KMBNHR01

UNIT 3

Recruitment & Selection Process: Introduction

Recruitment and Selection is an important operation in HRM, designed to maximize employee strength in order to meet the
employer’s strategic goals and objectives. In short, Recruitment and Selection is the process of sourcing, screening, shortlisting
and selecting the right candidates for the filling the required vacant positions.

The Scope of Recruitment and Selection

The scope of Recruitment and Selection is very wide and it consists of a variety of operations. Resources are considered as most
important asset to any organization. Hence, hiring right resources is the most important aspect of Recruitment. Every company has
its own pattern of recruitment as per their recruitment policies and procedures.

The scope of Recruitment and Selection includes the following operations:

 Dealing with the excess or shortage of resources

 Preparing the Recruitment policy for different categories of employees
 Analyzing the recruitment policies, processes, and procedures of the organization
 Identifying the areas, where there could be a scope of improvement
 Streamlining the hiring process with suitable recommendations
 Choosing the best suitable process of recruitment for effective hiring of resources

Any organization wants it future to be in good and safe hands. Hence, hiring the right resource is a very important task for any
organization.

Step Activity
Sending the resignation communication message to HR with request for initiating the recruitment
1
process
2 Manager-HR directs the hiring team to start the recruitment process
3 Logging into the employment website and contacting different recruiters
4 Sourcing, identifying, and collecting the resumes of the candidates
5 Receiving relevant resumes
6 Shortlisting the resumes
7 Sending the shortlisted resumes to the department manager
8 Schedule interview dates
9 Calling the candidates for interview
10 Interviewers complete the feedback form and the feedback is shared with the HR
11 This process repeats for many candidates till the best candidates are finalized.
12 The HR team negotiates the package and compensation
13 Final confirmation and agreements
14 Send offer letter
15 Offer accepted

Sources of Recruitment
The eligible and suitable candidates required for a particular job are available through various sources. These sources can be
divided into two categories, as shown in Figure
Internal Sources of Recruitment:

1. Promotions: The promotion policy is followed as a motivational technique for the employees who work hard and show
good performance. Promotion results in enhancements in pay, position, responsibility and authority. The important
requirement for implementation of the promotion policy is that the terms, conditions, rules and regulations should be
well-defined.

2. Retirements: The retired employees may be given the extension in their service in case of non-availability of suitable
candidates for the post.

3. Former employees: Former employees who had performed well during their tenure may be called back, and higher
wages and incentives can be paid to them.

4. Transfer: Employees may be transferred from one department to another wherever the post becomes vacant.

5. Internal advertisement: The existing employees may be interested in taking up the vacant jobs. As they are working in
the company since long time, they know about the specification and description of the vacant job. For their benefit, the
advertisement within the company is circulated so that the employees will be intimated.

Benefits of Internal Sources of Recruitment:

1. The existing employees get motivated.

2. Cost is saved as there is no need to give advertisements about the vacancy.
3. It builds loyalty among employees towards the organization.
4. Training cost is saved as the employees already know about the nature of job to be performed.
5. It is a reliable and easy process.

Limitations of Internal Sources of Recruitment:

1. Young people with the knowledge of modem technology and innovative ideas do not get the chance.
2. The performance of the existing employees may not be as efficient as before.
3. It brings the morale down of employees who do not get promotion or selected.
4. It may leads to encouragement to favouritism.
5. It may not be always in the good interest of the organization.

External Sources of Recruitment:

1. Press advertisement: A wide choice for selecting the appropriate candidate for the post is available through this source.
It gives publicity to the vacant posts and the details about the job in the form of job description and job specification are
made available to public in general.

2. Campus interviews: It is the best possible method for companies to select students from various educational institutions.
It is easy and economical. The company officials personally visit various institutes and select students eligible for a
particular post through interviews. Students get a good opportunity to prove themselves and get selected for a good job.
 3. Placement agencies: A databank of candidates is sent to organizations for their selection purpose and agencies get
commission in return.

4. Employment exchange: People register themselves with government employment exchanges with their personal details.
According to the needs and request of the organization, the candidates are sent for interviews.

5. Walk in interviews: These interviews are declared by companies on the specific day and time and conducted for
selection.

6. E-recruitment: Various sites such as jobs.com, naukri.com, and monster.com are the available electronic sites on which
candidates upload their resume and seek the jobs.

7. Competitors: By offering better terms and conditions of service, the human resource managers try to get the employees
working in the competitor’s organization.

