Business Studies †Recruitment Essay

The purpose of the recruitment and selection process is to acquire a suitable number of employees with appropriate skills, in order to meet the man power requirements of the organisation. It is in the interests of the firm to achieve this goal at a minimum cost in terms of both time and resources. Businesses use several standard documents in the recruitment process, below are some of the key documentation used by businesses during recruitment. Authority to recruit – Once it is established that there is a need to fill a vacant post, managers need to know whether there is sufficient budget to cover the cost of the vacancy, although McDonalds are a large company they will have budgets for all their costs, this includes having a cash limits on recruiting as each employee costs à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½130 to train, this means authority to fill the post must be given before the recruitment process. Job Descriptions A job description should be created for every job role. This document should set out the overall purpose of the job and the key tasks and responsibilities of the post. Structure and components of a job description Component Function Job Title This should be a short descriptive title that explains the nature of the job, such as customer service assistant or senior team leader. Purpose Usually a one sentence summary of why the role exists: for example, to provide customer service support to retail sales team. Key Tasks These should be specific activities and described clearly using action words: for example, to co-ordinate, calculate and produce sales reports. Scope Of The Role Gives the boundary of responsibility: that is, who the job holder is responsible to, and who they are responsible for. This section should also list any budgetary responsibilities. Special Requirements Specific requirements such as shift r flexible work patterns, travelling requirements, essential languages and professional qualifications. A person specification is not a legal requirement but will be useful when writing a job advertisement and defining the qualities you are looking for in a candidate. Include the knowledge, experience and skills you would like them to have, separating those which are essential for the job from those which are desirable. It’s essential not to discriminate. A person specification describes the requirements a job holder needs to be able to perform the job satisfactorily. These are likely to include: – Education and qualifications – Training and experience – Personal attributes / qualities A job description describes the job; a person specification describes the person needed to do the job. A person specification can, therefore, form the basis for the selection of the most suitable person to fill the job. All job advertisements should be consistent with the job description and the person specification, which should be prepared well in advance before any position is advertised. All advertisements should be worded to attract suitable candidates who match the essential job and person criteria, and should provide a positive public image of the business. A business needs to make sure it attracts a sufficient number of suitably qualified applicants to apply for the job. So it needs to advertise in the right places. One of the key decisions a business like McDonalds needs to make is whether to restrict the job to internal or to invite applications from people outside the company. There are benefits in keeping recruitment in – house: it is cheaper, it can be good for staff morale, and all applicants will already be familiar with the business. However, by looking for external applicants, companies will be able to draw from a much wider pool of talent and, obviously, all businesses need fresh blood at some stage. Below shows the options for advertising vacancies a company like McDonalds may use. Internal Advertisements External Advertisements On Company Notice boards Newspapers – Local Or National In A Company Newsletter Contact with schools, colleges and universities In A Internal Vacancy Bulletin Specialist Magazines On The Premises In he Form Of A Poster Job Centres E-mail To All ( Or Selected ) Staff Internet – Company Website Recruitment Agencies Recruitment Or Job Fairs Radio And Television Advertisements A job advertisement for McDonalds should include * Job title and job description * Title and description of the organisation * Location of the work and any travel involved * Type of person required (qualifications/experience * Pay, conditions, benefits ( to be competitive and make the post appealing ) * How to apply ( such as a complete application form, send in CV and letter of application ) * Timescale (closing date for receipt of applications). The advert could also include other material that might attract a wider net of suitable candidates. For example, it might briefly outline the philosophy of the organisation, its positive attitude to disabled people, or its commitment to family – friendly policies. In general, the advert should be presented so that it captures reader’ attention, arouses interest in the company, creates desire and incites readers to action. A good advertisement will attract prospective candidates but deter those who would be unsuitable to meet the specifications of the job. It is also essential that the job advert conforms with equal opportunities legislation. There are several different methods used