Selection

Selection Methods

Online Assessment
One selection method used by John Lewis is an online assessment. John Lewis use this online assessment as their first stage of the selection process. The online assessment has two sections; one section asks applicants detailed questions about them selves, and the second section sets up situations which are related to the job role and ask applicants what they would do in the situation and why.

The first section of the assessment gives John Lewis more information about the applicant. The second section of the assessment shows John Lewis if the applicants are suitable for the job role. This helps John Lewis to narrow down the number of applicants they receive and makes sure that all the applications that go through to the next stage are suitable for the job role. This means that John Lewis can accurately narrow down the number of applicants and ensures that all applications that go through to the next stage of the selection process are suitable for the job and have the correct characteristics.

John Lewis uses this online assessment as the first stage of their application process. Online assessment is used as their first stage of their recruitment process because it only allows a small number of applicants through; who are suitable for the job role. This makes John Lewis' selection process a lot more successful because only applicants that are specifically suited to the job role get to go through to the next level of the selection process.

Pros	Cons
It can narrow down the amount of applications accurately by using a detailed set of questions. Online assessment is cheap as it is done over the internet and does not need constant attention from staff and can be used when needed. It can increase the number of applicants applying at the beginning of the selection process as it can be reached by a wide variety of people.	It could be seen as discriminatory as it is conducted online and not everyone has access to the internet. If John Lewis don't ask the applicants the correct questions then they might not get the right feedback from the assessment.

Assessment Centres
Another selection method used by John Lewis is an assessment Centre. John Lewis uses an assessment centre as the second stage of their selection process. At the assessment centre, recruitment staff ask the applicants to undertake several tasks relating to the job and asses their ability.

One of the tasks that the recruitment staff at John Lewis gets the applicants to do is to 'Sell a Product'. They give you a product and ask you to sell it to the group; pretending to sell it to a customer. This gives the recruitment staff more information about the candidate and shows them how the candidate will act in a situation that is likely to arise in the job.

Another activity that the recruitment staff at John Lewis ask candidates to do is to work in teams to think of ideas that can be used within the business to make it more successful. This shows the recruitment staff at John Lewis how the candidates act when working within a team. This relates to the job because they will be working within a team if they get the job.

John Lewis uses these assessment centres as the second stage to their selection process to further narrow down the number of applicants for the job. The assessment centre gives John Lewis the chance to see how well the applicants work with each other to complete tasks such as team building or going through an exercise that will show John Lewis how the applicant will react in a situation that is likely to arise from the job. This gives John Lewis a more detailed idea of how suitable each of the applicants are and ensures that only suitable applicants go through to the next round; narrowing the amount of applicants even further.

Pros	Cons
Gives a clear indication of how the candidate will act in a similar situation whilst working with a customer. Shows the recruitment staff how well the candidate can work within a team.	Assessment centres are expensive as they require several members of staff at all times.

Interview
The third selection method used by John Lewis is an interview. This stage of the selection process allows John Lewis to ask specific questions to each candidate and helps the recruitment staff at John Lewis to make a justified decision on who to employ.

This final stage of the selection process allows John Lewis to decide which applicant(s) they are going to employ with justified reasons. John Lewis uses interviews as the final stage of their recruitment process because it allows them to see in detail which candidates are best suited for the job. If interviews were used at the start of their selection process, it would become very time consuming and would also cost a lot of money.

Pros	Cons
Gives a very clear view of how suitable an applicant is for the job. Indicates further how the applicant will act whilst on the job.	Interviews cost a lot of money as they require several members of staff and they also take up a lot of time.

Interview
I was invited to an interview by an employer after I applied for a job online. The employer didn't give any indication about the interview or how it was going to be ran. The interview consisted of several stages; the first stage was a group interview. To save both time and money, the employer ask a group of the applicants into a room at a time to be interviewed by several interviewers.

The interviewers asked a series of questions to the group. They then assessed each individual in their contribution to the discussion and their answers. This was not an effective way to interview applicants because all it showed was who was more dominant within the group; It bared no relevance to the job role. This meant that the interview was not effective because it wasn't relevant to the job vacancy that they were trying to fill. This meant they might of employed the wrong applicant that wasn't the best applicant for the job.


The Co-operative
The Co-operative allow people to apply for jobs online, but dont ask thorough questions to the applicants. They only ask 9 questions; 5 of which are questions directly related to you, and the remaining 4 about your previous experience and why you would like to work for the Co-operative. (The Co-operative, n.d.)

By only having 5 questions that ask the applicants about their views, experience and knowledge, The Co-operative is not using its online application process effectively. Online application proccesses tend to be cheap to run and can vastly narrow down the number of applicants that go through to the next stage of the selection process.

If The Co-operative was to use its online application process more effectively, it would be able to narrow down the number of applicants effectively; ensuring that all applicants that get through have the right skills and suitable for the job role. This would also save the Co-operative a lot of money as online assessments are generally cheap to run as they automatically sort through the applications and only allow applicants through who are suitable for the job role.


Conclusion
In this ecenomic climate, employers are trying to get the best people suited to the job, whilst trying to save money in their reruitment process. This means that employers are now resorting to online applications which vastly narrow down applicants before they even meet them. This makes their recruitment process a lot more effective and also saves them a lot of money. If employers dont addapt their recruitment process to the climate they're in then they could potentially waste a lot of time and money on a recruitment process that doesn't effectively narrow down the amount of applicants.


Bibliography

The Co-operative (n.d.) Apply Online [online]. The Co-operative. Available from: https://careers.co-operative.jobs/careers/advanced.aspx [Accessed: 10th April 2012].