Blog Twelve: Selection

Selection 

Selection is a part of the recruitment process; there are many different methods of selection with the main aim of choosing the correct candidate for the position. Different types of organisations would use different methods that may be more relevant to certain industries or positions.

Waitrose use a number of different selection methods including, interviews, assessment centres (‘group interviews’), and work simulations to help them determine which candidate would be best for the position.

Waitrose will often use more than one of these selection methods when recruiting new partners into the company, for example for a managerial position, a formal interview would take place and during that interview or on another separate occasion, role-play or some work simulations in order to get a more in-depth understanding of the individual and how they would cope and deal with different situations. I feel that including role-play and work simulations into the selection process is an important part of getting to know the company and the potential partner because it reflects real life more than only using the standard interview method.

Waitrose are most likely to use the assessment centres, or group interviews when they are recruiting for a number of different positions, for example when they open a new store. This not only cuts the amount of time spent on the selection process because more than one candidate is being assessed at a time, but it also helps Waitrose create more of a natural atmosphere for the potential employees.

Recently I was invited to take part in a group interview for a position at a new Waitrose store. This interview was held in a conference room at a local hotel. 9 other applicants had also been invited to the group interview, making a total of 10 potential employees attending the group interview. Two members of Waitrose’s recruitment team were leading the interview. The interview consisted of some basic teamwork, to show the interviewers which candidates worked well in groups, as a team and under pressure. I feel this is a very effective method to use within an interview because it physically demonstrates potential amongst the group that would not be seen on paper or one-to-one in an interview room.

Other tasks included general getting to know each other, which included giving a brief presentation on your self to others within the group. This helped the potential employer gain more of an understanding of each potential employee and therefore I felt it was another relevant task.

Overall I feel the group interview was very effective because it reflects real-life situational working more than a one-to-one conversational interview.

The selection process in my current place of work, Muse, is flawed, because there is no specific process put into place. Any vacancies are not advertised due to the cost of advertisement and therefore the manager relies on word-of-mouth and people randomly dropping in their CV’s in hope of an available position. This means that individuals being contacted for interview may not particularly be interested in this position, but a job in general. Once interviews have been arranged the manager will carry out the interview using a prepared interview/ set of questions, including what the interests of the individual are, and any experience they may have. The information gathered from this set of questions is not particularly relevant to the job being offered and therefore does not give enough of an insight into the potential employee. Once all the interviews have taken place, the manager, the only person who has met these people, will make a decision on their own and offer the individual a job.

I feel that to improve the current selection process, a more formal advertisement of positions should be put into place to attract the correct applicants. Although I feel an interview is still the correct method of selection within the organisation, I would suggest that any interviews are held by more than one person in order to have a range of opinions and make the process fairer.

The selection process is a very important part of the recruitment process and will determine who is successful and who it not, therefore it is important that an organisation use the correct selection method for the available position and the company itself or the process may be unsuccessful.