Summer Training Project Report

Summer Internship Project

Recruitment & Selection

Submitted in partial fulfillment of MBA program

2009-11

Company Guide Submitted by

Mr. Johar Richa Agarwal

Osram India Pvt. Ltd Roll no: 1400576

Faculty of Management Studies,

Graphic Era University,

Dehradun

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S tudent Declaration

I RICHA AGARWAL, understanding hereby declares that the project entitled

“RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION” am the original work. The Project Report

submitted in partial fulfilment of course Master of Business administration (MBA) is my

original work. No part of this project can be used for any other purpose as stated above.

I understand that any detection of copying or using is

liable to be punished in any way the company and the institutions deems fit.

Date: - RICHA AGARWAL

Place: - 1400576

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the people who have been instrumental

in the successful completion of this project.

I wish to express my gratitude to Mr. JOHAR (VP - HR) & Mrs. RUCHI CHILANA

(Project mentor) and also thankful to all others in HR Department. I can’t thank enough

for their tremendous support and help. Without their encouragement and guidance this

project would not have materialized.

The guidance and support received from all the members who contributed and who are

contributing to this project, was vital for the success of the project. I am grateful for their

constant support and help.

My sincere thanks to my faculty Mentor Miss. AISHWARYA MEHTA & all the respected

faculties of M.B.A. department who offered me all kind of support and help in preparing

the project.

Last but not the least; I would like to thank my Family and two of my friends

Mani & Avantika for their constant guidance, support and encouragement.

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CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project work done on “Recruitment and Selection” Submitted

to Faculty of Management, Graphic Era University, Dehradun by RICHA AGARWAL in

partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Masters in Business Administration,

is a bonafide work carried out by her under my supervision and guidance. This work has

not been submitted anywhere else for any other Degree/diploma. The original work was

carried during 1/7/2010 to 15/8/2010 in OSRAM INDIA PVT. LTD.

Date: Name of the guide: Mrs. Ruchi Chilana

Seal/Stamp of the Organization

Address: OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

Signature Towers, 11th Floor

Tower B, South City-I

Gurgaon 122001,

Haryana, India.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Executive Summary 7

2. OSRAM Profile 8 – 22

Background

Vision and Mission

History

Social Policy

Taxation Policy

Achievements

Presence of OSRAM IPL in INDIA

Product Catalog

4. Introduction to Topic 23 – 69

Definition

Purposes and Importance

Subsystem of Recruitment

Recruitment policy

Inducements

Constraints

Recruitment Strategies

Sources of Recruitment

Recruitment Process

Factors Affecting Recruitment

Forms of Recruitment

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Recruitment in OSRAM INDIA

Sources of Recruitment

Methods of Recruitment

Alternative to Recruitment

Selection

Selection process

Standard for Selection test

Selection Process

Selection Interview

Types of Interview

Steps in Interview Process

Interviewing Mistakes

BARRIERS TO Effective Selection

5. Literature Review 70

6. Research Methodology 71 – 76

7. Data Analysis and Findings 77 – 87

8. Recommendations 88 – 91

9. Conclusion 92 – 98

10. Bibliography 99

11. Annexure 100 – 102

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Today, in every organization personnel planning as an activity is necessary. It is an

important part of an organization. Human Resource Planning is a vital ingredient for the

success of the organization in the long run. There are certain ways that are to be followed

by every organization, which ensures that it has right number and kind of people, at the

right place and right time, so that organization can achieve its planned objective.

For every organization it is important to have a right person on a right job. Recruitment

and Selection plays a vital role in this situation. Shortage of skills and the use of new

technology are putting considerable pressure on how employers go about Recruiting and

Selecting staff. It is recommended to carry out a strategic analysis of Recruitment and

Selection procedure.

This Study aims to explore the prevalent Recruitment & Selection Process at OSRAM

India Private Limited. The Recruitment & Selection Method applied at the OSRAM India

Private Limited (OIPL), was observed.

The objective of the study is to find the recruitment and selection methods prevalent at

Osram India Pvt. Ltd. As Recruitment and selection process is very important function of

the HR department, the study aims to identify the sources of recruitment of the potential

employees. The primary purpose of the study is to examine the prevailing procedure for

recruitment and selection of employees.

The study reveals that a good Recruitment & Selection Process was adopted by the

company. The management is committed to fulfill the requirement of our internal &

external customer, to prevent the mistake to happen through optimize & harmonies

interrelated process, rather than individual function. The findings suggest varied and not-

so- expensive ways for retaining people.

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OSRAM PROFILE

Osram, founded 1906, is part of the industry sector of Siemens AG and one of the two

leading lighting manufacturers in the world. The name is derived from osmium and

Wolfram (German for tungsten, also used in English), as both these elements were

commonly used for lighting filaments at the time the company was founded. This global

player has its headquarters in Munich and employs more than 39.000 people throughout

the world.

Innovation, the motor for growthOutlay on research and development is around 6.6% of sales. Today, OSRAM is a high-

tech company in the lighting industry. Over the next few years OSRAM expects strongest

growth in innovations. OSRAM generates over 66 per cent of sales from energy-efficient

products.

Light for every walk of lifeThe highest sales are achieved by the General Lighting division. OSRAM is the world's

number one supplier of automotive lamps and LED for vehicles. OSRAM is also one of

the market leaders in the field of electronic control gear (ECG) for lamps. Business with

optical semiconductors is growing rapidly and has taken on major strategic importance.

The special display-optic lamp sector is also characterized by a high rate of innovation.

Over 100 years of OSRAMThe OSRAM brand name was registered way back in 1906 and is one of the oldest trade

names still recognized throughout the world. On July 1, 1919 AEG, Siemens & Halske AG

and Deutsche Gasglühlicht AG (Auer Gesellschaft) merged their light bulb production

activities. Today, Siemens AG is the sole shareholder in OSRAM GmbH.

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Type Corporation

Industry Lighting

Founded 1906

Headquarters Munich, Germany

Employees 41,000

Parent Siemens AG

Subsidiaries Osram Sylvania

Website www.osram.com

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BACKGROUND

OSRAM is one of the two largest lighting manufacturers in the world.

OSRAM products are used in about 150 countries.

With sales outside Germany accounting for 88 % of total turnover and a sales

presence on every continent, OSRAM is a true global player.

OSRAM SYLVANIA is the North American operation of OSRAM GmbH, Germany.

“We're proud of our longstanding reputation of providing lighting solutions in

homes, businesses and institutions, automobiles and a broad range of specialty

applications.” – OSRAM management team.

OSRAM, illumination of Potsdamer Platz with a 3000-watt Osram-Nitra lamp, 1927In

1906 the Deutsche Gasglühlicht AG (DGA) registered the trademark “Osram” for a

new kind of wolfram lamp.

After World War I, the major German manufacturers of incandescent lamps, DGA, AEG

and Siemens & Halske, merged to form Osram GmbH KG. AEG and Siemens & Halske

brought their own incandescent lamp factories into the new business. In the same period,

in 1921/22, the well-known Osram logo was also developed which is still in use today,

with only minor modifications since it was first designed. In 1976 AEG sold its Osram

shares to Siemens under the same circumstances which led to the sale of its KWU and TU

shares (see Kraftwerk Union and Transformatoren Union AG). Since 1978, when Siemens

was also able to acquire General Electric’s shares, Osram has been wholly owned by

Siemens.

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Today it is one of the world’s leading lamp manufacturers. In fiscal 2005 the company,

headquartered in Munich, achieved sales of 4.3 billion euros, 88 percent of which came

from outside Germany.

Incandescent signal lights, the JOULE System uses tiny LEDs that consume 10 times less

energy, generate less waste and offer vehicle designers unprecedented design flexibility.

Compared to incandescent light sources, JOULE Systems can save a driver up to 4 gallons

of gasoline every year.

OSRAM LED technology also lights the Mustang's interior, providing the distinctive Ice

Blue glow to the center stack, window switches, door lock lights and headlamp switches.

The Mustang's ambient interior lighting system uses the OSRAM TOPLED family of

LEDs to flood color into the cup holders, door panels, foot wells and console. The

programmable system allows occupants to customize the interior color by choosing from

seven colors -- red, green, blue, orange, purple, white and Ice Blue -- to suit the mood.

OSRAM TOPLED was the driver behind the industry-first color-configurable instrument

cluster in the 2005 Ford Mustang and continues to provide the color lighting source for the

2010 Mustang's interior lighting.

"LEDs continue to define the future of automobile lighting when it comes to

environmental sustainability, practical functionality and design flexibility," said David

Hulick, global product marketing manager at OSRAM for its Automotive LED Systems

Strategic Business Segment.

"The reduction in energy consumption, coupled with its long-lasting durability means less

waste is generated in the form of replacement parts and packaging. The design flexibility

offered by LEDs makes them even more desirable for defining the signature look of one of

America's most celebrated vehicles."

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The 2010 Ford Mustang's design is a more aggressive and muscular take on the iconic

look that has come to define Mustang, while drawing inspiration from the car's rich

heritage. For example, the new vertical tail lamp design utilizes three LED bulbs that fire

sequentially, from the center out, a feature not seen on Mustang since the 1960s.

As the first standardized LED system, JOULE makes LED technology more

accessible in the marketplace by providing OEM designers with a reliable, industry

standardized light source that simplifies the design process and can be utilized by many

vehicle platforms for rear combination lamp assemblies (RCLs). The OSRAM JOULE

System helps vehicle manufacturers incorporate the functionality; durability, energy-

savings, and distinctive styling that today's consumers look for in a vehicle.

Along with the Mustang's distinctive rear combination tail lamps, OSRAM worked closely

with Valero Sylvania to supply the complete exterior package including the, fog lamps,

LED CHMSL, front and rear side marker lamps and the D3S XENON headlamps.

The 2010 Mustang is the sixth Ford Motor Company vehicle to benefit from OSRAM

mercury-free, high-intensity discharge lighting technology, offered as an option?

"We're proud Ford Motor Company looked to OSRAM, the world leader in automotive

lighting when creating the latest Ford Mustang," said Hulick. "From the bright

illumination of the D3S mercury-free XENON HID headlamps to the cool convenience of

the interior dome lamp, OSRAM is as much a part of Mustang as Mustang is a part of the

American fabric.

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COMPANY’S Mission Vision

`

VISION:

Light up life through efficient, innovative and environment friendly lighting solutions.

Provide customers with products adhering to the highest quality and safety standards

at affordable prices.

Create an environment that enhances the productivity, motivation of the employees

and fosters team-spirit.

To be the market leader by offering efficient and innovative lighting

solution for all applications.

MISSION:

Company’s mission is to shape today's materials into the lighting solution of

tomorrow.

• OSRAM believes that its ideas can make a difference in every person's life and that its

products reflect a commitment to making the world more comfortable, more

productive and more imaginative. Company continues to strive on growth and

profitability and are guided by set of values:

OSRAM SYLVANIA is its people.

Company is customer focused.

They respect and care for the environment.

They are open to, and drive, positive change.

OSRAM sets clear and ambitious goals to stay ahead of the pack.

