An analysis of the Selection stage in HR during contemporary times by the students of Department of Management Studies (2017 - 2019), University of Madras.

1. Mithunram
Dhamodharan
Vignesh
Srinivasan
SELECTION

2. ●
Selection - The process through which organizations make
decisions about who will or will not be allowed to join the
organization.
●
Selection begins with the candidates identified through
recruitment and with attempts to reduce their number to the
individuals best qualified to perform the available jobs. At the end
of the process, the selected individuals are placed in jobs with the
organization.
SELECTION - DEFINITION

3. JOB - FIT | ORGANISATION - FIT

4. Recent Trends until Interview
●
From selecting on skills to selecting on values and personality
For their core organisations are looking for talent where there is a good fit between the values
and the personality of the organisation and the values and the personality of the
candidates. Also organisations have personalities/culture and what you see emerging is
methodologies to make the best fit between people and organisations. Thus, there is a gradual
shift towards hiring candidates who posses skills rather than those who have degrees and
certificates. Importance of formal education through traditional educational channels is now
taking a back seat.
●
Gamification in selection
Gamification is now entering selection as well. Candidates are asked to play a game (e.g. The
Wasabi Waiter) and the companies behind the games claim they can make a valuable
profile of the candidate based on his or her game behaviour and results. Playing a game
is a lot more fun than being interviewed by people who all ask more or less the same
questions (“What are your strong points?”).

5. ●
Gamified assessments: These are traditional assessments enhanced with
one or more game elements such as storylines, progress indicators, feedback
mechanisms, interactive items, leaderboards, badges, levels, and multimedia.
The intent is to create a more vibrant experience that encourages
candidates to continue through the assessment process.
●
Serious games: These are intended to provide new ways of measuring an
individual’s behaviors and characteristics in a game environment. For
example, serious games can involve quests, challenges, or interaction with the
game environment to progress through various levels. The theory is that you
can collect valuable information about people by seeing how they play a
game.
●
Multimedia simulations: These create a virtual environment to test real life
job situations. By simulating work behaviors and contexts, simulations
can also provide a realistic preview of the job.

6. CASE STUDY – AXA (Gamified assessments)
●
The global insurance brand, AXA Group, has implemented gamification into its hiring process
through a tool called Knack which builds various types of assessment games to identify candidate
strengths, abilities, and personality traits that might not be apparent in an interview or on a resume.
Games like Wasabi Waiter and Balloon Brigade, to name a few, collect several megabytes of data on
candidates to compare to successful employees already within the company.
●
Guy Halfteck, the CEO of Knack, the company that makes the video game Balloon Brigade and
other games that serve as hiring tests, says that micro-behaviors like finger hesitation are tracked by
these games and leave behind "digital breadcrumbs" to create a profile of a person.
●
"Those breadcrumbs show us and tell us about how you think, how you problem solve, and how you
persist," says Halfteck. "Do you have the grit to deal with challenges? The game becomes very
challenging and frenetic at some points."
●
The game collects these "digital breadcrumbs" to create a big data profile, which is then used to
determine what kind of worker you will be. If an individual does well at both the game and the job
they are hired for, human resources departments will look to hire more individuals that have similar
game scores. For example, by playing the game Wasabi Waiter, which has players act as digital
waiters and deliver sushi in a crowded restaurant, the game was able to accurately predict which
scientists were open to new ways of thinking and had a high threshold for discipline.

7. CASE STUDY - PwC, Hungary (Serious Game)
●
Accounting and consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers wanted to see if it
could do a better job with recruiting and retention. At the firm’s Hungary
location, the human resources department set goal of more fully engaging
its job candidates during the search process.
●
Job candidates were passing through the PwC website too quickly, spending
10 minutes or less. PwC believed a more engaged candidate pool would yield
better candidates, and would also result in workers who would stay on with
the company longer after they had been hired.
●
PwC turned to a serious game called Multipoly (the name is a play on the
popular board game “Monopoly”). The game allows job candidates to see
just how ready they are to work at PwC by placing them on teams and
presenting them business problems similar to those they would encounter on
the job.