Benefits of External Sources of Recruitment:

1. New talents get the opportunity.

2. The best selection is possible as a large number of candidates apply for the job.
3. In case of unavailability of suitable candidates within the organization, it is better to select them from outside sources.

Limitations of External Sources of Recruitment:

1. Skilled and ambitious employees may switch the job more frequently.
2. It gives a sense of insecurity among the existing candidates.

Use of Assessment Centers

An assessment center is a process used to make personnel decisions in which participants engage in a variety of exercises and
have their performance evaluated by multiple assessors. The goal of an assessment center is to simulate job tasks so that an
applicant can demonstrate skills or characteristics that would be effective on the job.

According to the International Task Force on Assessment Center Guidelines, assessment centers:

 Conduct job analyses of relevant behaviors

 Classify participants’ behaviors into meaningful and relevant categories
 Use techniques that are designed to provide information for evaluating the dimensions previously determined by the job
analysis
 Involve multiple assessment techniques, such as tests, interviews, questionnaires, sociometric devices, and simulations
 Include a sufficient number of job-related simulations, allowing opportunities to observe the candidate’s behavior related
to each competency/dimension being assessed
 Utilize several assessors to evaluate each participant
 Employ thoroughly trained assessors
 Provide a means for assessors to record their observations of participants’ behavior as it occurs
 Involve the preparation of an assessor’s report
 Base the integration of behaviors on the pooling of assessors’ information, or upon a statistical integration process
validated in accordance with professionally accepted standards.

Selection Errors and Minimizing Selection Errors

Here are the top six selection errors that you need to avoid.

1. Subjectivity over objectivity

Using your gut to find great talent is fine as long as you gather facts (objective information) to confirm your gut feelings. A
Harvard study revealed that the use of interviews only as a means for selection were successful 14% of the time. I bet you have
experienced a quick hiring decision based on gut feeling that resulted in poor performance or poor chemistry for the organization.

2. Making hasty decisions

There are tendencies, in over 63% of selection interviews, to make the hiring decisions in the first four minutes of the interview.
Don’t do this. It takes 90 minutes of a patterned or structured interview to get to real behavior. Many professional recruiters
suggest that you not form any judgments in the first 30 minutes. If you do, you are in danger of missing out on potentially good
candidates who do not interview well, or worse, hiring a poor fit because of the candidate’s ability to interview well.

3. Accountability for selection errors

An even worse selection error is made when managers don’t view selection as an important job responsibility. This occurs often in
companies that do not train their managers in this critical leadership task.

4. Lack of good information on candidates

We have learned that interviewing alone is ineffective. The best selection processes include many tools like checking references,
performing sample job tasks and conducting a second interview. Reference checks are often not performed and when they are,
companies usually only verify information like employment dates. Most resumes are marketing tools—they often exaggerate
accomplishments. In my experience, many times recommendations are positive because the person doing the recommending is
hoping to move an underperforming employee out.

5. Untrained management

Make this error and it will lead to an organization that perpetuates degradation of talent. In other words, if someone is a 10/10, he
or she will hire at best 9/10. The 9/10 will at best hire an 8/10. Over time, this erodes the depth of talent. Strong talents (10/10)
will not remain in an organization when they are hired by 5/10 managers. People do not leave jobs—they leave unskilled and
poor leadership.

6. The wrong people are doing the hiring

In large organizations, you often find the wrong people are selecting new hires. Human resources sends the line manager poor
talent. The manager and his team can’t get the job done because the unit’s not fully staffed or capably staffed and the manager
doesn’t have the time to interview and train. This catch-22 thrives when team leaders don’t regard employee selection of talent as
their responsibility. The talent problem gets compounded when HR departments cut back in difficult times.

