Recruitment involves finding suitable candidates to fill job vacancies, while selection refers to the methods used to choose the best or most appropriate candidate for the job. Both represent two essential processes for the ongoing prosperity of any organisation by ensuring the workforce has the relevant skills and abilities for the company's current and future needs. 

Recruiting fairly is another challenge in recruitment and selection. Fair recruitment involves treating all candidates equally and without discrimination. However, recruiting fairly can be challenging because it requires a deep understanding of diversity and inclusion issues, as well as a commitment to addressing them.

Employers must follow a fair process and certain laws that apply throughout the whole recruitment process, including discrimination and data protection. There are various factors to consider when recruiting and selecting candidates, such as job requirements, qualifications, skills, experience, and cultural fit. Employers need to attract suitable candidates, assess their suitability for the job, and make informed hiring decisions whilst providing all candidates with an equal and unbiased opportunity to showcase their skills, knowledge, and experience.

 

Recruitment

The need to recruit can be driven by an increase in workload, an employee leaving, or a new position created in the company. Once the need is identified, the company can begin to search for potential candidates, ensuring any job description is clear and concise, and that the job requirements and qualifications are well-defined to help attract the right candidates and ensure they understand the expectations of the job.

 

Internal Recruitment

Internal recruitment uses tools from within the organisation to fill vacancies through job postings, employee referrals, or promotions and represents several advantages, including:

• Cost savings: Internal recruitment is often less expensive than external recruitment, requiring fewer resources and less time to train new employees.

• Improved morale: Internal recruitment can boost employee morale by showing the company values its employees and provides opportunities for career progression.

• Better cultural fit: Internal candidates are already familiar with the organisation's culture and values, making them more likely to fit in and succeed.

 

External Recruitment

Job postings, recruitment agencies, or social media are examples of how a business can recruit externally by going to the market to find talent. The advantages of this include:

• Increased diversity: Going outside the business can bring in candidates with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, which can improve creativity and innovation.

• Access to new skills: External candidates may have skills and knowledge that are not present within the organisation, which can help it grow and develop.

• Larger pool of candidates: Casting a wider net attracts a larger pool of candidates, which can increase the chances of finding the right fit for the job.

 

Selection

Selection is the process of choosing the best candidate for the job, involving reviewing CVs, conducting interviews, and checking references. The goal is to identify the candidate who has the necessary skills, experience, and qualifications to perform the duties of the role effectively.

Ideally, the company should use a variety of methods to evaluate the candidates, such as behavioural interviews, skills assessments, and personality tests. This will help ensure that the candidate is a good fit for the company culture and has the necessary skills to perform the job duties.

 

The Process

The process of selecting the right person involves a range of activities, and once a company has identified the need to recruit and defined the role, the selection process begins.

 

Advertising the Position

Once the job requirements have been defined, the next step in the recruitment and selection process is to advertise the position. 

• Internal Advertising: This method is often used to fill positions that require specific skills or experience that are already present within the organisation and can be done through various channels, such as company intranet, notice boards, or email.

• External Advertising: External advertising is used when the organisation is looking for candidates with specific skills or experience that are not available internally, with job boards, social media, or recruitment agencies as examples of the channels available to find the right candidate.

 

Screening Applications

Screening applications involves reviewing CVs, cover letters, and other application materials to assess the suitability of candidates for the position. Effective screening can help save time and resources by identifying the most qualified candidates early in the process.

Verifying qualifications and experience is a key aspect before moving on to the next stage of the selection process. Assessing the candidate's fit with the company culture and values is also important, such as indicators of teamwork, communication skills, and alignment with the company's mission and vision. It’s key to consider diversity and inclusion when screening applications, to ensure that the hiring process is fair and equitable.

Software or automated tools are available to streamline the screening process by helping filter and sort applications to identify the most qualified candidates with greater speed and efficiency. However, it is important to ensure that these tools are designed and used in a way that does not introduce bias or discrimination into the hiring process.

 

Interviewing Candidates

Interviewing candidates allows the employer to assess the candidate's suitability for the role and determine their potential fit within the company culture. A few steps can be taken to ensure effective interviews:

• Preparation: Before the interview, the employer should review the candidate's application, CV, and cover letter and prepare a list of questions that will help them assess the candidate's skills, experience, and personality. Open-ended questions that allow the candidate to provide detailed responses can often provide more information.

• Conducting the Interview: During the interview, it’s important the employer creates a comfortable environment that encourages the candidate to be open and honest and listen carefully to the responses, asking follow-up questions when necessary. 

• Assessment: After the interview, the employer should assess the candidate's responses to determine whether they are a good fit for the role, taking care to be fair and objective. They should also consider how the candidate's skills, experience, and character align with the company's values and culture.

• Legal Considerations: Employers must ensure that their interview questions do not discriminate against candidates based on their age, gender, race, religion, or other protected characteristics. They should also be aware of data protection laws and ensure they handle candidate information in a secure and confidential manner.

 

Assessments

Assessments can help to evaluate a candidate's skills, knowledge, abilities, and personality traits to determine whether they are suitable for a role. Various methods are available to employers and those used must be reliable, valid, and fair and are relevant to the job role and the organisation's needs.

• Interviews: The most common selection method used by employers, interviews allow employers to ask questions to the candidate to assess their suitability for the job. These can be structured with a set of predetermined questions, or unstructured where discussions are more conversational.

• Psychometric Tests: Psychometric tests are used to assess a candidate's cognitive abilities, personality traits, and skills and are designed to measure a candidate's suitability for a specific job role. Various types exist, including aptitude tests, personality tests, and situational judgement tests.

• Work Samples: These are pieces of actual work that a candidate will complete, usually closely related to the job they applied to. In addition to assessing skills and abilities, they can be used to test a candidate's ability to work under pressure, meet deadlines, and solve problems.

• Job Simulations: Designed to simulate the tasks and challenges of the job, they can be effective in assessing a candidate's ability to perform the tasks required in the job as well as test decision-making and problem-solving skills.

 

Making smart decisions

A robust and fair recruitment and selection process ensures the best candidates are selected for the job, which can reduce staff turnover and help with continuity and succession planning. Advertising specific criteria that are relevant to the job, including all necessary and desired skills, enhances the candidate's chances and saves everyone time and effort.

Future selection and recruitment research needs to address various demographic challenges related to ageing, diversity, and gender, with the trend of ageing societies highlighting the growing need to understand the impact of age on recruitment and selection processes. 

Hiring decisions must be fair and non-discriminatory, with employers obligated to ensure all candidates are assessed based on their skills, knowledge, and abilities, and not on any irrelevant factors such as age, gender, or ethnicity. A diverse workforce allows organisations to benefit from different perspectives and ideas, which is necessary to successfully compete in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Apache Associates are specialists in IT and Sales recruitment, and we pride ourselves in treating every candidate as a unique individual and go above and beyond to match the right people with the right roles. We have a clear approach to recruitment that emphasises people, not on numbers.