Employee Resourcing- Week 2

What does the resourcing function comprise?

The aim is to ensure the organisation has at its disposal the skills and talent it requires to perform well. It is about trying to ensure that the right people are in the right jobs at the right time.

What do resourcing specialists spend most of their time doing?

Recruiting, inspecting and inducting new staff

What is the good practice model?

It is the use of standard recruitment procedures to ensure fair, effective, and high quality hiring.

What are the 4 distinct stages of the good practice model?

1. Job analysis and design- resulting in the production of job descriptions and person specifications

2. Recruitment- attracting candidates through appropriate channels

3. Selection- using objective methods which aim to accurately predict future performance

4. Induction- in order to help ensure that new starters are able to perform to a high level as soon as possible

Using good practice leads to?

• Stronger employer reputation

• Reduced hiring mistakes

• Better candidate experience

• Improved employee retention

What is a competency framework?

It is a list of skills, behaviours, knowledge and attributes that employees are expected to demonstrate in their jobs.

What are the reasons for a competency framework?

A structured set of competencies used to guide recruitment

• Less narrowly defined- focuses on broader behaviours not just specific tasks

• Requires less frequent updating- competencies stay relevant even if jobs change

• Select for attitude, train for skill- easier to train technical skills than personality traits

What are the reasons against a competency framework?

• Cloning- hiring people with similar traits can reduce diversity

• Cultural differences- competencies may not translate well across countries or cultures

• Past orientation- frameworks are often based on behaviours of current/high-performing employees. They do not reflect the attributes needed for organisations to develop in the future.

What is internal recruitment?

Situations in which existing staff are given preference when new job opportunities arise within an organisation.

What are the pros of internal recruitment?

• Internal labour markets- refers to filling jobs from within the organisation, reduces reliance on external hiring

• Employee retention- promotes loyalty and motivation

• Up to speed performance, as internal candidates already understand the organisation

What is informal recruitment?

Situations where jobs are not formally advertised at all, successful recruits hearing about it through ‘word of mouth’

What are the cases for informal recruitment?

• Low costs

• Low risk- the employer is familiar with there strengths and weaknesses

• Speed of adjustment - require less training

• Self selection- candidates already know about the job so less likely to apply if not suitable

• Incentive and motivation- Internal candidates may be favoured when new opportunities arise creating a positive motivational effect

• International practice

What are the cases against informal recruitment?

• Narrow pool of candidates- limits the number of applicants

• Lack of diversity

• Legal issues/ risk of discrimination

What is employer branding?

where an organisation can use branding techniques to build for itself a reputation as an employer which is both more positive than that of its major labour market competitors and also clearly distinct.

What is the term employer of choice?

An organisation which is generally recognised as the most desirable in the industry from an employee’s perspective

• Where most of the target market would like to work if they could

What is the term employee value proposition?

Indicates the package of terms and conditions, as well as the potential experiences that an organisation tries to offer its employees in order to both attract and retain them.

What does authentic employer branding mean?

• Presenting a genuine and credible image of what it is like to work at the organisation rather than an idealised version.

Why does authenticity matter?

Because if you make claims that are misleading in any way then trust in the brand is lost which is a very expensive mistake to make when so much time, effort and investment goes into building up credible branding.

What are traditional unstructured interviews?

• Different questions may be asked to different candidates

• selection decisions are taken on the grounds of who the interviewer thinks will fit best with the existing team, fill existing gaps etc

What are the reasons for traditional unstructured interviews?

• Flexible and conversational

• Can explore unique candidate experiences

• Allows assessment of personality and interpersonal skills

What are the reasons against traditional unstructured interviews?

• Low validity

• High risk of bias- interviewer tends to choose who they like

• Difficult to compare candidates fairly

What are structured interviews?

• Every candidate is asked the same questions in the same way, enabling a clean comparison to be made from their answers

• The questions asked are derived from a personnel specification or competency framework

What are the reasons for structured interviews?

• higher validity- candidates are scored against the same set of selection criteria by multiple panelists panellists

• More reliable - consistent across candidates and interviewers

• Fairer- reduces bias and legal risk

• Transparent

What are the reasons against structured interviews?

