The Role of Strategic Planning in Recruiting and Selecting Process in Emirates Identity Authority (Research Paper Sample)

The Role of Strategic Planning in Recruiting and Selecting Process in Emirates Identity Authority
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The Role of Strategic Planning in Recruiting and Selecting Process in Emirates Identity Authority
Introduction and Overview
The process of recruitment and selection of employees is a critical process, and the human resources management of any contemporary organization does not conduct this process just for the sake of it. As suggested by Al-Lamki (2000), it is a process that requires rigorous and strategic human resource planning, coupled with comprehensive job planning so as to ensure that the right types of person are identified and obtained for the jobs. Recruitment and selection also entail establishing the correct quality and quantity of personnel required in an organization to accomplish the range of activities and tasks that the firm must accomplish in meeting its business needs (Marasinghe, Samarasinghe, Weerasinghe, Hettiarachchi, & Sumanadasa, 2013).
Additionally, recruitment and selection are an initiative that requires the human resource management to ensure that the correct mix of competencies and skill are achieved with minimum waste, besides being always available in the desired place (Lem, 2011; Olum, 2004; Thomson, 1998). What this statement means is that the concepts of human resource planning and recruitment and selection are inseparable as strategic human resource planning precedes recruitment and selection. For these reasons, the human resource managers of contemporary organizations should be proactive in the strategic planning of their recruitment and selection processes to ensure the availability of a skilled and competent labor force. In other terms, getting the right people into the right positions at the right time and place requires a comprehensive system of strategic planning for recruitment and selection. A point worth highlighting is that such strategic planning requires the human resource managers to embrace and uphold core principles of HRM best practices.
Given the significance of strategic planning in recruitment and selection, the focus of this paper is on the role of strategic planning in recruiting and selecting process in Emirates Identity Authority. The first area of discussion covers the number of people needed in this organization in meeting the employment needs for the nearest future and far future. A section of the paper also addresses the kind of person specifications required at Emirates Identity Authority. Here, I present a discussion of the strategic planning, how it links with the selecting process and how it follows the human resource plan, together with time requirements. Lastly, the paper shall focus on the theories pertinent to HR planning and rule or objective of HR planning.
Employment and recruitment needs for the nearest future and far future in Emirates Identity Authority
A case study by Al-Khouri (2011) reveals that the Emirates Identity Authority came into existence in 2004 as an independent federal government establishment following a presidential decree. The government tasked the organization with the development and implementation of a sophisticated and hi-tech national identity management infrastructure for the United Arab Emirates government (Al-Khouri, 2014). Following the interview I conducted, it was evident that the firm has undergone about two phases of strategic development since its inception. The strategic development has focused on three key strategic components that include securing e-government infrastructure, effective enrollment planning, and integrating with key government agencies. All these strategic components are geared towards responding productively to customer needs as Al-Khouri (2011) and Al-Khouri (2013a) confirm. The nature of the tasks that Emirates Identity Authority has been given requires the human resources management function to acquire skilled and competent employees in the right numbers.
Based on the findings of the interview, the number of people working for recruitment at all the Emirates Identity Authority centers nationwide is about 4,000. The trend in the growth of the national population in need of national identity cards and other identity-related needs implies that the organization needs an additional 10% of the current staff or about 400 employees in the nearest future. According to Al-Khouri (2011), 99% of the Emirates Identity Authority staff is composed of United Arab Emirates nationals. As the growth of population continues becoming apparent, it is definite that the Emirates Identity Authority will require recruiting new staff members, though the actual numbers recruited in the far future may be difficult to ascertain at the moment. The new recruitment needs will emanate from the fact that more employees will be promoted to a managerial position, thereby creating vacancies that will require being filled through rigorous and strategic recruitment and selection.
Now there are some factors that the human resources management of Emirates Identity Authority will have to consider in recruiting to meet its recruitment requirements for the nearest future. One of these factors is whether or not the identity infrastructure development duties in the new employment posts can be delivered in a different manner. Addressing this factor requires the employer to consider the availability and nature of development opportunities that need to be offered to the new staff as ACAS (2014) suggests. The second factor that the organization should consider in recruiting for the nearest future includes the ongoing requirements or fixed terms of the new job positions that are to be filled through recruitment. According to Martin, Whiting, and Jackson (2010), this factor is worth consideration not only because of legislative reasons but also because of the provision of functional and numerical flexibility that the entire firm requires in driving its strategic development initiatives. The third factor that the human resources management of Emirates Identity Authority should consider in recruiting for the nearest future is the factor of the level of training. As stated earlier, the firm deals with the development and implementation of a start-of-the-art national identity management infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates. Such a task must be complemented with sufficient training of on-going staff members, and most importantly, of new recruits. The provision of appropriate levels of training helps in maintaining the desired levels of labor turnover (Martin, Whiting, & Jackson, 2010). It is worth recalling mention that training programs require the HR to engage in strategic deliberations on the training budget. Lastly, the HR should consider whether or not it is necessary to make adjustments to the current working hour and compensation rates with regard to applying them to the newly recruited employees.
There are also some factors that the human resources management of Emirates Identity Authority must consider in recruiting to meet its recruitment requirements for the far future. Indeed, all the factors worth of consideration for recruitment for the nearest future must be considered in recruiting for the far futures. Besides these, the HR of this independent organization should also consider the emergence of new duties that might require being incorporated into the existing job descriptions. The new duties could be as a result of changes in technologies used in developing and sustaining the UAE national identity management infrastructure or other emerging trends (Al-Khouri, 2013b). Another factor that the HR management should consider when recruiting for the far future is the talent acquisition and retention. In the strategic planning for recruitment, talent acquisition, and employee retention should be a top priority because properly acquired and retained talent helps in cutting training costs that may be incurred by the firm in the far future as Rader (2012) provides. The HR management should also deliberate on the need to recruit employees with supervisory skills, experience, and capabilities in planning to recruit for the far future. Recruiting employees with supervisory competencies would be beneficial in that the firm would reduce costs of training during promotions, besides achieving high levels of employee performance efficiency.
Specifications for People Need in Emirates Identity Authority
It is good practice for the Emirates Identify Authority HRM to comprehend and differentiate between person specifications and job descriptions when conducting its recruitment and selection process. According to Armstrong (2010), person specifications include the abilities, skills, knowledge, experience, training and educational qualifications, and the behavioral competencies of a person being recruited for a particular job position. The interview I conducted with some managers and employees of Emirates Identity Authority revealed that maintaining person specifications forms the recruitment and selection foundation for the firm’s HRM.
The person specifications for employees and potential applicants of Emirates Identity Authority include the items summarized in the table below.
Table 1: Person specifications for Emirates Identity Authority
Person SpecificationsDescription Knowledge - Meticulous comprehension and appreciation of biometric concepts and the training and development attendant to them.
- Conflict resolution expertise and an aptitude for analytical reasoning
- Proven computer knowledge and electronic register creation proficiency Behavioral CompetenciesCooperation, excellent presentation and communication, practical intelligence, and positive judgment, mentally stable.Abilities and Skills - Team leadership and teamwork skills for managers and employees respectively
- Ability to plan
- ...