SELECTION AND TRAINING IN ORGANISATIONS

SELECTION PRACTICES

The objective of effective selection is to match individual characteristics like ability, experience, etc. with the requirements of the job. when management fails to get a proper match, both employee performance and satisfaction suffer.

Job analysis involves developing a detailed description of the tasks involved in a job, determining the relationship of the given job to other jobs, and ascertaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for an employee to successfully perform the job. it allows one to create a job description and job specification.

The job description is a written statement of what a job holder does, how it is done, and why it is done. It can be used to describe the job to potential candidates.

Job specification is a statement of the minimum acceptable qualifications that an employee must possess to perform a given job successfully. it identifies the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to do the job effectively.

Popular selection devices

A few of the most important and popular selection devices are interviews, written tests, and performance simulation tests.

1. INTERVIEWS: Interviews have become a widely used way of selection. these unstructured tests of short durations involve casual and random made-up questions. it is often a very biased and unreliable method of selection yet most widely used. interviewers tend to favor applicants who share their attitudes. interviews are best used to assess an applicant's applied mental skills, level of consciousness, and interpersonal skills.

2. WRITTEN TESTS: the past few decades have seen a rise in the use of these tests. Managers have come to realize that there are valid tests available that can help predict who will be successful on a job. tests in intellectual ability, spatial and mechanical ability, and motor ability have shown to be moderately valid predictors for semiskilled and unskilled operative jobs in industrial settings. with an increase in focus on ethical issues, integrity tests have gained popularity. paper-and-pencil tests are also popular to measure dependability, carefulness, responsibility, and honesty.

3. PERFORMANCE-STIMULATION TESTS: These have recently gained immense popularity what better way to find out the capability of performing a job than to make them perform it? the 2 most popular performance-stimulation tests are work sampling and assessment centers. work sampling involves the creation of a miniature replica of a job to evaluate the performance abilities of job candidates and is best used for routine jobs like mechanics, welders, carpenters, and electricians. Assessments tests on the other hand, are a set of tests designed to evaluate a candidate's managerial potential. these sets of tests may include interviews, in-basket problem-solving exercises, leaderless group discussions, and business decision games.

TRAINING

Even the most competent employees require constant and timely training to remain constant. training can include everything, from teaching employees basic reading skills to advanced courses in executive leadership. The 4 most basic skill categories are basic literacy skills, technical skills, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving skills. these days, however, ethical training is also gaining popularity which is best learned by example.

Literacy Skills: in many third-world countries illiteracy is a huge problem and giving workers basic literacy skills is very important for organizations. This problem is even faced in developed countries like America.

Technical skills: most training is directed at improving and upgrading an employee's technical skills. with the introduction of new technology and new structural designs, training has gained newfound importance.

Interpersonal skills: to some degree, an employee's performance also depends on his ability to effectively interact with his co-workers and boss. this includes learning how to be better listeners, communicators, and effective team players.

Problem-solving skills: efficient problem-solving skills are very important and include logic, reasoning, developing alternatives, analyzing problems, etc

TRAINING METHOD

Training methods are best classified as formal and informal training or on-the-job and off-the-job training.

Historically training meant formal training. it is planned in advance and has a structured format.