SECTION I

MANAGING EMPLOYMENT

Introduction

Finding the right people is too important to be left to chance or to out-dated practices. ‘Hire and fire’ policies result in low levels of performance by demotivated employees who lack both the competencies needed to carry out tasks effectively, and the stability in employment that are the foundation of good customer relations. The same is true of ‘crisis-management’ recruitment procedures which attempt to replace key staff by desperate appeals to employment agencies, glossy but meaningless job advertisements, and employment interviews based on the maxim that ‘I can spot winners as soon as they walk through the door’. Employees drive the modern business by creating products and services which can satisfy customers, and therefore there can be no substitute for carefully planned recruitment procedures, scientifically based selection methods, and those positive employment policies which motivate and retain high performers.

In the next two chapters valid and reliable methods of recruiting, selecting, and retaining employees in a manner consistent with the goals of the enterprise are outlined. The successful selection of employees is shown to be the fruitful culmination of carefully planned and well-researched recruitment procedures and the practical application of the latest developments in occupational psychology.

‘Best practice’ techniques of employment interviewing and psychometric testing are described and the most effective ways of retaining employees explored. The importance of job satisfaction is highlighted, and ways of developing ‘psychological contracts’ between employer and employed which lead to high levels of motivation are analysed.