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Business · Making human resource decisions

Recruitment

Recruitment is finding and choosing the right people. It starts with job analysis, uses a job description and person specification, and can look inside the business or outside it.

  • 8 key terms
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Teacher resources

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Student handouts

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Last Lesson

Answer from memory before the answers appear.

  • What is a flat structure?

    Few levels of hierarchy and wide spans of control.

  • What is decentralisation?

    Passing decision-making down to managers and staff lower down.

  • Give one barrier to communication.

    Too many levels, jargon, distance or attitudes.

  • What is a freelance worker?

    Someone self-employed and hired for specific jobs.

Learning Objectives

  1. 1Explain the different job roles within a business.
  2. 2Explain job analysis, job descriptions and person specifications.
  3. 3Explain application forms and CVs.
  4. 4Compare internal and external recruitment.

Roles Within a Business

  • Directors

    Set the business's overall aims and strategy, and are responsible to the owners.

  • Senior managers

    Turn the strategy into plans and run major parts of the business.

  • Supervisors and team leaders

    Organise and oversee teams of staff day to day.

  • Operational staff

    Carry out the business's main work - making products, serving customers.

  • Support staff

    Help the business run smoothly - IT, cleaning, reception, administration.

Why Recruit?

Businesses need to recruit when:

  • The business grows

    A new branch, product or market needs more staff.

  • Staff leave

    Employees retire, resign or are promoted.

  • New skills are needed

    New technology or new activities need people with skills the business lacks.

  • Getting it right matters

    The wrong person is costly: poor work, low morale and the expense of recruiting again.

The Recruitment Process

From a vacancy to a new employee.

  1. 1 Job analysis

    Studying the job to identify its tasks, responsibilities and the skills needed.
  2. 2 Job description and person specification

    Writing down what the job involves and what the ideal person is like.
  3. 3 Advertise

    Internally or externally, where suitable candidates will see it.
  4. 4 Shortlist

    Compare application forms and CVs with the person specification.
  5. 5 Select

    Interviews, tests or trial shifts, then an offer to the best candidate.

Job Description or Person Specification?

Job description

  • Describes the job.
  • Job title and where it fits in the structure.
  • The main tasks and responsibilities.
  • Who the job holder reports to.
  • Hours, pay and working conditions.

Person specification

  • Describes the ideal person for the job.
  • Qualifications needed.
  • Skills and experience.
  • Personal qualities, such as being a team player.
  • Split into essential and desirable criteria.

Application Forms and CVs

How candidates apply.

  • Application form

    A form designed by the business, so every candidate gives the same information - easy to compare.

  • Curriculum vitae (CV)

    A document written by the candidate summarising their education, skills and experience.

  • Covering letter

    A letter explaining why the candidate wants the job and suits it.

  • Shortlisting

    The business compares applications with the person specification to decide whom to interview.

Internal or External Recruitment?

Internal recruitment

  • Filling a vacancy with someone already working for the business.
  • Cheaper and quicker: no expensive advertising.
  • The business already knows the person's abilities.
  • Motivates staff, who see a chance of promotion.
  • But: no new ideas, and it leaves another vacancy to fill.

External recruitment

  • Filling a vacancy with someone from outside the business.
  • A much wider choice of candidates.
  • Brings in new ideas, skills and experience.
  • But: more expensive and slower.
  • Riskier, as the business does not know the person, and existing staff may feel overlooked.

Methods of External Recruitment

Where businesses advertise vacancies.

  • Online job websites

    Reach large numbers of candidates quickly.

  • Social media

    Cheap, and can target people with the right interests and skills.

  • Recruitment agencies

    Find and screen candidates for the business, for a fee.

  • Local newspapers and job centres

    Reach local candidates, often for operational roles.

Case study

Pret: The Team Votes

Pret A Manger, the sandwich and coffee chain, has long used an unusual final stage in recruiting shop staff. After an interview, candidates spend a paid trial day - a "Job Experience Day" - working in a shop alongside the team. At the end of the day the team votes on whether the candidate should be offered the job. Pret believes the people who work in a shop are best placed to judge who will fit in, and that staff who help choose their colleagues work better together.

Trial day Candidates work a real shift before being hired
Team vote The shop team decides who joins them

Write the Documents

A popular café needs a new shift supervisor. Write a short job description (title, main tasks, who they report to, hours) and a person specification with three essential and two desirable criteria. Then decide whether the café should recruit internally or externally, and why.

1. Write the job description.

2. Write the person specification.

3. Choose internal or external, and justify it.

A good answer shows: A clear job description and a person specification split into essential and desirable, plus a justified recruitment choice.

Can I...?

