RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

Workforce Planning

This is the first step before recruiting and hiring employees. It involves analyzing current workforce capabilities and comparing them to future workforce needs, then developing strategies to bridge the gaps.

“What positions the firm will have to fill and how to fill them?”

Example: A tech company that's planning to expand into AI development. Right now, they mostly have web developers, but in two years, they’ll need data scientists and machine learning engineers.

Succession Planning

focuses specifically on preparing employees to fill key leadership or executive roles

Forecasting Personnel Needs (Labor Demand)

The process of estimating how many employees and what types of skills or roles you will need in the future to achieve the company's business goals.

The process begins with estimating demand, as a company’s future staffing needs reflect the demand for its products or services.

High demand for products/services = Need for more employees

Forecasting demand can involve looking at short-term or long-term demand

Short-term Demand

forecasting personnel needs by looking at the daily, weekly, or seasonal patterns.

Example:
A flower shop:

• Needs more staff during Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day

• Less staff on regular weekdays

• Moderate staff on weekends

Long-term Demand

forecasting personnel needs by looking 1-2 years ahead based on Sales trends, Industry news, Customer feedback and Economic predictions

Note: Long-term forecasts are not exact—but they prepare the company for possible future scenarios.

Trend Analysis

In workforce planning, it helps estimate how many employees they might need in the future by looking at historical employment data at the end of each year for the past five years (or more).

Example:

Let’s say a small clothing store wants to forecast how many employees it will need next year. They look at how many employees they had at the end of each of the past five years:

• 2019: 5 employees

• 2020: 6 employees

• 2021: 7 employees

• 2022: 8 employees

• 2023: 9 employees

They notice a clear pattern: the store has been hiring 1 new employee each year.

Using trend analysis, they can predict that in 2024, they will likely need 10 employees—assuming the business continues growing at the same pace.

Ratio Analysis

In workforce planning, it helps estimate the number of employees a company needs based on the relationship between a business activity (like sales or production) and the number of employees required to support it.

It only works well if nothing changes in terms of productivity, tools, or work processes. If technology improves or employees become more efficient, the ratio might no longer apply.

Example:

A clothing store finds that each salesperson can handle ₱50,000 in sales per month. This is the historical ratio:

1 employee: ₱50,000 sales

Now, let’s say the store wants to reach ₱300,000 in monthly sales next year. To find out how many salespeople are needed, you divide the target sales by the sales per employee:

₱300,000 ÷ ₱50,000 = 6 employees

So, according to ratio analysis, the company will need 6 salespeople to reach its sales goal.

Scatterplot

A type of graph that shows the relationship between two variables. If the points on the graph form a straight line this means there’s a consistent relationship.

Drawback:

• It relies on historical relationships, meaning they assume the way things worked in the past will keep working the same way in the future. But in reality, companies often change the way they operate.

• it may lead to poor decision-making if managers focus only on increasing employee numbers without improving productivity. For example, if the graph says that more sales equals more employees, a manager might think the only way to increase performance is by hiring more people, even if better tools or training would be more effective.

• It can lock a company into old ways of thinking. They encourage decisions based on existing patterns instead of considering innovations, strategic changes, or new business models.

Forecasting the Supply of Inside Candidates

the process in workforce planning that involves determining which current employees might be qualified for the projected openings. For this you need to know current employees skills sets their current qualifications.

Forecasting the Supply of Outside Candidates

The process in workforce planning that involves looking for outside candidates if there aren’t enough inside candidates to fill the anticipated openings. This is where recruitment comes.

Recruitment

This is the central function of human resource management. It is the process of attracting potential candidates to fill the vacant positions within the organization.

Positive Process

an approach in recruitment that aims to attract as many candidates as possible for the vacant positions

Personnel Replacement Charts

shows the present performance and promotability for each position’s potential replacement. It is used particularly for the firm’s top positions

Position Replacement Card

A card prepared for each position in a company to show possible replacement candidates and their qualifications.

Markov Analysis

it uses past data to build a transition matrix—a table that shows the probability of employees moving from one job category to another in a given time period (usually a year). Each row of the matrix represents a current job position, and each column shows where employees in that position are likely to end up next.

Example

It shows how a Junior Engineer’s probability of being promoted to Engineer is when it becomes vacant.

