Critical Assessment of the Recruitment (Other (Not Listed) Sample)

FINANCE MANAGER Group Members: Caroline & Puneet
a) A job description for the Finance Manager position; these job descriptions must reflect the identified operational needs of Crisis Helping Hands. References must be included.
This job description assumes the latter view of the finance manager position. As such, a financial manager is responsible for providing the company with financial advice, support to clients and enable colleagues to make sound business decisions. Further, the finance manager engages in financial analysis such as forecasting, budgeting, engaging in cost reduction analysis and reviewing operational performance. In addition, care must be taken to ensure that financial practices are in line with all statutory legislation and regulations. (http://www.prospects.ac.uk/financial_manager_job_description.htm)
b) Baseline (minimum) hiring qualifications for the Finance Manager position. References must be included.
Hiring Qualifications for the Finance Manager Position are as follows:
Bachelors' degree in accounting required. 
CPA and/or Masters' degree is desirable.
A minimum of three years of progressively responsible experience in various areas of accounting and financial reporting is required. 
A minimum of three years' experience supervising a team is required.
Must have excellent computer skills in a wide array of software applications including but not limited to Excel, Work, PowerPoint, QuickBooks, accounting, account payable and payroll applications.
Must demonstrate ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing with all colleagues.
Must possess analytical and problem solving skills. 
Must have advanced ability to prioritize and organize work for self and team. 
Must be able to build and lead a team of diverse individuals effectively. 
Must be self-motivated, detail-oriented individual able to work with minimum supervision.
Must be able to work on multiple projects at one time and flexibility to meet department needs. 
Must be able to perform effectively under stressful situation. Valid driver's license required, with acceptable driving record.
` (https://www.healthcaresource.com/thregion4/index.cfm?fuseaction=search.jobDetails&template=dsp_job_details.cfm&cJobId=897319&source=Indeed.com)
c) A job posting/advertisement for the Finance Manager position including a summary of the methods that will be used for advertising each position and the reasons (minimum of two reasons) for choosing these particular methods. References must be included.
d) A set of six interview questions for the Finance Manager position including a description of how each interview will be conducted, which positions in the organization will attend each interview, including their roles and responsibilities (i.e. who will lead and close the interview and how the questions will be divided). References must be included.
Six interview questions for the Finance Manager position:
What motivates you in your job?
This question is designed to assess whether the applicant will be a good motivational fit for the position and the company. The application should choose motivation relevant to what the finance job provides. Many financial positions require self-motivated people whose motivators include managing a challenge, getting the required results, achievement and recognition. 
Tell me about a time when you successfully dealt with a difficult and demanding client.
Here we are exploring the applicants resilience and ability to persist in the face of a challenge. Setbacks and difficult clients are part of the financial business and you need to demonstrate your ability to deal with this. By the applicant providing an example that clearly shows their determination and the interpersonal skills used to reach a positive outcome. 
Tell me about your approach to teamwork. How have you had to adapt to work effectively as part of a team?
The strategy used here is that teamwork assess your ability to build relationships and contribute to team success. Your ability to work successfully with other people in the finance business is essential. The applicant needs to show how they have assessed each of their team member and selected the best approach for each particular need. In business adaptability is key to success. 
Tell me about a recent high stress situation you were in. How did you manage it?
Finance positions demand the ability to work well under pressure. As the interviewer, we want to know whether or not the applicant is able to perform under stress and cope with difficult situations. Showing that the applicant can stay calm and is able to plan to reduce stress.
Describe a tough financial analysis problem you faced recently?
The applicants ability to identify key issues and detect problems from relevant information is key in their answer. The applicant must be able to show their skill in breaking down, organizing and analyzing information.
What are the biggest challenges and opportunities that the finance professional faces today?
The applicant must be able to highlight their awareness and insight into the current economic situation and the state of the financial sector including regulatory changes, reputation issues, availability of credit, cost reduction and recent industry innovations among others. 
(http://www.best-job-interview.com/finance-interview-questions.html)
e) A summary of two different kinds of screening tests that could be used as part of the recruitment process for the Finance Manager position. The rationale for using each of these screening tests for the two positions must be included. References must be included.
Aptitude Testing
The main reason our company would use aptitude testing is to improve the quality of hiring and promoting. Tests become much more efficient than interviews in determining whether the applicant has the potential to do the job well. And when designed properly, aptitude test can fairly and objectively compare and contrast the potential between candidates. 
The test is both valid and reliable due to standardization, therefore the company can strongly assure a fair process. It also becomes a benefit in a case where our recruitment practices are ever legally challenged, we would have strong enough evidence with the tests to prove that we provided an equal opportunity of employment. 
These aptitude tests help companies screen in for key competency areas such as whether the training process will be suitable or too difficult for the applicant. In addition these tests are easy and cost-effective to deliver. 
The type of aptitude tests we would use for our financial manager position is the Inventory of Work-Relevant Abilities (IWRA). This type of assessment focuses on the following common workplace skills:
· Meeting people.
· Helping others.
· Sales.
· Leadership/management skills.
