How the recruitment and selection technique impacts on employee retention in an organization: A case study of Etisalat Telecommunication Company
Selection and recruitment of appropriate candidates in an organization is a difficult and challenging task. HR personnel is mostly engaged in shuffling through pages and pages of resumes and curriculum vitae, checking the qualifications and experience level of candidates and matching salary expectations. HR personnel are also responsible for the specialized initial training of newly appointed candidates. While carrying out this process, however, the HR department seldom takes into account the factor of retention of employees. Every employee who gets free training in an organization and a little experience can bank upon it by transforming a recruitment position into a stepping stone for brighter prospects. When a good deal of time and money is spent on training and grooming an employee, it is important that the organization takes appropriate benefit from the employee, which is impossible without retention.
Certain factors affect retention negatively. A major factor is a salary. There are thousands of job openings and opportunities for youngsters, and they are always on a lookout for a pay hike. This is something the HR team cannot do anything about because a salary budget for each employee is fixed and it cannot be stretched too much no matter how talented and efficient an employee turns out to be. There are certain factors like recruitment and selection techniques which the HR team can certainly handle.
Some employees have unreasonable expectations from a job. They expect comfort, facilities privileges which they may not always deserve. People from various backgrounds come together and work as a team. Employees need to understand each other or else; there may be conflicts. If a healthy working atmosphere does not exist, employees are likely to quit a job. Sometimes, there are severe personality problems. Some people get tired or bored of doing the same kind of work for a very long time. They too may think of quitting. The skill of the HR department lies in designing recruitment policies that understand the psychology of employees, their needs and match their expectations.
Let us take the case of Estilat Telecommunications Company. It provides telecommunication services in UAE and is an old and reputed company with an excellent infrastructure. It is an award-winning and socially committed organization. The estimate has openings for different kinds of job profiles. The organization requires administrative staff with positions across the hierarchy from bottom to top. At the same time, it needs technical staff in specialized categories. After a scrutiny of the applications, the HR team arranges personal interviews for all positions. Beginning with normal questions related to qualifications, experience, technical knowledge, assessing soft skills, etc. the candidates are asked specific, pointed questions like "Why do you want to join Estilat and what can you do for the company?" Answering this kind of questions binds the candidates with some commitment on their part. When they give reasons why they want to join the company, their goals are clear. The interviewers also get an idea about how they wish to contribute towards the growth of the company. Any worthy contribution demands a certain amount of time. The candidates get an idea that they will have to remain with the company to achieve the goals that they have set for themselves. By the time they achieve the first level of goals, they get well-settled in the organization, begin to feel comfortable, get acquainted with the company policies and work culture and see a definite direction for development. Hence, they are not likely to think of another job after this initial teething period is crossed. "If the recruitment of candidates is done with honesty, then there will be no surveillance required on their work sincerity or punctuality," says Anuj Somany, and his quote goes a long way in giving an idea about retention of employees as well.
A candidate's potentials cannot be fully understood in a single meeting. The candidates have to face minimum two interviews and even more depending on the case. The interviewers do not give a green signal until they are fully satisfied. During the last meeting, the employees are provided details about salary packages, perks, and other benefits. Hence, the recruitment and selection of candidates at Estilat is a thorough process. It is so engaging that the candidate begins to develop an attachment to the company. He has to visit the premises several times. He has to meet different people of the HR team. This is nothing but a strategy, a trick on the part of the company to develop some bond with the new employee and to make sure that it is strengthened in the ensuing period.
New staff members are treated with utmost care and due respect at Estilat. They have the freedom to approach senior level managers and get their problems solved if any. It is made clear at the outset that every kind of support and assistance will be provided to them. No doubt the employees begin to build dreams of career growth in Estilat rather than depend on upon vague possibilities in other organizations. It is rightly said that known evils are better than unknown ones.
Estilat HR policies prove beyond doubt that selection and recruitment procedures and techniques play an important role in employee retention. "I am convinced that although training and development are important, selection and recruitment are even more important" opines Steven Covey.