8. ●
Multipoly a 3D online game which emulates a 1 year long internship programme
within 12 days. They start with an entry exam based on a video about PwC. If they
pass, they create their profile which enables them to track measures based upon the
competencies which inform the game - knowledge, reliability, loyalty and
networking.
●
Players get 20 activity points per day on mandatory exercises and optional
situations depending on the points they would like to increase. They get set different
exercises in different parts of the virtual offices. Some of these cover spots, social
responsibility etc, not just about accountancy, so candidates get a true picture of the
complexity which makes up employment with the firm.
●
After a simulated job interview, candidates can try out roles such as consultant,
senior consultant, and manager. Job candidates must use business acumen, digital
skills, and relational skills in order to play the game.
●
People log in using their Facebook account so you can see more information about
them, and achievements get pasted on their Facebook wall. The achievements also
get converted to real prizes including a trip for two to New York.

9. ●
Noemi Biro, PwC Hungary’s regional recruitment manager, tells Forbes that
candidates who played Multipoly were better prepared for live face-to-face
interviews because the game informed and prepared them for PwC by emphasizing
the skills needed for success at the firm.
●
As a recruitment tool, the game proved to be a massive improvement over the PwC
career page. Some job candidates spent less than 10 minutes on the PwC website.
By comparison, job candidates spent as much as 90 minutes playing Multipoly. Since
introducing the game, PwC reports that the job candidate pool has grown 190
percent; users reporting interest in learning more about working at PwC increased
by 78 percent.
●
Over 1000 people participated in 2014. Applications have increased from 1600 to
over 3000 per year over the three years. It works because it provide competition,
learning and social connection.
●
But just as important, Forbes says, job candidates who were hired after playing
Multipoly made the transition to the company employee more easily. That’s because
they already had a taste of PwC’s company culture from playing the game.

10. CASE STUDY - Maersk Drilling (Simulation)
●
Maersk Drilling is a drilling rig operator based in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a subsidiary of
the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group, established in 1972. Maersk Drilling is one of the A.P. Moller –
Maersk Group's core businesses.
●
Maersk Drilling want to double the size of the company - requiring 3000 people, doubling the size
of the company, in five years, and in a well paid, competitive sector.
●
Anja Andersen and Frederik Tukk described the development of their recruiting site from a
traditional page of vacancies where people spent less than a minute on average. They didn't
want to go into social media as their management team thought this was unprofessional and
for kids but eventually launched a Facebook page - for telling stories, not posting jobs. This
gave them a broader mix of channels to promote the game.
●
The game = Quest for Oil
●
They also pushed the game to key education influencers as something they would need to
introduce the energy industry to their students. And communications were led by their CEO
giving live interviews etc around the world.
●
The game has been downloaded by 350,000 people.

11. ●
From fixed jobs to fluid roles
Organisations are more creatively using the opportunities of a more flexible
workforce. It helps to think less in terms of jobs and more in terms of
assignments. There is an assignment to be done, and how can we quickly
find the best possible people who can (and want to) do the assignment?
Organisations are less organised around fixed jobs, and more around
flexible teams, that look for suitable candidates in the internal- and
external talent pool. An example of a solution that can be used to
establish teams with people that together have the skills and the
motivation to get the assignment done, is Part-up. Indian example –
DoPartTime.

12. ●
Clever & Automatic Candidate Selection
Technology-based sourcing like algorithm based portals (Belong), sourcing
through data crawling, video interview based selection process, tracking
behaviour and skills on social media are other trending approaches to
getting multitalented skills onboard. Humans are not very good at
selection. The combination human and machine can improve the quality of
selection a lot. If you are coding software, you feed the machine with a
piece of code you have written, and then the machine will determine how
good you are, and in what type of team you will fit and add value, as
teams have different coding styles. No cv, no diploma, just some of the
work you have done. Some examples here: Codility, DevScore, Harver,
PredictiveHire, and Seedlink. Indian example – TechGig, Interview Mocha.

