Are there tasks or functions in your work that you believe are redundant, unnecessary, or repetitive or that could be done by a lesser-paid employee?
200 PART 3 • MANAGING RESOURCES
The Recruitment and Selection Process Recruiting and selecting staff who will contribute positively to the organization is crucial in the fast-paced world of health care and in the face of ever-increasing nursing shortages (U.S. Department of Labor, 2011). The direct costs of recruiting, selecting, and training an employee who must later be terminated because of unsatisfactory performance is expensive and unneces- sary. The hidden costs may be even more expensive and include poor quality of work, disruption of morale, and patients’ ill will and dissatisfaction, which may contribute to later liability.
The purpose of the recruitment and selection process is to match people to jobs. Respon- sibility for selecting nursing personnel in health care organizations is usually shared by the hu- man resources (HR) department, which may include a nurse recruiter, and nursing management. First-line nursing managers are the most knowledgeable about job requirements and can best describe the job to applicants. HR performs the initial screening and monitors hiring practices to be sure they adhere to legal stipulations.
Before recruiting or selecting new staff, those responsible for hiring must be familiar with the position description. The position description (see Box 15-1) describes the skills, abilities, and knowledge required to perform the job.