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EMPLOYMENT PROCEDURES AND IT'S EFFECT ON GOVERNMENT PARASTATALS

CHAPTER TWO

2.1     INTRODUCTION

Every organization depends on the effective use of its available resources in order to achieve its objectives. These resources, if they are to be effectively utilized, should be obtained in the right quantity, right quality, and at the right time. However, the human resources is considered as the most important, most valuable, most complicated and the least predicable. It is this resource that processes other resources in order that the results of these processes would constitute the goals of the organization (Mukoro, 2005). Thus, every organization regardless of its size, product or service must recruit applicants to fill vacant positions. The efficiency and effectiveness of any organization whether private or public sector largely depend on the calibre of the work force The availability of a competent and effective labour force does not just happen by chance but through an articulated job analysis and recruitment exercise. The personnel employed in an organization serve as the hub around which other resources revolve. This allows the entire wheel of the organization to turn smoothly in order to perform more effectively, efficiently and economically. This is the reason why the personnel employed in any organization who eventually becomes the bread-winners of his family and an instrument of progress for the society, have to be well structured (Vickerstaff in Mukoro, 2005). Recruitment for any organization is very important right through the entire lifespan of that organization. In the civil service for example that is governmentally controlled, especially in third world countries, governments should ever be self advised that good organization structure does not by itself guarantee good performance. There is the need therefore to match organizations or the civil service with very sound and quality staff so that performance would become more effective. Indeed, target setting; performance measurement and monitoring will be affected without the necessary impetus giving to systematic recruitment and selection mechanisms. The Nigerian federal civil service emphasizes uniformity, standardization, transparency (Babaru, 2003) in recruiting competent applicants. Despite the elaborate provisions in the constitution as well as the civil service rules and regulations as regards the mode of recruitment and selection into the service, the staff composition of most Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) reveals that mediocre and quacks’ get recruited against the tenets of merit and technical competence rooted in Max Weber’s ideal bureaucracy (Eneanya, 2009). In 2007, the size of the Nigerian federal civil service was estimated to be about 220,000 (Briggs, 2007). Despite the large size of federal civil service, the service still manifests signs of low productivity due to incompetence of personnel and poor attitude of bureaucrats to work. The paper therefore, seeks to further interrogate why the federal civil service of Nigeria has not effectively utilized its large workforce to meet the needs of Nigerians, by taking a look at the recruitment policies and practices in the federal civil service and its implications on employee performance with specific reference to Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC).

2.2     RECRUITMENT

Shaw (1990; 305) in his recruitment policy and effects on how employers and employees can be  happy in order to achieve job satisfaction,  analyzed the merit of internal and external recruitments. He observed that internal recruitment allows employees within the organization to advance in their careers, while on the other hand, external recruitment allows the injection of new ideas into the organization. He further analyzed that high level intake will mean higher salaries for new recruits so that the experience of existing employees must  be reflected in their salaries as compensation. In addition to manpower planning, proper recruitment ensures that each employee has an opportunity to make his best contribution to the organization. Shapero (1989; 34), itemized channel of recruitment, which is the route by which an individual comes into an organization. He proffers that channels of recruitment to include: Employments Agencies Advertisement (in newspapers and trade and professional journals). Company recruitment (college recruitment, professional meeting recruitment). Self recruitment (through friends or acquaintances, knowledge of company’s work or reputation, perceived advancement opportunity).  

Stephen etal, (2007; 327-329) suggests that an understanding of organsational human resources through job analysis will provide managers with employee’s needs; that is it will provide the manager with the understanding or excesses of capable hands in the organization. However if there is a surplus of employees the management of the organization can adopt decruitment to lay-off candidate employed. He further add that organization can avoid sudden talent shortages and surpluses.  He therefore sees recruitment as the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization. He further considered recruitment as both “positive” and “negative” since both increases the selection ratio and at the same time do away with candidates thereby leaving the qualified ones to work in the organization. 

According to Soji (2002) recruitment as a set of process used by organization to solicit for the interest of potentially qualified people so that the organization could achieve its objectives. He further states that recruitment has a two way impact on the selection and placement of employees, which he enumerated as follows:Recruitment determines the number of applicants applying for each job. Recruitment method directly affects turnover rates when job candidates are given a growing picture of a job, which could be letter discovered by the applicants that the true picture of the job was not specifically analyze to them, they later become dissatisfied with reality that does not link up to expectation.

