As we all know, the recruitment and selection process for organizations is the role of the Human Resource department. When it comes to Organizations in Pakistan, the entire concept of HR and its responsibilities is new.
That is why, education and awareness about the recruitment and selection process of HR is necessary to elevate the organization’s workforce infrastructure. Only one example will be enough that is worth quoting. Many employees in Pakistan mistake the Human Resource Department as the Human Rights Department whether it’s the matter of recruitment or selection.
This article will outline the details regarding the recruitment and selection process in Pakistan, along with steps in the recruitment process, selection process steps, differences in recruitment and selection, and much more. But first of all, go through the overview of some basic concepts:
What Is Recruitment?
Recruitment is like an art and defined as a process of finding the candidate most suitable for an organization to fill the new or vacant position. Recruiting the right employees for an organization is a challenging task for employers who want the business to succeed and elevate ROI.
That is where the HR department plays the strategic role since they are responsible for hiring the best resources and involving them in the productivity of the organization completely.
What Is Selection?
Selection refers to the wide range of techniques used to determine a candidate’s essential credentials, skills, and suitability for a new position or open job.
Managers and supervisors are responsible for deciding to hire a candidate. However, it is the responsibility of the Human Resource Manager to guide and assist hiring managers in this whole process. The selection process also involves a high cost, and that is why it becomes crucial to be fair while selecting the right candidate and ensure the suitable candidate selection.
What Is The Difference Between Recruitment And Selection?
Well, the differences between recruitment and selection are a lot. Recruitment is the process of for searching potential applicants, and attracting them to apply for newly opened or currently vacant positions in the organization. On the other hand, Selection refers to the process where shortlisted candidates are screened thoroughly and hired by an organization.
We are listing the key recruitment and selection differences below:
|
Differences |
Recruitment |
Selection |
|
Definition |
A search activity to find potential candidates to encourage them to apply for a vacancy | A hiring process where the best candidates are selected and offered a job in the organization |
|
Approach |
The approach increases the talent in the application pool |
The approach reduces the candidates from the application pool to find the ideal one |
| End Goal | To attract and invite more talent to apply for a vacancy |
Evaluate the applications to choose the most suitable candidate |
|
Key Function |
Advertising the vacancy and providing the job | Offer the job after a thorough screening of the candidate |
|
Order in the hiring process |
First |
Second |
|
Process |
Organizations use various sources to notify about the jobs. An application form is provided to the candidates |
Applicants submit the form, get screened, attempt the test for thorough evaluation and then the job is offered to the best one |
| Job Agreement | Recruitment is only a communication about the open positions and vacancies, so there is no job agreement or contract |
Selection involves the job agreement and employment contract between the employer and the employee |
7 Steps In The Recruitment And Selection Process
There are seven recruitment and selection process steps. The steps in the recruitment process involve the creation of criteria to specify the qualities of the candidate to be chosen. Then, resumes and applications are reviewed. Now the selection process steps take place and candidates are interviewed and tested before making a final offer to the most qualified candidate.
Let’s discuss all these steps in detail:
1. Identify the Hiring Needs and Planning
First of all, identification of the organization’s hiring needs is carried out in the planning phase. Recruiters are needed to determine if the vacant role requires a permanent candidate or temporary, full-time, or part-time, and if the training is required, what will be the compensation, and how performance valuation will take place. Planning also consists of the consideration if the job requirement is on-site or can be done remotely.
2. Develop and Publish the Job Description
By determining the needs of the company, the job description is developed along with the position specification. Things that should be included in the job descriptions are:
- The employees’ duties and responsibilities
- The required qualifications
- The necessary experience related to the job
Development of the job description and its specifications takes place through management input and in-depth analysis to make sure company goals are met. The technical and soft skills are described in the job description to meet the work expectations efficiently.
The specifications determine the qualities of an ideal candidate you are looking for, how the interviews will be conducted, and what to include in a salary package.
3. Source and Screen Applicants
Now you can actively find candidates through internal and external sources and attract candidates. Recruiters often use employee referrals and existing candidates to find the source. Also, hiring agencies, job advertisements, recruitment drives in universities, or professional associations methods are used for candidate sourcing.
After sourcing the candidates, the screening process starts which narrows down the candidate’s pool and selects them for interviews. The screening process comprised reviewing resumes, evaluation of the education of each candidate, professional certifications, overall experience, and professional achievements that align with job requirements and specifications.
Screening becomes much easier through Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software that identifies applications on technical grounds. The narrowed-down candidates are then contacted through email or telephone to determine the candidate’s availability for preliminary questions. Screening clarifies the skill set of a candidate, his or her education, and expectations for the salary.
4. Conduct Interviews
Now interviews are conducted in-person or online/virtually to meet with selected candidates and learn more about them. Interviews usually check candidates for:
- Their professional backgrounds, career goals, and skills
- Questions to determine the candidate’s cultural compatibility with the company
- The technical background and knowledge about the job industry
- Assessment of the candidate’s personality
The interview may be comprised of a single session or it may take multiple sessions. There may be panel interviews. Interviews also assess:
- The response of the candidate to stress
- How a candidate uses skills and experience in the job
- How a candidate has worked as a team member
- What a candidate is looking for in a potential employer.