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Company’s History

EVENTS

1906:- In 1906 the Deutsche Gasglühlicht AG (DGA) registered the trademark “Osram” for a

new kind of wolfram lamp. After World War I, the major German manufacturers of

incandescent lamps, DGA, AEG and Siemens & Halske, merged to form Osram GmbH

KG. AEG and Siemens & Halske brought their own incandescent lamp factories into the

new business.

1921/22:-

The well-known Osram logo was also developed which is still in use today, with only

minor modifications since it was first designed

1976:-

AEG sold its Osram shares to Siemens under the TU shares (see Kraft work Union and

Transformatoren Union AG.

1978:-

When Siemens was also able to acquire General Electric’s shares, Osram has been wholly

owned by Siemens. Today it is one of the world’s leading lamp manufacturers

2005:-

The company, headquartered in Munich, achieved sales of 4.3 billion euros, 88 percent of

which came from outside Germany.

The 1940s and 1950s company witnessed enormous growth, as new plants were

opened. It increased its production of materials and components, phosphors and

metals, for example, used in lighting and other products.

Sylvania also expanded into consumer electronics, television tubes and radios.

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In the 1970s and 1980s, OSRAM gradually moved out of consumer electronics to

focus on lighting and precision materials.

In the 1980s, the SYLVANIA Octron® fluorescent lamp and the OSRAM

Dulux® compact fluorescent lamp represented major innovations.

OSRAM SYLVANIA in its current form was created in January 1993.

In 1998 company established confidential e-team to begin discussing how best to

utilize the Web to forward the company’s business objectives.

SOCIAL POLICY

Management is committed to:-

To ensure conformation to all regulation of SA-8000 Standard & compliance towards

national and the applicable laws/regulation.

To prevent use of child and forced labour improve health & safety, support freedom of

association, prevent discrimination & ensure timely compensation.

To conduct our business & with fairness honesty & integrity by follow on the business

conduct Guidelines & Compliance Programs.

To encourage our suppliers & contractors to support our principles & commitment on

social accountability.

This policy is committed to all personnel directly or indirectly employed or otherwise

represented by the organization through awareness training.

The management shall review social performance at regular interval for continual

improvement taking consideration in changes of legislation, our code of conduct

guidelines and the regulation. This policy shall be made to interested parties/

stakeholders/and public on request .

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TAXATION POLICY

Taxation: The current charge for income tax is calculated in accordance with the relevant tax

regulations applicable to the Company.

Deferred tax asset and liability is recognized for future tax consequences attributable

to the timing differences that result between the profit offered for income tax and the

profit as per the financial statements.

Deferred tax asset & liability are measured as per the tax rates/laws that have been

enacted or substantively enacted by the Balance Sheet date.

ACHIEVEMENTS

The OSRAM plant in Sonepat is the fourth in India and the seventh in the world to be

awarded the Best4 (Business Excellence Sustainability Task) Integrated Management

certification by RINA. This indicates compliance with international standards ISO

9001(quality), ISO 14001 (environment), OHSAS 18001 (health and safety) and SA

8000 (social accountability).

The Sonepat Plant has also been honored with the Siemens Environmental Award

2006.

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Presence of OSRAM IPL in India

Head / North Office: OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

Signature Towers, 11th Floor

Tower B, South City-I

Gurgaon 122001,

Haryana, India.

Regional Office In SOUTH OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

Unit No# 301 - 303,

MADISON ,4th Floor,

Airport Road

(1/3 Kodihalli Main Road)

Bangalore - 560008

In NORTH Gurgaon IDC

Times Square Building,

B-Block, IInd Floor,

Sushant Lok-1, Gurgaon]

OSRAM Factory:

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd. Delhi Road

Sonepat - 131 001

Tel: +91-130-2218101 to 10

Fax: +91-130-2218113

OSRAM Distribution Centers:

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In SOUTH OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

7-1-282/C/1/56,

Lingaiah Nagar, Balakampet,

Hyderabad-500038

Andhra Pradesh

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

C/o Fixit & Co.

225/20B, Laxman Road

Kandanchavaidi Chennai

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

C/o. Devi Pharmaceuticals,

Door no 34/527A,N H Bypass,

Edappally-Arkkaakadavu Road

Cochin - 682 024

Opp. NSS Working Women Hostel, Padivattom,

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

C/o Aruna Trade Combine

#38/10, New Timber Yard Layout

Opp. Mysore Road

Bangalore – 27

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

Unit No# 301 - 303,

MADISON ,4th Floor,

Airport Road(1/3 Kodihalli Main Road)

18

Bangalore - 560008

In EAST OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

C/o Trishakti Enterprises

West of B.M.P 16.

Mourya Vihar

Phulwari Sharif,

Khagaul Road, Patna

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

Agility Logistics Private Ltd.

General Magnets Premises

JayShree Bus Stop, M.Gobindpur,

Budge-Budge Trunk Road,

Kolkatta

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

C/o Rashmi Agency,

Plot No. 178 Sec-A , Zone-B

Mancheswar Industrial Estate,

Rasulgarh, Bhuwaneshwar

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

C/o P.N. PHARMA MARKETING SERVICES PVT. LTD.

"Gour Smriti" A.K. DEB Road

Fatashil (AMBARI)

Guwhati- 781025, Assam

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

19

Garg Niwas, Lake Avenue

Kanke Road RANCHI - 834 008

In NORTH OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

C/o Baba Associates

Khasra No.43/25

Near Giri Raj Dharamkanta

Khera Kalan, Delhi-110082,

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd. Resort,

C/o Sumit & Co. Kay Ess Associates

SCO No. 32-33-34 (1st Floor )

Chandigarh-Zirakpur Road,

Opposite Imperial Resort,

Adjoining Link Road to Choice

Zirakpur, Distt. Mohali

Punjab - 140 105

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

Shambhoo Enterprises

G519, Road no. 9-A,

Vishwakarma Industrial Area

Jaipur - 302013.

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

C/o Kamal Sons

C-46, Akashdeep Building Transport Nagar

20

Lucknow 226012

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

C/o Nitin Enterprises

1557/2, Near Shankar Cold Storage Road, Bulandshar Bridge

Ghaziabad - 201 001

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

C/o Nitin Enterprises D.K Cold Storage Compound Sunhera Road, Idgah

Chowk , Kashipur Roorkee, Uttranchal

OSRAM India Pvt. Ltd.

C/o Sunder Cols Storage

GT Karnal RoadKundli, Dist. Sonepat

Haryana

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Product Catalog

Incandescent lamps Tungsten halogen lamps

Compact fluorescent lamps / Energy saving lamps LED lamps

Fluorescent lamps High intensity discharge (HID) lamps

Special lamps Display and signal lamps and lamps for traffic light installations

LED systems Automotive lamps

Display/Optic Control gears

Light management systems Luminaires

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors: LED and optical semiconductors

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INTRODUCTION TO TOPIC

The human resources are the most important assets of an organization. The success

or failure of an organization is largely dependent on the caliber of the people working

therein. Without positive and creative contributions from people, organizations cannot

progress and prosper. In order to achieve the goals or the activities of an organization,

therefore, they need to recruit people with requisite skills, qualifications and experience.

While doing so, they have to keep the present as well as the future requirements of the

organization in mind.

Recruitment is distinct from Employment and Selection. Once the required number

and kind of human resources are determined, the management has to find the places where

the required human resources are/will be available and also find the means of attracting

them towards the organization before selecting suitable candidates for jobs. All this

process is generally known as recruitment. Some people use the term “Recruitment” for

employment. These two are not one and the same. Recruitment is only one of the steps in

the entire employment process. Some others use the term recruitment for selection. These

are not the same either. Technically speaking, the function of recruitment precedes the

selection function and it includes only finding, developing the sources of prospective

employees and attracting them to apply for jobs in an organization, whereas the selection

is the process of finding out the most suitable candidate to the job out of the candidates

attracted (i.e., recruited).Formal definition of recruitment would give clear cut idea about

the function of recruitment.

DEFINITIONS

Recruitment is defined as, “a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet

the requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting

that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient

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workforce.” Edwin B. Flippo defined recruitment as “the process of searching for

prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization.”

Recruitment is a ‘linking function’-joining together those with jobs to fill and those

seeking jobs. It is a ‘joining process’ in that it tries to bring together job seekers and

employer with a view to encourage the former to apply for a job with the latter.

In order to attract people for the jobs, the organization must communicate the

position in such a way that job seekers respond. To be cost effective, the recruitment

process should attract qualified applicants and provide enough information for unqualified

persons to self-select themselves out.

Thus, the recruitment process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when

their applications are submitted. The result is a pool of applicants from which new

employees are selected.

PURPOSES AND IMPORTANCE

The general purpose of recruitment is to provide a pool of potentially qualified job

candidates. Specifically, the purposes are to:

Determine the present and future requirements of the organization in conjunction with

its personnel-planning and job-analysis activities.

Increase the pool of job candidates at minimum cost.

Help increase the success rate of the selection process by reducing the number of

visibly, under qualified or overqualified job applicants.

Help reduce the probability that job applicants, once recruited and selected, will leave

the organization only after a short period of time.

Begin identifying and preparing potential job applicants who will be appropriate

candidates.

Induct outsiders with a new perspective to lead the company.

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Infuse fresh blood at all levels of the organization.

Develop an organizational culture that attracts competent people to the company.

Search or head hunt/head pouch people whose skills fit the company’s values.

Devise methodologies for assessing psychological traits.

Search for talent globally and not just within the company.

Design entry pay that competes on quality but not on quantum.

Anticipate and find people for positions that do not exist yet.

Increase organizational and individual effectiveness in the short term and long term.

Evaluate the effectiveness of various recruiting techniques and sources for all types of

job applicants.

Recruitment represents the first contact that a company makes with potential

employees. It is through recruitment that many individuals will come to know a company,

and eventually decide whether they wish to work for it. A well-planned and well-managed

recruiting effort will result in high-quality applicants, whereas, a haphazard and piecemeal

effort will result in mediocre ones. High-quality employees cannot be selected when better

candidates do not know of job openings, are not interested in working for the company

and do not apply. The recruitment process should inform qualified individuals about

employment opportunities, create a positive image of the company, provide enough

information about the jobs so that applicants can make comparisons with their

qualifications and interests, and generate enthusiasm among the best candidates so that

they will apply for the vacant positions.

The negative consequences of a poor recruitment process speak volumes about its role

in an organization. The failure to generate an adequate number of reasonably qualified

applicants can prove costly in several ways. It can greatly complicate the selection process

and may result in lowering of selection standards. The poor quality of selection means

extra cost on training and supervision. Furthermore, when recruitment fails to meet the

organizational needs for talent, a typical response is to raise entry-level pay scales. This

can distort traditional wage and salary relationships in the organization, resulting in

avoidable consequences. Thus, the effectiveness of a recruitment process can play a major

25

role in determining the resources that must be expended on other HR activities and their

ultimate success.

SUB-SYSTEMS OF RECRUITMENT

The recruitment process consists of the following four sub-functions:-

Finding out and developing the sources where the required number and kind of

employees will be available.

