EMPLOYEE SELECTION
Employee selection is the process of finding the best candidate for a role in an organization. 1 As
an aspect of the recruitment process, the main objective of employee selection is to select the
right person for a post or a job.2
Thus, Recruitment seeks to create a pool of suitable applicants. Once that pool has been
assembled, the employee selection activity begins. Selection, as is defined by Mondy et al. is:
the process of choosing from a group of applicants the individual best suited for a particular
position (Mondy et al., 1996: 180). When making a hiring decision, Cherrington (1995) suggests
that HR specialists should first consider the following two basic principles of selection.
• The first principle is that, in making the selection decision, it can be assumed that past
behaviour is the best predictor of how an individual will perform in the future.
• The second principle of employee selection is that the organization should collect as much
reliable and valid data as is economically feasible and then use it to select the best applicants.
Reliable data is information that is repeatable and consistent. Valid data is information that
indicates how well employees will perform their jobs. As jobs become increasingly difficult to
staff with competent employees, and as the costs of making a poor hiring decision increase, the
collection of reliable and valid information thus becomes very important. For example, since the
selection of good managers is important to a firm, in some organizations, prospective managers
may spend several days in assessment centre activities, from which reliable and valid
information can then be obtained (Cherrington, 1995).
Objectives
According to Anderson ( 1992, 1996), the primary objectives of selection are:
• to help organizations make decisions about individuals whose characteristics (including work
related values and attitudes) most closely match the requirements of vacancies to be filled.
• to ensure that candidates receive adequate information about both the job and the organization
to enable them to decide if they really want the job.
• to ensure that candidates feel they have been courteously and fairly treated during the selection
process.
Selection Responsibilities
At most times the personnel/HR department usually assumes the responsibility for employee
selection, including conducting the initial screening interview, administrating appropriate
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selection tests and employment interviews, referring top candidates to line managers for
interview and evaluating the selection process. Line managers also play an important role in the
selection process, such as participating in the selection process as appropriate, interviewing final
candidates, and assisting in final selection decisions.
The Selection Process
The selection process is a series of specific steps used to decide which candidates should be
hired. The process starts with an evaluation of application forms and ends with the selection
decision and/or a job offer. Each step in the selection process seeks to expand the organization's
knowledge about the candidates' background, abilities, and motivation, and it increases the
information from which HR managers/specialists can make their predictions and final choice.
Although employee selection process differs among organization, the following framework is
common to almost all organization.
l. Evaluation of Application Forms: the first step in the selection process is to have the
prospective employees complete an application form, which standardizes information about all
of the applicants to be considered. The information contained in a completed application form
for employment is then compared to the job description to evaluate whether a potential match
exists between the company's requirements and the applicant's qualifications.
2. Initial Screening Interview is the second stage to eliminate individuals from the applicant pool
who obviously do not meet the position's requirements.
3. Selection Tests are often used to measure individual characteristics and to assist in evaluating
an applicant's qualifications and potential for success.
4. Employment Interview(s) is utilized by virtually every company to hire prospective employees
at all job levels. Those individuals who are still viable applicants after the examination of
application forms, initial screenmg interview, and required tests have been completed are then
given an employment interview.
5. Reference Checks: applicants may sometimes misrepresent themselves upon their
applications or during interviews, reference checks thus have become a common practice in
personnel and have been seen as both an energy-saving procedure and a cost-efficient means of
screening out undesirable applicants (Carrell et al., 1995).
6. Medical Examinations: preferably, every applicant should have a medical examination before
the offer of a job is confirmed. A medical examination shows whether he or she is physically
suitable for the job and what risk there is likely to be of sickness, absence, or injury.
7. Selection Decisions and Feedback: after obtaining and evaluating information about the
finalists, HR specialists should make the actual hiring decision. Usually, the applicants with the
best overall qualifications may not be hired. Rather, the candidates whose qualifications
(including their work values and attitudes) most closely conform to the requirements of the open
positions should be selected. Once the selection decision has been made, it may be important to
provide feedback to both the successful and the unsuccessful candidates in order to maintain
good public relations and promote a positive image of the company.
8. Job Offer
Selection Techniques/Tools
Application Forms: an application form is a formal record of an individual's application for
employment; it provides relevant information about the applicant's background and is often used
in the job interviews and in reference checks to determine the applicant's suitability for
employment (Carrell et al., 1995).
Resumes: one of the most common methods applicants use to provide background information is
the resume. Resumes, also called curriculum vitae (c.v. or v/c) by some, vary in style and length.
Unlike an application form prepared by an employer, resumes contain only information
applicants want to present.
Biodata: Biodata is essentially a collection of items that might be found on a biographical
questionnaire or application form (such as age, educational attainment, job history, etc.) that
enable the applicant to describe him or herself in demographic, experiential or attitudinal terms.
References: the main purpose of using references as a selection device is to obtain information
from a third party, with a view to providing a factual check on the candidate's qualifications and
experience, and/or receiving an assessment of the candidate's suitability for the job in question
(Anderson, 1992, 1996).
Selection Tests: these provide objective and standardized measures of human characteristics such
as aptitudes, interests, abilities, and personalities, which may not normally be discovered by
other selection means. Test results measure how much of a given characteristic individuals
possess relative to other individuals. (Martin and Slora, 1991).
Employment Interview(s): it is a formal, in-depth conversation conducted to evaluate the
candidate's suitability for employment.