Questions
Produce a report on the subject of Resourcing Talent in Organisations
In your report you should:
§ Identify and explain at least 3 organisational benefits of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce
§ Identify and assess at least 4 factors that affect an organisation’s approach to attracting Senior Managers, specialists and high potential graduates
§ Describe 3 factors that affect an organisation’s approach to recruitment and selection
§ Compare and contrast the benefits of 3 different recruitment methods
§ Compare and contrast the benefits of 3 different selection methods.
Sample paper
Organizational benefits of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce
Attracting and retaining a diverse workforce may have a number of benefits to an organization. To start with, a diverse workforce enables the organization to hire the best talent available in the market. Hiring people from diverse backgrounds enables the organization to bring in different talents and skills leading to an increase in productivity. Organizations cannot improve productivity if everyone is the same or basically behaves in the same way. By bringing people from different ethnic, social or educational backgrounds, the organization creates an environment that fosters creativity and innovation. Secondly, a diverse workforce can enable the organization to easily increase its market share. As the workforce becomes more diverse, the market also becomes diversified. This is because the organization can gain useful insights from the diverse workforce about their cultures and hence draw customized marketing plans based on the different cultures.
Thirdly, hiring employees from diverse backgrounds leads to better problem solving. Diverse groups of employees mean availability of expertise and experience which can be used to solve any challenges that arise in the organization. Lastly, diversity helps in creating synergies among employees (Nelson & Quick, 2011).
Factors that affect an organization’s approach to attracting senior managers, specialists and high potential graduates
One of the factors that affect an organization’s approach to attracting senior managers is external influences. There are certain elements which may exert pressure on the organization to hire local people. This affects the approach the organization uses to attract the senior managers. Legal factors highly impact the organization’s approach to attracting specialists. The law provides guidelines on the conduct of various professionals and in doing so also influences the approaches the organization will use in attracting them. In attracting high potential graduates, the organization may be affected by factors such as the availability of the graduates. If they are few in the market, the organization may opt to use the national labor market in order to improve its chances of attracting the right and qualified candidates. The organization’s image may also affect the approach used in attracting senior managers, specialists and high potential graduates. The organizational image is determined by facilities, working conditions, compensation to employees, and among other factors.
Factors that affect an organization’s approach to recruitment and selection
The level of skills needed in the organization greatly determine the approach to recruitment and selection. When critical skills which are in short supply are required, the organization may choose to utilize the national labor market. For instance if the organization is recruiting highly specialized engineers, it may choose to utilize a variety of methods such as attending engineering conventions, use of consulting firms and utilizing specialized websites among others (O’Meara, 2013). Legal factors also determine an organization’s approach to recruitment and selection. An organization must follow the legal provisions outlined under the employment provision. For instance, the legal provisions may encourage the employment of underprivileged individuals or minority groups, which may change the approach used in recruitment and selection. Lastly, the unemployment rates in the market also determine an organization’s approach to recruitment and selection. When unemployment rates are high, the recruitment and selection approaches used are simple since there is a large pool of candidates available to choose from. However, when unemployment rates are low, the organization may choose a variety of selection and recruitment approaches in order to attract a larger pool of potential candidates (O’Meara, 2013).
Compare and contrast the benefits of three different recruitment methods
There are different types of recruitment methods which organizations can use to fill vacant positions. The three common types of recruitment methods include placing of want ads, use of the internet and use of executive search firms. Want ads are commonly used by organizations and may either be internal or placed in public places where prospective employees can easily access them (Taylor, 2005). Want ads are advantageous in that they allow the organization to reach a large number of applicants within a short time. This enables the organization to select employees from a large pool of qualified candidates, ensuring they get the best. On the flip side, want ads are time consuming. In addition, they require careful screening since they may also attract less qualified employees. Use of the internet has gained popularity over the years. The use of internet for recruitment is fast, cheap and has a wide coverage. On the flip side, use of the internet requires careful screening of the large pool of prospective employees who respond. In addition, it may be time consuming to write the job announcements on the internet. Organizations at times contact executive search firms for potential employees. The benefits are that the organization is able to recruit highly qualified candidates since the recruitment process is handled by professionals. This enables the management to concentrate on other important issues. On the flip side, it may be costly to the organization (Taylor, 2005).
Compare and contrast the benefits of three different selection methods
Common selection methods used by organizations include interviews, psychometric tests and use of references. Interviews are the most common selection methods. Interviews enable the interviewers to know whether the candidate has the required oral or social skills. Secondly, interviews enable the interview to obtain additional information. This is not possible while using psychometric tests. Thirdly, the interview can be modified to suit current needs as per the interviewer. On the flip side, interviewers may make subjective evaluations. Also in some cases, interviewers make judgment prematurely. Use of references enables the interviewers to predict the job performance of the prospective candidates. It is gives the interviewer a quick snapshot of the behavior or character of the prospective candidate. Use of references is cheap since it often takes the form of a telephone conversation which takes approximately 15 minutes. On the downside, use of reference checks in selection may not give the interviewer all the information he seeks. This is because the previous employer may fail to provide all details since they may fear legal liability for making for any misinformation provided. Psychometric tests enable the interviewers to test a range of attributes which is impossible with use of references and in interviews. For instance, the interviewer is able to learn about the personality, aptitude and abilities of the employees (Taylor, 2005)
References
Nelson, D. L., & Quick, J. C. (2011). Organizational behavior: Science, the real world, and you. Mason, OH, USA: South-Western Cengage Learning.
O’Meara, B. (2013). Handbook of Strategic Recruitment and Selection: A Systems Approach. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Taylor, S. (2005). People resourcing. London: Chartered Inst. of Personnel and Development.
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