Recruitment and Selection: A Comparative Analysis Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of recruitment and selection processes within the business context, focusing on the practices of Tesco and Sainsbury's. It begins by identifying the methods these organizations use for recruitment planning, differentiating between internal and external sources, and discussing the reasons for job vacancies. The report then explores the impact of legal and regulatory frameworks, such as the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Equality Act 2010, on recruitment and selection activities, emphasizing ethical considerations like gender and ethnic balance and fairness. Furthermore, it delves into the preparation of essential documents used in the recruitment process, including job descriptions, person specifications, and job advertisements, providing examples and highlighting their distinct purposes. Overall, the report offers valuable insights into the complexities of recruitment and selection, providing a detailed overview of the key aspects involved.

RECRUITMENT
AND SELECTION IN
BUSINESS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1. Identification of how two organisations plan recruitment using internal and external
sources.........................................................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................2
P2, Impact of legal and regulatory framework on recruitment and selection activities..............2
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................3
P3. Preparation of documents used in selection and requirement processes..............................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Recruitment is a process adopted by companies to effectively attract, shortlist as well as
select a pool of suitable and effective candidates which could fill up the desired job vacancies
within an organisation (Ekwoaba, Ikeije and Ufoma, 2015). Selection, on the other hand, is a
procedure of further short listing candidates from the pool which could serve effectively within
the company in the desired job role. The report below is based on TESCO and Sainsbury's which
are two of the leading supermarket chains within the UK. It includes two projects, where the first
covers knowing the process involved in recruitment planning and understanding implications of
regulatory framework for process of recruitment and selection. The second project covers
preparation of documentation related to this process and participation in a selection interview.
TASK 1
P1. Identification of how two organisations plan recruitment using internal and external sources
Recruitment is an essential activity which is necessary to be adopted by organisations as
it allows the firm to bring in new and competent talent to help the company in achieving its
organisational objectives. There are two sources of recruitment: internal and external source.
Both these sources have their own importance and are crucial to be adopted by companies.
TESCO and Sainsbury's are two retail supermarket giants in the UK and following are the
reasons of occurrence of vacancies:
Within an organisation, there are several reasons due to which vacancies occur. These
reasons are mentioned below:
 Removal of employee due to misconduct.
 Passing away of an employee
 If an employee retires
 Due to sickness or maternity cover
All these above reasons encourage organisations to plan recruitment process to fill the
vacant space within the company (Abraham and et. al., 2015). Below is a discussion of how
these companies plan recruitment using internal and external sources:
TESCO planning recruitment using internal sources:
TESCO, in order to plan recruiting using internal sources, first develop internal plan to
fill the vacancy. The benefit of the same is potential employees would be familiar with the duties
1

and responsibilities of the post. Internal advertising would be utilised to advertise the job
internally. Then, the company would interview potential individuals and select the one on the
basis of their performance and competence (Landers and Schmidt, 2016). This could be done
through promotions, transfers and employee referrals. However, special attention must be given
by the company on the fact place filled would vacant another position which could cause
mismanagement within the firm.
Sainsbury's planning recruitment using external sources:
There is another way which could be utilised by an organisation to recruit which is
recruiting externally or outside the business. Sainsbury's, in order to plan the same, first need to
develop an external source which would be utilised for recruitment. Media channels would be
created to informing and attracting individuals towards the vacancy. A suggested media source
would be newspaper, which could be an effective external source for the company. However,
recruitment agencies too could be approached which would help the firm in providing crucial
information about potential candidates. These individuals are then contacted regarding
recruitment processes and after that, selection processes such as interview takes place which
helps the company in selecting these candidates. Its advantage is that company could attract
individuals with new skills and talent that might contribute in the company in a better manner.
However. recruiting externally has several implications in relation to cost and time. It's quite a
longer process as a proper time is required for the firm to outline vacancies, choosing appropriate
advertising as well as selecting the competent individual. Furthermore, advertisements, as well as
setting up recruitment and selection processes also require a huge cost which could be very
complex for the company.
TASK 2
P2, Impact of legal and regulatory framework on recruitment and selection activities
It is very crucial for organisations to appropriately consider certain ethical and legal
requirements while recruiting and selecting candidates for their vacant job roles (Chandor, 2017).
It is because it helps organisations in performing these activities with utmost ethical and
appropriate manner. Below are various ethical and legal requirements which are important for
organisations like TESCO and Sainsbury's to comply with:
Legal Requirements:
2