Recruiting Yield Pyramid

A tool used by human resource professionals to estimate the number of candidates needed at each stage of the hiring process to meet a specific hiring goal.

It is also used to gauge the staffing issues that need to be addressed

Internal Recruitment

also called as internal sources or “hiring from within” are often the best sources of candidates when recruiting.


Advantage:

• Candidates require less orientation and training

• Morale and employee engagement may rise when employees see promotions as rewards for loyalty and competence inside

• The strengths and weaknesses of candidates are already made known

• Current employees may be more committed to the company

Disadvantage:

• Inbreeding

• Rejected internal candidates may be discontented

• Stagnation and Lack of Fresh Perspectives

Promote from within if:

1. The Company Is Thriving

   When a company is doing well, promoting from within helps maintain momentum by:

   • Rewarding high performers, boosting morale and motivation.

   • Reinforcing the company culture that has contributed to its success.

   • Ensuring stability, as internal hires already understand the organization’s systems and goals.

   ✅ Why: Thriving companies can afford to invest in career growth opportunities for current employees, creating a loyal and engaged workforce.

2. There Is an Effective Succession Planning

With succession planning, internal promotions are strategic—not rushed—ensuring that the right people are ready to step up when needed.

3. The Skills Needed Exist Within the Employee Pool

Promoting from within is practical and efficient when talent already exists in-house, eliminating the risks of onboarding an outsider who may not fit.

Job Posting

a way of internal recruitment that involves publicizing an open job to a company’s employees by posting on company intranets or bulletin boards

an open invitation to all the employees within the organization, where they can apply for the vacant position

Employee Referrals

this is a type of internal recruitment that involves hiring new employees through references of current employees.

Transfer

also called internal shifting; a type of internal recruitment that involves the process of interchanging from one job to another without any change in the designation and responsibilities

It can also be the shifting of the employees from one department to another department or from one location to another

External Recruitment

the process of hiring candidates from outside the organization to fill job vacancies.


Advantage:

• Qualified Personnel – the management can make qualified and trained people to apply for vacant Jobs in the organization.

• Wider Choices – When vacancies are advertised widely a large number of applicants from outside the organization apply.

• Fresh Talent – External sources facilitate the infusion of fresh blood with new ideas into the enterprise. This will improve the overall working of the enterprise.

Competitive Spirit - The existing staff will have to compete with the outsiders.

Disadvantage:

• Dissatisfaction among Existing Staff – They may feel that their chances of promotion are reduced.

• Lengthy Process – The business has to notify the vacancies and wait for applications to initiate the selection process.

• Costly Process – A lot of money has to be spent on advertisement and processing of applications.

• Uncertain Response – There is no guarantee that the enterprise will be able to attract the right kinds of people from external sources.

Direct Recruitment

also called as factory gate recruitment, a method of external recruitment where the organization hires candidates without using intermediaries like employment agencies or recruitment firms.

It involves walk-ins, job postings, on-campus hiring, or career fairs.

It skips formal steps like online applications or scheduled interviews because on-the-spot hiring takes place

Used to recruit blue-collar and technical workers

Blue-collar workers

This refers to a type of worker who performs manual labor (requiring strength, endurance, or hand use) or skilled trades (requiring technical knowledge)

Example:
Plumbers, construction workers

White-collar Workers

This refers to a type of worker who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, usually in office settings. Their jobs typically involve mental or clerical tasks rather than physical labor.

Example:

Accountants, managers, teachers, office clerks, IT professionals

Pink-collar Workers

This refers to a type of worker who is associated with service-oriented (customer facing) or caregiving role.

Example:

Nurses, teachers, retail workers, waitstaff, flight attendants, daycare providers

Informal Recruiting

recruitment through “serendipitously” encountering the “right candidates”

Advertising

It is the most prevalent and common external source of recruitment. It sources candidates in a short span and provides an efficient way of screening the specific requirements of the candidates.

Employment exchanges

This are government-run agencies that act as a link between job seekers and employers. Their main role is to help match people looking for jobs with vacant positions in various industries.

It useful in accommodating unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled workers.

Example:

Public Employment Service Office (PESO)- it is under DOLE

Employment Agencies

This is a private organization that helps match job seekers with employers. Unlike government-run employment exchanges, employment agencies are usually for-profit and may charge fees to employers.

