SELECTION OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Selection is defined as the process of determining from among the applicants who can meet the job
requirements and can be offered the vacant position in the organization. It is the deciding point, which
determines who among the applicants has the personal qualities that match the requirements for the
position.

Personnel Requirement Form (PRF) is used to make personal requisitions to the HRD on the
organization’s manpower needs.

Selection Procedure on How to Get the Most Qualified Applicants:

 Stage 1 - Establishing selection procedure. Successful employee selection is dependent on a clear
understanding of a job's components.
 Stage 2 - Identify and choose selection criteria, predictors and instruments to be used. Weighing
job duties can help the employer assess the qualifications of competing candidates. Each skill,
knowledge area and ability is rated according to its importance to the job.
 Stage 3 - Gather and evaluate information about applicants. Applicant skills can be evaluated
through applications, interviews, tests, reference checks, letters of recommendation and physicals.
Some selection tools are more effective than others, but a combination of tools is usually best.
Factors reflecting worker motivation such as punctuality and attendance may be elicited within
the interview, but contacting previous employers may give more reliable information.
 Stage 4 - Make communication decisions whether to select or reject. Following a thorough
selection process enables you to base a decision on substantial data rather than on intuition alone.
It is worth starting over with the recruitment process if you are not satisfied with any of the
applicants. Offering the job to someone "because we've come this far" could mean hiring the
wrong person for the job.

Who Makes the Selection Decisions?

The HRD is a staff department and has a functional authority to assist line managers in all related
personnel functions. The final decision to hire is usually left up to operating department executives.

The Selection Process:

