Business Administration Report: Zara Recruitment Process

This report delves into the recruitment and selection processes of Zara, a prominent global clothing retailer. It examines the administrative requirements for both internal and external recruitment, highlighting the significance of job descriptions and person specifications in defining roles and attracting suitable candidates. The report further explores various methods of selection, including personality and skill tests, and outlines the necessary pre-employment checks to ensure a secure working environment. It emphasizes the importance of effective communication with applicants, covering both successful and unsuccessful candidates, and underscores the critical aspects of system security, data protection, and confidentiality. The report also covers the procedures for checking job details, placing job advertisements in agreed media, analyzing applicant responses, and adhering to organizational procedures. Furthermore, it discusses the processes for shortlisting applicants, coordinating selection arrangements, and informing applicants about the outcomes of their applications, all while maintaining up-to-date selection records. This report provides a comprehensive overview of Zara's approach to recruitment and selection, offering insights into its administrative practices and commitment to ethical and legal compliance.

BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Various administrative requirements of external and internal recruitment......................3
1.2 Uses of person specification and job description.............................................................4
1.3 Administrative needs of different method of selection....................................................4
1.4 Requirements of different pre-employment checks to be carried out..............................5
1.5 Information needed to be communicated to successful and unsuccessful applicants while
recruiting.................................................................................................................................5
1.6 Explain requirements of system security, data protection and confidentiality.................6
2.1 Check if job or role details are correct and comply with brief or not..............................6
2.2 Job advertisements in agreed media according to the timescales.....................................7
2.3 Analyse applicant responses with timescale.....................................................................9
2.4 Deliver requested information to applicants according to polices and procedure of
organisation..........................................................................................................................10
2.5 Adherence to various organisational procedures, policies, ethical and legal requirements10
3.1 Invitation to shortlisted applicants for selection process according to organisational
procedures.............................................................................................................................10
3.2 Co-ordination of selection arrangement according to the brief.....................................11
3.3 Agreed pre-employment checks within agreed timescales............................................12
3.4 Informing applicants regarding outcomes of their application according to organisational
policies and procedures........................................................................................................12
3.5 Keep selection records up-to-date..................................................................................12
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Business administration is a broad field which involves various management positions.
Every organisation need to have effective and skilled administrators which are capable to
manage work even in changing situations also. It incorporates different aspects such as
supervising, managing and overseeing the business operations in desired manner (Nikolaou,
2014). This assignment is based on Zara which is a Spain based clothing retailer, headquartered
in Arteixo. Company was founded in 1975 and considered as largest apparel retailer worldwide.
This report involves different administrative requirements and uses of person specification and
job description. Beside this, different aspects related with selection and recruitment are also
mentioned. Along with this, organisational policies and procedures are mentioned which are
needed to perform HRM practices desirably.
MAIN BODY
1.1 Various administrative requirements of external and internal recruitment
Recruitment is defined as a procedure of hiring, short-listing, appointing, selecting
desirable candidates for performing business activities for an organisation. There are two ways
through which recruitment process can be carried out in Zara. These are internal and external
recruitment. Administrative requirement of internal and external recruitment are mentioned
below:
 Internal recruitment: In this kind of recruitment, a desirable candidate within a
company is selected for filling the vacant position. HR manager in Zara is required to
evaluate the performance of employees appropriately so that their contribution in
achieving organisational success can be acknowledged. Manager needs to find
Professional employee with appreciable writing and verbal skills so that business
operations can be carried out desirably. As employees working form a long time are
skilled and capable, manager can offer them career opportunities, extra benefits &
increased pay.
 External recruitment: For this, HR manager in Zara can analyse academic and
professional records of applicants who are interested in job. This will helps in finding the
right candidate for right position. New candidate will bring innovative ideas and concepts
which will benefit company in increasing revenues.