Use one only if:

• The firm does not have it’s own HR department

• There is a need to fill a job quickly

• There is a perceived need to attract more minority or female applicants

• .Reach currently employed applicants who might feel more comfortable dealing with agencies than competing companies

• Reduce the time devoted to recruiting

Recruitment Process Outsourcers

specialized vendors that handlehandle the end-to-end hiring process: sourcing, screening, interviewing, etc.. Companies usually sign short-term contracts with RPOs to manage recruiting more efficiently.

On-Demand Recruiting Services

These are flexible recruitment services where recruiters are hired only when needed, often for specific hiring projects.

✅ Key Points:

• Companies pay a monthly fee or hourly rate, not per hire

• Ideal for companies that don’t need full-time recruiters

• Recruiters may work on-call or for a limited time period

• Cost is based on time or project scope, not outcome

Outsourcing

This is a strategy used by companies to reduce labor costs , wherein someone outside the company does the work.

A company can hire another company or external provider to do certain tasks or deliver services that were previously done internally by its own employees.

Local Outsourcing:

A restaurant outsources its cleaning services to a janitorial agency.

International Outsourcing:

A clothing brand outsources product photography and editing to freelancers overseas.

Offshoring

This is a strategy used by companies to reduce labor costs, wherein a company moves parts of its operations (like manufacturing, customer service, or IT support) to another country. The reason for this is that other countries have lower wage rates, cheaper operating expenses, and time-zone advantage

Work can be done within the company by opening a branch abroad

Example:

Opening a call center in the Philippines

Executive Recruiters or Professional Associations

also known as “headhunters” or search firms, are specialized employment agencies that companies hire to find highly qualified candidates for executive or technical positions—like CEOs, directors, IT specialists, or senior managers.

PROS AND CONDS:

Recruiters save time, offer access to passive candidates, and maintain confidentiality (keeping the company’s identity or job opening private, especially in the early stages of the hiring process). However, their effectiveness depends on how well they understand your needs. Employers must clearly communicate requirements, as some recruiters may push their preferred candidate or include weaker ones to make that choice stand out.

Retained Executive Recruiters

a type of headhunters that focus on filling high-level executive roles, such as Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Vice Presidents (VPs), and other top leadership positions. These recruiters are paid a fixed fee upfront, regardless of whether the employer successfully hires someone.

They typically work closely and exclusively with one client for each job search, and their recruitment process is often more thorough, confidential, and personalized.

Contingency-Based Recruiters

a type of headhunters that focus on handling middle to junior-level executive positions and are paid only when a candidate is hired.

The fee the recruiter receives is usually calculated as a 15–25% of the new hire’s total first-year compensation (which includes salary and bonuses).

Selection

It's the process of selecting or choosing the right candidate who is most suitable for the job. Its main purpose is to achieve person-job fit and person-organization fit. (Pe)

This typically involves narrowing down the applicant pool by utilizing screening tools, such as tests, assessment centers, and background and reference checks. The supervisor can then conduct interviews with the likely candidates and decide whom to hire.

Negative Process

an approach in selection that aims to eliminate candidates as many as possible.

Screening

This is the next step after receiving a resume and application form from job applicants in the selection process. It involves filtering out unqualified applicants based on minimum requirements and choosing a qualified person for a specific role who can successfully deliver valuable contributions to the organization.

To select the most suitable ones for the interviews.

Initial Interview (Preliminary Interview)

This is the first screening step in the selection process. The goal of this is to assess obvious and observable factors such as communication skills, physical appearance, grooming, educational background, and experience, providing a general impression of an applicant. After passing this, tests are administered to measure specific job-related traits or competencies.

In-depth Interview or Job-Related Interview

Also known as a final interview, it is semi-structured and often the last stage of the selection process. It is conducted to evaluate the candidate’s expertise, experience, and fit with the organization before making a hiring decision.


All information about the candidate is known first, and then the interviewer analyzes the expertise and proficiency of the candidate by asking job-relevant past experiences, such as their education, work experience, special interests, skills, aptitude, etc.

