Justification of selection process

Published 22 Feb 2017

Introduction

The process chosen is a combination of a number of techniques. First a job analysis is done, this is then followed by a description of the type of vacancy involved and the position is specified, a selection process is done and lastly a justification made for this choice.

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Job analysis

The purpose of the job analysis is to give a brief outline of all the requirements for the job. (Ervin, 1999) The method used is a combination of questionnaires, recommendations and observation. The observation will be done by the human resource manager who will find out what the physical and intellectual needs of a chef are. Recommendations will be done by members of staff from the affiliate restaurant that performs similar roles or those who supervise persons similar to the vacant position. Lastly, the method of Common Method Questionnaire will be used to obtain accurate information about the vacancy. This questionnaire will include five sections and 247 questions. The sections will be divided as follows; general background, decision making physical activities, contacts with people and work setting. The questions asked will include the following: Do you use cook books or TV recipes for your work? Ratings are also done by placing answers within four scales.

Job description

The job description contains the following information:

Department: Kitchen

Job title: Senior Chef

Responsibility: ensuring effective kitchen operation and customer service
Job purpose: to coordinate a team of chefs and provide customer care.

Main function: a) Kitchen duties- planning regular meals in the menu, planning specials, preparing meals and dishes to acceptable standards and adhering to strict hygienic standards.
b) Customer care- providing direct friendly service to customers or ensuring waiters and waitresses do it appropriately, monitoring the speed of food production and providing assistance in the presentation of food.

Special conditions: work will be done during the weekends and holidays. Overtime will also be necessary and will be paid accordingly and normal working hours will expected to be 32 hours.

Position specification

The company: The Tomato Deep Company is a restaurant that offers a variety of catering services from regular dishes to special functions like weddings and other entertainment activities.

Location: Massachusetts

Reporting relationships: the candidate who qualifies will report to the restaurant manager.

Basic function: The Senior chef will ensure that food is made to acceptable standards and will provide customer care.

Skills: supervising skills, meal presentation, meal preparation and customer care skills.

Education: the candidate should have a degree in Catering and food services.

Required experience: five to ten years experience in a busy restaurant.

Skills: Must be innovative when coming up with new menus

Must have good managerial skills to coordinate work done by other chefs

Must be an excellent communicator with an ability to work well under pressure

Selection Process

This aspect will involve use of a number of processes. Because the application will be advertised in print media, it will generate a lot of buzz. A number of processes will be necessary in order to eliminate a high number of candidates. (Michael, 2002)

Applications

A resume and application letter will be necessary for this process and it must contain information about one’s qualifications. The cover letter will be written manually and candidates must include all the information necessary from the job descriptions and must have at least the minimum qualification. (Jack, 2003)

Performance Exam

The performance exam will be conducted in order to determine whether candidates are able to do tasks related to the job. Notices will be given to applicants who passed through the first round. The exam will be conducted by chefs from Tomato Deep’s affiliate restaurant from Mississippi. The following will be examined during this process: quality of work (this will be checked by testing the dish prepared, and examining table presentations), safety (the candidate must adhere to strict HACCP standards in his/her food handling), adaptability (candidates must be able to come up with a suitable meal given certain ingredients) and lastly, their ability to work well under pressure (they will be given two groups to cater to while preparing the dish). (Schuler, 1998)

Panel interview

Candidates considered are those who passed the latter exam and results obtained from this process will make candidates eligible for another selection interview- this will only be for candidates who score a percentage greater than seventy. The Panel will be made up of three evaluators. Candidates will be asked questions relating to the position of a Chef and this will be done within a specific time i.e. fifteen minutes each.

Candidates will be categorized into three group starting from the least qualified to the most qualified: the first category will be called qualified, the second category is the well qualified group and the last category will be called Superior Candidate.

Selection Interview

This will be strictly for eligible candidates who will have been selected from the Panel interview. (Ervin, 1999) This will be conducted by the Chief Supervisor and some of the questions that will be asked in this interview include:
What makes you think you can perform this job?
How will you ensure that meals are innovative and exciting?
What are some of the things to look out for when doing a hazard analysis?
Give an example of dishes you can prepare for a wedding ceremony.
What international cuisines are you familiar with?
How would you ensure that your team keeps time yet does not compromise on food quality?
What did you learn from your previous job that you can apply here?
What can you suggest to ensure that the Tomato Deep restaurant remains ahead of the competition in the food industry?

The candidate who qualifies will be required to undergo medical checkups, drug screen and an investigation will be done on his/her background. On commencement, they will be given probation of six months. The employee must bring their driving license or passport with them. In addition to this they must be qualified to work in the country.

Justification of the selection process

Before the selection process was done, there was a job analysis done, the reason why this was done was to enable the recruiters to fully understand the job. It does not make any sense filling in a vacancy when the position itself is not well understood. From this evaluation, the selection methods were chosen.

