RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION CRITERIA AND ITS EFFECTS ON ORGANIZATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY AND DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE OF CAMEROON DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of good recruitment and selection criteria on organizational productivity and development. Specifically, the study aims at investigating the recruitment and selection policy practice, the impact of the recruitment and selection process on productivity, the challenges associated with the recruitment and selection practice, and ways to help improve human resource planning and development.

The study obtained information from one hundred and fifty (150) a sample size of respondents from staff and workers of CDC Group rubber Tiko plantation through the use of a questionnaire. Quantitative research methodology is used to evaluate data objectives by rendering numbers. It was statistically analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences software (SPSS).

The results indicated that advertising of job vacancies to the general public, use of employment agent(s), and employee referrals are mostly the mode for recruiting potential employees, it was also realized that the method used in the recruiting and selection process was very effective and moreover helped improve employee performance, thus boosting the productivity of the industry.

The study revealed that the selecting and recruitment process is also characterized with lots of challenges, Among the recommendations made were that potential employees should all be treated fairly in the recruitment and selection process, all applicants must be made to pass through the identified recruitment processes and procedures, and the selection must strictly be based on merit and qualification.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The immense outcome of good recruitment and selection criteria in an organization has been one of the greatest backbones to a good and exploding organizational productivity Since it contributes to both the individual satisfaction and commitment likewise the productivity and development of the organization.

Manufacturing organizations in the past primarily focused on productions and sales but due to the changes and competition in the marketplace, organizations in this 21st century are looking forward to sustaining competitive advantage by combating the challenges of improving qualities of products, productivity, and service delivery. This stance can only be attained through employee’s performance while the key to attaining and sustaining this is by selecting and retaining the right people for the right position in an organization (Zirra et al., 2017).

Nowadays organizations are more concentrating on acquiring appropriate human capital because the employees are the most valuable and most precious assets of an organization. It is the individual performance of employees that will converge to form the overall performance of the organization (Zirra et al., 2017). While recruiting the employees, organizations have to develop a strategy to carefully recruit the most suitable employees because they create a competitive advantage for the organizations.

According to Adeyemi et al., (2015), the word recruitment has become a thing of concern to many organizations in order to get a rightful person that can effectively fill the vacant position in the organizations due to the increase in competition.

Recruitment and Selection is an important process for every successful organization because having the right staff improves and sustains organizational performance. The impact of an organization’s selection system influences bottom-line business outcomes, such as productivity and financial performance a dream for any organization.

In the operations of any organization, recruitment and selection are the major functions of the human resource department and the recruitment process is the first step towards creating the competitive strength of the organization. According to Sisson (1994), conceived recruitment and selection as the processes by which organizations solicit, contact interest potential appointees and then establish whether it would be appropriate to appoint any of them.

Recruitment and selection are the two phases of the employment process but there is a difference between the two. Recruitment is the process of searching for the right candidates for employment and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization while selection involves the series of steps by which the candidates are screened for choosing the most suitable persons for vacant posts.

Similarly, the basic purpose of recruitments is to create a talent pool of candidates to enable the selection of the best candidates for the organization, by attracting more and more employees to apply to the organization whereas the basic purpose of the selection process is to choose the right candidate to fill the various positions in the organization. The recruitment process is immediately followed by the selection process, which is the final interviews and the decision making, conveying the decision and the appointment formalities.

Leopold, (2002) stated that recruiting is seen as a “positive process of generating a pool of candidates by reaching the right‟ audience, suitable to fill the vacancy” while he further mentioned that, once these candidates are identified, the process of selecting appropriate employees for employment can begin. This means collecting, measuring, and evaluating information about candidates‟ qualifications for specified positions.

Selection, therefore, is a process that involves a series of steps by which the candidates are screened for choosing the most suitable persons for vacant posts.

Recruitment of candidates is the function preceding the selection, which helps create a pool of prospective employees for the organization so that management can select the right candidate for the right job from this pool. The main objective of the recruitment process is to fasten the selection process. Therefore, organizations use these practices to increase the likelihood of hiring individuals who have the right skills and abilities to be successful in the target job, and better recruitment and selection strategies result in improved organizational outcomes (Catano et al., 2010).