Some Things You Can Do to Minimize Perception-driven Hiring Mistakes

1. Wait 30 minutes. Hear all of the evidence, pro and con, before making any decision. In the case of interviewing, wait for
at least 30 minutes after the interview starts before concluding if the person is a possible hire or not. This forced delay
will minimize the impact of first impressions. After 30 minutes you’ll discover the good aren’t as good as you thought,
and the bad aren’t as bad.
2. Don’t give anyone on the hiring team a full yes or no vote. I use a talent scorecard listing all of the competencies and
factors driving on the job success to make the assessment. There are about 10 factors on the form including things like
technical ability, leadership, motivation, problem-solving, and cultural fit. Instead of assigning each interviewer all of the
factors to assess, each interviewer should be given only 2-3 to “own.” During a formal debriefing session each
interviewer is then required to substantiate his/her ranking with facts and evidence.
3. Ask people you like tougher questions. When you like a candidate, you naturally go into sales mode, ask softball
questions, and ignore or minimize negatives. To overcome this natural tendency, force yourself to ask tougher questions,
digging deep into the person’s accomplishments.
4. Treat people you don’t like as consultants. When a candidate makes a weak first impression, we typically either tune
out, ask hardball questions, cut the person off, and ignore or minimize any positive information. Sometimes candidates
are nervous, sometimes they’re different in appearance or personality, and sometimes they talk with accents you don’t
like. And sometimes, these are great people. To find the truth, assume they’re great, and treat them as expert consultants.
Give them the benefit of the doubt and assume what they’ve done is remarkable. After 30 minutes you might discover
they’re not so bad after all.
5. Ignore fact-less decisions. During the debriefing session, ignore assessments that include these terms: feel, think, like,
dislike, bad fit, too soft, too aggressive, anything about personality good or bad, or the term “soft skills.” Also, ignore
anything similar that smacks of bias, emotions, prejudices, or hasty judgments. These are all clues that the candidate was
interviewed through the wrong filter. Unless the interviewer can attach concrete evidence to the assessment, it has
minimum predictive value.
6. Don’t conduct short interviews. If you want to make the wrong hiring decision, have five or six people each spend 30-
40 minutes with the candidate, and then add up their yes/no votes. If it takes three to six months after the person is hired
to determine true performance, how is it possible to predict this in a short 30-minute get-together? Instead, follow all of
the rules in this list and either have each interviewer spend at least an hour with the candidate one on one, or conduct a
panel interview with 2-3 people for about 60-75 minutes.
7. Conduct phone interviews first. Conduct a 30-minute exploratory phone interview before meeting the person in-person.
Review the person’s work-history looking for the Achiever Pattern and ask about a major accomplishment most
 comparable to the performance profile. Not only will this indicate the person is a strong match for the job, but will
naturally minimize the impact of first impressions when the interviewer actually meets the person.

Reliability and Validity of Selection Tests

Test reliability

Reliability refers to how dependably or consistently a test measures a characteristic. If a person takes the test again, will he or she
get a similar test score, or a much different score? A test that yields similar scores for a person who repeats the test is said to
measure a characteristic reliably.

How do we account for an individual who does not get exactly the same test score every time he or she takes the test? Some
possible reasons are the following:

 Test taker’s temporary psychological or physical state. Test performance can be influenced by a person’s
psychological or physical state at the time of testing. For example, differing levels of anxiety, fatigue, or motivation may
affect the applicant’s test results.
 Environmental factors. Differences in the testing environment, such as room temperature, lighting, noise, or even the
test administrator, can influence an individual’s test performance.
 Test form. Many tests have more than one version or form. Items differ on each form, but each form is supposed to
measure the same thing. Different forms of a test are known as parallel forms or alternate forms. These forms are
designed to have similar measurement characteristics, but they contain different items. Because the forms are not exactly
the same, a test taker might do better on one form than on another.
 Multiple raters. In certain tests, scoring is determined by a rater’s judgments of the test taker’s performance or
responses. Differences in training, experience, and frame of reference among raters can produce different test scores for
the test taker.

Types of reliability estimates

There are several types of reliability estimates, each influenced by different sources of measurement error. Test developers have
the responsibility of reporting the reliability estimates that are relevant for a particular test. Before deciding to use a test, read the
test manual and any independent reviews to determine if its reliability is acceptable. The acceptable level of reliability will differ
depending on the type of test and the reliability estimate used.

The discussion in Table 2 should help you develop some familiarity with the different kinds of reliability estimates reported in test
manuals and reviews.

Test-retest reliability indicates the repeatability of test scores with the passage of time. This estimate also reflects the stability of
the characteristic or construct being measured by the test.

Some constructs are more stable than others. For example, an individual’s reading ability is more stable over a particular period of
time than that individual’s anxiety level. Therefore, you would expect a higher test-retest reliability coefficient on a reading test
than you would on a test that measures anxiety.

Alternate or parallel form reliability indicates how consistent test scores are likely to be if a person takes two or more forms of a
test.

 A high parallel form reliability coefficient indicates that the different forms of the test are very similar which means that
it makes virtually no difference which version of the test a person takes. On the other hand, a low parallel form reliability
coefficient suggests that the different forms are probably not comparable; they may be measuring different things and
therefore cannot be used interchangeably.

