Recruitment and Staff Selection, Research Paper Example

Abstract

The paper discusses ideal legal and ethical hiring practices. The topic of compliance with the federal and state laws that govern the process of selection and hiring is discussed. The paper provides recommendations and strategies necessary to reduce employees’ concerns about possible termination/ retaliation.

Introduction

The processes of recruiting and selecting the most prospective staff are surrounded by a number of controversies. Not only do employers risk engaging in unfair recruitment/ selection strategies, but at times, they consciously choose to discriminate against employees for the purpose of promoting their narrow interests. In its current state, recruitment, as well as selection, is being governed by a whole set of laws. Equal opportunity is fairly regarded as the basic principle of ideal legal and ethical hiring practices. Employers are also expected to operate clear principles and expectations with regard to termination, and to have well-developed policies and procedures necessary to promote equality and fairness among employees and job applicants.

Ideal Legal and Ethical Hiring Practices

That the vision of ideal legal and ethical hiring practices is necessarily associated with the concept of ‘fairness’ is difficult to deny. Naturally, the vision of fairness for every employee and job applicant will be different, but there are also the general principles of equality and fairness that can make any hiring practice ideally legal and ethical. The use of objective selection and evaluation tools is the necessary precondition for making hiring legal and ethical: by using these tools, employers can ensure that the probability of being offered a position directly depends on the quality of performance; that favoritism and politics are avoided; and that selection helps the most prospective employees take an offered position (Jordan, 1997). Ideal legal and ethical hiring practices imply the need for employers to communicate to the applicants – the latter should have the fullest information about how the hiring process works and what standards applicants must meet (Jordan, 1997). Making open decisions and providing feedback to unsuccessful candidates is both necessary and important to promote fairness in hiring; constructive criticism and respect to all participants will create an atmosphere of trust. such openness will also make sure that hiring decisions were fair and justified.

Selection and Recruitment: State and Federal Laws

The list of laws and regulations that currently govern the process of selection and recruitment in the American organizational environments includes Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, etc. (Redlich, 2001). When it comes go gender and sexual orientation, employers are prohibited from recruiting and hiring new employees in ways, which discriminate against them, based on their sexual orientation and gender. Employers cannot refuse to give employment applications to people because of their sexual orientation, and sexual orientation can never serve the reason for not being offered a position (EEOC, 2005). Whenever applicants are asked to pass a test, such test should be directly related to job and no applicants can be excluded from it because of their sexual orientation or gender (EEOC, 2005). The use of objective tests, a uniform list of structured job-related questions, effective feedback and communication of the results, as well as keeping records of every applicant’s performance will help employers avoid compliance issues in the process of internal hiring (Jordan, 1997).

Addressing Unlawful Termination/Retaliation Concerns

In the context of workplace discrimination, employees are often concerned about being unlawfully terminated or retaliated. All these concerns are readily minimized through a set of effective HRM approaches. First, an employment contract can become a good means of taking employees and employers from the “employment at will” condition, and will specify reasons for which employees can be terminated. It is essential that contracts also provide a system of disciplinary actions or warnings that precede termination. It is equally necessary that employers develop and operate a well-written termination policy, which sets clear termination standards and creates reasonable termination expectations in employees (Muhl, 2001). These policies will make it more difficult to fire employees without a due reason, and will minimize natural concerns, which employees may hold about being terminated.

Conclusion

The process of selecting and recruiting the most prospective staff is associated with a whole set of issues and controversies. Not only do employers fail to avoid discrimination attitudes toward applicants, but they consciously engage in discriminative hiring practices, to pursue their narrow interests. Ideal legal and ethical hiring practices imply the need for employers to utilize standardized procedures, to communicate hiring standards to applicants, to provide negative constructive feedback, etc. Employers cannot refuse to give employment to individuals, based on their gender or sexual orientation. Finally, a good employment contract and well-developed termination policies can reduce possible concerns, which individuals may hold about being retaliated or terminated.

References

EEOC. (2005). Prohibited employment policies/ practices. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/practices/index.cfm

Jordan, K. (1997). Play fair and square when hiring from within – developing internal hiring procedures. HR Magazine. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_n1_v42/ai_19221758/pg_2/?tag=content;col1

Muhl, C.J. (2001). The employment-at-will doctrine: three major exceptions. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/01/art1full.pdf

Redlich, J.W. (2001). United States federal laws impacting recruitment and hiring. AELE. Retrieved from http://www.aele.org/hiring-01.html