Recruitment Process in Square Toiletries Limited

Recruitment and Selection in

SQUARE TOILETRIES Limited Bangladesh

We are living in a world of business which is constantly changing as it is dynamic and rapidly change the scenario. There are many companies in various industries and those companies are going through different strategies but at the same time they need to diversify and change their strategies to cope up with the changing world as it has become so easy to imitate the tools and technique of a company. Therefore to be effective and efficient every company is undertaking multiple and diversified plans and strategies to be profitable and sustainable with the business.

There are many companies who start business transforming program to get competitive advantage over their competitors so that their business gets stronger in position and sustain in the long run. The true work life condition and different recruitment and selection practices performed at square Toiletries Ltd. are focused in this report. The report is based on a study on work climate, supportive management and job satisfaction of the employees and the working effort of them in the context of SQUARE Toiletries Ltd. In the report I have given importance and tried to figure out the application with those tools on the job life of an employee. As it is an important aspect of the employees to be more productive comparing with their competitors, I have tried to focus on the productivity of the employees and how SQUARE Toiletries Limited (STL) manage or takes initiatives to make their employees more dynamic so that they can fight with their competitors and get one step ahead in the relevant area.

Objective of the report:

The report of mine is prepared considering two objectives which are primary objective and secondary objective.

Primary Objective:

The primary objective of this report is to provide adequate and necessary information on the measures and procedures of Recruitment and selection techniques followed by the SQUARE TOILETRIES LIMITED through HR department. It is an important event for any organization to undertake the whole proceedings of the recruitment and selection for the betterment of the organization.

Secondary Objective:

a) To have a reasonable and rational outlook about what is going on the area of HRM of the selected business organization.

b) To assemble information and gain insight about the Recruitment & Selection function of the organization.

c) To experience different Recruitment & Selection system those are being followed by Square Toiletries Limited.

d) To relate the theoretical knowledge and learning with the real life experience of the Recruitment & Selection process of Square Toiletries Ltd.

Scope of the study:

Actually this report is like the illustration of the real scenario of the selected organization and it is like a case study on the relevant field. So there is a limitation of the scope of this report. Therefore, first scope of this report is to gather the practical knowledge and experience about how a research is accomplished or fulfilled in an organization like SQUARE Toiletries Limited.

Besides, the report has the relevant scope to wrap different aspects of HRM, which includes HR practices like recruitment and selection. The ultimate part of my academic program was to uncover the HR practices of Square Toiletries to be aware of the real life circumstances of the business. This is why this report does not go into deep of the HRM activities of the selected company, it is beyond this report’s scope to make concentrated suggestions or recommendation other than narrating the observation and reach to a conclusion. As I was asked or assigned to the limited tasks of the company, it was not possible to go through and get acknowledged with the all HR practices in SQUARE Toiletries Limited which reduces the scope of the study.

Methodology

Right from the selection of the topic to the final preparation there is a systematic and organized procedure conducted due to the proper completion of this report. The indispensable portion of the report was to identify and assemble data; the classification of those data, analyzing those data and interpret and present those data in an organized way so that the vital points can be recognized. There is a further explanation of the overall process of the methodology.

Sources of Data:

As I was involved with the organization for the last three months and work there, I was able to collect the data from the primary sources. Therefore, Data are collected from both primary and secondary sources.

Primary Sources

• Observation of the organization practically.
• Communication with the organizational supervisor.
• Discussion with officials and concerned experts of different designation.

Secondary Sources

• Annual report
• Newspapers
• Internet
• Text book

History of the Company

SQUARE is a company which actually signifies a name – a state of mind and it is a name of fame and prosperity not only in Bangladesh but also some other countries of the world. But we know that there is nothing in this world that can be achieved without struggle and hardship.

Therefore, the journey of SQUARE was not a bed of roses that finishes at a point of success. From the inauguration in 1958, it has today flourished into one of the top line corporations in Bangladesh. SQUARE is a company that we can be proud of. The industries under this group include Textiles, Pharmaceuticals, Toiletries, Consumer products. Services provided by SQUARE include Healthcare (Hospitals), Information and Communication Technology. Square toiletries limited (STL) started in 1988 as a diversion and ISO: 9001 certified company. In 1994 square toiletries limited began its journey as a private limited company. Now STL is the country’s leading manufacturer of international quality cosmetics and toiletries products. At present, STL is the country’s leading manufacturer of international quality cosmetics and toiletries with 20 brands and more than 55 products covering a wide range of categories like skin care, hair care, oral care, baby care, fabric care, scourers, male grooming and OTC.