Inter-rater reliability indicates how consistent test scores are likely to be if the test is scored by two or more raters.
On some tests, raters evaluate responses to questions and determine the score. Differences in judgments among raters are likely to
produce variations in test scores. A high inter-rater reliability coefficient indicates that the judgment process is stable and the
resulting scores are reliable.
Inter-rater reliability coefficients are typically lower than other types of reliability estimates. However, it is possible to obtain
higher levels of inter-rater reliabilities if raters are appropriately trained.

Internal consistency reliability indicates the extent to which items on a test measure the same thing.
A high internal consistency reliability coefficient for a test indicates that the items on the test are very similar to each other in
content (homogeneous). It is important to note that the length of a test can affect internal consistency reliability. For example, a
very lengthy test can spuriously inflate the reliability coefficient.
Tests that measure multiple characteristics are usually divided into distinct components. Manuals for such tests typically report a
separate internal consistency reliability coefficient for each component in addition to one for the whole test.
Test manuals and reviews report several kinds of internal consistency reliability estimates. Each type of estimate is appropriate
under certain circumstances. The test manual should explain why a particular estimate is reported.

Choosing suitable types of interviews

1. In-person interview

The traditional in-person interview is still the type most commonly used during the hiring process. Among job seekers surveyed
by Jobvite, 61 percent have experienced the face-to-face interview.Bringing each candidate in, however, can be time-consuming
and present scheduling conflicts on both ends. As a result, face-to-face interviews are best for companies with a smaller pool of
applicants and positions where only one person needs to conduct the interview.

2. Phone interview

Phone interviews allow employers to quickly screen and cut down a long list of candidates. They are easier to schedule than in-
person interviews and are usually more brief.During the conversation, candidates clarify any questions the interviewer might have
about their resume or experience. The interviewer can also explain the position in greater detail to gauge a candidate’s interest
before bringing him or her in for an in-person interview.

Phone interviews are the best option for larger companies with a high volume of applicants. Employers can quickly whittle down
their list of potential hires and get basic questions out of the way before investing more time and energy in a candidate.

3. Capability test interview

Determining hard skills can be difficult during the hiring process. Employers largely base their decisions on what the applicant
tells them, and many job seekers stretch the truth to get the job.In a survey of more than 2,000 U.S. hiring managers and human
resources professionals conducted by CareerBuilder in May and June 2014, 58 percent said they had caught job seekers lying on
resumes — embellished skills being the most common lie employers found.

What can employers do? Consider using capability tests within the interview process when hiring employees for a specific skill
set.

4. Lunch or drinks interview

An interview over lunch or drinks is both practical and personal. Employers can save time and eliminate scheduling conflicts
because they use the lunch hour (or happy hour) instead of office time.These interviews are also less formal than traditional
interviews, so candidates may feel more comfortable opening up and showing their personalities. Employers can choose to
conduct the interview discretely or bring the existing team along to determine how the candidate will fit in and work with
everyone.

An interview over lunch or drinks further helps companies that place high value on company culture and team dynamics. This
type of interview can also help select candidates who will perform well when interacting with clients or representing the company
at industry or other key events.

5. Panel interview

A panel interview gathers multiple executives and managers to interview one candidate as a group. Using a panel can help to
speed up the hiring process and be more convenient for the candidate — instead of coming back for several rounds of interviews
with different people, this individual can have one interview and be done with the process.With multiple people giving their
opinions afterward, the panel interview can also help to eliminate bias and choose the best candidate for the position.

Panel interviews often best serve startups or other small companies with multiple hands-on founders or executives. For startups
especially, choosing the right candidate for a small or new team is critical.However, these interviews are probably not the best
option for those who hire a high volume of entry-level employees, as they can be overwhelming and may scare off fresh talent.

6. Video
Video interviews are newer to the hiring game, and most candidates are less comfortable on video than they are in person.Among
nearly 400 global job seekers surveyed by Software Advice for a 2015 report, 67 percent of those who had never experienced a
video interview said they preferred a phone interview. However, 47 percent of those who had experienced a video interview said
they preferred the method over phone interviews.

Video interviews allow companies to avoid scheduling conflicts but are less familiar to most job seekers. This type of interview
may be best for companies with a remote, telecommuting or freelancing workforce, as it will allow them to interview any
candidate from anywhere with a more face-to-face feel than a phone interview.