· Organizational skills.
· Clerical skills.
· Mechanical skills.
· Manual dexterity.
· Numerical/mathematical skills.
· Scientific skills.
· Creative/artistic skills.
· Creative/literary skills.
· Reading.
· Language use.
· Spatial perception.
With this aptitude test it will reveal the natural talents, strengths, and limitations the applicant has. When testing the candidates aptitudes, the company looks beyond what they’ve done in the past and assess what they have potential to achieve in the future. 
(http://www.best-job-interview.com/pre-employment-testing.html)
The second screening test we would implement is the Integrity Employment Test. Employee theft and fraud can cost on average a company $9 per a day per an employee as studies have been shown in the States. These tests are used to evaluate an applicant’s honesty and trustworthiness including attitudes towards risky workplace behaviour, theft, lying and any other unethical behaviour. 
Questions have been designed to examine the applicant’s attitude and approach towards misuse of company resources, email and internet abuse, use of drugs and/or drugs, trust with confidential information and personal responsibility. 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_integrity_testing)
Since integrity tests aim to identify prospective employees who are likely to engage in theft and/or counterproductive work behavior. This can save the employer from problems that might arise during the new applicants term of employment. 
Applicants who have “low integrity” report more dishonest behavior, these applicants will try to find reasons in order to justify their behaviour to the employer. Since people seldom sincerely declare to a prospective employers their past deviance, this test allows the applicant to talk about what they think of the deviance of other people. 
There has been claims that such a test be able to detect the answers of low integrity applicants have been made, however naive respondents really believe this pretense and behave accordingly, reporting some of their past deviance and their thoughts about the deviance of others. These applicants fearing that if they do not answer truthfully their untrue answers will reveal their low integrity, therefore the more candid the applicant is in their answers, the higher their integrity score will be.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_integrity_testing)
f) A set of four selection criteria that could be used for the Finance Manager position that could be used as the basis for selecting the most appropriate applicant (assume that there is an abundance of well-qualified applicants for each position). The rationale for using each of these selection criteria for the two positions must be included. References must be included.
Set of four selection criteria for the Finance Manager Position:
Demonstrated the ability to leading a Finance unit and achieve consistent results with strategic and operational goals. In managing and developing team capabilities in order to achieve outcomes.
Demonstrated ability managing accounts receivable and payable functions and well developed knowledge of the commonwealth regulations relating to cost recovery.
Management of budgets in a diverse and complex organisation including experience developing and implementing effective financial management policies and systems.
Excellent analytical, communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to provide complex and timely advice to senior management, and to communicate effectively with and clients.
(http://www.asqa.gov.au/verve/_resources/EL_2_Manager_Finance_and_Facilities_160412.pdf)
g) A set of four reference check questions that could be used for the Finance Manager position. For each position, identify the position of the individual who would complete the reference check. State the rationale for choosing this individual. References must be included.
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Crisis Helping Hands
Crisis Helping Hands (CHH) is a non-profit organization in Calgary and has been in operation since the late 1980’s. CHH has worked relentlessly to help those in need and over the past 15 years, has provided support for more than 2500 families who have suffered a crisis situation. Verna Wilson founded CHH and has always served as the Executive Director (ED). She is 69 years old and, academically she completed a B.A. in Social Sciences at the University of Alberta in 1970. She works full time hours (loosely defined as 55-60 hours a week) and spends most of her time seeking funding support from the Alberta government, other philanthropic organizations and organizing the Annual Charity Run. 
The CHH has a Board of Directors and two of the members, Sally Jones and Carol Wyatt have business degrees with a major in Human Resources. The Board meets irregularly and only when Verna asks for a meeting. In general, there are two or three meetings a year. 
All of the staff at CHH, other than Verna work part-time hours. CHH’s staff complement is as follows:
• Willy Holmes moved to Alberta from Ontario in 1986 and is the Finance Manager for CHH. He is single, 60 years old, rents an apartment in High River and used to work as the Finance Manager for an oil and gas company in Calgary. Willy is an exceptional employee and provides back-up ED support for Verna. He works 17 hours a week.
• Carole Mays is the Volunteer Coordinator, She recruits and trains the volunteers and works 12 hours a week.
• Mary Andrews is the Administrative Assistant/Receptionist. She works Monday to Friday from 1 to 3pm.
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• Bill Jamieson is the Facility Manager. He works at 11:00am to 2:00pm each day.
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• Mandy Smith, the Payroll Clerk/Marketing Assistant spends 80% of her time completing marketing activities and these are primarily related to fund development. She works Tuesday and Thursdays from 8:00am to 4:00pm.
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• CHH has 185 volunteers, the majority of whom are female. The volunteers’ work week ranges from 5 to 30 hours a week.
