June 5, 2016

HR Case Evaluation #1

 

Â	Definition	Advantages	Disadvantages
Application form	A form completed by an applicant that indicates the applicant’s interest in a job opening with a company.   Â	-The company can request the exact information that they want to know about the applicant. -Can be used to identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a particular applicant. -It is structured and organized and you can use it for future vacancies.	-You might make quick judgments about an applicant using this form. -Might not be an effective form of selection for selecting for different types of job openings. -More paperwork to go through during the recruiting process.
Psychometric tests	The process of measuring a candidate’s strength and weaknesses. This test is used to analyze a candidate’s suitability for employment.   Â	-The tests can potentially save a company money in the long-run. -Test will prevent hiring candidates who just interview well. -Gives candidates who do not interview well a chance.	-Some candidates will not truthfully answer the questions. -The correct test must be administered to get effective results. -Test does not guarantee success for the candidate.
Résumé or curriculum vitae review Â	Provides a summary of a candidate’s experience, skills, and education.	-Candidate can highlight specific knowledge and skills for a particular job opening. -A candidate can provide some background on their work ethic and accomplishments.	-There is no standard format so candidate information will be inconsistent. -Resume may not include other skills and abilities that do not fit the position.
Formal (structured) interview	Is a interview between a job candidate and employer through a set of questions based on the job analysis.	-Gives the candidate a chance to talk about what is on their resume. -Questions are structured and asked in the same way so that the candidate’s answers can be more easily. - A structured way to measure the prospective candidate’s responses.	-It can be hard to select the best candidate because not all applicants interview well. -May not accurately measure a candidate’s character and values. -Is not the most effective selection method for all jobs.
Informal interview	An informal interview is a conversation between the candidate and in most cases a hiring manager. The interview is led by the candidate through a series of questions.     Â	-A more relaxed interview. It put less pressure on a candidate than a formal interview. -The candidate can provide a little background on themselves. -A candidate can provide you their professional goals and give the interviewer an idea on how the candidate may fit in with the company.	-Difficult to compare the outcomes of these interviews because they are all unique. -A smaller number of these interviews can take place because they are more time consuming. -Candidate does not have enough opportunity to discuss their knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Teaching observation	When the applicant performs a teaching session where they display their knowledge and skills and watched by an observer.   Â	-Will help the hiring team evaluate the skills and knowledge in delivery style, communication skill, teaching methods, and subject knowledge.  -Will show if the candidate is a good fit for the company.Â	-Teaching sessions can vary amongst different school subjects.  This can possibly make it difficult to consistently evaluate all of the applicants.  -Hiring team must be trained on how to evaluate the applicants effectively.Â
Presentation by candidates to a panel of teachers	The act of presenting, describing, or explaining something to an audience.Â	-Can show the candidate’s ability to prepare, present, and communicate information to an audience.  -Show how the candidate can engage with an audience. Â	 -Audience may not have enough background.
Online testing	Testing that measures certain aspects of information to determine if a candidate is suitable for a specific job vacancy, and is conducted over the internet.     Â	-Different types of testing are available. -Can show a candidate’s computer knowledge.   -Candidate can complete before the interview, which can save time.Â	-If tests are distributed before interview, candidates might cheat on the test.  -Not all applicants have the same computer knowledge, which can create inconsistent results.
References	Someone who can vouch for your qualifications for a job   Â	-The hiring team will be able to verify a candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities provided on the candidate’s resume. -The hiring team can gain insight into a candidate’s character and work habits.	-Information provided by a candidate’s references may be biased and unreliable. Â

 

 

            In its recruitment and selection process, Southwood School should use a collection of selection methods to fill its vacancies. Southwood should use the combination of resume review, formal and informal interviews, teaching observation, psychometric tests, and references. By using these selection methods should help Southwood find the right candidates for their vacancies and greatly reduce the chances of making the wrong choice. In the long run, using these methods will save Southwood time and money.

            Southwood should announce vacancies via its website as well as the many job portals available on the internet. Southwood should use today’s technology to announce its vacancies to a broader audience, potentially bringing in a greater number of applicants to choose from. There are job boards on the internet such as Indeed, Monster, and others that Southwood could effectively use to reach out to a broader pools of potential applicants. Southwood should also utilize social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to get their job vacancies out to the job seeking public.

            A resume review will highlight each applicant’s knowledge and skill for the specific job opening so the hiring managers would have a good idea of the applicant’s experience and accomplishments. Using resumes would also help Southwood save time and money since they would not have to send an application out to every applicant (Advertising a job and interviewing candidates, n.d.). Since a lot of employers have policies that require an application as an official document to keep on file, Southwood could choose the option of creating an application-like resume that would include all of the extra information that may be required on an application (Hudson Burns, n.d.).

