Addressing inefficiencies in the approval process of personnel selection meeting materials by a bank's recruitment and career management group: An integrative action research

• Main Author: Flores, Nicole Andrea M.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2023
• Subjects: Bank employees—Selection and appointment—Philippines; Human Resources Management
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_manorg/157
• Institution: De La Salle University

Due to the highly transactional nature of the work of recruitment and selection divisions in both government agencies and private companies, handling various types of documents is part of the daily routine, and organizations have different methods of doing such– manual, modernized, or even automated. This integrative action research paved the way for the Philippine Central Bank’s Recruitment and Career Management Group to achieve an efficient approval process of documents/materials for its weekly personnel selection meeting. Through two action research cycles, methods of inquiries, and collaboration, the researchers focused on addressing inefficiencies in the document approval process: (1) delays in approval, (2) difficulties in tracking documents and monitoring their status, as well as (3) inadvertent human errors. Lewin’s Three-Step Change Model and the Organizational Development Strategy were used as third-person frameworks to guide the researchers in each cycle. Six Sigma tools such as the Fishbone Diagram and the Five Whys Technique were especially useful in the first cycle for analyzing the root causes of the issue, and the Force Field Analysis was applied to determine forces that could drive and restrain the organization from moving past the status quo. After adopting a streamlined and standardized document approval workflow across four teams, Cycle 1 resulted in a faster turnaround time of approval of documents for selection meetings. The other said symptoms of the issue remained unresolved which became the center of interest in the second cycle. The shift from electronic mail to Microsoft (MS) Teams Approvals took place in Cycle 2, and the latter was found to be a more suitable platform for the approval process of selection meeting materials as it aided in document tracking and status monitoring. The design of the template to request for approval in MS Teams Approvals was customized and evaluated in accordance with the elements of the Poka-Yoke Technique, which also contributed significantly to error-proofing the document approval process. In a broader context, this action research project resulted in a framework to achieve an efficient document approval process. Other government agencies, banks, and organizations particularly those that function in a top-down management structure, may use it as a reference in improving their operations through exploring and creating appropriate solutions to their inefficient work processes. Keywords: recruitment and selection, organizational development, document approval and monitoring, Six Sigma, standardized workflow, Microsoft Teams, error-proofing, inefficient work process