Currently Square Toiletries has almost 3,000 employees. Due to its sociable working environment and highly motivated employee, STL is enjoying one of the lowest employee turnover rates in the management level. STL emphasizes on equal employment opportunity for both genders. Besides, STL also provides employment opportunity to physically challenged persons.

Besides core business functions STL has long taken active part in different philanthropic activities like employment generation program for vulnerable community, financial aid to disadvantaged and natural disaster affected people, helping acid victims, tree plantation, creating mass awareness on health and hygiene issues, supporting education and various local community programs and many more. Square Toiletries Ltd. symbolizes innovation. STL is the pioneer in bringing in new products and packaging concepts in Bangladesh. Currently, STL is carrying out its production in its two fully automated plants at Rupshi and Pabna. Square Toiletries Limited (STL) launched its operations with Jui Coconut Oil, which virtually pioneered the branded Pure Coconut Oil market in the country. Today, STL has over 42 product lines and an annual sales exceeding 2.00 billion taka and has now become one of the leading local toiletries companies in Bangladesh. STL manufactures and markets a wide array of consumer toiletries products ranging from Hair Oils, Toilet Soaps, and Fabric Care to Winter Care and Summer Products, Baby Care, Dental Care and Shaving products, among others. The company also markets Feminine Hygiene products manufactured by its sister concern, Health Products Limited (HPL). STL is now one of the largest toiletries manufacturers and marketers in the country, and with popular brands such as Jui, Meril, Kool and Chaka, it operates successfully as a major player in the exceedingly competitive market.

CSR activities of SQUASRE Toiletries Ltd.

Investment in Bangladesh

• Though Square Toiletries Ltd. has been exporting its diversified products to other countries for its growth, it has not yet located any of its plants or factory to the foreign country. This indicates a fullest investment in Bangladesh for its betterment.
• As SQUARE Toiletries Ltd. is exporting its products to the other countries, there is an inflow of foreign currency in Bangladesh and it is a significant contribution in cash flow.
• STL itself hoisted its voice against the marketing antagonism at the time of the detrimental effect of offshore products.

Employment Generation

• It has successfully employed 1200 permanent employees and it is a matter of fact that they are concerned of the interests and sanctuary of the employees which is a big deal.
• There is a true existence of equal employment opportunity for which we can see that there are about 38% employees who are women and it is indeed a clear notification of women empowerment.
• Due to the best possible working environment there is a lower turnover rate of the employees which is an indicator of employee satisfaction.

Works for the underprivileged people

• Those who are not well off are given monetary assistance by SQUARE Toiletries Ltd.
• It is a great thing that SQUARE Toiletries Ltd. is giving monetary support to a Training Centre named Naksha Training Centre for the helpless women who are actually trained up there for operating sewing machines vocationally.
• For the income generation SQUARE Toiletries Ltd. also afford rickshaw vans to the poor people.
• For both of the employees and the fretful people the company provides funds for their medical treatment and assistance.
• Moreover, it is a matter of joy that SQUARE Toiletries Ltd. offer employment opportunity for the physically challenged or handicapped employees for which these people get a great opportunity to earn their livelihood.

Cultural concentration

SQUARE Toiletries has been successfully arranging the cultural event Meril-Prothom Alo Taroka Jorip – country’s most honoring & luminous event – a once –in –a year. It is an award giving program in the field of ―culture and entertainment‖ which is sponsored by the company to inspire the people engaged in the cultural field.

Telephonic Service to concerned mother

Meril Baby Supermom is a sponsored platform called telephonic service by which the mother can communicate and ask the online doctors for the overall progress and development from the pregnancy to the child birth which is a grea t assistance for them. Besides, there is a digital version of service for the mother who are living in the urban areas.

Responsibility towards the immediate neighborhood and the residents

Square is deeply involved with the communities where it operates, and hence has an intense sense of responsibility to its neighbors.

• School in Pabna – Square Kindergarten
• Library in Pabna – Ananda Gobinda Library
• Ambulance to Pabna Municipality
• Tree Plantation in Pabna
• Job Opportunity for qualified neighbors
• Disaster Management during Flood, Cyclone etc.

Patronizing Sports

Square Toiletries is always committed to patronize the country’s most emotional corner -sports, especially cricket. Sponsorship of 1st Division Cricket Tournament in 1998, 1999; Meril International Cup One-Day cricket tournament among Kenya, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in 1997 – these are some bright examples of Square’s commitment towards the development of cricket.

In addition to the most popular games like Cricket and Football, STL always attempts to encourage less popular but promising games like Table Tennis, Badminton etc.