 Data Protection Act, 2018: This is a crucial part of employee legislation which makes it
imperative and compulsory for organisations to safeguard the personal information of an
employee or candidate as it is governed by that individual's right to privacy (The Data
Protection Act, 2019). Furthermore, organisations are also under the obligation that the
private data of candidates presented for the job interviews are not to be disclosed under
any circumstances, without their consent. The impact of following this legislations is that
it would ensure effective trust in minds of the new candidate towards the organisation.
This would further lay a firm foundation for their loyalty in the future (Noe and et. al.,
2017).
 Equality Act, 2010: Another act which governs the right of candidates during recruitment
and selection processes is Equality Act. This legislation was led down for protecting
individuals from any sort of discrimination. Organisations like TESCO and Sainsbury's
could ensure equality in their recruitment process through communicating individuals in
their advertisements that the firm considers every competent individual irrespective of
cast, creed, etc. Compliance with this again would have positive impact on the brand
image of the company in relation to a strong and competent workforce. Additionally, it
would help in creating a firm effective working environment for its employees.
Ethical Requirements: Ethnic and Gender Balance: While setting up recruitment and selection process, mainly
interview, companies like TESCO and Sainsbury's must effectively develop a panel
which is balanced on the basis of gender and ethnicity. Reason for the same is that it
would help the firm in conducting their process in an effective and appropriate manner
which diverse individuals with different mindsets working towards achieving the same
goal.
 Fairness: Another prominent ethical consideration by the firm must be regarding being
fair to each candidate up for the job. To attain this, these organisations must construct a
similar work frame and judging criteria to evaluate each employee. This includes asking
all of them same questions, providing them effective time and equal platform, etc.
3

TASK 3
P3. Preparation of documents used in selection and requirement processes
It is very essential for companies to appropriately lay out certain documents which allows
the company to recruit and select desired candidates to fill up their job vacancies. As for Sales
Assistant, there are several documents which are very crucial to be prepared by TESCO in
relation to attract and recruit the best personnel possible for the job. Following are the job
advertisements, person specification and job description:
 Job Description:
Job Description refers to a document which appropriately describes various effective and
essential tasks, duties as well as responsibilities of a specific position (Ployhart, Schmitt and
Tippins, 2017). Usually, HR managers are in charge of developing this document and helps in
appropriately recruiting individuals.
The purpose of job description is that it helps individuals in determining whether that
particular role aligns with their competence or not. In perspective of the company, it would
ensure TESCO that all the application which would be received by the company would closely
match requirements of that role.
Job Description
Company Name TESCO Plc
Designation Sales Assistant
Location Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom
Reporting To Sales Manager
Roles and Responsibilities
 Payment processing
 Serving and Advising Customers
 Maintenance of Stock Levels
 Providing information in relation to product availability
and pricing
Working Hours 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Salary £8000 per month
4

Working Facilities Effective working hours, flexible working environment, incentives
according to performance.
 Person Specification:
Person Specification refers to the document which appropriately describes skills,
experience, knowledge and selection criteria which is required by candidates to be considered for
a specific job role. Furthermore, it also helps in gaining an insight on all the necessary aspects
which is required and necessary to be selected for the particular job.
There are various purposes of person specifications. Firstly, it could help TESCO in
streamlining as well as refining the interview process. Further, this would allow individuals to
effectively assess themselves against the required criteria before applying for that position. In
addition to this, it also assists employers in further clarifying two sets of qualifications which are
important for the role, which is essential and desirable. Furthermore, it helps to communicate
equal opportunities for recruitment within the business. This would help in ensuring ethical
framework for the company to appropriately recruit employees within the company.
Person Specification
Organisation: TESCO Plc
Job Title : Sales Assistant
Qualification: Bachelors in Finance and 2 years experience in retail industry
Essential Criteria:
 Communicate effectively with customers.
 Competent enough to address queries and customer enquiries and give clear and
effective solutions.
 Build appropriate and long term business relations with customers.
 Showcase adequate professional and personal standards.
Desirable criteria:
 Minimum two years experience in a retail organisation.
 Fluent in communicating in English.
 Able to demonstrate items in an effective manner.
5

