Recruitment & Selection & Retention Theory

by Sam Ashe-Edmunds

Recruiting, hiring and retaining employees requires tried-and-true human resources techniques to prevent bad hires and high turnover. Small businesses often don’t have trained human resources processionals to handle their hiring, so an understanding of HR theories and best practices will help you put together the best possible team for your company. Planning ahead will help reduce the necessity to fire or move employees to different areas if they weren’t brought on properly.

Organization Chart

Many small-business owners would not hire the same people in the same positions they currently have if they had a chance to restart their company. This is because entrepreneurs often don’t start building their company with a realistic organization chart, instead hiring to fill perceived needs or gaps as the company grows. Effective workforce creation requires an organization chart that accurately diagnoses and plans a company’s labor needs.

Job Descriptions

To effectively recruit, interview and retain employees, you’ll need job descriptions for each position. This will help you attract job applicants who know exactly what the job entails, whether or not they can do it and if they have the qualifications, skills and competencies. To retain employees, you’ll need to make them feel they are being treated fairly, and this requires giving them annual reviews based on their job descriptions. Employees become frustrated when they are told they did not perform tasks they did not know were part of their responsibilities.


Recruiting workers starts with an accurate want ad. The ad should include a detailed, accurate job description. This not only increases your chance of getting qualified applicants but also can help prevent legal problems later. Advertise on job boards and in publications where people with the background you seek congregate. If cost is an issue, give a brief overview of the job, then direct applicants to a more-detailed description on your website.


Create a list of attributes your ideal employee will have and divide resumes and applications into three piles, based on the number of applications you receive. Assign one point for each attribute, and divide your resumes and applications in A, B and C piles, based on the score of each person. Interview those receiving A scores, toss the C pile and keep the B pile on hand for one more review in the event you don’t find your candidate from the A pile — B candidates might have attributes you overlooked during your first inspection. During interviews, ask employees to discuss their management or work with other people, how they solve problems, their specific experience in relation to your job opening and what they can do for you company. Your focus during job interviews should not be to determine how applicants performed for others in the past, but on how they might perform for you in the future.


When hiring employees, discuss compensation, including pay and benefits. A good benefits package, including vacation time, personal time off, health insurance, daycare and voluntary benefits, such as dental or vision insurance, can help make you an employer of choice. The ethics of salary negotiation can sour a relationship with a new worker before it even starts. If you know what the position is worth to the company and the candidate you have selected is the best choice, offer them what you have determined the position is worth. If you want to pay as little as possible, even if it means paying your employee less than the job is worth, ask candidates for their salary history or salary requirement. You may find the employee is willing to work for less than your job is worth. Salary histories do not provide an accurate estimate of an applicant’s worth, because she might have improved her skills, have other, better-paying options because of her recent growth or skill development or have worked for a small or large company that could afford to pay differently than you. Ask for references from finalist candidates and conduct interviews.


Keeping workers often depends on good communication. Give new hires 30- and 90-day reviews to gauge how they feel about working for you. These reviews do not need to include raises. Ask the new hire’s managers how he is performing. Get qualitative feedback from coworkers and quantitative data from his department on his performance if possible. Praise employees in writing if they are a doing a good job so they know their job is secure and they are part of a team.

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