Developing suitable techniques to attract the desirable candidates.

Employing the techniques to attract candidates.

Stimulating as many candidates as possible and asking them to apply for jobs

irrespective of the number of candidates required.

Management has to attract more candidates in order to increase the selection ratio so

that the most suitable candidate can be selected out of the total candidates available.

Recruitment is positive as it aims at increasing the number of applicants and selection is

somewhat negative as it selects the suitable candidates in which process; the unsuitable

candidates are automatically eliminated. Though, the function of recruitment seems to be

easy, a number of factors make performance of recruitment a complex one.

RECRUITMENT POLICY

Recruitment policy of any organization is derived from the personnel policy of the

same organization. In other words the former is a part of the latter. However, recruitment

policy by itself should take into consideration the government’s reservation policy, policy

regarding sons of soil, etc., personnel policies of other organizations regarding merit,

internal sources, social responsibility in absorbing minority sections, women, etc.

Recruitment policy should commit itself to the organization’s personnel policy like

26

enriching the organization’s human resources or servicing the community by absorbing

the retrenched or laid-off employees or casual/temporary employees or dependents of

present/former employees, etc. The following factors should be taken into consideration in formulating recruitment

policy. They are:-

Government policies

Personnel policies of other competing organizations

Organization’s personnel policies

Recruitment sources

Recruitment needs

Recruitment cost

Selection criteria and preference

INDUCEMENTS

Organizational inducements are all the positive features and benefits offered by an

organization that serves to attract job applicants to the organization. Three

inducements need specific mention here, they are:-

Compensation:

Starting salaries, frequency of pay increases, incentives and fringe benefits can all

serve as inducements to potential employees.

Career Opportunities:

These help the present employees to grow personally and professionally and also

27

attract good people to the organization. The feeling that the company takes care of

employee career aspirations serves as a powerful inducements to potential employees.

Image or Reputation;

Factors that affect an organization’s reputation include its general treatment of

employees, the nature and quality of its products and services and its participation in

worthwhile social endeavors.

CONSTRAINTS

If a firm has a poor image in the market, many of the prospective candidates may

not even apply for vacancies advertised by the firm. If the job is not attractive, qualified

people may not even apply. Any job that is viewed as boring, hazardous, anxiety

producing, low-paying, or lacking in promotion potential seldom will attract a qualified

pool of applicants. Recruiting efforts require money. Sometimes because of limited

resources, organizations may not like to carry on the recruiting efforts for long periods of

time, this can, ultimately, constrain a recruiter’s effort to attract the best person for the job.

Government policies often come in the way of recruiting people as per the rules of the

company or on the basis of merit/seniority, etc. For example, reservations to specific

groups (such as scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward castes, physically

handicapped and disabled persons, ex-servicemen, etc.) have to be observed as per

constitutional provisions while filling up vacancies in government corporations,

departmental undertakings, local bodies, quasi-government organizations, etc.

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Recruitment Strategies

Recruitment is of the most crucial roles of the human resource professionals. The level of

performance of and organization depends on the effectiveness of its recruitment function.

Organizations have developed and follow recruitment strategies to hire the best talent for

their organization and to utilize their resources optimally. A successful recruitment

strategy should be well planned and practical to attract more and good talent to apply in

the organization.

For formulating an effective and successful recruitment strategy, the strategy should cover

the following elements:

Identifying and prioritizing jobs

Recruitment keeps arising at various levels in every organization; it is almost a never-

ending process. It is impossible to fill all the positions immediately. Therefore, there is a

need to identify the positions requiring immediate attention and action. To maintain the

quality of the recruitment activities, it is useful to prioritize the vacancies whether to focus

on all vacancies equally or focusing on key jobs first.

Candidates to target

The recruitment process can be effective only if the organization completely understands

the requirements of the type of candidates that are required and will be beneficial for the

organization. This covers the following parameters as well:

Performance level required: Different strategies are required for focusing on hiring

high performers and average performers.

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Experience level required: The strategy should be clear as to what is the

experience level required by the organization. The candidate’s experience can

range from being a fresher to experienced senior professionals.

Category of the candidate: The strategy should clearly define the target candidate.

He/she can be from the same industry, different industry, unemployed, top

performers of the industry etc.

Sources of recruitment

The strategy should define various sources (external and internal) of recruitment.

Which are the sources to be used and focused for the recruitment purposes for various

positions. Employee referral is one of the most effective sources of recruitment.

Trained recruiters

The recruitment professionals conducting the interviews and the other recruitment

activities should be well-trained and experienced to conduct the activities. They should

also be aware of the major parameters and skills (e.g.: behavioral, technical etc.) to

focus while interviewing and selecting a candidate.

How to evaluate the candidates

The various parameters and the ways to judge them i.e. the entire recruitment process

should be planned in advance. Like the rounds of technical interviews, HR interviews,

written tests, psychometric tests etc.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS: THE ‘HEART’ OF HUMAN

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RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Recruitment Process

1) Recruitment request and job summary: Required to post a position Electronic forms can be used to expedite posting.

2) Posting existing positions: Verifying status of current position, no changes to job .

3) Posting new positions: Provisional ratings done for YUSA, CPM Job-E Committee assigns CPM bands to the

position. Please note that these positions must be budget approved. To attain budget

approval you must have your position approved by your area VP.

4) Applications/resumes: Forwarded to hiring manager once posting has closed.

5) Short listing/Selection: Hiring manager can review files and may or may not involve Recruitment Services in the

selection process.

6) External Searches:

Can be conducted when internal applicants are not qualified.

Affirmative Action search begins with a possibility of advertising.

7) Interviewing:

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The hiring manager can screen and interview the applicants. Recruitment

Services optional.

8) Reference Checks: The hiring manager will conduct reference checks, with or without Recruitment Services.

9) Job Offer: The hiring manager or Recruitment Services makes the offer.

10) Recruitment Forms: ETFs / PAFs must be forwarded to Recruitment Services.

11) Offer letters: The ETF/PAF generates the offer letter. Recruitment Services provides the incumbent with

two letters; one to be signed and returned, if accepted.

12) Orientation: Set-up by Recruitment Services and is required for all new employees to York.

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FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT

The recruitment function of the organizations is affected and governed by a mix of various

internal and external forces. The internal forces or factors are the factors that can be

controlled by the organization. And the external factors are those factors which cannot be

controlled by the organization. The internal and external forces affecting recruitment

function of an organization are:

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Forms Of Recruitment

The organizations differ in terms of their size, business, processes and practices. A few

decisions by the recruitment professionals can affect the productivity and efficiency of the

organization. Organizations adopt different forms of recruitment practices according to

the specific needs of the organization. The organizations can choose from the centralized

or decentralized forms of recruitment, explained below:

CENTRALIZED RECRUITMENT

The recruitment practices of an organization are centralized when the HR / recruitment

department at the head office performs all functions of recruitment. Recruitment decisions

for all the business verticals and departments of an organization are carried

out by the one central HR (or recruitment) department. Centralized from of recruitment is

commonly seen in government organizations.

Benefits of the centralized form of recruitment are:

Reduces administration costs

Better utilization of specialists

Uniformity in recruitment

Interchangeability of staff

Reduces favoritism

Every department sends requisitions for recruitment to their central office

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DECENTRALIZED RECRUITMENT

Decentralized recruitment practices are most commonly seen in the case of conglomerates

operating in different and diverse business areas. With diverse and geographically spread

business areas and offices, it becomes important to understand the needs of each

department and frame the recruitment policies and procedures accordingly. Each

department carries out its own recruitment. Choice between the two will depend upon

management philosophy and needs of particular organization. In some cases combination

of both is used. Lower level staffs as well as top level executives are recruited in a

decentralized manner.

MERITS OF DECENTRALISED RECRUITMENT

The unit concerned concentrates only on those sources/places wherein normally gets the

suitable candidates. As such the cost of recruitment would be relatively less.

The unit gets most suitable candidates as it is well aware of the requirements of the job

regarding culture, traditional, family background aspects, local factors, social factors, etc.

Units can recruit candidates as and when they are required without any delay.

The units would enjoy freedom in finding out, developing the sources, in selecting and

employing the techniques to stimulate the candidates.

The unit would relatively enjoy advantage about the availability of information, control

and feedback and various functions/processes of recruitment.

The unit would enjoy better familiarity and control over the employees it recruits rather

than on employees selected by the central recruitment agency.

Both the systems of recruitment would suffer from their own demerits. Hence, the

management has to weigh both the merits and demerits of each system before making a

final decision about centralizing or decentralizing the recruitment. Alternatively

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management may decentralize the recruitment of certain categories of employees

preferably middle and top level managerial personnel and centralize the recruitment of

other categories of employee’s preferably lower level positions in view of the nature of the

jobs and suitability of those systems for those categories of positions. The management

has to find out and develop the sources of recruitment after deciding upon centralizing or

decentralizing the recruitment function.

RECRUITMENT IN OSRAM INDIA

Recruitment in Osram India is in centralized form. All the recruitment activities take place

from its headquarters. It usually prefers online recruitment through job or web portals like

www.naukri.com etc.

There are many benefits – both to the employers and the job seekers but the e-recruitment

is not free from a few shortcomings. Some of the advantages and the disadvantages of e-

recruitment are as follows:

Advantages of E-Recruitment are:

Lower costs to the organization. Also, posting jobs online is cheaper than advertising in

the newspapers.

No intermediaries.

Reduction in the time for recruitment (over 65 percent of the hiring time).

Facilitates the recruitment of right type of people with the required skills.

Improved efficiency of recruitment process.

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Gives a 24*7 access to an online collection of resumes.

Online recruitment helps the organizations to weed out the unqualified candidates in an

automated way.

Recruitment websites also provide valuable data and information regarding the

compensation offered by the competitors etc. which helps the HR managers to take

various HR decisions like promotions, salary trends in industry etc

Disadvantages of E-Recruitment

Apart from the various benefits, e-recruitment has its own share of shortcomings and

disadvantages. Some of them are:

Screening and checking the skill mapping and authenticity of million of resumes is

a problem and time consuming exercise for organisations.

There is low Internet penetration and no access and lack of awareness of internet in

many locations across India.

Organizations cannot be dependant solely and totally on the online recruitment

methods.

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SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT

The sources of recruitment may be broadly divided into two categories: internal

sources and external sources. Both have their own merits and demerits. Let’s examine

these.

Internal Sources:

Persons who are already working in an organization constitute the ‘internal

sources’. Retrenched employees, retired employees, dependents of deceased employees

may also constitute the internal sources. Whenever any vacancy arises, someone from

within the organization is upgraded, transferred, promoted or even demoted.

External Sources :

External sources lie outside an organization. Here the organization can have the

services of :

(a) Employees working in other organizations;

(b) Jobs aspirants registered with employment exchanges;

(c) Students from reputed educational institutions;

(d) Candidates referred by unions, friends, relatives and existing employees;

(e) Candidates forwarded by search firms and contractors;

(f) Candidates responding to the advertisements, issued by the organization;

(g) Unsolicited applications/ Walk Ins

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Merits and Demerits of ‘Recruiting people from ‘Within’:

Merits Demerits

Economical: The cost of recruiting

internal candidates is minimal. No

expenses are incurred on advertising.

