview session is to last for 30 minutes with 5 minute break in between. The interview panel should not conduct more than 12 interviews in a day.
Healthcare United 2101- research showed that the procedure was not contrary to the 2010 legislation which still emphasized on the same matter. This shows that the procedure set in 2000 is not outdated with the current procedure. The interview just like in the procedure set in 2000, is conducted by a chairperson who is a member of the HR department with an addition HR member and a staff from the job related field.
7. Reference checks
Healthcare United 2000- required that a detailed check be done on all internal and external applicants by seeking information from the previous work place the applicant used to work in. This was done by phoning the previous work place, stating reason for the call and enquiring about the applicant, his experience, personality, standard of work and whether there were any problems related with the former employee.
Healthcare United 2010- this procedure was contrary to the 2010 policy that required reference is done by the managers instead of the HR officers. Revision was required since resent research showed that referencing was done by managers; the procedure is therefore, inconsistent with the 2010 legislation.
8. Job offers
Healthcare United 2000- job offers were commenced after reference was done on all interviewed candidates. The process was done by the HR department and entailed drafting the contract that was to be posted by the administration to the successful candidate. Once the candidate sings the contract, he/she is taken through induction process.
Healthcare United 2010- the procedure as analyzed does not conform to the 2010 policy, which requires the mangers to finalize on the job offers. The procedure is therefore, outdated and needs revising as it is considered to be outdated.
9. Feedback to unsuccessful applicants
Healthcare United 2000- the procedure requires all internal applicants to have a meeting with a member of the HR department to be notified of reason for not getting the job. The meeting is to last for 30 minutes with each applicant. The HR department is still tasked with the mandate of informing the external applicants who were unsuccessful via phone and filing a hardcopy containing notes about the applicants that were unsuccessful
Recommendations
It is important for the management not take up too many roles that were previously done by the HR department but should involve HR officers in most of the procedures since they are experts in matters concerning employees and in judging character. The management should keep an up-to-date record on its procedures to avoid making blunders while recruiting employees. The management may increase the number of members of the interview panel to make the decision made be more impartial.
Conclusion
Healthcare United requires revising all the outdated procedures to be in line with their legislation and policy requirement in terms of selection and recruitment policy.