Recruitment Process in Square Toiletries Ltd

Human Resource Management Process:

Planning, organizing, directing and controlling the functions of procuring, developing, maintaining and motivating a labor force etc. are the area that are included in HRM.

There are basically eight activities in Human Resource Management Process which are required for staffing the organization and maintaining sustainable high performance of the employees. These functions are described below in the following diagram.

Human Resource Planning in STL:

There are many functions of HRM but among all of them planning is the core area of all the functions of management as nothing will be resulted successfully if the planning goes wrong.

Actually the other areas are constructed based on this area for which it can be called the foundation of all HR activities. Planning requires management to evaluate where human resource of the company is currently, and where it would like to be in the future. Therefore it is not possible to achieve the goal and objectives of an organization without a proper planning.

Since all the companies in any industry have a proper employment planning, SQUARE Toiletries Ltd., one of the leading FMCG Company in Bangladesh, also has a proper employment planning for their relevant activities to attain the objective. On the basis of their mission, strategic goals & objectives & technological and other changes resulting in increased productivity they generally anticipate their personnel needs for the particular jobs. There are several methods or techniques to predict the needs of the employees but STL usually follows the managerial judgment to determine the needs considering the real life scenario. This is done because they believe that other methods cannot give the accurate situation of the workforce needs which will be harmful for the company. Actually managerial judgment method depends upon the change in productivity, market conditions etc. for which it has been proved a successful methods to follow.

Selection and Recruitment process in STL:

Basically SQUARE Toiletries Ltd. intends to look for the people who have strong caliber, enthusiasm about the job, passionate, smart and love challenging jobs. The people who are likely to work anywhere in Bangladesh and are multi tasking and also are interested to build up their career in the relevant are highly focused by the company. There are thousands of people working together in Square who has come from different culture and customs and working in verities of areas to perform their best for the company. Therefore, there are some criteria that need to be notified and those are described in the followings.

• Merit is the sole criteria for selection.
• Attitude is given as much weight age as functional competencies.
• Panel interviews comprising of Functional Head & HR Head.
• Sources for recruitment are through campus, consultants, employee referrals, internal job postings and the internet.
• Positions in Officer Cadre, GET and MT involve written tests.
• Antecedent verification is a vital part of our recruitment process.
• Medical fitness is pre-requisite for all positions.
• There is an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, community, religion or sex.

Recruitment process:

It is the HR department who actually undertakes all the necessary steps for the requirement when needed. Considering the requirement of the posts and its activities the HR people of the company usually try to find out and attract those candidates who are capable of and justified for the post.

Based on the job analysis, job description and job specification, the HR starts their recruitment process. There is a proper sequence of recruitment in SQUARE Toiletries Ltd which is given below.

• Need Assessment
• Defining the position description
• Checking the recruiting options
• Advertisement
• Screening and Short – listing Applications
• Written test
• Selection interview (3 – tier)
• Employment decision (Application Bank)
• Pre- employment medical check-up
• Offer letter
• Orientation / training
• Placement
• Follow –up

Recruitment sources:

There are actually three areas where SQUARE Toiletries go for the recruitment depending on the vacant position and category of the job. On the basis of job grade or group the recruitment area is classified into the following three division.

• Entry-level Management
• Mid or / and senior level Management
• Graded staff / Non- Management staff

Internal Source:

Sometimes it happen that there some employees who have a strong claim for a newly vacant position and if they are proven eligible for the vacant post, they are shifted to that post but if no employee is capable enough to attain the post, HR seems to go for another sourcing.

Job-posting programs:

When there is an opening of a position, the HR came into part to post the position on the bulletin board where the requirements and eligibility criteria are given. Through this the people who are really competent for the position are invited to apply and for this the employees get informed and apply if they think they are eligible. The notices usually are posted on company bulletin boards or are placed in the company newspaper. Qualification and other facts typically are drawn from the job analysis information. The purpose of the job posting is to encourage employees to seek promotion and transfers the help the HR department fills internal opening and meet employee’s personal objectives. But it is a matter of fact that not all job openings is posted. Moreover, entry level positions, senior management and top staff positions may be filled by merit or with external recruiting. Actually for lower level clerical, technical and supervisory positions job posting are more common that is seen in different times.

External Source:

If the HR fails to get the skilled employees for the relevant post to be filled internally, they generally go for external resourcing. Those who best meet the skills, qualifications, experience and competencies required for the position are invited from different external sources so that the right people get opportunity to the right post.

Therefore, SQUARE Toiletries Ltd. takes all those necessary steps to invite the potential candidates from the external sources. These sources are described below.

