Hiring Gets Off on the Right Foot Essay Example for Free

Hiring Gets Off on the Right Foot Essay Nike has adapted their employee selection techniques by using a computer-based interviewing system that aims to select suitable applicants for a specific job (Bohlander, 2007, p. 284). The said system can be very useful to the company’s human resources department since it makes their job a lot easier. However, the efficiency and effectiveness of the said process should still be proven. Generally, the said computer-generated interview can be very beneficial both to the applicant and human resource department. Nevertheless, it also has some setbacks although these setbacks are negligible and can be ironed out. The computer-based interviewing system is applicable especially to large companies like Nike; on the other hand, a company should not solely rely on this type of employee selection process. Other ways of employee selection should still be utilized such as accepting walk-ins in a personal interview rather than a computerized one. Analysis The computer-assisted interviewing system tries to narrow down the selection of qualified applicants to a minimum so that the human resource department need not spend time on all applicants (Bohlander, 2007, p. 285). This is successfully met by the said system since modern high technology usually reduces the clutter of office work. As in the case of Nike, computer-based interviews can be of great help if the number of applicants is really large. By doing so, few people are needed in the human resources department. Also, by subjecting the applicant’s to this computer interview, human resource managers will have the idea how the applicants cope or adapt with technology. Are they computer literate and able to keep up with the idea of a computer interviewing them? Do they easily understand instruction by merely looking and reading at a computer monitor? These are some of the questions that can be answered by employing such a process. In addition, the three customer-related scenarios in the computer-generated interview are very practical and realistic scenarios to test the applicant’s approach to the real job at hand. The system has many advantages as has been pointed out in the previous discussion, yet, it also has some weaknesses. One very important factor in choosing the right person for the job is his emotional health. Using the computer-generated interview, Nike cannot account the applicant’s emotions and feelings while the interview is going on. Thus, the computer cannot tell the company of the level of confidence an applicant has when the interview is done. Furthermore, there will always be Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) concerns when it comes to employment selection processes. In this case at hand, the company surely provides EEO since the computer is not programmed to unjustly cater to a selected group of applicants. Thus, discrimination that a human resource officer may unconsciously bring when interviewing an applicant may be eliminated. Recommendations On the whole, the computer-based interviewing system is beneficial if it is used hand in hand with other types or ways of employee selection. However, on its own, it is very inefficient. It can be suggested that personal interviews should still be employed by the company since this kind of interview are the most spontaneous and revealing. Also, to further develop the computer-based interviewing system, besides the printout, it will be better if the company will include a video camera that could record the features, facial expressions and gestures that an applicant may have while answering questions. By doing so, the applicants emotional aspect can also be observed. A psychology test can also be included in the computer-based interview to evaluate the person’s emotional health. Summary and Conclusion Positively, the computer-based interviewing system is a great innovative for the human resource department of the company. As the number of applicants for a particular job increases, the feasibility of this method also increases. However, it is still insisted that the computer-generated interview should not be the sole factor in selecting the right person for the job. Personal interviews will always be more helpful. Surely, Nike should be concerned that the interview they are doing is far from public relations. Public relations require people in the process, also, an interview is a conversation between two people, however, the computer is not a human being, and it is only a machine. Therefore, the computer-based interview is one of the means of employee selection but it is not the end. It is only one way of the many methods an effective complex employment selection may have. References Bohlander, G. , Snell, S. (2007). Managing Human Resources, 14th Ed. Mason, USA: Thomson South-Western.