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Unit 10: Staffing and Coordination

selection procedure is concerned with securing relevant information from applicants and selecting Notes
the most suitable among them, based on an assessment of how successful the employee would
be in the job, if he were placed in the vacant position.
The selection process has two basic objectives:
1. To predict which applicant would be the most successful if selected for the job, and
2. To sell the organisation and the job to the right candidate.

Selection Process

The selection process is based on the organisational objectives, the job specification and the
recruitment policy of the organisation. The various selection processes are initial screening,
application forms, selection tests, group discussions, interviews and reference checks.

To facilitate a near accurate prediction of an applicant's success on the job, the selection methods
should meet several generic standards of reliability, validity, utility and legality. The application
form is a formal record of an individual's application for employment. It is usually used in the
preliminary screening of job applicants.
The filled-in application forms provide pertinent information about the individual and are used
in the job interview and for reference checks to determine the applicant's suitability for
employment. There are two methods of evaluating these forms - the clinical method and the
weighted method. Selection tests, which are widely used include intelligence tests, aptitude
tests, achievement tests, situational tests, interest tests, and personality tests.
Interviews help managers to fill the gaps in the information obtained through the application
blanks and tests. Interviews also enable the management to make an impact on the job applicant's
view of the organisation, apart from assessing his job-related behavior and attitude. Interviews
may be classified as preliminary, selection and decision-making, based on their timing and
purpose.
The process of interviewing consists of several steps such as preparation for the interview,
ensuring a setting, and conducting, closing and evaluating. The selection process also uses
background investigation or reference checks to check the authenticity of the information provided
by the applicant. Finally, after an applicant is selected, the offer is made to him and on acceptance,
the placement process starts.

At most of the organisations, selection involves usually a series of steps. Each one must be
successfully cleared before going to the next. The time and emphasis placed on each step will of
course vary from one organisation to another and, indeed, from job to job within the same
organisation. The sequencing of steps may also vary from job to job and organisation to
organisation. General steps in recruitment and selection process are as follows:
1. Reception: A company is known by the people it employs. In order to attract people with
talent, skills and experience, a company has to create a favourable impression on the
applicants right from the stage of reception. Whoever meets the applicant initially should
be tactful and able to extend help in a friendly and courteous way. Employment possibilities
must be presented honestly and clearly. If no jobs are available at that point of time, the
applicant may be asked to contact the HR department after a suitable period of time has
elapsed.
2. Screening Interview: A preliminary interview is generally planned by large organisations
to cut the costs of selection by allowing only eligible candidates to go through the further
stages in selection. This 'courtesy interview', as it is often called, helps the department

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