• Time consuming and resource intensive

• Less flexible/rigid

• Can be perceived as impersonal

• Training required

What is the reason we may not use the good practice model?

Because of competency based frameworks.

What does the good practice model of recruitment and selection start with?

That employing organisations should draw up job descriptions for each of the major roles that they employ people to undertake.

What is a personnel specification?

This is derived from the job description. This document summarises the key attributes required to do the job e.g. skills and attitudes.

What does the term ‘living documents’ mean?

In terms of job description and personnel specification these documents must be continuously updated when necessary to reflect the changes in job content over time.

• evolves as the organisation does

Why do organisations build brand identities?

To build and maintain a competitive advantage in their markets.

• Overtime as a brand name and its associated image become well known consumers develop a trust in that brand, identify with its perceived values and demonstrate a preference for branded products when making their purchasing decisions

What is employer branding about?

Building a long term reputation. (recruitment)

Is the good practice model enough?

No it is deficient, there is more we can add to it and a really well managed recruitment function is heavily engaged in long term reputation building and that is what employer branding is about.

Why is it important to have a strong employer brand?

• Attracts better candidates and more of them

• Reduces hiring costs and time to fill roles

• Improves employee retention and engagement

• Builds trust and credibility in the market

In the context of recruitment what does employer branding refer to?

how an organisation promotes itself to attract potential employees and position itself as an ‘employer of choice’

What does employer branding focus on shaping?

It focuses on shaping candidates perceptions of:

• What it is like to work for the organisation

• the opportunities available

• the overall employee experience

What do organisations communicate through employer branding?

• Organisational culture and company values

• Salary and benefits

• Career progression

• diversity and inclusion

• training and developmental opportunities

In recruitment how does employer branding act almost like marketing?

The organisation is marketing itself to potential employees just like how businesses market products to consumers.

What are the criticisms of employer branding?

• positive aspects of work may be over exaggerated

• creates unrealistic expectations

• focus may be more on image than actual employee experience

• misalignment between external and internal branding

What occurs if the reality of the workplace does not match the brand presented during recruitment?

• Rise in employee dissatisfaction

• Turnover may rise

• psychological contract may be damaged

As a result recruitment success may become short term

A positive employer brand makes applicants more likely to?

• Apply for jobs

• Trust the organisation

• view it as an attractive employer

How does employer branding support recruitment?

• Attracts more applicants- If an organisation has a strong reputation/cultures and attractive benefits

• improves the quality of candidates, attracts those whose values align with the organisation

• Reduces recruitment costs, they will spend less on advertiisng because candidates already want to work there

How does a strong employer brand improve recruitment outcomes?

By attracting high quality candidates. However, its long term effectiveness depends on the consistency between the organisations external image and the internal employee experience.

What is the link between employer branding and EVP?

Employer branding= How the business communicates its image as an employer

EVP= The actual value and experience offered to employees

What does a strong employer brand depend on?

A strong and authentic EVP

What are the main criticisms of employer branding?

When there is inconsistency between branding and reality. E.g. in terms of what the company is offering (EVP)

• trust is damaged

• increased employee dissatisfaction

• Reputation of the organisation is affected

• breach of psychological contract

What can occur if employee branding is too positive?

• Inflated expectations before joining

• Reality shock after joining

• This links to psychological contract breach

How does social media make employer branding fragile

Modern platforms like Glassdoor and linkedin allow employees to share their negative experiences, unfair treatment etc

• Employer branding is no longer fully controlled by the organisation

What is the psychological contract?

It is the unwritten expectations between employer and employee.

It was discovered by Denise Rousseau

How does a misalignment impact the psychological contract?

• Unrealistic expectations are created before joining the organisation.

• Reality shock occurs when actually part of the organisation

• employees feel misled and trust broken and therefore possible breach of the psychological contract

What is the human capital theory?

Employees are valuable organisational assets that create competitive advantage.

• Employer branding helps attract talented employees, improving organisational human capital

When would employer branding not be effective?

• When applicants care more about salary and career rather than brand image

• Therefore may only be effective in labour markets with a high number of applicants such as graduates