EFFECTS OF RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS ON AN ESTATE SURVEYING & VALUATION FIRM’S PERFORMANCE

ESV OMOTOYOSI FADIPE, ANIVS, RSV, MRICS, MBA

Recruitment and selection forms a core part of the central activities underlying human resource management: namely, the acquisition, development and reward of workers. It frequently forms an important part of the work of human resource managers – or designated specialists within work organisations. However, and importantly, recruitment and selection decisions are often for good reason taken by non-specialists, by the line managers. There is, therefore an important sense in which it is the responsibility of all managers, and where human resource departments exist, it may be that HR managers play more of a supporting

advisory role to those people who will supervise or in other ways work with the new employee.

If the HRM function is to remain effective, there must be consistently good levels of teamwork, plus ongoing co-operation and consultation between line managers and the HR manager.’ This is most definitely the case in recruitment and selection as specialist HR managers (or even external consultants) can be an important repository of up-to-date knowledge and skills, for example on the important legal dimensions of this area.

Recruitment and selection is often presented as a planned rational activity, comprising certain sequentially-linked phases within a process of employee resourcing, which itself may be located within a wider HR management strategy.

Recruitment is the process of generating a pool of capable people to apply for employment to an organisation. Selection is the process by which managers and others use specific instruments to choose from a pool of applicants a person or persons more likely to succeed in the job(s), given management goals and legal requirements.’ In setting out a similar distinction in which recruitment activities provide a pool of people eligible for selection, it suggest that although the two functions are closely connected, each requires a separate range of skills and expertise, and may in practice be fulfilled by different staff members. The recruitment activity, but not normally the selection decision, may be outsourced to an agency. It makes sense, therefore, to treat each activity separately.

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Recruitment and selection can play a pivotally important role in shaping an Estate Firms’s or any organisation’s effectiveness and performance if organisations are able to acquire workers who already possess relevant knowledge, skills and aptitudes and are also able to make an accurate prediction regarding their future abilities. If we accept this premise then recruiting and selecting staff in an effective manner can both avoid undesirable costs – for example those associated with high staff turnover, poor performance and dissatisfied customers – and engender a mutually beneficial employment relationship characterised wherever possible by high commitment on both sides.

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An Estate Surveying and Valuation Firm is any organization registered that consists majorly of Estate Surveyors and Valuers and other professional in the built industry, registered in Nigeria in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) and the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVRBN). They usually render the following professionals services but not limited to these: VALUATIONS, ESTATE AGENCY, INVESTMENT ADVICE, PROJECT MANAGEMENT, PROPERTY MANAGEMEN, FEASIBILITY AND VIABILITY STUDIES, BUILDING SURVEYING, FINANCIAL SERVICES, ETC

Recruitment and selection is a topical area; while it has always had the capacity to form a key part of the process of managing and leading people as a routine part of organisational life, it is suggested here that recruitment and selection has also become ever more important as organisations increasingly regard their workforce as a source of competitive advantage.

Of course, not all employers engage with this proposition even at the rhetorical level. However, there is evidence of increased interest in the utilisation of employee selection methods which are valid, reliable and fair. For example, it has been noted that ‘over several decades, work psychology has had a significant influence on the way people are recruited

into jobs, through rigorous development and evaluation of personnel selection procedures’ (Arnold et al, 2005, p 135). In this chapter we will examine several contemporary themes in recruitment and selection including what is human as the competency approach and online recruitment.

Recruitment and selection does not operate in a vacuum, insulated from wider social trends, so it is very important to keep abreast of current research. A CIPD annual survey report, Recruitment, Retention and Turnover (2009d), showed how the financial crisis was biting in the field of HRM. The survey concluded that half of the companies surveyed claimed that the recession had a negative impact on their employee resourcing budgets and activities. 56 per cent of organisations focused more on retaining than recruiting talent, while four out of ten said that they recruited fewer people in the following year.