 Job Advertisement:
This is a notification provided by an organisation to individuals regarding a vacant job
position for the purpose of hire a competent person who is fit for the job (Hunter, Saunders and
Constance, 2016). It contains effective information about the company and specific details about
the job. Furthermore, with its engaging tone and appropriate display of information, it would
benefit the firm in attracting talented persons towards their company.
The purpose of job advertisement in context with TESCO is that it helps in attracting
perfect individuals that completely align as per the requirements of that specific job role.
Furthermore, these advertisements could also assist the organisation in saving time as well as
money of approaching candidates through recruitment agencies.
Job Advertisement
Award winning retail chain based in United Kingdom has an exciting and promising
opportunity for Sales Assistant to be a part of their global organisation and join the company in
the UK.
As a Sales Assistant, individuals will have the opportunity to enhance their personal and
professional growth through associating themselves with a company known for hiring the most
competent and talented individuals within the country.
About the Job:
The post of Sales Assistant requires individual to interact and communicate with individuals in
a clear and persuading manner and present the products of a company quite effectively. They
are also required to address each enquiry of customers and give them high quality and
comfortable in-store experience
Benefits:
 Competitive Salary
 Personalised Training and Developing
 Opportunity for showcasing personal skills
 Flexible work environment
Salary:
6

£5000-£10000
All these documents are quite necessary for a company to recruit and select individuals
that could contribute in the organisation's profitability and helps them in achieving their business
objectives. However, all these documents are quite distinct in nature and serves different
purposes which enhances their uniqueness within an organisation like TESCO. These three
documents are quite different from each other, however, there are few major differences in job
advertisements and job description. One difference is on the basis of purpose, i.e., job
descriptions fulfil the purpose of providing information to individuals, whereas, job
advertisements are created to attract individuals towards the vacancy. Moreover, there are quite a
few chances that job descriptions could be filled with internal buzzword if the same is created for
internal environment of the country (Masutha and Rogerson, 2015). However, job
advertisements are meant simply to attract individuals and in ways which help others to
understand the context in a better manner.
TASK 3
P4. Planning for Interview
It is very crucial for organisations to plan up interviews effectively. As for TESCO, there
are necessary steps which are essential for HR assistant to follow. These steps are mentioned
below:
 Determining the job vacancy and its duties and responsibilities.
 Setting up requirements for candidates selected after recruitment.
 Developing effective questionnaires which would help them in providing a judging
criteria.
 Setting up a panel for interview.
P5. Take Part in an Interview
Interview is an essential process of an organisation which allows them to personally
interact with individuals to further judge them effectively for the desired job. Following are the
questions necessary to be asked by TESCO's interview panel for job of Sales Assistant:
QUESTIONNAIRE
7

1.) Are you familiar with the duties of a Sales Assistant?
2.) What are your strengths as well as weaknesses while interacting with customers?
3.) What, according to you is an effective method of dealing with a difficult customer?
4.) What aspects determine you as a good sales assistant?
5.) Where do you see yourself in next five years in the field of sales?
CONCLUSION
Thus, it is concluded from the above information, that recruitment and selection are
crucial processes to be adopted and consistently performed by the country which helps them in
attracting and selecting the most competent individuals for their job roles. It is essential for
companies to use internal as well as external recruitment sources as per the needs and
convenience of the company. Moreover, it is also very important that an organisation comply
with several legal and ethical recruitments to ensure recruitment processes be held effectively
and with appropriate standards. Lastly, it is very important for companies to use documentation
like job description, person specifications and job advertisements which allow them to
effectively perform their recruitment and selection processes.
8

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Abraham, M., and et. al., 2015. A Review of Smes Recruitment and Selection Dilemma: Finding
a'Fit'. The Journal of Developing Areas. 49(5). pp.335-342.
Chandor, A., 2017. Choosing and keeping computer staff: Recruitment, selection and
development of computer personnel. Routledge.
Ekwoaba, J.O., Ikeije, U.U. and Ufoma, N., 2015. The Impact of Recruitment and Selection
Criteria on Organizational Performance.
Hunter, I., Saunders, J. and Constance, S., 2016. HR business partners. Routledge.
Landers, R.N. and Schmidt, G.B., 2016. Social Media in Employee Selection and Recruitment.
Theory, Practice, and Current Challenges. Cham: Springer International Publishing
AG.
Masutha, M. and Rogerson, C.M., 2015, June. Business incubation for small enterprise
development: South African pathways. In Urban Forum (Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 223-241).
Springer Netherlands.
Noe, R.A., and et. al., 2017. Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage.
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Ployhart, R.E., Schmitt, N. and Tippins, N.T., 2017. Solving the Supreme Problem: 100 years of
selection and recruitment at the Journal of Applied Psychology. Journal of Applied
Psychology. 102(3). p.291.
Online
The Data Protection Act. 2019. [Online] Available Through: <https://www.gov.uk/data-
protection>
9