 Preliminary Screening
 The first step in the assessment of an applicant for the job is the initial interview or
preliminary screening. This step deals with obvious factors such as voice, physical
appearance, personal grooming, educational background, professional training and
experience that need to be assessed. The following personal traits and qualities are the
important things to consider in the preliminary screening process:
a. Aptitude and interest indicate our natural abilities, capacity for learning, and
desires to do certain jobs.
b. Attitudes and needs indicate an applicant's frame of mind, emotional and mental
maturity, sense of responsibility and authority, and future motivation.
c. Analytical and manipulative abilities indicate our thinking process intelligence
level and ability to use knowledge effectively in any assigned
d. Skills and technical abilities indicate ability to perform specific operations and
technical aspects of the job. This results from education, training and experience
and tends to predict what one can do if properly placed oriented, developed and
motivated.
e. Health, energy and stamina indicate physical ability to perform the assigned task
satisfactorily especially those involving manual and managerial duties.
 f. The person's value system provides a clue to motivation, goals, objectives and
work values and perseverance. Applicants who pass the preliminary interview are
asked to fill out an application form provided by the company. The interviewer
usually asks the applicant to answer specific questions and looks for significant
reactions and expressions.
 Styles of Interview:
a. Structured interview - follows a set a procedures and the interviewer sets the
leads. Directive interview is usually structured. Structured interviews are usually
more effective in promoting equal opportunities for all applicants.
b. Unstructured interview - is where the applicant takes the lead. The unstructured
interview provides no specific reference and the applicant is given a free hand in
talking about himself and the interviewer makes an assessment.
c. Panel or round-table interview - is usually done for managerial and supervisory
employees. The applicant meets a panel of interviewers and seeks to facilitate the
polling of judgments with prominent members of the working organization.
 The Application Form
 The applicant is required to fill out the company's official application form after passing
the preliminary interview. The company's application forms contain more information
that the company may need in MIS files or some information that may be required during
the in-depth interview. Application forms vary from company to company. Employment
details are important during the interview process.
 By careful screening the employee's information about education, the school where
courses were attended, employment data, years of experience in a particular job, salary
received and membership in organizations may be found closely related success on the
job.
 Graphology is the art and science in the analysis of the individual's traits through his
handwriting. It can reveal the level of intelligence, emotional stability imagination and
ability to work with others as well as discover talents and capacities.
 Testing and Evaluation of Results
 Tests are still the commonly used instruments for determining the qualifications and
talents of the application for a particular job.
 Classification of tests based on the personal characteristics sought from the applicant:
a. Intelligence Test - it is widely used to measure mental ability or general learning
ability. There is no good definition of intelligence but it is commonly associated
with one's personal capacity for learning and doing things that he learns.
b. Aptitude Test - It measures the person's capacity to learn a given job, provided
there is adequate training. This type of test is usually administered for
mechanical and clerical positions
c. Interest Test - It is derived from hereditary and environmental factors. It tries to
predict the success in the job if thee person's interest and the job are properly
matched. For example, if the person is interested in operating mechanical
instruments he should be placed in a situation where there are mechanical
operations. If his interest is in art, the nature of the job must be related to art
works.
d. Personality Test - It is considered as an important instrument to test the
personality of the applicant especially for supervisory and managerial positions,
as they have to relate with their co-worker's in the industry. Practitioners of HRM
believe that selected personality characteristics may be even more important than
job knowledge or skill, as emotional maturity influences the ability to withstand
stress and strain to be objective and gain the respect and cooperation of others in
the organization.
 e. Achievement or Proficiency Test - It tries to measure the applicant's knowledge
of a given job. It tries to eliminate "trade bluffers" who profess to know a
particular type of work. Trade bluffers are people who claim knowledge of a
particular type of work or experience that they do not actually possess.
 In-depth Interview
 The in-depth interview is the most important part of the selection process. After passing
all tests required, the applicant is now ready to formally enter into the selection process.
All the relevant information about the applicant is brought into focus at this point as the
final decision to hire the individual is made during this interview.
 Evaluating References
 References are important in finally assessing the applicant's worth for the position.
References to be credible must be checked with utmost confidentiality if one would like
to get a true picture of the individual who would like to join the organization.
 Three Kinds of References:
a. Academic Reference - This may be requested from applicants who are new
graduates. This may be addressed "to whom it may concern" which tells about
the individual's academic performance together with his transcript of records.
Details may include co-curricular activities and the students’ performance in
college.
b. Character Reference - This reference may come from some persons in the
community that are familiar with the individual in their place of residence. This
may reveal records on the applicant about his relations with the people in the
community. A barangay clearance is usually required from the applicant so that
the organization will know that he had no adverse records in the community.
c. Work or Experience Reference -To get the most valid information about the
applicant, the work reference check must be mailed to the previous employer
stating the confidentiality of the information. It must be in the form of a checklist
for the convenience of the person giving the information.
 Physical Examination
 This may be the last hurdle in the selection process. The applicants undergo physical
examination at the company clinic or an authorized hospital to determine the physical
fitness of the applicant for the job. The applicant must pass the physical test as he is
certified as being in good health.
 Importance of Medical examinations:
a. To screen out those physically incapable of doing the job.
b. To prevent employment of those with high incidence of absenteeism due to
illness or accidents.
c. To prevent hiring of people with communicable diseases or who are influenced
by drugs.
d. Ward off unwanted claims with worker's compensation laws, SSS, medical care
and suits for damages.
 Placements
 The applicant who is cleared in all requirements is finally offered the job. Final
acceptance for production workers is usually dependent on the approval of the immediate
manager or supervisor of the department where the applicant will be assigned.
 In practice the approval is usually arranged early in the selection process. Practice in
placement has been generally more formal and usually covered by company policies and
procedures in the hiring of the employees. The applicant is now formally introduced in
the group and undergoes an intensive orientation and induction program.
 Some companies assign the buddy system to formalize the new employee with the
workings of the department. He is given company manuals, rules and regulations and
 company brochures, and other company magazines to familiarize him with the work
environment.

Types of Employees:
 Probationary - An employee is hired for regular position based on an organizational staffing
pattern. A probationary employee can be terminated if he does not pass required reasonable
standards in the performance of the job or there exists a just cause for his termination. The
probationary period is for six months and after that period he is deemed a permanent or regular
employee.
 Regular or Permanent Employee - An employee who passed the probationary period and is
performing a regular activity in the business of the company, covered in the regular company
staffing system.
 Contractual Employee - Direct hiring of contractual employees should not be more than six
months or else they may be converted to regular employees. Hiring of contractual is usually done
through an employment agency to avoid regular employment.
 Casual or Seasonal Employee - An employee is hired for a particular work or service that is
seasonal in nature. Employment is temporary according to the volume of work.
 Apprenticeships - Apprenticeships is the development of the required skills for a particular type
of work. It is a learner's job to familiarize himself with the required skills. They may be regular or
probationary employees after passing the trade skills test during the apprenticeship period. Some
may come from on-the-job training required of students to graduate with certain degree.