Formulating a Recruitment strategy for senior level executives

Executive level posts are often challenging to recruit to. They don’t have to be; proper preparation and a well planned, thought-
through recruitment process will help increase your odds of a successful appointment. We hope these steps will give you clarity
and confidence around best practice for recruiting those at the helm of your organisation.

Things you’ll need

 Approval to appoint
 Job Description
 Person Specification

1. Define recruitment parameters and market strategy

You have an executive level vacancy and approval to take it to market. Before you advertise, you have a number of things to
consider. Have you defined a timeline, including closing date, interview date and final panel dates for the role? Will you be using
a combination of print and/or online advertising alongside executive search? Have you considered psychometric assessments?
What is your budget?

You may have in-house recruitment or HR support to manage the recruitment process and make these decisions, but at this level,
external recruitment consultants can provide professional advice in all of these areas and save you precious time. If you go down
this route, ensure you source a recruiter who fits your budget, takes time to understand your organization and its values and who
clearly articulates to you how they will support you across the steps outlined in this article.

2. Create the candidate pack

Once your market strategy is in place, you must put together a candidate pack that will be shared with all interested candidates.
This pack must clearly explain what you are looking for, and should contain a job description and person specification for the
role. You may also want to include additional information about your organization, the department and the remuneration
package.

Tips here include breaking the job description down into specific areas of accountability such as ‘leadership,’ or ‘strategic and
operational management’ and highlighting the specific role elements that relate to each in subsequent bullet points. It’s also
useful to present the person specification as a numbered matrix of essential and desirable criteria so candidates can clearly discuss
their experience in relation to the technical attributes and competencies you have laid out for the role. This will also make it much
easier to assess candidate fit when sifting paper applications.

3. Take briefings

Before taking the job opportunity to market, ensure that you hold briefing discussions with the line manager and other relevant
stakeholders who have a clear understanding of the role and its objectives. By engaging key stakeholders early in the process you
will understand their views about the role and begin to identify a consensus of opinion about what type of candidate attributes you
should look out for.

4. Candidate attraction commences

In step one you defined your candidate attraction strategy; now it is time to put it into motion. Candidate attraction for executive
level posts usually involves a mix executive search alongside print / online advertising.

Executive search by a recruitment consultant, when done thoroughly and not solely by sourcing a database, will highlight the role
to relevant, high performing candidates who are not actively looking for a new role. These conversations will both generate
interest from candidates who would not have been reached by advertising and lead to additional steers and broadened networks
from which candidates may be sourced.
5. Timely response management

Ensure that you have a firm system in place to respond to queries about the role from prospective candidates. Time is of the
essence for candidates, who may only be partially engaged or considering other opportunities. Make your organisation stand out
by providing timely, informed responses to those with questions who are considering the roles. If you appear inaccessible to
candidates they might be discouraged to pursue the opportunity.

6. Sift paper applications

It’s important to have clear assessment criteria in place in order to effectively “sift” the paper applications that arrive by closing
date. With many applications to consider and limited time, you must work consistently, quickly and thoroughly. This is where a
well laid out person specification really comes into its fore; measure candidates against the necessary criteria you have laid out for
the role and a clear, defendable picture of who to progress to long-list interview stage will emerge.

7. Long-list interviews and psychometric testing

This is an important session for you or your recruiter to dig deeper into candidate’s backgrounds via a face to face, structured
meeting. Prepare an interview script, again related to the person specification and key areas/competencies needed for the role as
well as specific prompts for each candidate where needed. This interview will allow you to better understand each candidate’s
career path, skills and experience, achievements, working style and motivation for the role, and subsequently short-list those who
come across best fit.

At this stage you may also have planned to conduct psychometric assessments, which are proven to give better prediction of
performance than interviews alone. Psychometric assessment also introduces more rigour and objectivity into the recruitment
process and will support more accurate identification of the personal and occupational characteristics you require. The findings
will provide useful probes for short-listed candidates progressed to the final panel.

8. Final panel and selection

Short-listed candidates should be informed that they are through to the final panel and invited to prepare a specific presentation
prior to the interview. Choose a topic that will give you insight into how they will handle an upcoming project or challenge they
will face in the role, which will provide insight into the understanding, technical abilities and skills they will bring to the job.
Prepare interview questions that probe candidate experience within all the key areas of the role, as well as any findings from the
candidate’s psychometric test if applicable.

9. Extend your offer and provide feedback to unsuccessful candidates

Extended offers at this stage should be subject to you completing, on average, two references on your successful candidate. Be
prepared to discuss the entire remuneration package with your chosen candidates and be ready to negotiate on salary and
remuneration details. Importantly, know where you are flexible and where you are not, and bring this understanding to the table
in your negotiations with the successful candidate. Once a package is agreed and successful references are taken, you are ready
to make a formal, written offer. Congratulations!