1.2 Uses of person specification and job description
Job description: It is a document which specifies the tasks, responsibilities and duties of
a person who is holding the required position. It involves the summary of main features which
are associated with job. Uses of job description are mentioned below:
 HR manager of Zara can use job description to set evaluable performance goals based
upon duties so that employees can be trained to achieve those goals.
 Job descriptions can benefit Zara in developing an appropriate compensation programs
according to the performance of employees (Ladkin and Buhalis, 2016).
Person specifications: It denotes the personal attributes which are expected in a potential
employees. It is more specific than job description as it incorporates knowledge, skills,
qualifications and experience which are essential for an employee to perform business
operations. Uses of person specification are:
 HR manager in Zara can recruit desirable employee by analysing their skills,
qualifications and capabilities.
 An appropriate person specification will saves the time as manager don't have to explain
the role and responsibilities to employees again and again.
1.3 Administrative needs of different method of selection
Selection: It is termed as a procedure of choosing the desirable candidates which are
capable to fill vacant job position efficiently. Selection of right candidate will be an asset to Zara.
Different methods of selection are mentioned below:
 Personality tests: It is an efficient way of interviewing candidates to acknowledge their
capability for vacant job position. In this person is judged on the basis of their
communication, interaction and negotiating with other individuals.
 Skill tests: There are some activities which can be performed by using specific skills. It
can either be a written test, typing test or some other test. These tests determined the
business related skills of an individuals.
Administrative requirements are concerned with financial management, managing
records and reports of a company. Administrative requirements of various methods of selection
is that it will helps in recruiting and hiring of well qualified and knowledgable people which will
perform administrative duties in a desired way. (Brewster and Hegewisch, 2017). These process

will helps in analysing whether a particular candidate have those administrative skills and
capabilities or not which is demanded by that specific job.
1.4 Requirements of different pre-employment checks to be carried out
Pre-employment checks are also called as background investigation. This procedure aims
to look up and compile commercial, criminal & financial record of individual which wishes to
work within a company. Requirements of pre-employment checks in respect to ZARA are
mentioned below:
 It secures the working environment within an organisation.
 It also increases reputation of the organisation within market place if capable employees
with good background will work there.
 Pre employment check also favours candidate as well as it give authenticity of their
degree and credentials.

These pre-employment tests and checks are required so that all the necessary information
about applying candidate can be known in advance. In case, if skills and capabilities of a person
are not enough for a particular job, HR manager of Zara can eliminate that person for further
interview rounds. By this, time and efforts of company will be saved. Also, desirable candidate
will be selected according to required specifications.
1.5 Information needed to be communicated to successful and unsuccessful applicants while
recruiting
It is the responsibility of HR manager in Zara to notify both successful and unsuccessful
candidates regarding their interview results. There are different procedure to communicate
information to both kind of applicants. In case of successful applicant, HR manager in Zara can
send them an E-mail which will involves a congratulatory message along with important details
associated with company. These details will helps the candidate in understanding about company
more desirably. Other than that, HR manager can call the successful candidate to communicate
them about their approved interview (Taylor & Francis.Zide, Elman and Shahani-Denning,
2014). In case of unsuccessful candidate, HR manager of concerned company can communicate
with them by sending an e-mail which will include the reasons why they were not selected by the
company. This will helps them in improving their weaknesses so that they can prepare

