Recruitment Exercise Memorandum: Human Resource Management

Recruitment Strategies to Increase Minority Representation in the Fire Department Having been presented with a golden opportunity to recruit approximately 1000 firefighters, the Fire Commission is bound improve its performance significantly. However, past recruitment practices cannot be applied this time round due to the commission's resolve to have a fire department that more accurately reflects the population it serves. Past recruitment practices used by the fire department were discouraging.

Apart from overreliance on word of mouth advertisement to source for recruits, service exams were often repeated yearly and the recruits would anticipate the questions that could be asked. Moreover, essay exams posed to the fire fighters were not well thought out and they were often too complicated for the minorities to comprehend -- largely because they were often educated in under resourced schools.

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC (2015), employment practices that may not have discriminatory intent but still have a disproportionate adverse impact on protected classes of individuals are classified as having a disparate impact and hence prohibited by law. Problem analysis 1. Poor recruitment techniques. The recruitment campaigns and exams used before cannot be used this year. This is because the result is an overwhelmingly white and male dominated staff that does not do much for the reputation of the company.

New recruitment campaigns have to be applied and better entrance exams designed. 2. Gender inequality. While other similarly sized cities have a large number of female fire fighters, there lacks female representation among firefighters in the city. The women perform well in the written exam but they get disqualified once they get to the physical exam. 3. Minority representation. In order to achieve the objective of hiring 30% of applicants from minority communities, new measures to increase minority representation are required.

Furthermore, in case the recommended strategies still give the same outcome and minorities are not represented, there still needs to be evidence to defend the outcome. Recommendations 1. Increase advertisement techniques: Increase the minority representation. To reach the target population, the organizations needs to be proactive in recruiting candidates (American Physical Society, 2015). The Commission should go to the areas where minority applicants reside and find the talents they need. The recruitment campaigns should reach historically Hispanic and African-American neighborhoods, colleges and Universities.

Rather than relying on word of mouth advertisements; they should use social networks, publications, professional organizations, television and radio stations and job fairs. 2. Use a new recruitment campaign: Reach the desired target applicants. The committee tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the recruitment process should have minority representation. The members should be from diverse backgrounds, which will increase their appreciation of the diverse talents and skills that the Hispanics, African-Americans and females bring to the organization.

All forms of advertisements used should include a clause that encourages female and minority applicants to apply. The advertisement should also educate the public on the importance of applying for such vacancies and the contribution they will bring to the Fire Commission. During the screening process, gender, race and ethnicity should be considered positive qualities that enhance a candidate's opportunity to be considered for the job (Duke University, 2015). This will ensure that the commission practices inclusion. Stereotypes and labels should also be avoided throughout the entire recruitment process. 3.

Better designs for an entrance exam: Provide equal opportunities for all the applicants. Entrance exams should be tailored according to the academic and professional qualifications of all the applicants involved. There should be different questions those who have reached a certain level of education and those who have not had the privilege to join college. The exam should be offered in simple English that is easy for immigrants to understand.

The questions also have to be reviewed after a short period of time in order to address the changing needs of the Fire Commission. 4. Better written and physical exams for the females: More female applicants. Since most of the female applicants are eliminated in the physical examinations, the recruitment process should be different from that of the men, in that the females should be trained before they advance to the next level.

Those who have passed the written exam, regardless of whether they are married or have children, are trained by professionals on all the skills that are required by the fire fighting department. Once they have received their training, they can now be subjected to a physical exam where they are most likely to pass. This is in agreement with EEOC (2015) disparate treatment law which encourages employers to create an environment where both sexes can compete equally. 5. A strong defense for the recruitment process.

In the event of the recruitment process still having a higher success rate for non-minority applicants there should be enough documentation of the entire process to prove that it was fair and unbiased. To enhance this, there should be an avenue where all applicants give the feedback on the fairness of the process and the areas that may need to be improved. All the applicant's documents should also accompany the commission's reasons for.