Advertisement:

The Company gives advertisement in national dailies (both Bangla and English) to attract the talents from the market. Bdjobs is one of the main sources of STL to collect resumes of potential candidates. STL puts two types of advertisements in the newspapers. It sometimes keeps the identity concealed in the ads, mentioning a GPO BOX number only. The purpose of the concealed identity is to avoid the unwanted pressure from the stakeholders for the employment of their desired candidates. But this way the company may lose the talents out there in the market who would have applied for the same post had they known the name of the organization. This is why the company kept the identity open in their recent job advertisement when the quality of the candidate was a very important factor to consider. By revealing the STL identify, the company attempts to attract the best potentials among all the others.

Employee referrals:

This is another source for STL. Employee referral means using personal contacts to locate job opportunities. It is a recommendation from a current employee regarding a job applicant. The logic behind the employee referral is that ―it takes one to know one‖. Employees working in the, in this case, are encouraged to recommend the names of their friends working in other organization for a possible vacancy in the near future.

Employment Agency:

An agency finds and prescreens applicants, referring those who seem qualified to the organization for further assessment and final selection. An agency can screen effectively only it has a clear understanding of the position it is trying to fill. Thus, it is very important that an employer be as specific and accurate as possible when describing a position and its recruitment to an employment agency. STL often recruit via an employment agency for non management level.

Walk-in and Write-in:

Walk-ins are some seekers who arrived at the HR department of STL in search of a job whereas

Write-ins are those who send a written inquiry, both groups are normally asked to complete an application blank to determine their interest and abilities. Field level management jobs like Area Sales Coordinator, Regional Managers are recruited through Walk-in interviews.

Consulting the CV Bank:

The unsolicited applications stored in the data bank. If the quality of a person matches with the requirements mentioned in the position description, then he / she is called for a written test or interview. If applicants match for another position, then he/she will get called for that matching position in future.

Selection Process:

Selection is the process of gathering information for the purpose of evaluating and deciding who should be employed in particular jobs.

Screening and Short-listing Applications

The responses to the advertisements are sorted and screened. The CVs as well as the Covering letters are judged. In the covering letter, the style and language of writing, the emphasis put on the areas asked for tin the advertisements and the quality of the letter (whether it is specifically tailored to the advertisement or just a standard response) are the aspects that are judged.

Different weights are assigned to the selection criteria mentioned in the main specification depending on their relative importance. (For example, educational institutions like IBA, BUET give the highest weight among the local ones and the foreign universities of UK, Australia, etc. are put on par with the best in the country). Based on the presence of these factors to the desired extent (experience, educational degree, computer literacy, etc) the cumulative weights for all the applicants are counted and the short list of a sizable number of the topmost candidates is generated. However, the HR officials also study the CVs with the respective line manager to check whether any valuable deciding parameter is missing that are mentioned in the CVs. Then the candidates selected in the shortlist are called for the written test.

Written Test

The Written test is a regular part of the normal recruitment process . It is conducted for maximum positions. The top management of STL believes the written test before the interview process has proved to be effective and a useful tool to select the desirable candidates. The written test has conducted in terms of knowledge about required fields. The candidates are called for the preliminary (first) interview based on their performance in the written test.

Selection Interview

The interview process is a three-tier one. A preliminary interview is conducted which follows the ―elimination method‖. After that, the second interview takes place with a very few number of candidates. Then finally selected person is called for the final interview. The interview time is kept convenient for the candidate, especially if s/he was working elsewhere at the time of interview. The shortlisted candidates must fill up an employee information form before the interview.

Reference Check

Reference checks allow obtaining information and opinions regarding the person’s character, quality of the work and suitability for the position. It is an opportunity to validate the information received from the candidate via their resume and the interview. Speaking to the candidate’s manager or other people whom they have worked with should also check internal candidates.

The opinion of a referee who has worked can for an extended period is likely to be more accurate than the assessment from one to two hours of interviewing.

The candidate’s immediate supervisors are needed to be contacted. Permission should be obtained to contact the candidate’s referee, especially if their current employer is contacted. It is not unusual for a candidate to be uncomfortable with the organization’s speaking to a current employer. If they are uncomfortable, an alternative person other than the current employer has to be chosen by the candidate (work colleague, for example). Unless the candidate is a graduate or school leaver with no prior work experience, only contact work related referees should be contacted. At least two reference checks should be done, however the more the better. There is a sample reference-checking guide that ismore or less followed. It is important to prepare a reference check guide that asks the referee about the key skills, competencies and experience required for the position. Reference checks need to be done by the line manager or personnel of the HR department. During the interviews, the candidates would have given some examples of incidents, tasks or projects that can be asked about. The referee should be asked what the candidate did in those examples, which ascertain whether the information received from the candidate is consistent with that of the referee. Subjective questions may not always be a reliable guide; however, it can be useful to get the referee’s opinion on areas such as quality and quantity of work, strengths and weaknesses etc.