by businesses to compile a short list of candidates. Most typically, applicants are asked to return curriculum vitae (CV), a completed application form or a letter of application. Sometimes they are asked to supply two, and occasionally all three, of these different means of job application. These applications are then used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of applicants, which allow the business to draw up a short list to go through to the final stage of the selection process. At this point, there is a further piece of recruitment documentation used within the interview process – a form of recording and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate during the interview. This is considered as part of an in – depth look at interview techniques. The whole interview process is very important for McDonalds because they want their organisation to attract and recruit the highest calibre people available. Having recruited them it’s crucial that McDonalds then go on to develop and motivate them, meaning they can perform to their highest potential. McDonalds are keen to give recognition to their staff and reward them according, this then motivates them to work harder and achieve more with McDonalds, this is done by giving them a employee discount card, they also give them service awards every 3, 5, 10, 20 years you have stayed with McDonalds, each time they will get something special, such as a holiday trip, more time off work, McDonalds will then hope that this scheme will keep employees on board for many years, as there’s always something else for the employee to achieve, having employees stay longer for McDonalds is also a priority so for them, this is because it saves a lot of money as they don’t have to go through the recruiting and training process, for employees to stay longer they will try to recruit friends or family members of existing employees. Another scheme they use to give recognition and to motivate staff is employee of the month / year awards. This rewards consistent hard workers by giving extended holidays and by also putting their name, picture and McDonalds location on a plaque with other contenders for the award, McDonalds know there are other fast foods stores potential employees could join, so that’s the reason why McDonalds offer competitive pay and benefits to their staff, for instance in the first year alone McDonalds offer 3 pay reviews, so if a member of staff has excelled they will get an pay rise as an incentive to work, added to this they also get a private healthcare and free life assurance after 1 year. At McDonalds the staff can become bored due to the repetitiveness of the work, therefore McDonalds need to ensure that their employees are motivated and there is good morale, otherwise they can potentially suffer of poor performance, as a result poor performance can lose the business a lot of money and may deter customers away from there branch. So to make sure employees are happy with their job McDonalds may consider introducing job rotation to the member of staff if they feel he/she is capable. E.g. more outgoing people are more suited to working on the tills and checking over customers, while less talkative or those who can handle pressure are better suited to working in the kitchen area. Motivating staff isn’t just about incentives, it has much to do with the way employers treat and manage staff. Give your staff Purpose Responsibility Empower staff to carry out decision making within the job role. Delegate control and responsibility to the team leaders or supervisors for managing their team. Goals Provide the staff with clear goals that are both challenging and achievable. Resources Ensure staffs are provided with the resources they need to carry out their work effectively. Support Provide support for to the staff, including training and guidance with open and frank communication. Variety The very spice of life! McDonalds should give there staff some element of variety to avoid boredom in their work. Fairness It’s important the branch manager is seen to be fair respected. Regular talk time Through talking on a regular basis, the manager will soon be alerted to any issues that may affect the staff’s short term performance. Encouragement Encouragement to the staff to put forward their ideas and suggestions are important, as this enables the staff to feel that the managers trust them and their opinions. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs In 1935 Abraham Maslow identified five categories of human needs: * Physiological needs (basic life supporting needs such as food and water) * Needs for safety and security (such as a stable, predictable and ordered environment without fear) * Social needs (such as the need for social interaction; belonging to a family or group) * Needs for recognition and esteem (such as the approval and respect of others; influence an power over others) * Needs for self realisation (in order to develop as a person fulfil one’s potential and achieve one’s goal) Although outdated, it is accurate and there is a lot of comparisons to this and how McDonalds operate, for instance McDonalds will try to recruit friends of the family or relatives because it creates a sense of friendship amongst the workers, furthermore McDonalds take their staff on monthly outings to socialise such as going bowling or to the pub, this allows the staff to get to know each other better hence creating a bond between them all. PEST