5. Assessments and Tests
Assessments and tests become necessary in some kinds of jobs. From work sample tests to honor tests and tests related to job knowledge, recruiters and hiring managers ensure assessment should become the best predictor of a candidate’s job performance.
It not only lets managers compare the work quality of a candidate with the rest of the applicants but also evaluates if the right candidate can deliver the ideal performance. Although not all jobs need the test valuation; a full assessment works well in case an organization is hiring graduates with little experience or professional career.
6. Reference and Background Checks
By this point among the selection process steps, organizations are left with one to three candidates. That’s where an employer checks a candidate’s background, verifies the employment record, and contacts the provided references before making an offer.
It is really important to verify the provided information just to check if the provided information by the candidate is accurate or not. Also, it clears your doubts about a candidate’s certain skills or competencies.
The background check may include:
- Confirmation of the candidate’s good conduct
- Checking the candidate’s criminal record
- Checks for the candidate’s repute that involves a high responsibility
7. Selection and Onboarding
The last recruitment and selection process steps include offering a job to your ideal candidate. At this stage of selection, an offer letter with the job start date, salary and compensation, job working hours, and job details and duties.
The selection and onboarding may also include the lawyer consultation to include the legal verbiage in an offer letter. After the offer acceptance of the candidate, a comprehensive onboarding is conducted so that the newly hired candidate can learn about the company, and its culture and feel comfortable in the new environment. Onboarding lets the candidate be aware of performance expectations plans, the company’s policies, procedures, and other things.
Unique Aspects Of Recruitment In Pakistan
Navigating the hiring and employment compliance in Pakistan are important aspects that should be kept in mind if you need any expansion in the region. Recruiters and hiring managers must ensure they’re meeting Pakistan employment compliance laws.
Also, all companies in Pakistan are needed to draft all the paperwork related to employment. Most organizations do not have a proper framework or structured recruitment and selection process. That is why it is important to conduct proper job analyses, a detailed job description, and detailed employee screening to help you find and attract the right talent.
Also, there are some recruitment services agency in Pakistan that are providing external HR services, and most of them have very little experience. That is why the recruitment and selection process in Pakistan is not well established. But it is growing rapidly and will flourish soon in the upcoming years.
Challenges And Considerations
Recruiting and selection have become challenging these days, indeed. The challenges are more with teams getting leaner budgets getting tight and the results expected are the same. We are outlining some of the most common challenges related to recruitment and selection in Pakistan that you might be facing along with the considerations to overcome them.
Attracting Top Talent
Discovering the right talent in a pool full of irrelevant applications and candidates left you with limited options. Recruiters end up choosing the best available person at that time rather than choosing the best suitable candidate for the job.
That is why it’s most challenging to attract and find the right candidate for the vacant position. To overcome it, recruiters must:
- Be clear about the job requirements while advertising it
- Minimum Salary in Pakistan and what company offers to employee
- Use ‘knock-out’ questions in the application form to address the key concerns directly.
- Include yes/no questions so that you can sort out the candidates in the first place
Ensuring Fairness and Objectivity
Organizations must put aside their preferences when it comes to attracting and hiring candidates. It is the legal obligation of every organization to provide equal opportunities for everyone, and that is why ensuring fairness and objectivity while hiring is highly recommended.
Not only it will help in creating a workplace that is inclusive but also enable you to benefit from the positive effects of diversity.
To implement objective hiring practices, one can use techniques like properly structured interviews and hiring software to screen out irrelevant candidates.
Balancing Speed and Quality
Hiring teams always try to fill the vacant positions as soon as possible to avoid operations delays. Yet, it may take time to hire a suitable candidate which puts pressure on recruitment professionals and frustrates hiring managers as well.
That is why finding a qualified candidate in less time is challenging and keeping the balance is more of a headache. Often hiring managers fail to reach the decision timely which results in the escaping of the best candidates to somewhere else.
To overcome this:
- One should eliminate the unnecessary hiring stages
- Leverage the existing talent pipeline
- Communicate with the candidate quickly and effectively
- Use Applicant Tracking System,
- Set a realistic hiring timeline for hard-to-fill job roles
Candidate Experience
Providing candidate experience is important when it comes to employer branding, and attracting the right candidates when you are posting job offers. Treating the candidates during the hiring process is a reflection of how you will treat them after onboarding. A bad experience may result in a candidate rejecting the job offer. Also, a positive candidate experience enhances your organization’s reputation.
To overcome this, you have to be transparent with the candidate about your feedback time, regularly follow them up, and not ghost them during the hiring process.
Final Words
Vista Outsourcing is a leading recruitment agency in Pakistan that delivers the promises to their client need. Coming to conclude this guide on the recruitment and selection process in Pakistan. We have discussed in detail both operations related to HR and the talent acquisition team. Following the recruitment and selection process steps ensures smooth hiring and provides a good experience for candidates.
The recruitment and selection landscape in Pakistan is not well structured yet. However, companies are focusing more and more on streamlining the recruitment and selection process to enhance productivity and ensure the hiring of candidates with relevant skills, and experience.
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