MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF SELECTION

The Business Dictionary defines employee selection as the “process of interviewing
and evaluating candidates for a specific job and selecting an individual for
employment based on certain criteria.”
 
The purpose of selection is to pick up the most suitable candidate who would meet
the requirements of the job in an Organization to the best possible way. To meet this
goal, the Company obtains and assesses information about the applicants in terms of
age, qualifications, skills and experience. The needs of the job are matched with the
profile of candidates. How well an employee is matched to a job is very important
because it affects directly the amount and quality of employee’s work. Any mismatch
in this regard can cost an Organization a great deal of money, time and trouble,
especially, in terms of training and operating costs. In course of time, the employee
may find the job distasteful and leave in frustration. The size of the labour market, the
image of the Company, the place of posting, the nature of job and compensation
package may influence the aspirants who are likely to respond to the recruiting
efforts of the Company. Through the process of recruitment the Company tries to
locate prospective employees and encourages them to apply for vacancies at various
levels. Recruiting, thus, provides a pool of applicants for selection.
 
   Selecting the wrong employees can lead to all sorts of problems down the line. For
instance, employees may fail to perform their jobs satisfactorily, they may leave soon
after being hired because they are simply not suitable for the Company, or they may
require extensive training and mentoring, which you may not have the time to provide.
Employees who are suitable for your Company, and have the skills and expertise
required to do the job for which they are hired, are much more likely to meet
expectations and stay in the position for a considerable time. On the other hand,
employees who are chosen poorly and lack the previously mentioned qualities will
likely be terminated or leave on their own, often soon after hiring. Your Company will
then be back to square one, trying to fill the empty position, which can be a costly
endeavor. Meanwhile, other good employees often suffer because they must take on
the duties of the empty position until it is filled once again.