Suitable: The organization can pick the

right candidates having the requisite

skills. The candidate can choose a right

vacancy where their talents can be fully

utilized.

Satisfying: A policy of preferring people

from within offers regular promotional

avenues for employees. It motivates them

to work hard and earn promotions. They

will work with loyalty commitment and

enthusiasm.

Limited Choice: The organization is

forced to select candidates from a

limited pool of candidates.

Inbreeding: It discourages entry for

talented people, available outside an

organization. Existing employees may

fail to behave in innovative ways and

inject necessary dynamism to enterprise

activities.

Inefficiency: Promotions based on

length of service rather than merit, may

prove to be a blessing for inefficient

candidate. They do not work hard and

prove their worth.

Bone of contention: Recruitment from

within may lead to infighting among

employees aspiring for limited, higher

level positions in an organization. As

years roll by, the race for premium

positions may end up in a bitter race.

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Merits and Demerits of External sources of Recruitment:

Merits Demerits

Wide Choice: The organization has the

freedom to select candidates from a large

pool. Persons with requisite qualifications

could be picked up.

Infection of fresh blood: People with

special skills and knowledge could be

hired to stir up the existing employees and

pave the way for innovative ways of

working.

Motivational force: It helps in motivating

internal employees to work hard and

compete with external candidates while

seeking career growth. Such a competitive

atmosphere would help an employee to

work to the best of his abilities.

Long term benefits: Talented people

could join the ranks, new ideas could find

meaningful expression, a competitive

atmosphere would compel people to give

out their best and earn rewards, etc.

Expenses: Hiring costs could go up

substantially. Tapping multifarious sources

of recruitment is not an easy task either.

Time consuming: It takes time to

advertise, screen, to test and test and to

select suitable employees. Where suitable

ones are not available, the process has to

be repeated.

De-motivating: Existing employees who

have put in considerable service may resist

the process of filling up vacancies from

outside. The feeling that their services

have not been recognized by the

organization, forces then to work with less

enthusiasm and motivation.

Uncertainty: There is no guarantee that

the organization ultimately will be able to

hire the services of suitable candidates. It

may end up hiring someone who does not

fit and who may not be able to adjust in

the new setup.

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METHODS OF RECRUITMENT

The following are the most commonly used methods of recruiting people.

INTERNAL METHODS:

Promotions and Transfers

This is a method of filling vacancies from within through transfers and promotions.

A transfer is a lateral movement within the same grade, from one job to another. It

may lead to changes in duties and responsibilities, working conditions, etc., but not

necessarily salary. Promotion, on the other hand, involves movement of employee from a

lower level position to a higher level position accompanied by (usually) changes in duties,

responsibilities, status and value. Organizations generally prepare badli lists or a central

pool of persons from which vacancies can be filled for manual jobs. Such persons are

usually passed on to various departments, depending on internal requirements. If a person

remains on such rolls for 240 days or more, he gets the status of a permanent employee as

per the Industrial Disputes Act and is therefore entitled to all relevant benefits, including

provident fund, gratuity, retrenchment compensation.

Job Posting

Job posting is another way of hiring people from within. In this method, the

organization publicizes job opening on bulletin boards, electronic method and similar

outlets. One of the important advantages of this method is that it offers a chance to highly

qualified applicants working within the company to look for growth opportunities within

the company to look for growth opportunities within the company without looking for

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greener pastures outside.

Employee Referrals

Employee referral means using personal contacts to locate job opportunities. It is a

recommendation from a current employee regarding a job applicant. The logic behind

employee referral is that “it takes one to know one”. Employees working in the

organization, in this case, are encouraged to recommend the names of their friends,

working in other organizations for a possible vacancy in the near future. In fact, this has

become a popular way of recruiting people in the highly competitive Information

Technology industry nowadays. Companies offer rich rewards also to employees whose

recommendations are accepted – after the routine screening and examining process is over

– and job offers extended to the suggested candidates. As a goodwill gestures, companies

also consider the names recommended by unions from time to time.

External (direct) Methods:

Campus Recruitment:

It is a method of recruiting by visiting and participating in college campuses and

their placement centers. Here the recruiters visit reputed educational institutions such as

IITs, IIMs, colleges and universities with a view to pick up job aspirants having requisite

technical or professional skills. Job seekers are provided information about the jobs and

the recruiters, in turn, get a snapshot of job seekers through constant interchange of

information with respective institutions.

A preliminary screening is done within the campus and the short listed students are

then subjected to the remainder of the selection process. In view of the growing demand

for young managers, most reputed organizations (such as Hindustan Lever Ltd., Proctor &

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Cable, Citibank, State Bank of India, Tata and Birla group companies) visit IIMs and IITs

regularly and even sponsor certain popular campus activities with a view to earn goodwill

in the job market. Advantages of this method include: the placement centre helps locate

applicants and provides resumes to organizations; applicants can be prescreened;

applicants will not have to be lured away from a current job and lower salary expectations.

On the negative front, campus recruiting means hiring people with little or no work

experience.

The organizations will have to offer some kind of training to the applicants, almost

immediately after hiring. It demands careful advance planning, looking into the placement

weeks of various institutions in different parts of the country. Further, campus recruiting

can be costly for organizations situated in another city (airfare, boarding and lodging

expenses of recruiters, site visit of applicants if allowed, etc.).

If campus recruitment is used, steps should be taken by human resource department to

ensure that recruiters are knowledgeable concerning the jobs that are to be filled and the

organizations and understand and employ effective interviewing skills.

Guidelines for campus recruiting: companies using college campuses as recruitment

source should consider the following guidelines:

Identify the potential candidates early:

The earlier that candidate with top potential can be identified, the more likely the

organization will be in a position to attract them.

Employ various means to attract candidates:

These may include providing research grants; consulting opportunities to faculty

members, funding university infrastructural requirements, internships to students, etc.

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in the long run these will enhance the prestige of the company in the eyes of potential

job seekers.

Use effective recruitment material:

Attractive brochures, films, computer diskettes, followed by enthusiastic and effective

presentations by company officials, correspondence with placement offices in

respective campus in a friendly way – will help in booting the company image in the

eyes of the applicants. The company must provide detailed information about the

characteristics of entry – level positions, especially those that have had a major

positive impact on prior applicants’ decisions to join the company.

Offer training to campus interviews:

Its better to devote more time and resources to train on campus interviewers to answer

specific job –related questions of applicants.

Come out with a competitive offer:

Keep the key job attributes that influence the decisions of applicants such as

promotional avenues, challenging assignments, long term income potential, etc., while

talking to candidates.

Indirect methods:-

Advertisements:-

These include advertisements in newspapers; trade, professional and technical

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journals; radio and television; etc. in recent times, this medium has become just as

colourful, lively and imaginative as consumer advertising. The ads generally give a brief

outline of the job responsibilities, compensation package, prospects in organizations, etc.

this method is appropriate when:

(a) The organization intends to reach a large target group and

(b) The organizations want a fairly good number of talented people – who are

geographically spread out. To apply for advertised vacancies let’s briefly examine the wide

variety of alternatives available to a company - as far as ads are concerned:

Newspaper Ads:

Here it is easy to place job ads without much of a lead time. It has flexibility in

terms of information and can conveniently target a specific geographic location. On the

negative side, newspaper ads tend to attract only those who are actively seeking

employment at that point of time, while some of the best candidates who are well paid and

challenged by their current jobs may not be aware of such openings.

As a result, the company may be bombarded with applications from a large number

of candidates who are marginally qualified for the job – adding to its administrative

burden. To maintain secrecy for various reasons (avoiding the rush, sending signals to

competitors, cutting down expenses involved in responding to any individual who applies,

etc.), large companies with a national reputation may also go in for blind-box ads in

newspapers, especially for filling lower level positions. Job aspirants are asked to respond

to a post office box number or to an employment firm that is acting as an agent between

the job seekers and the organization.

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Television and radio ads:

These ads are more likely to each individual who are not actively seeking

employment; they are more likely to stand out distinctly, they help the organization to

target the audience more selectively and they offer considerable scope for designing ads

creatively. However, these ads are expensive. Also, because the television or radio is

simply seen or heard, potential candidates may have a tough time remembering the details,

making application difficult.

Third Party Methods :

Private Employment Search Firms:-

As search firm is a private employment agency that maintains computerized lists of

qualified applicants and supplies these to employers willing to hire people from the list

for a fee. Firms like Arthur Anderson, Boble and Hewitt, ABC consultants, SB

Billimoria, KPMG; Ferguson Associates offers specialized employment-related services

to corporate houses for a fee, especially for top and middle level executive vacancies. AT

the lower end, a number of search firms operate – providing multifarious services to both

recruiters and the recruiters.

Employment Exchanges:-

AS a statutory requirement, companies are also expected to notify (wherever the

Employment Exchanges Act, 1959, applies) their vacancies through the respective

Employment Exchanges, created all over India for helping unemployed youth, displaced

persons, ex-military personnel, physically handicapped, etc. AS per the Act all employers

are supposed to notify the vacancies arising in their establishments form time to time –

with certain exemptions – to the prescribed employment exchanges before they are filled.

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The Act covers all establishments in public sector and nonagricultural

establishments employing 25 or more workers in the private sector. However, in view of

the practical difficulties involved in implementing the provisions of the Act (such as

filing a quarterly return in respect of their staff strength, vacancies and shortages, returns

showing occupational distribution of their employees, etc.) many organizations have

successfully fought court battles when they were asked to pick up candidates from

among those sponsored by the employment exchanges.

Gate Hiring and Contractors:-

Gate hiring (where job seekers, generally blue collar employees, present themselves

at the factory gate and offer their services on a daily basis), hiring through contractors,

recruiting through word-of-mouth publicity are still in use – despite the many

possibilities for their misuse – in the small scale sector in India.

Unsolicited Applicants / Walk-ins:-

Companies generally receive unsolicited applications from job seekers at various

points of time; the number of such applications depends on economic conditions, the

image of the company and the job seeker’s perception of the types of jobs that might be

available etc. Such applications are generally kept in a data bank and whenever a

suitable vacancy arises, the company would intimate the candidates to apply through a

formal channel.

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Alternatives to Recruitment

Since recruitment and selection costs are high (search process, interviewing agency

fee, etc.) firms these days are trying to look at alternatives to recruitment especially when

market demand for firm’s products and services is sluggish. Moreover, once employees

are placed on the payroll, it may be extremely difficult to remove them if their

performance is marginal. Some of the options in this regard may be listed thus:

Evaluation of Alternative Sources

Companies have to evaluate the sources of recruiting carefully – looking at cost, time,

flexibility, quality and other criteria – before earmarking funds for the recruitment

process. They cannot afford to fill all their vacancies through a particular source. To

facilitate the decision making process in this regard, companies rely on the following:

Time lapse data:

They show the time lag between the dates of requisition for manpower supply from a

department to the actual date of filling the vacancies in that department. For example, a

company’s past experience may indicate that the average number of days from application

to interview is 10, from interview to offer is 7, from offer to acceptance is 10 and from

acceptance to report for work is 15. Therefore, if the company starts the recruitment and

selection process now it would require 42 days before the new employee joins its ranks.

