Hiring Process and Procedures, Interviews, and Job Offers Explained

Alpha County Hospital was seeking a certified HR personnel professional with a Master’s degree in Human Resources for the position of Director of Human Resources. Mrs. Judy came in as a promising candidate for an interview. She needed to respond to the following two questions:

1. Why do you want to work for Alpha County Hospital as the HR Director?
2. Explain the hiring process and what you would do to retain staff while at the same time balancing the hospital’s interests and that of staff.

Mrs. Judy’s responses are summarized below:

1. “I would like to work for Alpha County Hospital to help build a distinctive brand name for the hospital that would help employees and potential employees make it a choice compared to others.”

“Very impressive,” said one of the members of the interview panel.

1. “The process of recruiting, selection, and retention of staff goes through several steps.”

Mrs. Judy noted the following (SHRM, 2021):

• Personnel requisitions
  • “Personnel requisitions must be initiated by the department supervisors, approved by the division manager, and then forwarded to the human resource (HR) department.” She added that personnel requisitions should indicate the following:
    • Position title
    • Position hours or shifts
    • Exempt or non-exempt status of the position
    • Reason for the opening
    • Essential job functions and qualifications (or a current job description may be attached)
    • Any special recruitment advertising instructions
• Intake meetings
  • “HR will arrange a meeting with the hiring manager to conduct an intake meeting prior to posting a job opening to learn more about the position, the requirements, and the profile of the ideal candidate. The recruiting strategy will be set during this meeting and expectations will be established with all of the key stakeholders.”
• Job postings
  • “HR will create job postings that briefly describe the job opening and communicate the hospital’s brand. All job openings will be posted concurrently on the hospital’s intranet and externally, with sources such as employment agencies Web sites and other apps. The job ads will remain posted until the position is filled.” Mrs. Judy emphasized that the HR department will be responsible for tracking all of the applicants and retaining applications and resumes as required. She noted that apps and software like HRMIS are very useful in managing candidate information.
• Internal applicants
  • “Current employees with a satisfactory employment status may apply for internal job openings. The consent of the employee’s manager and the HR department may be necessary for employees with less than 1 year of service with the hospital. All applicants for a posted vacancy will be considered based on their qualifications and ability to perform the job successfully. Internal candidates who are not selected will be notified by the HR department.”
• Interview process
  • “The HR department and the hiring manager will screen applications and resumes prior to scheduling interviews. Initial interviews are generally conducted by the HR department and the hiring manager using behavior-based interview questions and a structured interview process. Candidate evaluation forms will be completed after each interview and retained with the application. The unsuccessful candidates will be notified of their nonselection.”
• Reference checks
  • “HR will conduct professional reference checks and employment verification on the top candidates based on the results of the candidate evaluation forms completed by the interviewers. A minimum of three professional references are required from each candidate.”
• Job offers
  • “After a decision has been made to hire a candidate, an offer will be made contingent on the satisfactory completion of required background checks and testing. The offer may contain a salary structure and benefits package. Backgrounds are ordered and done with the permission of the candidate. This may include criminal history, credit history, driving record, drug testing, or any other relevant information for the job. Internal applicants must complete required background checks or tests not previously completed. Once the HR department receives satisfactory results from all required background checks and tests, candidates will be provided with a final job offer. If a candidate fails to accept an offer of employment within 7 calendar days, the offer may be rescinded by the company.”

With regard to retaining staff, Mrs. Judy advanced the following recommendations:

1. Good benefits, competitive wages, and bonuses
2. Effective employee training, development, and empowerment
3. Providing needed resources for staff
4. Using mandated and appropriate scheduling standards and ratios
5. Enforcing quality performance initiatives

Using the scenario above, respond to the following questions:

1. In the interview, Mrs. Judy’s reason for wanting to work with Alpha County Hospital is to help build the hospital’s brand for all stakeholders to remain competitive. In HR, what is branding?
2. In the interview, Mrs. Judy outlined the order of a recruiting, selecting, and retention process, which follows a definite pattern. What was the order of the hiring process as outlined by Mrs. Judy?
3. How did Mrs. Judy describe the way in which a personnel acquisition request be processed in a hospital?
4. What is the purpose of intake meetings by HR personnel prior to posting a job opening at a hospital?
5. What information is needed to complete a personnel requisition request?
6. Why was Mrs. Judy’s response about brand name significant to her employers?
7. Mrs. Judy identified the role of technology in HR functions such as job postings. What could be an advantage of the use of HR apps in performing HR functions?
8. When selecting a candidate, HR makes a job offer. According to Mrs. Judy, what should be the composition of a typical job offer?
9. What is the difference between a preliminary job offer and a final job offer?
10. Mrs. Judy mentioned internal and external candidates in the recruitment process. What advantages would an internal candidate have over an external candidate for a job opening in a hospital?
11. A first impression is very important during an interview. What would convince the interview panel that Mrs. Judy would be a good fit for the position of Director of Human Resources?
12. Certification is very important for HR personnel. The interview panel selected Mrs. Judy partly because she was certified. What would be one of the interview panel’s reasons for selecting a certified HR Director like Mrs. Judy?
13. One of the characteristics of a good interviewer is to draw inferences from responses given by candidates. From the response given by Mrs. Judy to question 2, what is a possible reason for staff turnover?

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• Length: 3 pages minimum
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