10. Recruitment support

If you choose to engage an experienced recruiter to run this executive level recruitment process, ensure that they adhere to these
best practice guidelines, detail a bespoke search strategy, provide you with regular search / response management updates and
meet with you to thoroughly discuss the candidates that they recommend for long-list and short-list. They should also be available
to support you at the final panel, to negotiate the offer made to your chosen candidate and to provide feedback to unsuccessful
candidates. Your recruiter provides your public face and must present your organisation in a positive, professional light to all that
come in contact with the recruitment process.

Process and outcomes of employee engagement

This is the hardcore fact that the future business performance and revenues and profitability of an organisation no longer depends
upon traditional capital management and investment and portfolio management. But the success of any organisation in this
constantly changing world of work depends upon human capital management. The companies who understood this fact long
before are the most successful and highly productive organisations of the currents times. Those who have just realised it are still
struggling to establish a reputation in the industry.

Since the mantra of success of any organisation is the higher involvement, engagement and dedication of employees towards their
jobs and their continuous performance to attain more, it is necessary to keep their spirits high, motivate them to perform their best
always and generate a breed of satisfied and dedicated employees. Employee Engagement is not a onetime process that can
quickly bring results; rather it is an ending process that will go on till the existence of an organisation.

1. Prepare and Design: The first step in the process is about discovering the specific requirements of your organisation and
deciding the priorities. After that a customised design of carrying the whole process can be designed. It is recommended
to seek advice of expert management consultant in order to increase the chances of getting it done right at the first
attempt.
2. Employee Engagement Survey: Design the questions of the employee engagement survey and deploy it with the help of
an appropriate media. It can be either in printed form or set online depending upon the comfort level of the employees
and your questionnaire evaluation process.
3. Result Analysis: It is the most important step in the entire process. It is time when reports are to be analysed to find out
what exactly motivates employees to perform their best and what actually disengages them and finally compels them to
leave the organisation. The results and information can then be delivered through presentations.
4. Action Planning: ‘How to turn the results of the survey in to an action’ is a challenging question that organisations need
to deal with the utmost care. Coaching of line managers as well as HR professionals is very important in order to tell
them how to take appropriate actions to engage employees. They should also be told about do’s and don’ts so that they
can successfully implement the changes.
5. Action Follow-up: Action follow up is necessary in order to find out if the action has been taken in the right direction or
not and if it is producing the desired results.

Cost of Disengaged Workforce

The findings of the Gallup Study of 2008 show that while the engaged employees believe they can contribute to company’s
growth, the disengaged employee believes otherwise, i.e. his job does not contribute to the organization. This belief of the
disengaged employee creates a negative spiral that affects his work, co-workers, customers, productivity, and eventually both
happiness of employee and company performance. Some effects are illustrated below:

1. Effect on Work: The disengaged employee tries to evade work, struggles to meet deadlines and is reluctant to accept
additional responsibility.
2. Effect on Co-Workers: The negativity of a disengaged employee, demonstrated either through raves and rants or
complete withdrawal from participation, affects the team morale. After all who has not heard of the proverb – one bad
apple can spoil the whole bunch.
3. Effect on Customers: Every employee, whether an organization likes it or not, becomes its ambassador. And a
disengaged employee either by actively de-selling the organization, or by complete apathy towards their work, product,
process, organization help create disengaged customers.
4. Effects on Productivity: Disengaged employees seldom push themselves to meet organizational goals let alone
contribute to innovative practices at workplace. Since, they do not believe that their work contributes to the organization;
they evade completing tasks thereby affecting team productivity.
5. Effect on Company Performance: In the corporate world, time is money and organizations must innovate to stay
relevant. A disengaged workforce by virtue of delayed completion of tasks and inability to improvise and innovate cost
the company dollars which ultimately affects bottom line. This has been validated by a Gallup Study whose research
showed that costs of disengaged workforce in the United States was upwards of $300bn annually.
6. Effect on Personal Life of Employee: A disengaged employee is seldom able to shake off the lethargy and perform in
the current organization or land a job of preference. This leads to pent up frustration which may ultimately affect his
personal and family life.