13. CASE STUDY – Belong.co
Outbound Hiring
is a targeted,
candidate-
focused
approach that
coordinates
personalized
talent
acquisition and
business efforts
to hire people
who succeed in
your company.

14. COMPREHENSIVE INTERVIEW
●
Interview Effectiveness
Non-Traditional interview,
UnStructured Interview,
Situational interview, Stress
interview. Be Unconventional
●
Impression Management
Influencing performance
evaluations by portraying an
image desired by the appraiser.
●
The Behavioral Interview
Observing job candidates
not only for what they say
but for how they behave.

15. CASE STUDY - Heineken
On May 25th, 2013, Heineken needed to hire an intern for its Event &
Sponsorship Marketing team to prepare for the Champions League
final. Heineken received a staggering 1,734 applications for this
position. They faced the question how to choose a right talent
amongst 1,734 candidates, who not only have good knowledge but
also suitable behaviour, thinking style and interests to do the job.
Finally Heineken decided not to follow a very strict hiring policy and
selected the man who could handle such a responsibility and to take
an unconventional route.

16. ●
Rather than asking questions about business knowledge, experiences,
Heineken decided to assess their applicants’ personalities such as
confidence and resourcefulness, wit, attitude…and ability to respond to
three given unusual circumstances. First up, the boss got up-close and
personal with them and held their hands and soon after the boss
"collapsed" and the interviewees had no option but to try and revive their
boss. Finally, a fire-alarm sounded and on their way out, they were forced
to help and rescue a stranded Heineken employee from the roof. How the
candidates responded to these incidents determind who had the right
behaviors, thinking style and interests needed to work in the Heineken
marketing department.
●
The winner of the "The Candidate" is Guy Luchting. He is from Germany
and he is studying Hospitality Management in the Netherlands.
Luchting, started his internship with Heineken on 12th February, 2013.

17. Lessons / Impact
●
By changing the interview structure, Heineken demonstrated that they could
engaging future employees. The campaign successfully grabbed the interest of
future employees. Heineken reported a >279% traffic increase to their HR sites
and >317% increase in CV’s submitted after campaign launch. Furthermore, this
campaign also influenced positively on current employees: 91% of Heineken
employees watched the video and found it stimulating for their job.
●
This recruitment campaign of Heineken is said to be very successful not only in
recruitment process but also in branding. Many advertising experts said that
this was a very brilliant campaign which promoted the fame of Heineken brand
around the world. The campaign fits right in with the brands attitude of ‘Open
your World’. Through the various stages of the campaign it not only managed to
make candidates look beyond the ordinary but also gave the outside world a
glimpse into its culture, thereby strengthening the reputation of beer is fun.

18. LOGIC
●
Nowadays, 90% candidates make up their CV when they apply for a job (Business Harvard
Review), the candidates also can “act” very well in the interview even the experienced
interviewer could not realize.
●
Besides that, we can say that almost hiring decision of the traditional recruitment process
still based on the subjective judgment and the feelings of the interviewer or the first
impression of the interviewee to the interviewer. These things usually lead to wrong hiring
which can see in the increase of turnover rate, ineffective working employees, low
employees engagement.
●
According to a study of Harvard University, the factor that decides successfulness of
engagement of an employee in a position is the job fit, not knowledge or experiences.
●
Hence, bringing some innovation to the traditional recruitment process is what companies
should start thinking of if you want to find out the right talent for the company and avoid
wrong hiring. Knowing candidates very well can help companies recruit and retain talents.
In other words, by understand candidates’ personalities, thinking style, behaviors and
interests, companies can increase the rate of right hiring and fix mentioned problems of
wrong hiring.