Person-job Fit

this refers to matching the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other competencies required for performing the job with the applicant’s KSAO’s

Person-organization Fit

this refers to matching organizational values with applicant’s values and ensuring that they fit company culture

Background and Reference Checks

this refers to verifying information provided by the applicant (e.g., employment history, criminal record, references).

Onboarding

the process of integrating a new employee into an organization by providing them with the necessary information, tools, training, and support to become an effective and engaged member of the team.

Negligent Hiring

this refers to hiring workers with questionable back grounds (such as having criminal records) without proper safeguards

Work Sampling Technique

This is a selection method that tries to predict job performance by requiring job candidates to perform one or more samples of the job’s tasks.

Advantages:

• Measures actual job tasks, so it is harder to fake answers

• The work sample’s content is not as likely to be unfair with minorities

• It exhibits better validity than other tests designed to predict job performance

Situational Judgment Tests

a type of selection test designed to assess an applicant’s judgment regarding a situation encountered in the workplace

Management Assessment Centers

this is a selection method where in a 2- to 3-day simulation takes place in which 10 to 12 candidates perform realistic management tasks in hypothetical situation under the observation of experts who appraise each candidates leadership potential.

The center itself may be a simple conference room, but more likely a special room with a one-way mirror to facilitate observation.

In-basket

this is a job simulation used in assessment centers where in the candidate must take appropriate action on each reports, memos, notes of incoming phone calls, letters, and other materials collected in the actual or computerized form

Realistic Job Preview

a recruitment tool that provides candidates with a balanced and honest view of what the job is really like—including both the positive and negative aspects—before they accept the position.

Selection Interview

this is a selection procedure designed to obtain information and predict future job performance based on applicant’s through oral responses to oral inquiries.

it is the most commonly used method to select employees.

Structured/Directive Interview

It is a type of interview structure that has an identified sequencing of questions, meaning all candidates are asked the same questions, and it has a standardized scoring key.

It is considered more reliable and valid.

Unstructured or Nondirective interview

it is a type interview structure where in there is an unstructured conversational pattern in which an interviewer may pursue points of interest that are unrelated to job application.

It does not follow a set of format and there is seldom a formal guide for scoring right or wrong answers

Situational Interview Question

In this, the content or the types of questions asked focus on how the candidate would behave in a given situation.

It asks applicants to describe how they would react to a hypothetical situation today or tomorrow

It yields a higher mean validity than job-related (or behavioral) interview questions

Example:

“How will you act in response to a subordinate coming to work late 3 days in a row?”

“Suppose you were faced with the following situation . . . What would you do?”

Behavioral Interview Questions

In this, the content or the types of questions asked focus on asking applicants to describe how they reacted to actual situations in the past

Example:

“Can you think of a time when . . . What did you do?”

Stress Interview Questions

In this, the content or the types of questions asked focus on making the applicant uncomfortable with occasionally rude questions. The aim is supposedly to spot sensitive applicants and those with low or high stress tolerance.

Puzzle Interview Questions

In this, the content or the types of questions asked focus on to see how candidates think under pressure. (e.g. math problems)

Example:
“Mike and Todd have $21 between them. Mike has $20 more than Todd does. How much money has Mike, and how much money has Todd?”

One-on-One Interview or Individual Interview

this type of interview is administered with one interviewer and one interviewee

Open-ended or close-ended questions may be used

• Open-ended = involve elaborate explanations of answers

• Close-ended = answerable by yes or no

Sequential (or Serial) Interview

This type of interview is administered where the candidate is interviewed by multiple interviewers, but one at a time, in a sequence. Each interviewer may focus on different aspects

Example:

First, you meet with the HR officer. After that, you meet the department head. Then you speak with a future teammate. Each interview happens one after the other.

Panel Interview

Also called board interview; this type of interview is administered where multiple interviewers or a team of interviewers question one candidate at the same time.

This format enables interviewers to ask follow-up questions and may elicit more meaningful responses. However, it may also be more stressful for the interviewee, which can sometimes inhibit their answers.

Mass interview

this type of interview is administered where multiple candidates are interviewed at the same time, often by a panel or group of interviewers.

This method is often conducted to save time when there are a large number of applications received for limited vacancies. During the interview, the panel may pose a problem and observe how the candidates respond, particularly noting which candidate takes the lead in formulating an answer.