Encyclopedia of Professional Management (1995; 679-681) views recruitment as a positive process which aims at putting the right person in the right job which they are best qualified for. Here recruitment is seen as the process seeking for the qualified person who will accept an employment opportunity, what job they can best perform in line with their field of specialization, it therefore sees recruitment as an activity involved in seeking out prospective candidate or employee and to persuade them to seek for the advertised or unadvertised vacant positions in organizations. Sharma et al (2012: 457) sees recruitment in the technical phraseology of administration to mean “attraction of proper and suitable types of candidates for the post to be filled”.

The authors further states that the method of positive recruitment are numerous. The attractiveness of the service may be brought to the notice of the prospective candidate through the various means of publicity such as posters, folders, advert in papers and magazines, on radio and as well as T.V. screens. They added that recruitment is the beginning of the process of filling a vacancy; it includes the examination of the vacancy, the consideration of source of suitable candidate; making contact with those candidates and attracting applications from them.  In their contributions they maintained that the process of recruitment functions are patently straight forward, to seek out, evaluate, obtain commitment from place and new employee to fill positions required for the successful conduct of the work of an organization.

Views from the Encyclopedia of Professional Management (1995: 262-263) further emphasized that employment procedures can be conceptualized as consisting of eight essential steps; and if these are observed, job misfit can be avoided.  The steps are:- Establishing Specifications: which is a brief glimpse into what a job actual entails such as formal job descriptions and specifications Recruitment:  Here, advertisements such as newspapers, radio announcement, handbills, organizational bulletins notice board, bill board are utilized to notify potential candidates about the existing vacancies in the organization. The advantage of having adverts in many ways is to attract the best hands for the job, because the more candidate available for the job the greater the chance of filling the existing vacancies with the right candidate. 
Screening: A form that analyzed the factual information about candidates is used to aid judgement about suitability or otherwise of the candidate. This includes the applicants’ names, addresses, phone numbers, previous jobs, present employed status, availability to commence work, earning requirements, ability to travel, freedom to relocate, driving license number etc.  The specification sheet should be reviewed for element which may prove to be knockout factors. 
Testing: Testing which is synonymous with assessment of intelligence, aptitude and proficiency of applicants to observe their capability to work in an environment and under certain conditions. This helps to evaluate what a person can do based on intelligence, aptitudes, and proficiency.  Test and testing procedures must also meet Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requirement. 

Reference Checking: Checking with the provision of employer/supervisor acquaintance of the candidate will help in establishing the bonafides of the claims made by candidate in their application.  It is best to check with the person’s former supervisor or operating officials rather than with person in the personnel or Human Resources Department.

Interviewing: Interview entails face to face dialogue with candidates which will unvial what the candidate will do when employed and what such candidate has due in the past.  A guide interview form should be utilized to aid in eliciting all the information needed about a particular person.  The interview lends itself to analysis of what the individual will do and by reviewing what the candidate has done in the past.

Evaluating the Candidates: Interview information enables the interviewer to forecast what an individual interviewee will do.  These include: work habit, tenancy, the competitive spirit, loyalty, planning, organizing activities, relation with others and the ability to lead.

Selecting the right persons: At this selections qualified candidates could be rated in the following four level scale:

Almost perfectly qualified

Well qualified- (no serious deficiencies)

Marginally qualified – (seriously deficient)

Unqualified. (SOURCE: Encyclopedia of Professional Management (1995: 286) From the above available literature, it is important to say that the question of whether or not a particular applicant should be employed depends also upon certain factors outside his/her qualification.

Therefore it is pertinent to note that if the right employment procedure is observed, by the National Board for Technical Education, job misfits can be avoided and as a result there would be effective and efficient productivity from the organization and in effect, Nigerian technical institutions will produce best graduates that will compete in promoting Nigerian economy as well as development drive. My research interest therefore stems from apparent system of employment procedures and its effects on productivity in the National Board for Technical Education. Shaw (1990) equally analyzed that high entry level will result to higher salaries for new recruit so that the experience of existing employees must  be reflected in their salaries as compensation. Combined with manpower planning proper recruitment ensures that each individual employee has an opportunity to put in his best contribution for the organization to achieve its objectives.

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