The job analysis involved use of the Common Metric Questionnaire. The reason why this method was selected was because it can be completed by incoming employees. It is quite easy to follow and does not require any prior knowledge. It uses absolute ratings rather than relative ratings. This means that it is quite accurate. The same view is shared by Commission on Behavioural and Social Sciences and Education. (1999). In addition to the above advantages regarding this method of using questionnaires is the fact that a variety of jobs can be compared using this method. If there was another vacancy in the organization, it could have been rated alongside the chef position.

There are a variety of questionnaires or instrumental methods that could have been used. The reason why the CMQ method was singled out was because it does not have a deficiency in content coverage. It is quite exhaustive since over two hundred questions are asked. The questions asked are related to behaviour and are not abstract. This is quite important for a job that is mostly practical especially someone like a chef who will have some management responsibilities. The type of English used is quite simple i.e. eighth grade reading level; some other types of questionnaires like the PAQ require a reading level of postgraduate or college. Other methods of instrumental analysis have been limiting in terms of ability to solve problems relating to personnel. These other methods have also been problematic because they are too general and lack specifity. (Robert, 1993)Lastly, other methods of instrumental analysis require hiring job analysts and consultants, this can prove too be quite expensive to the interviewer.

Another method chosen for the job analysis was through observation. The reason this was selected was because it adds a human dimension to the process. Instrumental methods are quite good but they need to be complemented by adding a human touch to the survey.

The vacancy was communicated to interested candidates to eliminate the chance of biases which arise as result of personal references. Print media is also a good method of advertisement because it attracts a large pool of applicants. This increases the chances of getting qualified persons because one will be dealing with large numbers. (Sarah, 2007)

After the advertisement, application letters and resumes were sent. Those who did not posses the specified qualifications in their resumes should be eliminated while those who posses them ought to be invited for further examination. Subject matter content in the cover letter will also be analysed by an expert to further sieve candidates-applicants should portray honest information. Contact information will be obtained from these very applications. Information included in the application letter must be detailed relating directly to the position and only those who send their letters within due time will be considered hence late entrants will be automatically disqualified.

The importance of such a method is that one can be able to determine who meets the minimum qualification. This eliminates a large variety of applicants who may simply be trying their luck but have no idea whatsoever how to do the job. It helps in narrowing down the numbers and giving one an idea of the kind of personality applicants have through their grammar and organization in the application letter. This was the reason why the application letters were manually written and not online. (EL, 2007)

Performance exams were chosen because some candidates may be nervous in front of a panel of judges. It can eliminate suitable candidates who might be possessing real talent. This brings about a balance to the selection process by introducing a practical element. It also focuses on job specific skills as some candidates are so convincing verbally but they may not be able to met job needs. Performance processes also help in determining candidates thought process and their ability to prioritize tasks or to work well under pressure.

The Panel interview and the selection interview were chosen because they enable the employer and potential employee to get to know each other. It puts a face to the names and the qualifications. Because the interview questions are sometimes tricky, they help the interviewer to choose the fastest thinkers. This aspect is quite important in this job because it requires an ability to work well under pressure. The Panel comprised of one member from the Human Resources Department because they are quite conversant with detection of talent and they have an in-depth knowledge of the environment within the organization. They are at a good position to know who suits the position. The Panel also consists of a member from outside the work unit because they bring in a foreign element to the judgement process. They may be aware of some new things in the food industry and they also have no biases. (Southern Cross University, 2007)

The interview as a selection process is quite important because it focuses on core questions that entail to the job description. The questions act as a platform for sieving the candidates who give specific examples and those who do not. For example the first question listed above is a bit general but must be put in context by the interviewee through examples.

Another advantage of an interview is the fact that interaction is possible between both parties. Candidates can also ask any questions which may be unclear in the job advertisement or job description. This will also be another opportunity to find out what kind of personality a potential employee has. (Southern Cross University, 2007)

If the interviewer has run out of time, then he/she has a criterion which he/she can use to cut down on the candidates who qualify for the selection interview in a fair manner. This is possible because the Panel interview divides candidates into categories from the highest to the lowest potential. So not all the candidates who passed have to be interviewed a second time.

Conclusion

A selection process must be free of bias and should provide a suitable ground for choosing the right candidate. This is the reason why a combination of many methods was used. The disadvantages of one process were compensated by the advantages in another process. Also, a large pool of applicants was chosen to increase the chances of selecting the most suitable candidate for the job.

Reference

  • Sarah, L. (2007): Human Resource Management: Employee Attraction and Selection Guide
  • Schuler, R. (1998): Managing Human Resources; South Western College publishing.
  • Ervin, B. (1999): Recruiting and hiring outstanding Staff; a journal by the Ohio State University.
  • EL (2007): Selection process; retrieved from http://www.elinfonet.com/ ; accessed on 21st November
  • Michael, R. (2002): Personnel/ Human Resource Management; Prentice Press
  • Jack, E. (2003): The Human Resources Program Evaluation Handbook; McMillan Publishers.
  • Southern Cross University (2007): The selection process
  • Robert, J. (1993): Development of the Common Metric Questionnaire (CMQ)
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