themselves for next opportunities. Also, manager can acknowledge them when any job related
opportunities or information will come. This will benefit both candidate and company on their
individual basis.
1.6 Explain requirements of system security, data protection and confidentiality
To perform business operations desirably, it is essential for every organisation to manage
aspects like data protection, confidentiality and system security in an appropriate manner. This
will benefit the company in protecting their important information from potential threats and
competitors which can harm the company.
Requirements of system security: This systematic aspect will benefits the Zara in
securing their management system form unwanted threats and errors. Company requires this
security system so that resources of company which includes sensitive information can be
secured form unauthorised access. Along with this, it will helps in securing important
information related to company.
Requirements of data protection: Large organisations such as Zara processes several
kinds of information and data on daily basis. Leaking of these data can results in heavy loss of
revenue to the company. Hence, it it is very important for the manager of company to secure data
in a desirable way so that no rival company can gain competitive advantage by misusing their
data.
Requirements of confidentiality: It is defined as the state of keeping some information
as private or secret. It is very essential for the manager and employees in Zara to keep some
information related to company as confidential. Leaking of these sensitive information can be a
big blow towards the success of the company and company can face a big loss of revenues and
market shares in some conditions (Miles and Sadler-Smith, 2014).
2.1 Check if job or role details are correct and comply with brief or not
It is the responsibility of HR department of an organisation to recruit and hire employees.
For this tasks, they carry out different kinds of activities such as preparing job description,
person specification etc. It is very essential for HR manager of Zara to check whether the given
job or role details are valid or not. In case they are wrong, this will results in selecting that
candidate which is not required by company. To check if job or role details specified in a brief
are right or not, manager of Zara need to properly analyse the needs and skills for the vacant

position. This will helps them in preparing a right job description and carry out changes, if some
aspects within it are not right (Ge, Huang and Png, 2016). HR manager can allot the task of
checking job details to employees of HR department. If some points are missed or avoided they
can be added so that desired candidate can be selected.
2.2 Job advertisements in agreed media according to the timescales
HR manager of Zara will use newspaper for advertising about job vacancy which is
explained as under in the table format:
Job Advert
 Name of the organisation : Zara
 Vacant Job for: Assistant executive
 Qualifications needed by company for post
 Age between 21-35
 M.B.A in marketing or management from recognised university
 Should have work experience of at least 3 years
 Capable to manage work in changing situations
 Effective negotiation and communication skills
 Well knowledgeable in IT field
Responsibilities
 Managing appropriate relation among team members that will assists in achieving
organisational goals desirably.
 Creation of proper strategies and policies that will benefit the Zara in gaining
competitive advantage against rival companies.
 Managing finances, funds and budgets in an efficient way.
 Defining roles to work force by taking assistance of management systems
 Having appropriate managerial skills
 Supervising and directing the activities of team members.
Job type- full time
working time – 09.00 a.m. To 6.00 p.m.
Please send your resume at [e-mail]
Interested and eligible candidates can apply from 5th to 15th February

For further details visit the official site of company.
Activity Timescale
Planning and preparation 2-3 weeks
HR to process the vacancy details, 2-4 weeks
post on the web and place in external media
Time that vacancy is live for applications 3-4 weeks
Short-listing 1 week

2.3 Analyse applicant responses with timescale
As HR manager of Zara uses online websites and newspaper for advertising job vacancy
hence, interested & eligible candidates will contact directly within the organisation. For example,
if Zara has given promotion and advertisement within newspaper to fill for vacant job of
assistant executive. Within some days, an effective response will be received. After that there
will be number of resume which have been received by HR via e-mail. After proper analysation,
those candidates will be called which are capable to perform business operations. Hence, the
organisation can hire desirable employees for the vacant position which will benefit the company
in achieving their required objectives and targets (Hettne, 2016). Time taken by the respondents
to give response will be around 2-3 weeks.

2.4 Deliver requested information to applicants according to polices and procedure of
organisation
It is the right of every applicant to receive required information form the employer related
to the policies and procedures of the company. All the information which is falling under
employees scope must be given to applicants or candidates. This will benefits them in
understanding about Zara in an more appropriate manner.
Organisational policies and procedures: Policies of a company are described as the
structure according to which day to day activities are performed efficiently. These policies assists
manager in Zara to take appropriate decisions in future. Procedures are those methods which
help managers in performing their duties properly. It is the duty of HR department in Zara to
provide all information related to policies of company to applicants. These policies can be the
legal rules and regulations or about terms and conditions, compensations, allowance and benefits
while performing business operations. These informations can be given to applicants via text
messages, e-mails, written document etc. These requested information will helps in deciding
applicants whether they want to join company or not.
2.5 Adherence to various organisational procedures, policies, ethical and legal requirements
When a candidate joins within a company, an official appointment letter is given to them
which makes them employee for that particular company. That letter involves necessary
information like date of joining or terms and conditions of company. Along with this, It involves
processes related to compensation, allowances, leaves, notice period to resign, probation period
etc. It is the responsibility of HR department in Zara to secure personal information and
confidential data of clients & employees appropriately. Policies associated with salary, health
and safety are involved in this (Talan and Bloom, 2018). There are certain acts like Equality and
Human Rights 1998, data protection act 2018, International organisation act 1968 which
companies need to follow. This will improve the employee satisfaction within company.
3.1 Invitation to shortlisted applicants for selection process according to organisational
procedures
It is very essential to invite those candidates which are selected by company due to their
appreciable performance. This helps the candidates to acknowledge about their success and they
start preparing themselves for next selection rounds. As per above created job advertisement, HR