Phone interview

this type of interview is administered where through phone call which can be more useful than face-to-face interviews for assessing a candidate's conscientiousness, intelligence, and interpersonal skills.


Since neither party needs to worry about appearances, both the interviewer and the candidate can focus more on the quality of the answers. Additionally, unplanned calls from the interviewer can lead to more spontaneous and authentic responses.

First Impression Effect

also called snap judgments; it is the most common error that undermines an interview’s usefulness. In this, the interviewers tend to jump to conclusions about candidates during the first few minutes of the interview based on the initial encounter.

• One researcher estimates that in 85% of the cases, interviewers had made up their minds before the interview even began, based on first impressions the interviewers gleaned from candidates' applications and personal appearance.

Primacy Effect

An error that undermines an interview’s usefulness, where there is a tendency to remember or be influenced more by the information presented first than the later ones

• Interviewers are more influenced by unfavorable than favorable information about the candidate. With that, an applicant who starts well could easily end up with a low rating because unfavorable information tends to carry more weight in the interview

Halo Effect

An error that undermines an interview’s usefulness, where our overall impression of a person (usually based on one positive trait) influences how we judge their other traits, even if unrelated.

Example:
If a candidate is very well-dressed and confident, the interviewer might also assume they are intelligent and competent, even without strong evidence.

Contrast Error

An error that undermines an interview’s usefulness, where in the performance of one applicant affects the perception of an interviewer towards the the next applicants.

Impression Management

An error that undermines an interview’s usefulness, where a candidate use of techniques like ingratiation (flattering or agreeing with the interviewer) and self-promotion (highlighting one’s achievements) to influence how interviewers perceive them, often to appear more likable or competent.

Clarifier

a type of interview question that includes clarifying questions about the information provided in the resume and application forms.

Disqualifiers

a type of interview question that includes questions that may disqualify an applicant from giving a wrong answer.

Skill level Determiner

a type of interview question that taps an interviewee's level of expertise.

Right Wrong Approach

this refers to an interview scoring that is based on correct and incorrect answers.

Typical Answer Approach

It is an interview scoring based on how closely a candidate's response matches a predefined or benchmark answer and is rated with a 5-point scale.

Benchmark Answer

a standard answers to interview question determined by Subject Matter Expert.

Key issues Approach

this refers to an interview scoring based on the key issue or word the applicant was able to tackle and provided.

Unadjusted Top Down Selection

this refers to a short listing method that selects an applicant in straight rank order according to their test scores.

The Rule of Three

this refers to a short listing method where only top three applicants are considered for the job opneninng.opening

Passing Score

this refers to a short listing method where in all applicants that obtained a passing score for each screening procedure are shortlisted.

Multiple Cut off Approach

this refers to a short listing method where applicants are given multiple tests all at once but minimum score thresholds (cut-off points) for each test must be met to be qualified

Multiple Hurdle Approach

this refers to a shortlisting method where tests are administered one by one and the applicant must pass each test before moving on to the next. Failing any one test eliminates the candidate from the process.

Placement

this happens when an applicant successfully passes each screening procedure and now may be assigned to a certain department suited to his qualifications.

Taylor Russell Table

a tool used in personnel selection to evaluate the usefulness or effectiveness of a selection method.

It includes a series of tables designed to estimate the percentage of future employees who will be successful on the job if an organization uses a particular test.

It states that a test will be useful to an organization if the test is valid, the organization can be selective in its hiring because it has more applicants than openings, and there are plenty of current employees who are not performing well, thus there is room for impro

Selection rate

it refers to percentage of applicants an organization hires.

Hired applicants ÷ Total applicants

10 ÷ 100 = 10%

Base rate

it refers to the percentage of current successful employee.

Successful applicants ÷ Total applicants

40 ÷ 100 = 40%

Proportion of Correct Decision

a utility method that determine the percentage of times a selection decision method was accurate with the percentage of successful employees.

Lawshe Table

table that uses the base rate, test validity, and percentile on a test to determine the probability of future success of that particular applicant.

Brogden Cronbach Gleser Utility Formula

a method of ascertaining the extent to which an organization will benefit from the of a particular selection system. It is determining the value of test by computing the amount of money an organization would save it a particular selecion test will be used.