Blog Twelve - Selection

Blog 12 – Selection

Selection is the process by which businesses choose applicants in which they wish to recruit. There are many different selection processes used by businesses to ensure they select applicants who best suit their open job roles.

Waitrose have many different selection processes in which they use to choose employees from a pool of applicants. Waitrose have an online selection tool which is specific to choosing graduates to take on a career with the company. This tool is known as ‘online situational judgement test’ and lasting 30 minutes, this test requires applicants to give rating scores to various responses to common situations that arise in the workplace (Anon., 2009). The test is designed to recognise applicants decision making skills and locate the best applicants to take through to the final selection process for the graduate job allocations. Waitrose also carry out online application processes for all age groups of applicants to apply for job placements at Waitrose. Here, applicants can fill out an application form and these applications are looked over by recruitment staff. Applicants who proceed to following stages are required to attend a group interview with other potential candidates holding a discussion about the job role and the workforce of Waitrose and following this, jobs are allocated. Waitrose also select temporary staff to cover high demands during seasonal periods including Christmas time. However this selection process is shorter than others as employees are recruited for a shorter length of time however training is provided after applicants are selected. Selection would occur after applicants contact the store with their interest and the relevant application forms are filled out (Anon., 2011).

There are both positive and negative aspects of the selection processes carried out by Waitrose. The benefit of carrying out a selection process online using the online platform for graduates and other applicants of different ages is that time consumption is reduced allowing Waitrose to focus on other important aspects of the business. On the other hand, potential applicants who may suit the job roles perfectly may be dismissed according to their test results and therefore affecting both the applicant and the company. Although these selection processes may be beneficial in reducing down the vast amount of applicants who apply to gain the select few in which Waitrose believe to be the most advantageous applicants for their company, a similar negative of dismissing potentially beneficial applicants may occur.

I have taken part in an interview for a job placement in which I had applied for however the interview was particularly brief and vague. The interview lasted a short period of time and consisted mainly of a discussion of the job in hand, little questions were asked and only a small amount of preparation was needed.  Therefore the interview was not extremely effective although it did give me opportunity to ask any questions about the job role in hand. Also helpful information was given for example training requirements, health and safety measures put in place and uniform requirements whilst at work however there was no real test in which showed I needed to illustrate my skills in which would benefit the company’s operations.

When making recommendations for Waitrose selection processes, it may be beneficial to create different selection processes according to age. For example applicants of the younger age group who may be students away at university however returning for summer applications may benefit from an online interviewing process where the group interview with other potential employees are held online enabling the applicants to remain in their current area of residence. This would make accessibility easier for certain applicants when applying for jobs and time consumption would not be taken up travelling to the store in which the job placement is held. Also Waitrose could introduce a door to door selection process for the applicants that are chosen to enter the final stage of selection. This would benefit the interviewer coming face to face with applicants and improving accessibility for the applicant themselves. Also they could employee staff to have a specific job role of carrying out the door to door interviews therefore time would not be taken up from other staff within the store. This would also improve Waitrose USP and give them a competitive advantage over other companies who may not have such selection process ideas put in place within their company.

To conclude, selection processes are important when recruiting staff for a business’s work force and it is vital to ensure that these processes tend to the needs of staff and applicants to ensure the most suitable employees are selected. ‘Organisations have become increasingly aware of making good selection decisions, since selection involves a number of costs including costs of the selection process itself, future costs of inducting and training new staff and the cost of labour turnover if the selected staff are not retained’ (Bratton and Gold, 2007). This shows organisations must ensure selection processes are at the best possible standard to ensure suitable applicants are recruited effectively and quickly however ensuring the correct decisions are made to benefit the businesses productivity in the future.

References

Anon. (2009) Graduate Job News [online]. Employment 4 Students. Available from: http://www.e4s.co.uk/news/articles/view/1178/job-news-and-information/graduate/Waitrose-Online-Recruitment-Test-To-Fill-Graduate-Jobs [Accessed: 4 May 2012].

Anon. (2011) Temporary christmas staff [online]. John Lewis Partnership. Available from: http://www.jlpjobs.com/jobs/john-lewis-christmas-temps.htm [Accessed: 4 May 2012].

Bratton, J. and Gold, J. (2007) Human resource management. 4th ed. China: Palgrave Macmillan.