manager of Zara have to call all applicants who are selected for the post of Assistant executive of
company. There are different informal and formal ways to communicate with them. Some of
these are mentioned below:
 Phone calls: It is a simplest way through which candidates can be informed about their
results. In this method HR manager directly contact the shortlisted candidate and update
them about their results and further procedures.
 E-mails: This is an effective way by which results of applicants can be given to them in
an efficient way. All the important details about the candidate and company is mentioned
in that. Information about further rounds is also mentioned within it.
 Sending messages: In some situations where company is not able to contact with
candidate via phone calls or e-mail, sending them texts is also a way in which a
shortlisted candidate can be called for further selection rounds.
INVITATION LETTER
Subject: Invitation for interview
Dear Daniel applicant,
Thank you for applying as marketing executive in ZARA company.
It is to inform you that we will like to invite you for next round for the position of assistant
executive of company. your interview is scheduled on 21-February-2018, at, 43 Main street,
London, UK.
For further information and queries call at 123456789 or e-mail me at [e-mail]
Your's sincerely
John Smith
3.2 Co-ordination of selection arrangement according to the brief
The coordination and management of selection arrangements needs to be organised, HR
manager of Zara needs to inform the applicants and organise their interview formally. After each
round they should be informed about their results. As with the post of assistant executive,
different processes can be conducted which involves verbal test, face-to-face interviews etc. This
will help the company in hiring right candidate for vacant post. Zara can also hire candidates on

a probationary period. After evaluating their performance, they can be confirmed as a permanent
employee of a company.
3.3 Agreed pre-employment checks within agreed timescales
There are different pre-employment checks which needs to be carried out according to
the prepared time scale. This pre-employment check will helps the manager in Zara to get
important information about candidate which is interest to join company as assistant executive.
Different checks are mentioned beneath:
 Job knowledge test: This test will specify the ability and knowledge of candidates
regarding the position for which they have applied. These tests can either be oral
questions or can be multiple choice and written tests.
 Physical fitness test: A physically fit employee will be able to perform business
activities in a desirable way. This will benefits Zara in accomplishing their tasks in timely
and appropriate manner (Becker, Atinc and et. al., 2016).
 Background check test: This test will benefit the firm in finding necessary information
about the person which have applied for job. In case if person is not suitable for the job,
manager can acknowledge it by using this pre-employment check test.
3.4 Informing applicants regarding outcomes of their application according to organisational
policies and procedures
Those candidates which are selected by the HR manager of Zara receives offer letter form
the company. Appropriate knowledge is given to them which will assists them in performing
their duties properly. At first, information is given to them whether they are selected by the
company or not. Unsuccessful candidates will be told about their shortcomings so that they can
improve themselves in future. Successful candidates will be send mails and phone calls to
discuss further procedures of joining company. In these procedures, manager will tell them
regarding orientation and training programs of the company and a specific day is allotted to them
on which they can officially join the company. Unselected candidates will be informed about
further opportunities which they can grab to sustain a growth in their career.
3.5 Keep selection records up-to-date
It is very essential for the HR manager of Zara to keep records and information of
applicants in an appropriate and organised manner. These records will assists the company to