When building a team, a supervisor must take a lot into consideration. Everything from the personalities for the people on the team, the culture of the team and organization, the competencies that the role will be measured on, and what the growth goal is for the team.

Selection is the process of screening applicants in order to choose the best person for a job. Once job applicants have been located, the next step is to gather information that will help determine who should be hired. Usually, the HR staff or the supervisor reviews rsums or applications to determine which applicants meet the general qualifications of the position. Then, qualified applicants may be further screened with tests, reference or background checks, and interviews to narrow down the pool of applicants.

For supervisors, the most frequently used selection criterion, and often the most important part of the selection process, is the employee selection interview. Depending on the type of job, the applicant may be interviewed by one person, by several members of a work team, or by even external stakeholders. There are two basic approaches to interviewing: directive and nondirective. These approaches are classified primarily according to the amount of structure the interviewer imposed on the interview.

The decision to hire can be challenging when the supervisor has interviewed several applicants and all appear qualified for the job. At times, information from the applications, tests, and interviews indicate which applicants should be hired. However, at other times such information may be unconvincing or perhaps even conflicting.

At this point, supervisory judgment and experience come into play. The supervisor must select employees who are most likely to contribute to good departmental performance. By carefully analyzing all the information and keeping in mind previous successes and failures in selecting employees, the supervisor should be able to select applicants who are most likely to succeed.

Assignment prompts:

• How would you define the selection process? Why is adequate supervisory preparation for an employee selection interview crucial to the interview success? Explain each of the following aspects of conducting an employee selection interview:
  • Opening the interview
  • Explaining the job
  • Using effective questioning techniques
  • Taking notes
  • Concluding the interview
• What are some of the major activities of the HR department that can assist the line supervisor in the staffing function? What should be the primary responsibility of the HR staff and of line supervisors for various employment and other staffing activities? Is there a clear dividing line of responsibility? Explain.

Assignment Guidelines:

• 2 pages in length not including title page and reference pages
• At least two references outside of the course text.