Proper Hiring And Justified Firing Of Employees

By Ibrahim Adam Ghalib, Borama

Institutions, government or private will thrive with proper management of its people- the most important resource. Managing human resources and overseeing the office environment are of course means to achieve the institution's goals. Today I will cover hiring and firing of employees and related topics.

In addressing these issues I have outlined strategies that have been used successfully by professionals with responsibility in hiring, firing and appraisals of employees properly. I hope these will be of value to the young generation who lack proper training and skills in these issues. This will promote creative responses to these challenging issues as well as guarding against unethical or UN lawful practices that are commonly used in this country.

Finding and hiring staff starts with a clear, concise job description. If there is no proper job description the hiring process is handicapped from the beginning. This should be properly advertised and as soon as you open the envelopes start judging a candidate. Does the resume look as though it is written with care? Is it free from typographical or spelling errors? Is it orderly and easy to read? Is the cover letter direct and cogent or rambling and in effective? I have discovered on my return to the country that the people do not give any attention to these things. The young generation are machine oriented [computer] and suffer from spelling disease.

Conducting a good interview is a learned skill and experience and requires careful preparation. Normally the applicants will be nervous and the interviewers are required to put the applicants at ease. It is better to be objective in reaction to the applicant's appearance. A person who does not fit your image of the ideal candidate may turn out to be an excellent employee. It is better to address administrative issues at first such as compensation, other benefits, starting date and special job requirements before the job related questions. The overall goal is to learn as much about each candidate as possible to determine that the candidate finally chosen is the best candidate. I am strongly against ethnicity preferences that are widely used in this country in filling positions.

If the hiring process is fair and carefully considered the odds of making a mistake is minimized and the institution will benefit from the service of the employee in the long run. When the employee is hired an orientation is arranged for him to know the staff and the different sections of the organization and then the person is trained in his new job.

Performance appraisal is a tool to review past performances as well as discuss future activities. If an employee has performed badly or has not lived up to your expectation, you can emphasize the need to correct his performance in future. There will be instances when management finds an employee inadequacy to be too great. A negative review should be forthright.

The reasons for an employee's resignation can include limited opportunities for advancement, lack of recognition, unhappiness or inadequate salary and benefits. Try to counter it by trying to solve the problem. If you can not overcome the problem, the resignation has to be gracefully accepted.

Finally firing an employee is unquestionably a difficult task and needs substantial back up. Employees can be fired for failure to perform, insubordination or embezzlement and other crimes. In here it is very easy to fire an employee from his job for no good reason and hiring is always based on tribalism not on merit.

kaalib33@hotmail.com