Employment Decision

If the candidate has no problem with the stated terms and conditions of the job and the organization mentioned and discussed in the final interview, he/she is offered an application blank. The application blank is a standard format of employee-information that includes all the information the organization needs regarding the personnel. The candidate has to fill this blank and submit this to the company along with a CV.

Pre-employment Medical Check-up:

After submission of the application and the CV, the selected person has to go through full medical check-up that guarantees her/his physical fitness to perform the job successfully. A medical practitioner who uses a physical capability analysis that assesses the candidate against the physical capabilities documented for each role conducts the medical. A medical is also appropriate for internal candidates if they are applying for positions that require different physical capabilities.

Joining of the Candidate:

After completing all above process the selected candidate requested to bring all their academic & professional certificates along with their previous job separation confirmation application & other related documents and follow below criteria.

Offering the Role:

Once the health check-up is done, the candidate is given an offer letter specifying the salary package, job responsibilities, utilities that will be provided by the organization. Even at this stage, the selected candidate has the chance to withdraw her/himself from the job offer. He/she is always free to discuss whatever difficulty may arise regarding pay-structure/facilities, etc. the door of HR is kept open for any sort of relevant discussion.

Verbal offer:

The verbal offer of the role to the candidate is given once the medical and reference checks have been successfully completed. The discussion should cover the following:

• Tell the candidate that you would like to offer them in the role.
• Congratulate them.
• Tell them the remuneration package that is being offered, including superannuating.
• Ask them if they are happy with it.
• Ask them if they verbally accept the position.
• Tell them that we will be sending them a written letter of offer and introductory package.

Written letter of offer:

A written letter of offer must be forwarded to the candidate. Once the candidate has verbally accepted the position, the appropriate letter of offer is organized. This letter should be sent to the candidate within two days of making the verbal offer. An introductory package will be sent to the successful candidate, along with the letter of offer. At least one week before the person commencing in their new position, an appointment notice will be placed on notice boards and/or the internet.

Recommendation

The HR Department should look into the matter of consuming more time in the process of calling the applicants after their responses very seriously. The organization could control the size of applicants’ pool by using more clear and specific statements in the ad in terms of the minimum educational degree, preferred institutions and other necessary criteria based on which the initial screening of the applications was conducted.

• In the job advertisement specially for bottom line employees, The HR department should mention the pay structure.
• The Company could participate in the job fairs in their recruitment. A considerable volume of applications is dropped in the organizations as a result of the exposure created in the job fairs. The organization can promote its image as a potential recruiter through its successful participation in the job fairs.
• The company can recruited also for campus recruiting that could bring a yield of highly educated fresh-starters for the entry-level the organization could arrange seminars in the top business schools.
• The company should facilitate online CV-posting system that is a very popular and effective practice used by the top business organizations.
• In the case of non management recruitment like Sales Representative, interview board should follow the same selection criteria. I observed that some boards were not with the same selection criteria. One board was really tough to get through on the other hand another board was easy to get passed.

Conclusion:

Toiletries & Cosmetics Industry has grown in Bangladesh in the last two decades at a considerable rate. The sector consistently creates job opportunities for highly qualified people. Toiletries & Cosmetics companies are either directly or indirectly contributing largely towards raising the standard of healthcare through enabling local healthcare personnel to gain access to new products and also to latest Toiletries & Cosmetics. As one of leading Toiletries & Cosmetics manufacturer Square Toiletries Ltd. plays a vital role in the industry as well as in the national economy.

To be successful, relentless contribution and dedication of the organizations human resource management is very much needed. To compete in the international as well as in local markets in adverse situation the HR managers work has become much more difficult in today’s ever changing business environment. Developing plans in a dynamic situation demands critical analysis of the situation and strictly adhering to the core principal of the organization. As Square Toiletries Ltd is decentralized organization and core values are cherished by everyone within the organization, operating in dynamic situation is easier than it seems.

In this report, I have tried my level best to identify Recruitment & Selection procedures used by Square Toiletries Ltd What and how they recruit & select their employees. In this report, I have tried to imply my acquired knowledge from HR course and try to comply with the techniques procedure and systems followed by the company.

The companies in this industry should concentrate on quality product and quality service to take this industry towards further success. The Bangladesh government should also be considerable and cooperative to help the businesses flourish.