Internal and External factors affecting Labor

Series of factors are responsible in the demand for labor for police officers. In this case specifically, the initial factor to consider is the average of the work force which currently a high figure that stands at 45. By interpretation, about 24% of the current members of the police force will be due to retire in five year's time. Another factor in-play is the need for an increase in police patrols to counter crime rates in the new city as its mayor demands it. This increase will require the recruitment of additional members into the force. The third factor is the fact that the existing members of the workforce are assigned overtime duties. There is a need for more officers as the case of overtime even embarrassed the mayor since some officers earned more annual income than him.

Labor Supply

As noted in the case, there some factors that continue to influence the supply of police labor. The presence of these factors means that there is a shortage of candidates the department can recruit from. A major factor affecting the supply of labor is the high cost of living. Another factor is the high rates of property, sales and income taxes that the residents have to pay. The supply of labor is also influenced by poor job outlook of the force and the harsh climatic conditions. These factors continue to drive people out of the state as they seek places with better conditions. It is for this reason that the state has high rates of out-migration rates in the nation. All these factors have limited the pool from where the department can attract qualified candidates to join the force. Therefore, there is a need to develop and implement new measures to see to it that the demand for police officers is met.

Recruitment Plan

Recruitment Objectives

• To attract and encourage qualified candidates to apply for the position of police officers 1
• To follow the required steps during the hiring process
• To advertise the positions available in the right channels in order to reach the targeted candidates

Recruitment Strategy

Having a recruitment strategy is essential for the success of the hiring process. Yield ratios can be used to determine the applicant pool size that can allow the hiring of 25 police officers. This can be calculated using the data on police recruitment provided. In the plan, a pool of 43 officers led to 13 job offer-ready officers. Therefore, the yield ratio is 13/43 * 100, which equals 30%. Therefore in order to get 25 officers, there will pool size needed will be 100/30*25, which equals 83. Therefore, for the target of 25 officers to be realized, the force will need to reach a pool of 83 candidates.

The two groups that the recruitment strategy should target are the military police and criminal justice graduates. These groups should be targeted because their yield ratios are higher compared to others. For military police, in a pool of 5, the yield was 3, meaning that the yield ratio stands at 60%. As for the criminal justice graduates, the yield ratio stands at 50%. In addition, the criminal justice graduates provide wide pool where the force can hire from.

Targeting the military police will need the department to advertise in military personnel journals, and sites for military personnel. Employee referrals can also be used to attract suitable candidates. As for the criminal justice graduates, college career fairs, newspaper ads, internships, electronic job postings, and employee referrals can be used to attract them.

Selection Plans

Methods

Screening processes is the first method that will be used to select the candidates. This will be done to measure the physical fitness of the candidates since the police work requires a lot of walking, running, lifting, climbing, standing, and kneeling. In addition, the police officers will be required to physically handle people, weapons, and objects. They will thus be required to be fit physically. The aim of this method is to select out applicants that may not be up to the task.

The second method that will be used is conducting interviews. The department will conduct personal interviews to determine how the candidates fit not only in the organization but also in the community (Wilson, 2014). This step will be used to examine the values, and the beliefs held by the candidates and find out whether they are consistent with those promoted within the department and the community at large. Various approaches can be applied to conduct the interview including specific interview questions relating to police work, interactive simulations, and role-play.

A third method that will be used for selection of the candidates is carrying out background checks. This will be done through going through the lifetime criminal history, report from the credit bureau, and examining close associates of the candidates. With the advent of the internet, background checks can also involve going through the profiles of the candidates on social media.

Selection Tests

Drug testing is done to find out if illegal substances exist in the system of the candidate. This ensures conformance to the force even after recruitment. This is done at the fifth step, that is background and drug check.

Psychological testing is done to evaluate if the candidate is mentally fit for the job. This can be done through having the candidates sit for a psychological exam. It can be supplemented by having a psychologist physically interviewing the candidates and making recommendations. The aim of the test is to evaluate the candidate's character and find out if she or he fit for the job from a psychological perspective. This is done at the screening stage.

Background Verification Checks

As mentioned above, verification checks will be used as one of the methods to select the candidates suited for the job. This will be done to ensure there are no professional or personal issues that preclude the candidates from discharging their duties as police officers. As such, one of the checks that will be done is fingerprints checking. This will be done to find out the criminal history of the candidate. Another check that will be conducted involves the interviewing of various people that know the candidate including family members, colleagues, previous employers, and neighbors. These people will give the department information that will be used to establish if the candidate is fit for the job. In addition, the information given by these individuals will be compared to determine consistency. These two checks will be done at the fifth stage of the selection process, background and drug test.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Recruitment and Selection Plans

It is important to assess the success of the recruitment and selection plans in order to find out if they can be used in future. Evaluation can also help figure out areas of the plans that need improvement. As informed by Birago (2014), effective recruitment leads to higher productivity and reduction in turnover. As such, it will be important to find out whether the recruitment strategy has been effective.

Time to fill is one of the ways to evaluate the success of the recruitment and selection plans. In this case, the time that elapses between making the job positions available and getting the right candidates is examined. If it takes a short period of time to attract the right candidates ready for the job offer, it means the recruitment team has been effective in advertising. Also, the number of candidates that have been attracted to apply for the job can be evaluated. This helps in finding out whether the advertising strategy was effective.

Another method that will be used to evaluate the recruitment strategy is the yield ratio. The number of job offer-ready candidates is compared to those that applied for the job. A high ratio means the strategy was effective in attracting qualified candidates for the positions.

A third method is finding out the interview-to-offer ratio. In this case, the number of candidates that pass the onsite interview can be compared to the number that gets recruited. A good recruitment and selection plan has this ratio at below 3:1.

The final method is the determining the offer acceptance rate. This seeks to measure the percentage of offers that are accepted by the candidates. A high percentage signifies the success of the recruitment strategy.

References

Birago, A.-A. (2014). An Evaluation Of The Recruitment And Selection Policies And Practices Of The National Health Insurance Authority. Retrieved June 2, 2017, from http://dspace.knust.edu.gh/bitstream/123456789/7628/1/Asafo-Adjei%20Birago.pdf

Wilson, J. M. (2014). Strategies for Police Recruitment:A Review of Trends, Contemporary Issues,and Existing Approaches. Law Enforcement Executive Forum , 14, 78-97.