Armed with this information, the length of the time needed for alternative sources of

recruitment can be ascertained – before pinning hopes on a particular source that meets the

recruitment objectives of the company.

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Yield ratios:

These ratios indicate the number of leads / contacts needed to generate a given number of

hires at a point at time. For example, if a company needs 10 management trainees in the

next six months, it has to monitor past yield ratios in order to find out the number of

candidates to be contacted for this purpose. On the basis of past experience, to continue

the same example, the company finds that to hire 10 trainees, it has to extend 20 offers. If

the interview-to-offer is 3:2, then 30 interviews must be conducted. If the invitees to

interview ratios are 4:3 then, as many as 40 candidates must be invited. Lastly,

Surveys and studies:

Surveys may also be conducted to find out the suitability of a particular source for certain

positions. For example, as pointed out previously, employee referral has emerged as

popular way of hiring people in the Information Technology industry in recent times in

India. Correlation studies could also be carried out to find out the relationship between

different organizational positions. Before finally identifying the sources of recruitment,

the human resource managers must also look into the cost or hiring a candidate. The cost

per hire can be found out by dividing the recruitment cost by the number of candidates

hired.

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SELECTION

Introduction

The size of the labour market, the image of the company, the place of posting, the

nature of job, the compensation package and a host of other factors influence the manner

of aspirants are likely to respond to the recruiting efforts of the company. Through the

process of recruitment the company tries to locate prospective employees and encourages

them to apply for vacancies at various levels. Recruiting, thus, provides a pool of

applicants for selection.

Definition

To select mean to choose. Selection is the process of picking individuals who have

relevant qualifications to fill jobs in an organization. The basic purpose is to choose the

individual who can most successfully perform the job from the pool of qualified

candidates.

Purpose

The purpose of selection is to pick up the most suitable candidate who would meet

the requirements of the job in an organization best, to find out which job applicant will

be successful, if hired. To meet this goal, the company obtains and assesses information

about the applicants in terms of age, qualifications, skills, experience, etc. the needs of

the job are matched with the profile of candidates. The most suitable person is then

picked up after eliminating the unsuitable applicants through successive stages of

selection process.

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Selection Process

Selection is usually a series of hurdles or steps. Each one must be successfully cleared

before the applicant proceeds to the next one. The time and emphasis place on each step

will definitely vary from one organization to another and indeed, from job to job within

the same organization. The sequence of steps may also vary from job to job and

organization to organization. For example some organizations’ may give more importance

to testing while others give more emphasis to interviews and reference checks. Similarly a

single brief selection interview might be enough for applicants for lower level positions,

while applicants for managerial jobs might be interviewed by a number of people.

Steps in Selecting Process

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Reception:

A company is known by the people it employs. In order to attract people with

talents, 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 call back the personnel department after some time.

Screening Interview:

A preliminary interview is generally planned by large organizations to cut the cost of

selection by allowing only eligible candidates to go through the further stages in selection.

A junior executive from the Personnel Department may elicit responses from the

applicants on important items determining the suitability of an applicant for a job such as

age, education, experience, pay expectations, aptitude, location, choice etc. this ‘courtesy

interview’ as it is often called helps the department screen out obvious misfits. If the

department finds the candidate suitable, a prescribed application form is given to the

applicants to fill and submit.

Application Blank:

Application blank or form is one of the most common methods used to collect

information on the various aspects of the applicants’ academic, social, demographic, work

related background and references. It is a brief history sheet of employee’s background,

usually containing the following things:

Personal data (address, sex, telephone number)

Marital data

Educational data

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Employment Experience

Extra-curricular activities

References and Recommendations

Selection Testing

In this section let’ examine the selection test or the employment test that attempts

to asses intelligence, abilities, personality trait, performance simulation tests including

work sampling and the tests administered at assessment centres- followed by a discussion

about the polygraph test, graphology and integrity test.

A test is a standardized, objective measure of a person’s behaviours, performance or

attitude. It is standardized because the way the tests is carried out, the environment in

which the test is administered and the way the individual scores are calculated- are

uniformly applied. It is objective in that it tries to measure individual differences in a

scientific way giving very little room for individual bias and interpretation.

Over the years employment tests have not only gained importance but also a certain

amount of inevitability in employment decisions. Since they try to objectively determine

how well an applicant meets the job requirement, most companies do not hesitate to invest

their time and money in selection testing in a big way. Some of the commonly used

employment tests are:

Intelligence tests

Aptitude tests

Personality tests

Achievement tests

Miscellaneous tests such as graphology, polygraphy and honesty tests.

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Intelligence Tests :

These are mental ability tests. They measure the incumbent’s learning ability and

the ability to understand instructions and make judgements. The basic objective of such

test is to pick up employees who are alert and quick at learning things so that they can be

offered adequate training to improve their skills for the benefit of the organization. These

tests measure several abilities such as memory, vocabulary, verbal fluency, numerical

ability, perception etc. Eg. Standford –Binet Test, Binet-Simon Test, The Wechsler Adult

Intelligence Scale are example of standard intelligence test.

Aptitude Test:

Aptitude test measure an individual’s potential to learn certain skills- clerical,

mechanical, mathematical, etc. These tests indicate whether or not an individual has the

capabilities to learn a given job quickly and efficiently. In order to recruit efficient office

staff, aptitude tests are necessary. An aptitude tests is always administered in combination

with other tests like intelligence and personality tests as it does not measure on-the-job-

motivation.

Personality Test:

Of all test required for selection the personality tests have generated a lot of heat

and controversy. The definition of personality, methods of measuring personality factors

and the relationship between personality factors and actual job criteria has been the subject

of much discussion. Researchers have also questioned whether applicants answer all the

items truthfully or whether they try to respond in a socially desirable manner. Regardless

of these objections, many people still consider personality as an important component of

job success.

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Achievement Tests:

These are designed to measure what the applicant can do on the job currently, i.e.,

whether the testee actually knows what he or she claims to know. A typing test tests shows

the typing proficiency, a short hand tests measures the testee ability to take dictation and

transcribe, etc.

Simulation Tests:

Simulation exercise is a tests which duplicate many of the activities and problems an

employee faces while at work. Such exercises are commonly used while hiring managers

at various levels in an organisation. To asses the potential of a candidate for managerial

positions assessment centres are commonly used.

Assessment Centre:

An assessment centre is an extended work sample. It uses procedures that incorporate

group and individual exercises. These exercises are designed to stimulate the type of work

which the candidate will be expected to do. Initially a small batch of applicants comes to

the assessment centre (a separate room). Their performance in the situational exercise is

observed and evaluated by a team of 6-8 assessors. The assessors’ judgement on each

exercise are complied and combined to have a summary rating for each candidate being

assessed.

Graphology Test:

Graphology involves using a trained evaluator to examine the lines, loops, hooks,

stokes, curves and flourishes in a person’s handwriting to assess the person’s personality

and emotional make-up. The recruiting company, may, for example, ask the applicants to

complete the application forms and write about why they want a job. These samples may

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be finally sent to graphologist for analysis and the result may be put use while selecting a

person. The use of graphology, however, is dependent on the training and expertise of the

person doing the analysis. In the actual practice, questions of validity and just plain

skepticism have limited in use.

Polygraph (Lie-Detector) tests:

The polygraph records physical changes in the body as the tests subject answers a

series of questions. It records fluctuations in respiration, blood pressure and perspiration

on a moving roll of graph paper. The polygraph operator forms a judgement as to whether

the subject’s response was truthful or deceptive by examining the biological movements

recorded on the paper. Critic, however, questions the appropriateness of the polygraphs in

establishing the truth about an applicant’s behaviour. The fact is that the polygraph records

the biological reaction in response to stress and does not record lying or even conditions

necessarily accompanying lying. Is it possible to prove that the responses recorded by the

polygraph occur only because a lie has been told? What about those situations in which a

person lies without guilt (pathological liar) or lies believing the responses to be true? The

fact of the matter is that polygraphs are neither reliable nor valid. Since they invade the

privacy of those tested, many applicants vehemently oppose the use of polygraph as a

selection tool.

Integrity Test:

These are designed to measure employee’s honestly to predict those who are more likely

to steal from an employer or otherwise act in a manner unacceptable to the organization.

The applicants who take these tests are expected to answer several ‘yes’ or ‘no’ type

questions.

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Typical Integrity Questions:

Typical Integrity Questions Yes No

Have you ever told a lie?

Do you report to your boss if you know of another

employee stealing from the store?

Do you carry office stationary back to your home for

occasional use?

Do you mark attendance for your colleagues also?

Often these tests contain questions that repeat themselves in some way and the

evaluator then examines the consistency in responses. Companies that have used integrity

tests have reported success in tracking employees who indulge in ‘theft’. However, these

tests ultimately suffer from the same weakness as polygraph and graphology test.

Tests as Selection Tool:

Test are useful selection devices in that they unover qualifications and talents that

can’t be detected otherwise. They can be used to predict how well one would perform if

one is hired, why one behaves the way one does, what situational factors influence

employee productivity, etc.

Tests also provide unbiased information that can be put to scientific and statistical

analysis.

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However, tests suffer from sizeable errors of estimate. Most psychological tests

also have one common weakness, that is, we can’t use scales which have a know zero

point and equal intervals. An intelligence test, for example starts at an arbitrary point,

where a person may not be able to answer question properly. This does not mean that the

person is totally lacking in intelligence. Likewise, a person who is able to answer all the

10 questions correctly cannot be called twice as intelligent as the one who was able to

answer only 5.

If the test has commenced at some other point, where there easier questions, their

score might have been different. Test also fails to elicit truthful responses from testees. To

compound the problem further, test results are interpreted in a subjective was by testers

and unless these testers do their homework well, the results may not be reliable.

Standards for Selection Tests :

To be useful as predictive and diagnostic selection tools, test must satisfy certain

basic requirements:

Reliability: Test scores should not vary widely under repeated conditions. If a test is administered to

the same individual repeatedly, he should get approximately identical score. Reliability is

the confidence that an indicator will measure the same thing every time.

Validity: Validity is the extent to which an instrument measures what it intends to measure. In a

typing test validity measures a typist’s speed and accuracy. To determine whether it really

measures the speed and accuracy of a typist is to demonstrate its validity. The question if

determining the validity of a selection test, thus, has a lot to do with later performance on

the job.

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Qualified People:

Test requires a high level of professional skills in their administration and interpretation.

Professional technicians are needed for skilled judgmental interpretations of test scores.

Preparation:

A test should be well prepared. It should be easy to understand and simple to administer.

Suitability:

A test must fit the nature of the group on which it is applied. A written test comprising

difficult words would be fruitless when it is administered on less educated workers.

Usefulness:

Exclusive reliance on any single test should be avoided, since the results in such a case

are likely to be criticized. To be useful, it is always better to use a battery of test.