Benefits of an Engaged Workforce

An engaged workforce form an emotional connect with the organization that helps them

1. Go the Extra Mile to Achieve Individual and Company Success

 2. Innovate at Workplace
3. Attract customers and employees
4. Become Evangelists of the company, its product and processes
5. Infuse energy and positivity at workplace.

Ways of Achieving Employee engagement

Four things are important when we talk about employee engagement; commitment, motivation, loyalty and trust. Their level
determines the quality of engagement of an employee. Each one is briefly discussed in the coming paragraphs.

1. Commitment: Commitment means the degree to which individuals associate themselves with the job, the
responsibilities and the organisational objectives. Engaged employees are those who are fascinated by their work and
committed to face every challenge to attain their goals. They are dependable and highly productive and therefore, are
accountable for what they do.
2. Motivation: Up till recently it was believed that the biggest motivation is achievement. The reverse is also true, which
means achievement results in more motivation. If employees put in their 100 percent efforts to take their organisation to
the next level, this attained status motivates them more than anything. Proper rewards and recognitions can further
motivate them to achieve more and more for their organisation. Motivation and achievement go hand in hand and act as
the burning fuels for the success of any organisation.
3. Loyalty: Employees who are actively engaged in their work show more loyalty towards the organisation. The best part is
that they need less focus and attention of managers to perform their task as they themselves feel accountable for their job
responsibilities and results attained. However, it doesn’t take much time for actively engaged employees to turn into
disengaged employees if the organisation doesn’t have a well established reward system. Recognition is a basic necessity
of individuals to remain steered up towards their job.
4. Trust: High levels of employee engagement can be fostered only when trust prevails in the organisation from both the
sides. As they share strong emotional bond with the organisation, the latter should also show trust in their abilities.
Employees must be given autonomy to perform their tasks their way. They should not be restricted to a specific rules and
regulations and therefore, should be motivated to experiment to perform their task in a different and innovative manner.

Phases of Employee Engagement

1. Attract

The first phase of the employee engagement cycle is attracting the best talent from the industry. This phase involves creating a
positive impression about the work culture and employee career as a potential employer. It is all about carefully creating an
authentic, genuine and crafted image as an employer. This is although an indirect yet the first impression that attracts a big pool of
candidates to apply for the job vacancies in an organisation. The first phase is the most important phase of the employee
engagement cycle.

Another aspect spreading the reputation of an organisation is its employees. They are not only the employees but also are regarded
as internal customers. Their job and career satisfaction speaks about their workplace. Therefore, they should not be taken for
granted. Besides attracting the talent from the outside, it is important to keep the existing employees attracted towards the
organisation.

2. Acquire

The acquire image involves more than one thing. It includes (1) the way the potential candidates are interacted while advertising a
position; (2) keeping the promises that were made while hiring them and (3) providing the new joiners a right kind of work
culture.

When an organisation advertises a position, interested candidates apply. The way their applications are created, the reaction of the
organisation and the manner in which they are approached speak a lot about the image and work culture of an organisation.Hiring
the best talent not only serves the purpose. During their honeymoon or initial period with the organisation, the company must try
to keep all the promises that were made during the selection process.

3. Advance

Continuous moving the talent is the last but an unending phase. It not only involves promoting the employees to a higher
designation along with salary increments but also growing them in other tangible and intangible ways. Job rotation can help them
grow in experience, responsibility and belongingness but only when it is done right. Advancing the employees in every aspect, be
it monetary or non-monetary, is the key to retain people and develop their overall personality.
The 3 C’s of Employee Engagement

Career: When individuals join an organisation, they expect to build a career with it. If the top management and immediate
managers spend dedicated time in carving out the careers of its employees, they will feel that they belong to the organisation.
They feel engaged when they receive support from the management in growing their careers.

An organisation can provide its employees with opportunities to grow professionally through job rotations, indulging them in
significant tasks, challenging assignments and promotions. They should also be given a specific level of authority and autonomy
to take their decisions on their own. The organisations prepare an entirely new breed of employees if they genuinely invest in
developing the careers of their people.

Competence: Competence is all about the ability to grow. Regular workshops and training sessions must be held in order to help
employees acquire a higher level of skills and competencies. The focus should be on developing for marketable skills. Most
employees after spending a few months look for competence-boosting opportunities with the organisation so that they can grow
and move to the next level of their careers. While the career focuses on the actual growth in terms of designation, wages and perks
and authority, competence is the ability to grow utilizing the opportunities.