  1. 1Describe the different job roles.
  2. 2Explain job analysis.
  3. 3Explain a job description.
  4. 4Explain a person specification.
  5. 5Explain application forms and CVs.
  6. 6Explain internal recruitment.
  7. 7Explain external recruitment.
  8. 8Compare internal and external recruitment.

Summary & Exam Focus

  • Roles: directors, senior managers, supervisors, operational staff and support staff.
  • Job analysis leads to a job description (the job) and a person specification (the person).
  • Candidates apply with application forms or CVs.
  • Internal recruitment is cheaper and motivating; external brings new ideas and a wider choice.

Exam focus

Explain one benefit to a business of recruiting internally. (3 marks) (3 marks)

Don't confuse the documents: the job description is about the job, the person specification is about the person.

Key terms

The vocabulary this lesson expects you to use. Each one is linked from the first place it appears above.

Recruitment
The process of finding and selecting new employees.
Job analysis
Identifying the tasks, responsibilities and skills a job needs.
Job description
A document describing the job's title, tasks, responsibilities and conditions.
Person specification
A document describing the qualifications, skills, experience and qualities of the ideal candidate.
Application form
A standard form candidates complete to apply for a job.
Curriculum vitae (CV)
A document summarising a candidate's education, skills and experience.
Internal recruitment
Filling a vacancy with an existing employee.
External recruitment
Filling a vacancy with someone from outside the business.

Questions and answers

7 questions set on this lesson, with the mark schemes and model answers open.

1. Exam question Define 1 mark Foundation

Define the term 'person specification'.

Mark scheme — 1 mark available

  • Description of the ideal candidate / their skills and qualities — 1 mark

Model answer

A document describing the qualifications, skills, experience and qualities of the ideal person for a job.

2. Exam question State 1 mark Foundation

State one item that would be included in a job description.

Mark scheme — 1 mark available

  • Any one of: job title; tasks; responsibilities; who the job holder reports to; hours; pay; conditions — 1 mark

Model answer

The main tasks of the job.

3. Exam question Explain 3 marks Foundation

Explain one benefit to a business of recruiting internally.

Mark scheme — 3 marks available

  • A benefit identified, e.g. cheaper / quicker / known ability / motivates staff — 1 mark
  • First linked point of explanation — 1 mark
  • Second linked point of explanation — 1 mark

Model answer

It is cheaper (1). The business does not need to pay for external advertising or a recruitment agency (1). It also already knows the employee's skills and work record, so there is less risk of choosing the wrong person (1).

4. Exam question Justify 9 marks Stretch

Source: Pixel Games Ltd is a fast-growing video game studio with 40 staff. It needs a new head of design to lead a team of 10 designers on its biggest game yet. Option 1: Promote Sam, one of its current senior designers, who is popular with the team. Option 2: Recruit externally through a specialist agency, which charges 20% of the first year's salary. Justify which one of these two options Pixel Games Ltd should choose.

Mark scheme — 9 marks available

  • AO2 (Application, 3 marks): uses the context - fast-growing studio, head of design, Sam, 20% agency fee — Level 1-3
  • AO3a (Analysis, 3 marks): chains of reasoning about each option — Level 1-3
  • AO3b (Evaluation, 3 marks): a justified choice with a supported judgement — Level 1-3

Model answer

Option 1 is cheaper and quicker, with no agency fee. Pixel Games already knows Sam's work and that the team respects Sam, so the risk is low, and promoting Sam would show other staff that they can progress, motivating them. However, Sam has never led a team of 10, and the business would also need to replace Sam's current role. Option 2 gives a much wider choice, and could bring in someone who has already led design on large games, bringing new ideas and experience. But the 20% fee is a large cost, and an outsider may not fit the team, which could upset designers who hoped for promotion. On balance Pixel Games should choose Option 1, because Sam's knowledge of the studio and popularity with the team are vital on its biggest game, and it avoids a large fee. This depends on Sam receiving leadership training to make up for their lack of management experience.

5. Multiple choice 1 mark Foundation

Which document describes the ideal person for a job?

  1. A Job description
  2. B Person specification Correct
  3. C Application form
  4. D Contract of employment

Why: The person specification describes the qualifications, skills and qualities needed.

6. Multiple choice 1 mark Core

What is a main advantage of external recruitment?

  1. A It is always cheaper
  2. B It is always quicker
  3. C It brings in new ideas and a wider choice of candidates Correct
  4. D It motivates existing staff

Why: Looking outside the business brings a wider choice of candidates with new ideas.

7. Multiple choice 1 mark Stretch

Which role organises and oversees a team of staff day to day?

  1. A Supervisor or team leader Correct
  2. B Director
  3. C Support staff
  4. D Shareholder

Why: Supervisors and team leaders manage teams on a day-to-day basis.