Title: Human resources management in the Greek banking sector: a focus on selection methods

Authors: Anna Daskopoulou, Panayiotis Tahinakis, John Mylonakis

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, American College of Thessalonica, P.O. Box 21021, Pylea, Thessalonica 555 10, Greece. ' Department of Accounting and Finance, University of Macedonia, 156, Egnatia Str., Thessalonica 540 06, Greece. ' 10 Nikiforou str., Glyfada, Athens 166 75, Greece

Abstract: This paper seeks to investigate selection methods of employees in the Greek banking sector with a long-term aim to evaluate the effectiveness of the methods, in terms of validity, fairness and cost. The main objectives of the paper are firstly to find out which of the selection methods, such as interviews, references, assessment centres, tests and biodata, are the most commonly practised in the banking sector and secondly to discover the role of the personnel managers during a selection process within a bank. Research showed that the selection policies of the Hellenic banks are bank/firm-specific and although some of the methods used present some common features, the pattern differs slightly from bank to bank. The ||classic trio|| of the selection methods used in the Greek banks is composed of cognitive tests, interviews and application forms or submission of curriculum vitae. Evidence also showed that the formulation of selection policies is centralised and although personnel managers have higher status than they have had in the past, they are not directly involved in the formulation of the selection process. This is not found to be really a strategic policy of the banks| personnel department either in state controlled or in private banks.

Keywords: human resource management; HRM; personnel management; employee selection methods; recruitment; training; financial services; banking sector; Greece.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2005.007106

International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 2005 Vol.5 No.3, pp.305 - 317

Published online: 26 May 2005 *

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