Care: Sitting at the topmost, care is regarded the finest art of the managers by which they can make employees feel an
indispensable part of their organisation. The managers need to be empathetic and sensitive towards people and understand their
personal problems. Showing small day-to-day caring gestures towards employees make them feel that they belong to the
organisation and organisation belongs to them.

Talent Development: Need Analysis

A Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is a process by which an organisation’s HRD needs are identified and articulated. The
process can identify:

 An organisation’s goals and its effectiveness in reaching these goals

 Discrepancies or gaps between an employee’s skills and the skills required for effective current job performance
 Discrepancies or gaps between an employee’s skills and the skills needed to perform the job successfully in the future
 The conditions under which the HRD activity will occur.

Ultimately, the TNA will identify needs which require addressing in some way. It not only provides clear direction for identifying
training needs, but also helps to evaluate how effective previous training programmes have been. The two outcomes are a training
need and a non-training need.

A Training Need reveals a performance gap, and the gap can be filled with training. It exists when the employee does not know
how to do the job – it is a lack of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

A Non-Training Need reveals a gap, however this gap cannot be filled (or fixed) with training. It might encompass workflow,
recruitment, or job design. Employees know how to do the job, but something else affects their performance.

Types of Needs Analyses

Many needs assessments are available for use in different employment contexts. Sources that can help you determine which needs
analysis is appropriate for your situation are described below.

 Organizational Analysis. An analysis of the business needs or other reasons the training is desired. An analysis of the
organization’s strategies, goals, and objectives. What is the organization overall trying to accomplish? The important
questions being answered by this analysis are who decided that training should be conducted, why a training program is
seen as the recommended solution to a business problem, what the history of the organization has been with regard to
employee training and other management interventions.
 Person Analysis. Analysis dealing with potential participants and instructors involved in the process. The important
questions being answered by this analysis are who will receive the training and their level of existing knowledge on the
subject, what is their learning style, and who will conduct the training. Do the employees have required skills? Are there
changes to policies, procedures, software, or equipment that require or necessitate training?
 Work analysis / Task Analysis. Analysis of the tasks being performed. This is an analysis of the job and the
requirements for performing the work. Also known as a task analysis or job analysis, this analysis seeks to specify the
main duties and skill level required. This helps ensure that the training which is developed will include relevant links to
the content of the job.
 Performance Analysis. Are the employees performing up to the established standard? If performance is below
expectations, can training help to improve this performance? Is there a Performance Gap?
  Content Analysis. Analysis of documents, laws, procedures used on the job. This analysis answers questions about what
knowledge or information is used on this job. This information comes from manuals, documents, or regulations. It is
important that the content of the training does not conflict or contradict job requirements. An experienced worker can
assist (as a subject matter expert) in determining the appropriate content.
 Training Suitability Analysis. Analysis of whether training is the desired solution. Training is one of several solutions
to employment problems. However, it may not always be the best solution. It is important to determine if training will be
effective in its usage.
 Cost-Benefit Analysis. Analysis of the return on investment (ROI) of training. Effective training results in a return of
value to the organization that is greater than the initial investment to produce or administer the training.

Knowledge Management
Knowledge management is the systematic management of an organization’s knowledge assets for the purpose of creating value
and meeting tactical & strategic requirements; it consists of the initiatives, processes, strategies, and systems that sustain and
enhance the storage, assessment, sharing, refinement, and creation of knowledge. The full scope of knowledge
management (KM) is not something that is universally accepted. However, before one looks at the differences in the definitions,
let’s the similarities.

KM is about making the right knowledge available to the right people. It is about making sure that an organization can learn, and
that it will be able to retrieve and use its knowledge assets in current applications as they are needed. In the words of Peter
Drucker it is “the coordination and exploitation of organizational knowledge resources, in order to create benefit and competitive
advantage” (Drucker 1999).Where the disagreement sometimes occurs is in conjunction with the creation of new knowledge.
Wellman (2009) limits the scope of KM to lessons learned and the techniques employed for the management of what is already
known. He argues that knowledge creation is often perceived as a separate discipline and generally falls under innovation
management.Bukowitz and Williams (1999) link KM directly to tactical and strategic requirements. Its focus is on the use and
enhancement of knowledge based assets to enable the firm to respond to these issues. According to this view, the answer to the
question “what is knowledge management” would be significantly broader.

A similarly broad definition is presented by Davenport & Prusak (2000), which states that KM “is managing the corporation’s
knowledge through a systematically and organizationally specified process for acquiring, organizing, sustaining, applying, sharing
and renewing both the tacit and explicit knowledge of employees to enhance organizational performance and create value.”