Date Posted: 5/20/2013 10:38:20 AM
Posted By: olivertambo Membership Level: Silver Total Points: 229
RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS WITHIN UNILEVER KENYA LIMITEDRecruitment and selection is a core process in Human resource management as it serves to provide an organization with staff in sufficient numbers and with appropriate qualities. The composition of Human resources within and organization is a primary determinant of an organization’s performance and competence. It is in this regard that highly competitive organizations like the Unilever strive to maintain competitive recruitment and selection process to obtain, maintain and retain competent staff.Recruitment by definition refers to the process through which an organization attracts a pool of candidates on timely basis and in sufficient numbers and with appropriate skill and qualifications and encouraging them to apply for vacant jobs within the organization. Essentially, recruitment is concerned with getting applicants interested in the organization and in particular jobs within the organization, to the end that the applicant applies for the said position.Selection on the other hand refers to the process of screening, testing and appointing a candidate from a recruitment pool. It is an evaluative process that determines which candidates are likely to succeed and eliminating those who are likely to fail.The recruitment and selection process within the Unilever Kenya adheres to the conventional recruitment procedures; the first stage in the process is the definition of requirements. In this process, The Unilever Human resource managers carry out a job analysis, a process in which the number and categories of people required is generated. Consequently the job description and job specification are developed which then guide the recruitment and selection process.The next stage entails attracting candidates. The Unilever Kenya Limited over the years has been known for attracting a large number of highly qualified candidates from both within and without the organization. Internal recruitment within Unilever Kenya limited is done majorly through Job posting and advertisements. These are then easily accessible by all employees through newsletters i.e. Unilever: Economist, Unilever Sustainable living Newsletter, and other bulletins and memos. Further recruitment is made effective through the company e-mail and website. Internal recruitment positively impacts on the company because it is less costly; it also retains valuable employees and gives the organization opportunity to utilize its training investment in the employee. Better still internal recruitment has ensured a highly motivated staff due to existence of the chance of upward mobility. The knowledge that candidates who perform above certain predetermined levels are rewarded with promotions highly increases the morale of staff to continue performing above per. The employees within Unilever thus have on job satisfaction and commitment which has ensured high productivity and low employee turnover.This is however not to say that internal recruitment is the best method of selection, it also has its share of demerits, the first being that it attracts a limited number of applicants, equally it may leave out a more qualified candidate that would have suited the job better had external recruitment been done. It limits and organization’s propensity to change and also may give rise to disgruntled employees resulting from failed applications. Internal recruitment also has the demerit of employees considering the promoted colleague as one of the gang and may not accord him or her respect and awe associated with the position in time. Finally, this process compels the incumbent manager to put a pretense in interviewing all applicants when he or she knows in advance who is to take the job.The external recruitment within Unilever Kenya Limited is equally made possible through Advertisement which are mainly available in Newspapers and professional journals like the Economist. The Job advertisement is tailored to attract the attention of prospective candidates, to create and maintain interest and finally to stimulate action. This is achieved through very comprehensive communication of the company’s nature and culture, job requirements and remuneration packages.Unilever Company also maintains a strong presence within the Institutions of higher learning through marketing campaigns and brand ambassador programs in which students are selected to represent the employer brand within campus. Seminars, symposiums and leadership training sessions are then used as a platform for popularizing both Internship and employment opportunities within Unilever. Equally the company does direct campus recruitment by contacting placement officer within the university and screening candidates for various opportunities. Campus recruitment is however very costly and time consuming as a very large numbers of students has to be sifted before settling on the most qualified.Unilever Kenya Limited also has a very comprehensive website which relays all information about the company on a simple click. It narrates the various job opportunities within the company. Occasionally the Unilever company contracts recruitment agencies and consultant firms to carry out the recruitment process on it behalf. Scangroup is a Kenyan company that prominently recruits on behalf of Unilever.After Recruitment, the next and thorough stage is the selection process; Unilever has a very intensive candidate screening and examining process. This is especially true for management positions. In this process, the first stage is the application form which provides the selectors with crucial background information. This mostly concentrates on the personal details, education activities and interests. Within this application form are also question which probe on the various competencies of the applicant and seeks to establish the various leadership skills an applicants has. The application form is advantageous because it summarizes the required information thus aiding analysis. Equally it makes it easy to quickly judge the substantive requirements such as whether the candidate has the required qualification or not and also importantly, it shows a candidates previous progress and growth an information which is particularly important in selecting candidates for managerial positions.The candidates whose application forms are approved proceed to take aptitude and psychometric tests as a means of obtaining objective, reliable and relevant information on the candidate. These are meant to measure the individuals potential to develop and to establish the individual’s intelligence. Unilever Kenya provides samples of these tests within their websites and is available for practice. The advantage of the aptitude and psychometric tests is that it gives a clear picture of applicants’ mental, psychological and physical capabilities. The team of selectors can know with certainty whether a candidate is likely to succeed or to fail.Further still after the candidates have had the test, those who succeed are taken through Interviews by selectors. The first interview is done in the candidate’s home country and lasts for about an hour. It covers a considerable amount of ground and provides an opportunity for the candidate to Learn about Unilever Company and the Company to learn about the candidate as well. It is an opportunity for a first face to face contact and one in which to develop rapport with the employer. The interview process is also ridden with limitations. The first impression that the interviewer gets from a candidate may not be the true picture of the person and may lead to false conclusion. Further still, an interviewer who is not well informed or acquainted with the requirements of the job may make decision based on incorrect stereotype of who the best candidate is. Candidates order is known to affect the judgment of who is the best candidate.
Next: County governments are neither republics nor states.Previous: Origin, Evolution and Development of Human Resource Management
Get premium membership