19. Realistic Job Preview & Job Offers
●
Realistic Job Preview (RJP)
A selection device that allows job candidates to learn
negative as well as positive information about the
job and organization. Instrumental in reducing
voluntary turnover and its associated costs.
●
Conditional Job Offer
A tentative job offer that becomes permanent after
certain conditions are met. The conditional job
offer implies that if everything checks out; the
conditional nature of the job offer will be removed
and the applicant will be offered the job.●
Job Offers
Individuals who perform successfully in the preceding steps are now considered eligible to receive the
employment offer. For administrative purposes the offer typically is made by an HRM representative,
but the actual hiring decision should be made by the manager in the department where the vacancy
exists. This is recommended for two reasons. First, the applicant will be working for this manager,
which necessitates a good fit between boss and employee. Second, if the decision is faulty, the hiring
manager has no one else to blame.
In comprehensive selection, all applicants complete every step of the selection process, and the final
decision is based on a comprehensive evaluation of the results from all stages. The comprehensive
method is more realistic. It recognizes that most applicants have weaknesses as well as strengths. But
it is also more costly because all applicants must go through all the screening hurdles.

20. SELECTION PROCESS
INDIAN DEFENCE FORCES

21. NDA – NATIONAL DEFENCE ACADEMY

22. NDA – SELECTION PROCESS
Qualities that they look for :-
To become an officer , one is expected to possess certain qualities
like., Leadership ,
Team work ,
Decision making and
Volunteering etc.,
The various tests and procedures are designed in such a way that it tests
the candidates for these essential qualities .

23. Pre-requisites & Eligibility criteria …
* Eligibility criteria * Physical Qualification
Height , Weight , Chest ,
Tattoos etc .
* Medical criteria * Citizenship
ENT , Dental , Eyesight Nationality
and other medical conditions .

24. Selection Process / Procedure
* Apply Online
* Written Exam – 2 parts .
Part 1 – Maths – 300 marks , 120 Ques. , 2hrs30mins .
11th & 12th maths and general apti stuffs . Negative marking = 0.33
Part 2 – GAT ( General Ability Test )
Section A – English – 200 marks , 50 Ques .
Section B – General Knowledge – 400 marks , 100 Ques .

25. If Written exam is cleared , then the candidate is called for the
SSB ( Services Selection Board ) interview .
A highly tough and strenuous selection process for 5 days .
Various Intelligence tests and Personality tests are conducted .

26. Detailed view …
 Day Zero – Reporting , Formalities and Documents verification .
 Day One – Screening Test – Stage 1
Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) test – Written exam approx 54-55 ques on simple
logical , analytical , linguistic and mathematics to test the general common sense
of the candidates .
Picture Perception & Description test (PP & DT) – A blurred picture is shown and
candidates should make a story about it , narrate it , discuss it with other group
members and make a common story .
Results are announced on the same day and those who fail are sent back .

27.  Day 2 – Psychology tests – Stage 2
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) – Similar to PP&DT , but clear images are shown
.
Word Association Test (WAT) – Candidates are shown a word for 15 secs and
within this time , they should write the first thought that pops up in their mind
related to that word . 60 words will be given .

28.  Day 3 and Day 4 – GTO – (Group testing officers) task
Tests like Group discussion (GD) , Group planning , Progressive group tasks ,
individual obstacles & group obstacles race etc ., are conducted .
Candidates are divided into different groups and are given tasks that should be
completed with the help and support of each other .
 Day 5 – Conference
On final day , just one conference where candidate has to appear in front of the panel
which consists of all the board examiners , psychologists , GTOs , technical officers
etc . Candidates are asked general questions .

29. Results will be declared within half-an-hour , after the completion of the
conference .
Those who cleared , will stay for medical examination and the others can
leave .
*Personal interview will happen at anytime in the evening or afternoon .
In the medical tests , which takes around 4-5 days ., and some
candidates are rejected here .
Then , final merit list is prepared and the candidate is selected .