The main objective of selection is to hire people having competence and commitment. This objective is often defeated because of certain barriers. The impediments or barriers to effective selection of people at work can be explained as under:
1) Ineffective Recruitment: Sometimes selection process gets affected due to ineffective recruitment initiatives. If the recruiter fails to attract qualified candidates (in recruitment process) then it is obvious that right candidate will not be selected (in selection process). Therefore, ineffective recruitment will definitely influence selection.
2) Perception: Our inability to understand others accurately is probably the most fundamental barrier to select right candidate. Selection demands an individual or a group to assess a candidate comparing competencies of others, in order to find out the right persons for the jobs. But our views are highly personalized. We all perceive the world differently. Our limited perceptual ability is obviously a stumbling block to the objective and rational selection of people.
3) Stereotyping: This is one of the most common barrier to selection. In stereotyping, we generally categorize the candidates such as:
- All professors and teachers are absent minded
- All females are basically sincere and honest
- All civil servants are boring
- Candidates with Science background are intelligent etc.
This leads to biased selection of candidates.
4) Gender Issue: Gender issue also hampers effective selection. In early days, men predominately held managerial jobs and if those jobs are viewed as being primarily masculine in nature, such stereotyping may produce negative reaction in selecting right candidates.
5) Age/Race Issue: In many selections, age and race of the candidates are considered rather than their skills, abilities or experiences. This leads to bias selection.
6) Halo Effect: Another barrier to selection is halo effect, which can be negative or positive. In hallo effect the personal characteristics influence or overwhelms the interviewers and this lead to wrong selection.
7) Quota System: Quota system also influences effective selection.
8) Fairness: Selection requires that no individual should be discriminated based on religion, region, race or gender. But the less number of women and other less privileged sections of society in the middle and senior management positions and open discrimination in job advertisements and in the selection process would suggest that all the efforts to minimize inequity have not been very effective.
9) Validity: Validity refers to tests that help to predict job performance of an incumbent. A test that has been validated can differentiate between the employees who can perform well and those who will not. However, a validated test does not predict job success accurately. It can only increase possibility of success.
10) Reliability: A reliable method is one, which will produce consistent results every time it is conducted. Like a validated test, a reliable test may fail to predict job performance with precision.
11) Pressure: This occurs when politicians, bureaucrats, relatives, friends, and peers try to influence on the selectors to pick particular candidate. In public sector, this barrier mostly influenced a good selection.
12) Nepotism/Favourism: This is one of major/common barrier to effective selection in both public and private sectors.
13) Cost and time: Sometimes due to insufficient time and budget, right person cannot be selected.
Barriers to effective selection in employment process
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