CHH has a high turnover of staff and Verna has sometimes commented that she seems to spend over half of her time recruiting new staff despite the small number of staff. Her usual hiring method is to continually post vacancy notices for each position (even if there are no vacancies) on the bulletin boards of local grocery stores, schools and libraries, in the local newspaper and on the websites of local non-profit organizations. She reasons that this is a cost effective method. The majority of resumes are electronically received. Verna has a filing cabinet full of applications since she saves all resumes. Lenore sorts all applicant files once every two years and often finds that she has more than 500 applications on file. When there is an actual vacancy, she will always ask the volunteers (through the volunteer newsletter) to refer as many applicants as possible. She does not ask staff for referrals as she believes this could potentially cause a conflict of interest. 
In order to be prepared to recruit and select staff at all times, Verna keeps a hard copy of a “how to” book on Recruiting for the Non-Profit Organization on her desk at all times. She downloaded this publication from an American government website. The document is very comprehensive and includes a wide variety of job descriptions for all of the positions currently in place at CHH. The job descriptions frequently have different duties than her employees but all in all, Verna believes that they are suitable. She uses some of the interview questions listed in the documents, though not always. It all depends how much time she has for the interview.
When there is an actual vacancy, Verna gathers all of the relevant applications that are on file and, based on the appearance of the resume and the source of referral (she really likes referrals from volunteers since these individuals tend to stay longer) calls 10-15 applicants. She asks these applicants to come for an interview on different days and tends to discontinue interviews once she thinks she has found an applicant who meets the following criteria. i.e., they must not drink, must be able to start work immediately and must have a clear police record. She then asks Willy to conduct a follow-up telephone interview. Willy doesn’t like doing this, but he is respectful of authority and accordingly makes the phone call. He never knows what to ask the different applicants. He makes notes and always tells Verna that the candidate is just fine. From experience, he knows that Verna does not want to hear anything negative about any applicant. He doesn’t provide a written summary. Verna then has Mary call the applicant’s references and basically, Mary asks the following questions “is the applicant a good people person”, “was the applicant often late for work” and “how long did she work for you”. Mary gives this information to Verna who in turn calls the applicant and offers the position. Five out of every 10 applicants refuse the offer and Verna starts the process all over again.
In April 2014, Mandy Smith, the Payroll Clerk/Marketing Assistant tells Verna that she is resigning in three weeks. Verna is upset and tells her that she can have a pay increase if she stays. Mary refuses Verna’s offer. Verna is upset but immediately begins reviewing her applicant files. As she is doing this, Willy, the Finance Manager comes to her office and tells her that he is resigning immediately because he needs to move to Ontario to look after his mother who is 90 years old. He will stay on Ontario as he is the executor of the estate and as well, has no particular ties to Alberta.
Verna requests an emergency meeting of the Board to discuss these staffing issues. She announces that she needs help to recruit and select a Payroll Clerk/Marketing Assistant and a Finance Manager. She tells the Board that these positions must be filled within five weeks and must be part-time jobs. Lenore discusses her recruitment and selection processes with the Board. The Board has some concerns about these processes and asks Verna to provide a summary report of the process and actions she will use to fill these vacancies. 
Assignment
Part A - Critical Assessment of the Recruitment and Selection Methods Used by Crisis Helping Hands 
1. Describe two recruitment/selection-related methods used by Crisis Helping Hands that are ineffective and state one reason why each of these methods is ineffective. Use information from your text and/or other sources as appropriate.
2. Recommend four strategies that Crisis Helping Hands could use to improve the effectiveness of their recruitment and selection methods. Use information from your text and/or other sources as appropriate.
Part B - Customized Documents
Based on the critical analysis of the recruitment and selection practices used by Crisis Helping Hands and their operational needs, prepare the following customized documents for the Finance Manager position and the Payroll Clerk/Marketing Assistant positions (the source or sources of information used must be included in the report).
a) A job description for the Finance Manager position and the Payroll Clerk/Marketing Assistant position; these job descriptions must reflect the identified operational needs of Crisis Helping Hands. References must be included.
b) Baseline (minimum) hiring qualifications for the Finance Manager position and the Payroll Clerk/Marketing Assistant position. References must be included.
c) A job posting/advertisement for the Finance Manager position and the Payroll Clerk/Marketing Assistant position including a summary of the methods that will be used for advertising each position and the reasons (minimum of two reasons) for choosing these particular methods. References must be included.
d) A set of six interview questions for the Finance Manager position and the Payroll Clerk/Marketing Assistant position including a description of how each interview will be conducted, which positions in the organization will attend each interview, including their roles and responsibilities (i.e. who will lead and close the interview and how the questions will be divided). References must be included.
e) A summary of two different kinds of screening tests that could be used as part of the recruitment process for the Finance Manager position and the Payroll Clerk/Marketing Assistant positions. The rationale for using each of these screening tests for the two positions must be included. References must be included.
f) A set of four selection criteria that could be used for the Finance Manager and the Payroll Clerk/Marketing Assistant position that could be used as the basis for selecting the most appropriate applicant (assume that there is an abundance of well-qualified applicants for each position). The rationale for using each of these selection criteria for the two positions must be included. References must be included.
a) A set of four reference check questions that could be used for the Finance Manager position and the Payroll Clerk/Marketing Assistant position. For each position, identify the position of the individual who would complete the reference check. State the rationale for choosing this individual. References must be included.