factors are an important part of the recruitment process and has made the whole process more effective, politically changes in legislation, change in policies, may effect how McDonalds can recruit people, for instance there may be a change in the minimum age if it happened to rise, this means McDonalds would lose a large percentage of their employees and would have to spend a lot of money in hiring and recruiting new staff. Mirroring this the maximum age might increase, allowing McDonalds to take on more experienced workers. There may also be Trade restrictions and tariffs which limit how much the business is able to buy and sell, this may result in a reduction of staff if McDonalds have to lower their trading levels, furthermore McDonalds will have to adjust their recruitment process to the changes of the minimum wage, if this slowly increases then it may result in McDonalds recruiting a lower amount of staff, to make up for the money lost in the wage rise. Economic factor effects the change in employment figures, change in disposable income, changes in lifestyle, for instance if a branch is in an area where the cost of hiving is high, they may have less money to spend on take away food, and opt for cooking at home, which is generally cheaper. Additionally if there is a brand new food store opening close by, McDonalds may face fierce competition from them, because the public in general enjoy trying new things, they may find themselves becoming â€Å"bored† of McDonalds and opt for going to the new store for lunch instead, this can then result if a loss of income for a branch which may result in a cut of staff, however to counteract this McDonalds regularly create new meals, to keep customer interest and provide the public with a verity, for instance recently health has been brought up as a concern for McDonalds with a documentary called â€Å"super size me† highlighting the effect of eating fast food on a regular basis, as a result McDonalds has increased the amount of salad’s and nutritional menu’s, and have scrapped the super size meal. Additionally if Interest rates are increased in a certain area, it may mean result in short shortages, or McDonalds offer a lower basic wage to their staff, however in an area where the average household income is high, McDonalds may have to increase their basic wage to match other stores locally, to attract employees. Social factor effects people’s trends, family, culture, demographics, qualifications, for example if people are looking for healthier food, because McDonalds burgers has been in the media getting stick, its likely people will avoid McDonalds, during this period McDonalds may need to create a menu with more healthier foods such as salad, to help get back the customers, if McDonalds are getting a lower income they may have to cut down on their employee numbers. McDonalds may also look to open a store in an area where there has been a sign of an increase in the Population growth rate; this will not only create jobs for locals, but also be profitable for McDonalds. They will also target area’s where there is a high proportion of their target audience which is generally younger people with a reasonable amount of disposable income. Technological effects the advances in equipment, improved technology, news ways of working, this means when recruiting McDonalds may prefer taking on younger employees as in general they are able to work with and learn how to use computers and more technological equipment better then the older generation are. This technological revolution means a faster exchange of information beneficial for businesses as they can react quickly to changes within their operating environment. Those businesses, which are slow to react, will fall at the first few hurdles. Furthermore The Internet is having a profound impact on the strategy of organisations, no more so than McDonalds. McDonalds use their website to get the message across to their customers that they are healthy, all the nutritional values are available, as well as a section on how to stay healthy, their website is typically designed to attract their target audience. Interview Assessment Form Marking Criteria Mrs Carver Mr Checketts Appearance 8/10 6/10 Attitude 9/10 4/10 Personality 8/10 5/10 Education 8/10 7/10 Experience 10/10 8/10 Career Goals 8/10 4/10 How they handled the stress of the interview 10/10 3/10 Skills 7/10 6/10 Aptitude 9/10 5/10 For the poster to stand out its important that its bright and attractive, rather than using a white background I opted for using an image of the outside of a McDonalds store so people can straight away tell what it is, the big bright M, also grabs the attention of viewers, whilst gives the poster an identity. â€Å"McDonalds Recruiting† is in large Green Font so it stands out, it’s also on a yellow background, otherwise the text would be to hard to read against the image, the details of the job description and location is underneath so applicants are able to apply. Beneath this is two images, one showing the recognisable Ronald McDonald and a member of staff with a smiling customer, this gives the business a good image, as well say showing McDonalds operates around a friendly and cheerful atmosphere. The next image is the writing McDonalds against a scenic background, this stands out as it’s a contrast to the rest of the poster. However it’s effective as it’s attractive and relaxing, which is important, as it’s a generally busy looking poster.