Standardization:

Norms for finalizing test scores should be established. There must be prescribed methods

and procedures for administering the test and for scoring or interpreting it.

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Selection PracticesThe following throws light on how the global giants use selection testing as a basis for

picking up the right candidates to fill up the vacancies arising internally:

Siemens India:

It uses extensive psychometric instruments to evaluate short-listed candidates. The

company uses occupational personality questionnaire to understand the candidate’s

personal attributes and occupational testing to measure competencies.

LG Electronics India:

LG Electronics uses 3 psychometric tests to measure a person’s ability as a team

player, to check personality types and to find a person’s responsiveness and assertiveness.

Arthur Anderson:

While evaluating candidates, the company conducts critical behaviour interviewing which

evaluates the suitability of the candidate for the position, largely based on his past

experience and credentials.

PepsiCo India:

The Company uses India as a global recruitment resource. To select professionals for

global careers with it, the company uses a competency- based interviewing technique that

looks at the candidate’s abilities in terms of strategizing, lateral thinking, problem solving,

managing the environment. This apart, Pepsi insists that to succeed in a global posting,

these individuals possess strong functional knowledge and come from a cosmopolitan

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background.

Selection Interview

Interview is the oral examination of candidates for employment. This is the most essential

step in the selection process. In this step the interviewer matches the information obtained

about the candidates through various means to the job requirements and to the information

obtained through his own observations during the interview. Interview gives the recruiter

an opportunity –

To size up the candidate personally;

To ask question that are not covered in the tests;

To make judgments on candidates enthusiasm and intelligence;

To assess subjective aspects of the candidate – facial expressions, appearance,

nervousness and so forth;

To give facts to the candidates regarding the company, its policies, etc. and promote

goodwill towards the company.

Types of interviews

Several types of interviews are commonly used depending on the nature and

importance of the position to be filled within an organization.

In a NON-DIRECTIVE INTERVIEW the recruiter asks questions as they come to mind.

There is no specific format to be followed.

In a PATTERNED INTERVIEW, the employer follows a pre-determined

sequence of questions. Here the interviewee is given a special form containing questions

regarding his technical competence, personality traits, attitudes, motivation, etc.

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In a STRUCTURED OR SITUATIONAL INTERVIEW, there are fixed job

related questions that are presented to each applicant.

In a PANEL INTERVIEW several interviewers question and seek answers from

one applicant. The panel members can ask new and incisive questions based on their

expertise and experience and elicit deeper and more meaningful expertise from candidates.

Interviews can also be designed to create a difficult environment where the

applicant’s confidence level and the ability to stand erect in difficult situations are put to

test. These are referred to as the STRESS INTERVIEW. This is basically an interview in

which the applicant is made uncomfortable by a series of, often, rude, annoying or

embarrassing questions.

In the final category, there is the APPRAISAL INTERVIEW, where a superior

and subordinate sit together after the performance appraisal to discuss the subordinate’s

rating and possible remedial actions.

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Steps in interview process

Interview is an art. It demands a positive frame of mind on part of the interviewers.

Interviewers must be treated properly so as to leave a good impression about the company

in their minds. HR experts have identified certain steps to be followed while conducting

interviews:

Preparation:

Establishing the objective of the interview

Receiving the candidates application and resume

Keeping tests score ready, along with interview assessment forms

Selecting the interview method to be followed

Choosing the panel of experts who would interview the candidates

Identifying proper room for environment.

Reception:

The candidate should be properly received and led into the interview room. Start

the interview on time.

Information exchange:

State the purpose of the interview, how the qualifications are going to be matched

with skills needed to handle the job.

Begin with open ended questions where the candidate gets enough freedom to express

himself.

Focus on the applicant’s education, training, work experience, etc. Find

unexplained gaps in applicants past work or college record and elicit facts that are not

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mentioned in the resume.

Evaluation:

Evaluation is done on basis of answers and justification given by the applicant in

the interview.

Physical examination:

After the selection decision and before the job offer is made, the candidate is

required to undergo a physical fitness test. A job offer is often contingent upon the

candidate being declared fit after the physical examination.

Medical examination:

Certain jobs require physical qualities like clear vision, perfect hearing, unusual

stamina, tolerance of hard working conditions, clear tone, etc. Medical examination

reveals whether or not a candidate possesses these qualities.

Reference Checks;

Once the interview and medical examination of the candidate is over, the personnel

department will engage in checking references. Candidates are required to give the names

of 2 or 3 references in their application forms. These references may be from the

individuals who are familiar with the candidate’s academic achievements or from the

applicant’s previous employer, who is well versed with the applicant’s job performance

and sometimes from the co-workers. In case the reference check is from the previous

employer, information in the following areas may be obtained.

They are job title, job description, period of employment, pay and allowances,

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gross emoluments, benefits provided, rate of absence, willingness of previous employer to

employ the candidate again, etc. Further, information regarding candidate’s regularity at

work, character, progress, etc. can be obtained. Often a telephone call is much quicker.

The method of mail query provides detailed information about the candidate’s

performance, character and behavior.

However, a personal visit is superior to the mail or telephone methods and is used

where it is highly essential to get a detailed, first hand information which can also be

secured by observation. Reference checks are taken as a matter of routine and treated

casually or omitted entirely in many organizations. But a good reference check, when used

sincerely, will fetch useful and reliable information to the organization.

Hiring decision:

The line manager has to make the final decision now – whether to select or reject a

candidate after soliciting the required information through different techniques discussed

earlier. The line manager has to take adequate care in taking the final decision because of

economic, behavioral and social implications of the selection decisions. A careless

decision of rejecting a candidate would impair the morale of the people and they suspect

the selection procedure and the very basis of selection in a particular organization.

A true understanding between line managers and personnel managers should be

established so as to facilitate good selection decisions. After taking the final decision, the

organization has to intimate this decision to the successful as well as unsuccessful

candidates. The organization sends the appointment order to the successful candidates

either immediately or after sometime depending upon its time schedule.

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Interviewing Mistakes:

Favors applicants who share his own attitudes;

Not be asking right questions and hence not getting relevant responses;

Resort to snap judgments, making a decision as to the applicant’s suitability in the first

few minutes of the interview. Too often interviewers form on early impression and spend

the balance of interview looking for evidence to support it;

May have been influenced by ‘cultural noise.’ To get the job, the applicants try to get by

the interviewer. If they reveal wrong things about themselves, they may not get the job, so

they try to give the interviewer responses that are socially acceptable, but not very

revealing. These types of responses are known as cultural noise – responses the applicant

believes are socially acceptable rather than facts;

May have allowed him to be unduly influenced by associating a particular personality trait

with a person’s origin or cultural background and that kind of stereotyping/ generalizing

ultimately determining the score of a candidate. For example, he may feel that candidate

from Bihar may find it difficult to read, write and speak English language and hence not

select them at all;

May conclude that a poorly dressed candidate is not intelligent, attractive females are good

for public dealings, etc. This is known as ‘Halo Effect’ where a single important trait of a

candidate affects the judgment of the rather. The halo effect is present if an interviewer

allows a candidate’s accomplishments in athletics overshadow other aspects and leads the

interviewer to like the applicant because ‘athletes make good sales people’;

Have been influenced more by unfavorable than favorable information about or from the

candidate.Unfavorable information is given roughly twice the weight of favorable

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information.

Barriers to effective selection

The main objective of selection is to hire people having competence and

commitment. This objective is often defeated because of certain barriers. The impediments

which check effectiveness of selection are perception, fairness, validity, reliability, and

pressure.

Perception:

Our inability to understand others accurately is probably the most fundamental

barrier to selecting right candidate. Selection demands an individual or a group to assess

and compare the respective competencies of others, with the aim of choosing the right

persons for the jobs. But our views are highly personalized. We all perceive the world

differently. Our limited perceptual ability is obviously a stumbling block to the objective

and rational selection of people.

Fairness:

Fairness in selection requires that no individual should be discriminated against on

the basis of religion, region, race or gender. But the low number of women and other less

privileged sections of society in the middle and senior management positions and open

discrimination on the basis of age in job advertisements and in the selection process would

suggest that all the efforts to minimize inequity have not been very effective.

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Validity:

Validity, as explained earlier, is a test that helps predict job performance of an

incumbent. A test that has been validated can differentiate between the employees who can

perform well and those who will not. However, a validated test does not predict job

success accurately. It can only increase possibility of success.

Reliability:

A reliable method is one which will produce consistent results when repeated in

similar situations. Like a validated test, a reliable test may fall to predict job performance

with precision.

Pressure:

Pressure is brought on the selectors by politicians, bureaucrats, relatives, friends,

and peers to select particular candidate. Candidates selected because of compulsions are

obviously not the right ones. Appointments to public sector undertakings generally take

place under such pressure.

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Difference between recruitment n selection

Basis Recruitment Selection

Meaning It is an activity of establishing

contact between employers and

applicants.

It is a process of picking up more

competent and suitable

employees.

Objective It encourages large number of

Candidates for a job.

It attempts at rejecting unsuitable

candidates.

Process It is a simple process. It is a complicated process.

Hurdles The candidates have not to cross

over many hurdles.

Many hurdles have to be crossed.

Approach It is a positive approach. It is a negative approach.

Sequence It precedes selection. It follows recruitment.

Economy It is an economical method. It is an expensive method.

Time

Consuming

Less time is required. More time is required.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

Recruitment and selection is one of the most generally discussed in the study of Human

Resource. The literature on Recruitment and Selection is not quite vast.

To gain a deeper understanding about the phenomenon of high attrition and its cause,

literature particularly journals, reference books were studied in detail. The various

websites were also helpful in gaining a large view of attrition among employees and the

ways to reduce such high rate. The findings would not have been realistic without the

feedback of employees of OIPL. For this the employee’s feedback was sought.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

This study reports the findings on Recruitment and Selection Process at the OSRAM

India Private Limited.

The Study is intended to achieve the following objectives:

1. To find out the current practices adopted for the Recruitment and Selection of the

potential candidates.

2. To find the reasons of the high attrition rate.

3. To find the ways to reduce high attrition rate.

SCOPE & LIMITATIONS

While surveying at OIPL- HR Manager was quite helpful. I always sought him help even

when I had to get the questionnaires filled from the employees. However I felt difficulty as

most of the respondents were reluctant to fill the questionnaire.

Most of the respondents were afraid of getting fired if they answered anything wrong

about the company and its policy. This was a big limitation. It was tried to do a survey on

80 employees but only 58 of them came up with their response. The Future research may

be done on large number of employees to get a better result.

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Research methodology

This study focuses on the Recruitment and Selection at Osram India Private Limited as a

matter of interest. It was ensured that there was a good mix of respondents- males,

females; employees of various designation; and temporary and permanent employees. It is

the specification method & procedure for collection the needed information.

The selection of research design depend the objective of the research.

Research design is of three types

Exploratory

Descriptive

Casual or experiment

Primary Data

The Study is based on the primary data collected from the employees at Osram IPL

through the assistance of the questionnaire. The survey was conducted with 58

respondents. However, the use of some secondary data were taken help of to gain a better

understanding of the Recruitment and Selection process, the attrition and the reasons why

employees leave. For this purpose the web pages and the journals were sought.