The more effectively organizations recruit and select candidates, the more likely they are to hire and retain satisfied employees.  In addition, the effectiveness of an organization’s selection system can influence bottom-line business outcomes, such as productivity and financial performance. (Ekwoaba et al., 2015).

In Cameroon and other parts of the world, recruitment and selection processes are practiced to some extent even though job placements in both public and private organizations are more or less affiliated to networking and political inclinations. It is vital that organizations select people with the quality essential for continued success in this competitive global economy of today. The only means of achieving this success is through proper recruitment and selection practices.

The recruitment and selection process is vitally important to any organization desirous of attracting and appointing qualified personnel. Getting the right people in the right place at the time doing the right job is an essential element of the recruitment and selection process in organizations.

In order for the process to meet desired goals, it must be valid and measurable, with minimum adverse impact. Selection processes are vital for a successful organization, having the right staff can “improve and sustain organizational performance” (Petts, 1997).

The basic purpose of recruitment and selection is to create a talent (pool) of candidates to enable the selection of best candidates for the organization, by attracting more and more employees to apply in the organization as well as to choose the right persons to fill the vacant positions in the organization which must be based on merit or technical knowhow.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In recent years, there has been increasing in the rate of business failure, closure, and at best low productivity, and in most cases; it was due to a low level of organizational performance.

Nowadays the recruitment and selection policies of companies are more often than not highly negligible, though it is an important research area that provides valuable insights into how the labor market functions and the social reproduction of organizations (Windolf, 1986).

It is an ongoing perception that some companies in Cameroon have influence in the labor market in the allocation of resources. By so doing, the Cameroon labor market is being transformed into the buyer’s market where companies’ preferences become dominant in a manner that, discrimination in employment relation practices is interpreted as an outcome of rational decision making of formal organizations rather than the eccentricity of individuals.

This is assumed to have been inspired by the several ethnic groups in the country. The ethnic succession strategy has become a cultural practice. It is more often employed as a power-sharing instrument as well as a tool to divide and rule, (Nyamnjoh, 2011). Appointments to government and other important political positions are made strictly across ethnic lines. This has the tendency to have infested prestigious companies as well resulting in the marginalization of some categories of employable individuals irrespective of their contingencies in human capital.

Nowadays, scholars and practitioners claim that today’s companies are in the middle of a “war for talent”. This implies that companies that can attract and recruit the most talented employees will be the most successful. This struggle for talent is based on the assumption that the employees’ competence is the door to success.

The recruitment process is therefore very important for any organization, Mistakes in the recruitment process can have serious devastating consequences for companies ‘survival and success (Storey et al., 2009). Contrary to this premise and as cited above, information from the Cameroon National Institute of Statistics (2006) reveals that underemployment in the country which stands at 68.3% is a product of corruption and discriminatory practices by some employers.

Recruitment policies often include issues about considering internal applications, developing existing employees, handling and processing applications in a fast and proper way, not exaggerating or making false claims in the job advertisement, and not discriminating in any way (Stredwick, 2000). The high rate of underemployment in the country is an indication that most recruitment strategies are flawed.

Corruption has been identified as an important factor in the discriminatory practices that characterize the Cameroon labor market and/or employment policies. The Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2009 ranked Cameroon number 146 on a scale of 180 corrupt countries.

Even though Cameroon has an overall legal framework for a well-functioning labor market in place, discriminatory recruitment and selection approaches tend to render this inflexible and inefficient hence posing a threat to the broader normative and institutional framework of democratic governance thus, requiring some attention.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The objectives of this study are to:

Examine the recruitment and selection policy.

Analyze the recruitment and selection process.

Assess the impact of recruitment and selection on organizational productivity.

1.4 Research Questions

What is the form of recruitment and selection policy implementation in CDC Group Rubber plantation Tiko?

What are the various selection processes used in CDC Group rubber plantation Tiko for recruitment?

What is the effect of recruitment and selection on organization productivity?