Interestingly, 72 per cent of respondents thought that employers would ‘use the  downturn’ as an opportunity to get rid of poor performers and bring about culture change. These specific findings epitomise the very close link between recruitment and selection and the wider social and economic context. This aspect of employee resourcing is characterised, however, by potential difficulties. Many widely-used selection methods – for example, interviewing –

are generally perceived to be unreliable as a predictor of jobholders’ performance in reality. Thus it is critically important to obtain a realistic evaluation of the process from all concerned, including both successful and unsuccessful candidates. There are ethical issues around selecting ‘appropriate’, and by implication rejecting ‘inappropriate’, candidates for employment.

Many Estate Firms and organizations in general seek to employ people who will ‘fit in’ with their organisation’s culture. This may be perfectly understandable. However, it carries important ethical overtones – for example, whether an employing organisation should be involved in shaping an individual’s identity. We put forward the view in this article that, notwithstanding the moral issues and practical difficulties outlined here, recruitment and selection is one area where it is possible to distinguish policies and practices associated with critical success factors and performance differentiators which, in turn, impact on organisational effectiveness in significant ways.

In order for an Estate Firms to conceptualize, organize, kick-start and maintain its operations, it needs the services of people to do that, not just anyone but competent and skilful people in their respective fields or profession. A firm will have to determine its manpower needs at any point in time to keep its activities running smoothly and effectively.

This need will have to be satisfied by sourcing for such manpower from diverse sources as the case may require. It is therefore pertinent that a sound and effective process of sourcing and selecting these competent and skilful people must be put in place and maintained to ensure a constant and consistent inflow of good class manpower into the organization. This activity is referred to as the recruitment and selection process.

Recruitment and selection is pivotal and strategic to the success and performance level of any serious minded organization particularly an Estate Surveying and Valuation Firm. This is largely so because the core production unit of any Estate Firm is its work force and any strength or deficiency in such workforce will have a direct impact on the Firms’s performance at any point in time.

Recruitment and selection has an important role to play in ensuring workers performance and positive organisational outcomes. It is often claimed that selection of workers occurs not just to replace departing employees or add to a workforce but rather aims to put in place workers who can perform at a high level and demonstrate commitment.

Recruitment and selection is widely agreed to be a process because of the series of activities that needs to be executed to achieve a desired result of putting together an excellent workforce. The process of recruitment and selection needs to be taken seriously to avoid critical failure in organization’s performance. Also, understanding the recruitment and selection policies procedures are said to be associated with high performance, commitment and successful organisational outcomes. Recruitment and selection methods should be carried out according to criteria of professionalism including reliability, validity and fairness.

Recruitment and selection is characterised also by potential difficulties and it is necessary for any Estate Firm to keep abreast of developments in the field.  Estate Firms/Organisations should increasingly be sensitive in their employment offering as younger generations have grown up with the notion of flexible working, while older people have an interest in flexible

working as an alternative to retirement. This is just one example of how current research can inform practice and also shows the critical importance of the social context in which recruitment and selection takes place.

Many Estate Firms have overtime overlooked the importance of a good recruitment and selection process when they decide to employ. Employment to them is seen as just a replacement of an outgoing staff or just an act to fill up vacant positions in the organization.

Many even view this process as a waste of time and resources, as employment can be carried out in any manner, so far staffs are employed. This is very worrisome as the performance or productivity of an organization is largely hinged on how sound and effective its process of recruitment and selection is at any point in time.

For instance, in a case study Estate Firm/Organization, prior to the period when the process of recruitment and selection began, they were struggling to achieve a higher level of performance. This was largely due to the lack of quality and committed staff. This was later traced to the lack of scrutiny at the period of absorbing these staff. Thus the company restructured and invested in a quality recruitment and selection process which brought about tremendous improvement in the performance level of the company.

In this process it is important for an Estate Firm/Organization to focus on the following objectives:

1. To indentify the recruitment and selection policy of the organization
2. To identify the trend of performance of the organization’s performance alongside with their respective recruitment and selection process for those periods.
3. To indentify the effects of the recruitment and selection policy and process on the organization’s performance over the years.
4. To also indentify the cumulative effects of recruitment and selection process on the organization as a whole.
5. To proffer effective and workable recruitment and selection process compatible with modern day techniques and situations.