Sources of Data

For conducting the survey the data were collected from the employees of Osram IPL .To

make the research complete, it is very important to have the necessary & useful data.

Sometimes data can be available readying one form or the other & sometimes data has to

be collected A researcher can tap sources to heads:-

Internal sources

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External sources

Internal sourcesIt is the companies own record registered document etc. a researcher can use these to

collect internal information. To get this information about the company, the company

profile, industry profile can be used.

External source All the other source of information is external source of data.

Secondary data

Primary data

In this project mainly primary data from internal sources is used to make results authentic.

It is collected by personal administration of the questionnaire.

Sampling Techniques

The type of enquiry you want to have and the nature of data that you want to collect

Fundamentally determines the technique or method of selecting a sample. The procedure

of selecting a sample may be broadly classified under the following two heads:

· Probability Sampling Methods

· Non-Probability Sampling Methods

PROBABILITY SAMPLING:

A sampling procedure in which each element of the population has a fixed probabilistic

chance of being selected for the sample is called probability sampiling.

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Simple Random Sampling :

It is the technique of drawing a sample in such a way that each unit of the population has

an equal and independent chance of being included in the sample. In this method an equal

probability of selection is assigned to each unit of population at the first draw. It also

implies an equal probability of selecting in the subsequent draws. Thus in simple random

sample from a population of size N, the probability of drawing any unit in the first draw is

1/N. The probability of drawing a second unit in the second draw is 1/N-1 . The

probability of selecting a specified unit of population at any given draw is equal to the

probability of its being selected at the. The two basic procedures to are:

1 The lottery method, e.g. picking numbers out of a hat or bag

2 The use of a table of random numbers.

Merits

1. Since samples units are selected at random providing equal chance to each and every

unit of population to be selected, the element of subjectivity or personal bias is completely

eliminated. Therefore, we can say that simple random sample is more representative of

population than purposive or judgment sampling.

2. You can ascertain the efficiency of the estimates of the parameters by considering the

sampling distribution of the statistic (estimates)

For example: One measure of calculating precision is sample size. Sample mean becomes

an unbiased mean of population mean or a more efficient estimate of population mean as

sample size increases.

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Limitations

1. The selection of simple random sample requires an up- to -date frame of population

from which samples are to be drawn. Although it is impossible to have knowledge about

each and every unit of population if population happens to be very large. This restricts the

use of simple random sample.

2. A simple random sample may result in the selection of the sampling units, which are

widely spread geographically and in such a case the administrative cost of collecting the

data may be high in terms of time and money.

3. Sometime, a simple random sample might give most nonrandom looking results, which

I will explain with the help of an illustration next.

4. For a given precision, simple random sample usually requires larger sample size as

compared to stratified random sampling which we will be studying next.

Non Probability Sampling

Non-probability methods are all sampling procedures in which the units that make up the

samples are collected with no specific probability structure in mind. This might include,

for

example, the following:

the units are self-selected; that is, the sample is made up of `volunteers'

the units are the most easily accessible (in geographical terms)

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Judgment Sampling

It is that sample in which the selection criteria are based upon your (researcher’s) personal

judgment that the members of the sample are representative of the population under study.

It is used for most test markets and many product tests conducted in shopping malls. If

personal biases are avoided, then the relevant experience and the acquaintance of the

investigator with the population may help to choose a relatively representative sample

from the population. It is not possible to make an estimate of sampling error as we cannot

determine how precise our sample estimates are. Judgment sampling is used in a number

of cases, some of which are:

1. Suppose we have a panel of experts to decide about the launching of a new product in

the next year. If for some reason or the other, a member drops out, from the panel, the

chairman of the panel may suggest the name of another person whom he thinks has the

same expertise and experience to be a member of the said panel. This new member was

chosen deliberately - a case of Judgment sampling.

2. The method could be used in a study involving the performance of salesmen. The

salesmen could be grouped into top-grade and low-grade performer according to certain

specified qualities. Having done so, the sales manager may indicate who in his opinion,

would fall into which category.

Needless to mention this is a biased method. However in the absence of any objective

data, one might have to resort to this type of sampling.

Advantages

1. Low cost.

2. Less time consuming than most techniques.

3. Convenient to use.

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Limitations

1. No direct generalizations to a specified population.

2. Results entirely dependent on the judgment of the researcher.

Sample Design

When data is to be collected from each member of population of interest, it is known as

census survey. If on the other hand data are to be collected from only some member of the

population, it is known as sample survey.

Sample plan

Judgment sampling

Sample size

58 % of staff members

Data sources

The methodology of study is based on secondary information as well as primary

information i.e. staff member of OSRAM INDIA PVT. LTD. The work of several authors

from the various libraries has been instituted, consulted & used to arrive at conclusion.

Methodology

The methodology used essentially involved collection of information from executives of

Osram IPL, on the Recruitment and Selection Process through questionnaire, analysis of

the collected information using relevant statistical analysis, and interpretation of results.

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DATA ANALYSIS

1. What was your mode of recruitment?

Employee Referral: 21

Web Portal: 04

Placement Agency: 12

Campus Placement: 01

Other/Walk-ins: 20

Interpretation:-

Most of the employees were recruited by the employee referral but it is also worth notable

that almost equal employees were recruited through other methods that include the

candidate’s self- initiative or walk-ins.

Employee referral

We b Portal

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Placement Agency

Campus Placement

Others

2. What was the method of your selection?

Written test

Medical Test

Interview: 57

Other: 01

Interpretation:-

The question was aimed to find the efficient method on which the company relied upon

for the selection of the potential applicants. It was observed that Personal Interview is

extensively used for selection of the candidates. As 57 out of 58 respondents were selected

through interview. It is also observed that the reference checks were not used for the final

round of selection.

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Interview

Other

3. Are you satisfied with your present job at OIPL?

Yes: 49

No: 09

Interpretation:-

This question is somewhat tricky as it would find the satisfaction of the respondent

through following questions. Many of them did not want to show their dissatisfaction

towards their employer as they feared of getting fired. However 84% of the respondents

were satisfied.

Ye s

No

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4. How do you find your package (salary + incentive) at OIPL?

Satisfied: 31

Unsatisfied: 27

Interpretation:-

Out of the 58 respondents 53% were satisfied with their salary package. There is only a

minor difference of 4 employees. The unsatisfaction level towards the salary is 47%.This

shows that pay is a major cause of leaving the OIPL.

Satisfied

Unsatisfied

5. Are you able to overcome the stress at work and maintain balance

between work and life?

Yes: 52

No: 06

80

Interpretation:-

52 out of the 58 respondents felt comfortable and had no problem with the workload. They

could maintain the balance between work and life.

Ye s

No

6. How often do you receive appraisal/ get motivation from your employer?

Very Often: 22

Sometimes: 34

Never: 02

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Interpretation:-

The above data indicates that a major lot of employees i.e., 59% get motivation only

sometimes. This again emphasizes on bad reward policy of the company.

Very Often

Sometimes

Never

7. Do you find career growth opportunities at OIPL?

Yes: 42

No: 16

82

Interpretation:-

The above data collected shows that 72% of the respondents feel there is a career growth

opportunities. The respondents find suitable growth opportunities at OIPL.

Ye s

No

8. What is your level of trust & confidence in senior boss?

High: 35

Moderate: 23

Low

Interpretation:-

60% percent of the respondents have faith and trust in their seniors/bosses. While 40%

have less confidence. This fact indicates that the company needs to gain confidence of the

employees through various ways.

High

Moderate

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Low

9. Do you find yourself valued and recognized at OIPL?

Yes: 52

No: 06

Interpretation:-

A major portion of the respondents i.e., 90% of them feel valued and recognized at OIPL.

This is good sign regarding the recognition of the employees at OIPL.

Ye s

No

10. How often do you receive appreciation on your excellent Performance?

Very Often: 23

Sometimes: 33

Never: 02

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Interpretation:-

The major problem felt at OIPL is that the employees do not get enough appreciation

(Monetary / Non-Monetary) from their employer. The above data indicates only 40% of

the respondents get appreciation while 57% of them are not appreciated on their best

performance.

Very Often

Sometimes

Never

11. Do you find pressure at work to perform better?

Yes: 37

No: 21

85

Interpretation:-

Another major setback for the employees or the main reason for leaving is the pressure of

work that the employees feel. It is worth to be noted that the Telecallers and the Marketing

Executives have to achieve the target of Rs. 80,000.00 pm (as a score). This creates a

stress to them and thereby hampers their decision of staying with the company.

Ye s

No

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FINDINGS

Job Quality and Organizational support are more important to retention than earnings or

benefits.

Career Progress and Development- promotion, mobility, and pay growth have the

biggest combined effect on employees leaving.

Of all the drivers of attrition Pay levels have the smallest impact.

Past Stability- the more time the people had spent in their previous job, the greater

the chances that they would stay long in the present assignment/job.

Candidates who have been referred by the employees are more likely to stay long

than those who came through other channels like wanted ads, etc.

Supervisory/Management support and Co-worker relations influence employee

decision to stay-in.

An individual’s relationship with his or her manager has the greatest impact on job

satisfaction thereby influencing his/her decision to stay with the organization.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

The organization should develop a suitable formal written request such as a requisition

form or memo. The form should include some detail of the candidate profile required like;

Age

Min to Max experience

Qualification

Competencies

Brief of Job description

The organization should use an employment agency for the recruitment of low

skilled, temporary staff.

The organization should advertise for medium to high skilled vacancy positions in the

metropolitan daily newspaper.

The organization should advertise all vacant positions internally in the first instance.

As this will help people to have job enrichment and job rotation.

A framework for Internal Job posting should be developed to give opportunity to

internal talent pool.

The organization should use structured interview assessment sheet for all positions

classed as medium to high skilled.

More emphasis should be laid on employee referral program to reduce the hiring cost.

Current referral program should be made more attractive for employees to encourage

them to refer potential candidates.

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Reference check format should be developed to ensure genuine candidates.

Structured interview questionnaire should contain mix of both technical and creative

thinking. Certain questions based on specific competencies identified for the position

should be included.

Developing assessment sheet as per job profile or grades with assessment grading on

the requisite competencies related to profile or grades.

Ensure comments of each interviewee clearly mentioned on the assessment sheet for

the next round of interview

Certain psychological tools like Thomas profiling should be used for high profile

selection.

Various style of interview like stress interview, situational interview etc should be used

in combination rather than just following one pure style.

Asking candidates to bring along supporting of their achievements or extra ordinary

performances.

Assessment centre should be developed with help of external agency expertise in same

to have an effective process of internal recruitment.

Each panel member should go training for effective interviewing skill to reduce the

gap between right and ideal candidate.

Analysis of the fresh recruitment should be done in order to identify the diversity in

the work force and to formulate a balanced approach towards future recruitment.

Aptitude test should be introduced for entry level in order to assess on numerical

ability, logical reasoning and data interpretation.