An informal interview would give the hiring team a chance to get to know each applicant in a more relaxed setting. Informal interviews are more flexible as the questions being asked can be changed based on the applicant’s responses (McLeod, 2014). The hiring team can get more out of the interview and really get to know the applicants. Informal interviews also have more validity because it will give the interviewers the chance to dig for a deeper understanding and allow the applicant to steer the direction of the interview (McLeod, 2014).

Southwood should also conduct a formal interview in addition to the informal interview to probe potential applicants. One advantage of the formal interview is that they are generally shorter than informal interviews. Formal interviews are also much easier to quantify, meaning it is easy to test for dependability (McLeod, 2014). The interview panel should get together days or weeks prior to the interviews to determine a series of questions they would like each applicant to answer, and come up with a scoring system to select the best possible candidate. The formal in conjunction with the informal interview should decrease the chances of Southwood hiring applicants who are not capable of doing the job that they are trying to fill.

Applicants should have to perform a teaching session in front of senior teacher observers to gauge their knowledge and teaching methods. This selection method should definitely weed out any applicant who does not have the knowledge, skills, or abilities to fill the vacancy. The observers would have the opportunity to measure an applicant’s effectiveness, but also gives the chance to see their teaching characteristics and how they will interact with the students (Improving Teacher Selection, n.d.). The teacher observation will be one of the most important aspects in the selection process. This step will give the hiring team a clear idea of who best fits the vacancy.

Psychometric tests should be another important part of the selection process. Today, teachers are under the microscope, as there has been some inappropriate behavior from a number of teachers. A psychometric tests should be used to evaluate whether the applicant has the right personality for a career as a teacher (Psychometric Tests For All Trainee Teachers, n.d.). Since the applicants could be potentially dealing with children as a teacher at Southwood, a psychometric test can go a long way to ensure that the teacher will not do any harm to any of the students.

            In closing, Southwood School needs to use the technology that is available to them to announce their vacancies to a larger pool of potential job seekers. All of the selection methods that have been discussed in this paper will be effective in selecting the right applicant for a vacancy. The combination of all the methods discussed will build Southwood’s reputation as a well-organized and good employer. The selection process discussed will also bring better organization and save Southwood a lot of time and resources by selecting the right candidates.

References

 

Advertising a job and interviewing candidates. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2016, from NI Business Info: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/application-process-cvs-and-application-forms

Balle, L. (n.d.). Advantages & Disadvantages of Job Applications. Retrieved June 5, 2016, from eHow: http://www.ehow.com/info_7750683_advantages-disadvantages-job-applications.html

Delgado, K. (n.d.). Resume Reviews: Reliable for Employee Selection? Retrieved June 5, 2016, from Select International: http://www.selectinternational.com/blog/bid/153505/Resume-Reviews-Reliable-for-Employee-Selection

Hudson Burns, D. (n.d.). Job Application vs. The Resume. Retrieved June 5, 2016, from Job-Hunt: http://www.job-hunt.org/veterans-job-search/job-application-vs-resume.shtml

Improving Teacher Selection. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2016, from The Education Innovation Laboratory at Harvard University: http://edlabs.harvard.edu/improving-teacher-selection

McLeod, S. (2014). The Interview Method. Retrieved from Simply Psychology: http://www.simplypsychology.org/interviews.html

Psychometric Tests For All Trainee Teachers. (n.d.). Retrieved June 10, 2016, from New Teachers: https://newteachers.tes.co.uk/news/psychometric-tests-all-trainee-teachers/45672

Robson, F. L. (2008). Southwood School: A Case Study. Alexandria: Society for Human Resource Management.

 

 

 

 1.    Use the attached table or create one of your own using the program of your choice—MS Word, MS Excel, etc.—to define each selection method in the case study. Explain the nature of the method and its importance. Then list all the advantages and disadvantages for each selection method.

2.    In a separate short essay, recommend the most appropriate selection method or combination of selection methods, explaining your rationale. Present at least three scholarly sources to support your rationale using APA format.

 

Â	Definition	Advantages	Disadvantages
Application form	    Â	Â	Â
Psychometric tests	    Â	Â	Â
Résumé or curriculum vitae review Â	Â	Â	Â
Formal (structured) interview	Â	Â	Â
Informal interview	    Â	Â	Â
Teaching observation	    Â	Â	Â
Presentation by candidates to a panel of teachers	Â	Â	Â
Online testing	    Â	Â	Â
References	    Â	Â	Â