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Data base should be maintained for both selected, rejected candidate in order to avoid

any reappearance of rejected candidate.

The organization should develop and implements employee orientation program with

emphasis on work life balance, learning aspects and performance oriented work

culture.

The organization should ensures that the orientation program is carried out with new

employees on their first day, where possible or, alternatively, in the first week. No

candidate should start his profile without going through the complete Induction.

HR Practices to retain Employees

1. Introduce career Management program

The company should introduce the career management tool or program that would help

the employees to find growth opportunities in the company by identifying those jobs that

match their skills sets.

2. Initiate Leadership Development

The company should invest in leadership development program. The program may include

business case development, strategic projects and team building, change management, and

in-depth discussions with business leaders from OIPL and other companies.

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3. Training of Employees

The company can avoid the attrition by improving retention strategy by placing more time

and effort in the selection and training of employees and aligned the training to support the

organization’s mission – goal of providing excellent customer service. Today when

customers are happy, they express their appreciation to OIPL employees who are proud of

being on the OIPL team.

4. Improve Retention Policy

The retention policy needs to be enduring, long-term oriented and integrated with other

HRM Policies. Organizations should take all steps to collect data and their retention plans

should be based on this data.

5. Good Working Environment

The company should develop the right kind of work environment and organizational

culture that rewards performance, creativity and initiative and, most importantly, creates

opportunities for employees to advance in their careers. Any initiative to retain the

employees would succeed only when the overall organization climate is conducive for

that.

6. Recognition and Reward

The employees should be recognized and rewarded for a job well done by the employees

and this act would instill in them a sense of pride and satisfaction in their own work.

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Conclusion

Recruitment is essential to effective Human Resources Management. It is the heart of the

whole HR systems in the organization. The effectiveness of many other HR activities,

such as selection and training depends largely on the quality of new employees attracted

through the recruitment the recruitment process.

Policies should always be reviewed as these are affected by the changing environment.

Management should get specific training on the process of recruitment to increase their

awareness on the dangers of wrong placements.

HR practitioners should be on the guard against all the malpractices and advocate for

professional approach through out the system. The HR should indicate disagreement in the

event that biasing toward certain candidates is creeping in and point out the repercussions

that may follow in terms of performance and motivation.

It is the authors conviction that, the recruitment process should be seen in the context of

ongoing staff planning that is linked to the strategic and financial planning of the

organization.

Recruitment and selection process are important aspects in staffing and the decisions

regarding them have to be taken keeping in view the fit between the employee and the

organization. The organization has to decide whether to hire temporary or permanent

employees or recruit from the internal workforce or select through external sources. It’s

important for an organization to lay equal importance to both the internal and external

sources in reference to organization benefit. As each source type comes along with its own

pros and cons. A healthy mix is recommended to strike a balance between internal

employee carrier development and infusion of new blood and diversity in the system.

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An organization needs to have well defined process to communicate the request for vacant

and new position mentioning all the aspect required to hire a candidate. The organization

needs to advertise all positions internally, prior to searching outside the company for the

most suitable applicant. Hence a structured process needs to be followed announcing the

position for all the eligible employees.

In order to make right decision for internal promotion a systematic approach needs to be

developed. As the next level decision should not only be based on his performance in

present profile but also his potential for future role. This systematic and standardized

approach for evaluating various aspects using multiple inputs is called ASSESSMENT

CENTRE.

In case an organization decides to resource the vacant position through an external source

it needs to analyze the various options in term of cost, time, talent pool etc.

Interview is one of the most important selection methods. It’s an attempt to satisfy an

organization in respect to intellectual and social requirements necessary to contribute to

their betterment.

An organization needs to have a structured process on interview in order to match the right

applicant with the right job. There can not be fixed way of interview as it needs too be

altered as per the job requirement. Success of an interview depends establishing the right

mix in order to

Directive/Structured Interview:

When large number of candidates needs to be and one requires consistent information on

certain parameters this format can be of great help.

Non-Directive/Unstructured interview:

There is no real set format and begins with broad question such as "Tell me about

yourself." It is an opportunity given to candidate to demonstrate their knowledge, skills,

and abilities in reference to job and organization.

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Stress:

This type of interview is intended to be confrontational in style and is aimed at unsettling

the candidate. In order to put potential employees into stressful and difficult situations to

evaluate how they react and work under pressure. By seeing how you will react when

placed in a challenging or uncomfortable situation, the interviewers can get a strong sense

of your stress and conflict-management style as well as your ability to deal with

uncertainty.

Behavioral :

This interview style is based on the assumption that experiences and behaviors shown by

a candidate in previous job will be same show in future assignments. Thus an attempt is

made to predict the applicant's potential contributions and success within the organization.

The interviewer clearly identifies job-related experiences, behaviors, knowledge, skills

and abilities that the company has decided are desirable in a particular position, and then

the interviewer asks you to provide clear examples of how you demonstrate these skills

and abilities. These include self-confidence, teamwork, professionalism, critical thinking,

and time management.

In order to enhance the interview effectiveness psychological tools like Thomas profiling,

MBTI, and personality etc. test should also be used in addition to personal interview. As

the combination of both the tools can help us in following ways:

It provides objective and accurate behavioral based data in order to make informed

decision.

The range of data gathered is much more in the same time along with higher level of

accuracy.

The information from these test are scientifically more consistent.

Following topics can very well analyzed with the combination of both type of tools:

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General intellectual level and problem-solving style

Emotional maturity and personal

Insight Interpersonal style

Management style or selling ability

Decision-making and organizational skills

Leadership competencies

Ambition and aspirations

A structured interview assessment sheet needs to be used to capture all the required

information related to the job in a structured manner. It helps in gathering and re

verification of information gathered at various levels in a structured manner. A candidate

can not face same interview related question at various level.

Once the candidate is finalized from the departmental and HR level his credentials needs

to be verified. An organization needs to establish an process for same to decide for pre

employment verification or post employment screening. In case an organization decides

for post screening it needs to have some information for initial authentication.

Employment verification format needs to be developed to authenticate data captured

through interview.

A job description along with offer letter should be handed over to the finalized candidate

for the complete understanding of the profile.

  Employee orientation is the process to welcome the new joinee and make him should be

made special and every detail should be taken care to make it a special day. Orientation is

the introductory stage which familiarizes the new employee to his/her new working

environment by introducing aspects of the company such as:

Company mission

Quality and value statements

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Organization chart

Business objectives

Management

Workplace facilities

Work rules, regulations and policies

Employee benefits and incentives

Induction is the process of initiation into a new job or company by which a new employee

learns about and becomes part of an organization. Induction ranges from formal

orientation programs to informal familiarization and social events. Its overall purpose is to

provide necessary information, facilities and motivation to assist the employee to adjust to

the new work environment to learn the ropes and become productive on the job. It aims to

help him/her to understand company's expectations and convey what he or she can expect

from the job and the company. It encourages the development of loyalty and enthusiasm

towards the company and gain employee commitment.

A 360° Approach to Orientation can be focused on organization’s history, its mission and

vision statements, values, environment, policies, business strategy, career development

initiatives, or employee benefits.

In the last few years, the job market has undergone some fundamental changes in terms of

technologies, sources of recruitment, competition in the market etc. In an already

saturated job market, where the practices like poaching and raiding are gaining momentum.

The major challenges faced by the HR in recruitment are:

Adaptability to globalization – The HR professionals are expected and required

to keep in tune with the changing times, i.e. the changes taking place across the globe.

HR should maintain the timeliness of the process

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Lack of motivation:

Recruitment is considered to be a thankless job. Even if the organization is achieving

results, HR department or professionals are not thanked for recruiting the right

employees and performers.

Process analysis:

The immediacy and speed of the recruitment process are the main concerns of the HR

in recruitment. The process should be flexible, adaptive and responsive to the

immediate requirements. The recruitment process should also be cost effective.

Strategic prioritization:

The emerging new systems are both an opportunity as well as a challenge for the HR

professionals. Therefore, reviewing staffing needs and prioritizing the tasks to meet the changes

in the market has become a challenge for the recruitment professionals. There has been a

tremendous change in recruitment trend as compared to previous time.

Some of the major trends are:

OUTSOURCING

The outsourcing firms help the organization by the initial screening of the candidates according

to the needs of the organization and creating a suitable pool of talent for the final selection by the

organization. Outsourcing firms develop their human resource pool by employing people for them

and make available personnel to various companies as per their needs. In turn, the outsourcing firms

or the intermediaries charge the organizations for their services.

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POACHING/RAIDING

“Buying talent” (rather than developing it) is the latest mantra being followed by the organizations

today. Poaching means employing a competent and experienced person already working with

another reputed company in the same or different industry; the organization might be a competitor

in the industry. A company can attract talent from another firm by offering attractive pay packages

and other terms and conditions, better than the current employer of the candidate. But it is seen as

an unethical practice and not openly talked about. Indian software and the retail sector are the

sectors facing the most severe brunt of poaching today. It has become a challenge for human

resource managers to face and tackle poaching, as it weakens the competitive strength of the firm.

E-RECRUITMENT

Many big organizations use Internet as a source of recruitment. E-recruitment is the use

of technology to assist the recruitment process. They advertise job vacancies through

worldwide web. The job seekers send their applications or curriculum vitae i.e. CV

through e mail using the Internet. Alternatively job seekers place their CV’s in worldwide

web, which can be drawn by prospective employees depending upon their requirements.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) www.osram.com

2) www.osramindia.com

3) www.wikipedia.org

4) www.google.com

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Annexure

Questionnaire

A list of questions was prepared for the questionnaire to be filled. It included 12questions.

A mix of direct and indirect questions was present. It was a structured questionnaire that

was pre-tested to ensure clarity of the questions asked and that the respondents understood

the questions.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS SURVEY

Instruction: Tick mark (v) wherever required.

Name________________________________________

Designation___________________________________ Working in Osram IPL since__ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Contact No___________________________________

[1]. How Osram IPL is involved in Recruitment and Selection process?

____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

[2]. Which level of employees do you look for? Good Opportunities

Outside

Junior

Middle

Senior

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[3]. What are the sources used for recruitment in Osram IPL?

Direct Recruitment

Employee’s reference

Campus Recruitment

Placement Agency

Web Portals

[4]. What are the important things you look while screening resumes of candidates?

Qualification

Experience

Communication skill

Attitude

Presentation Skill

Others

[5]. What is the reliable selection process for the candidates?

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

[6]. What is the vacancy ratio i.e., for 10 candidates 100 resumes are

sourced (10:100)?

________________________________________________________

[7]. What kind of staffing service do you provide?

Contract

Temporary

Permanent

[8]. What areas do you recruit in?

Operations

Finance

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Administration

Sales

Marketing

HR

Phone Calls

[9]. What is the turnover level of employees in Osram IPL?

Low

Medium

High

If High, the reason of such turnover?

Low Package

Job Hoping

Termination

Retirement

Others

[10]. As a recruiter what are the challenges involved?

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

[11]. What challenges/issues are involved in approaching the candidates?

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

[12]. New strategies you would like to add in your recruitment model?

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

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