What is Placement? 

Once an employee has been selected, he should be placed on a suitable job. Putting the right man at the right job is as important as hiring the right person. A misplaced employee remains dissatisfied and frustrated. After putting the selected candidates on proper jobs, it is necessary to make them familiar with the job, the company and the other employees so that they feel at home and can concentrate on their work.

Placement is a process of assigning a specific job to each of the selected candidates. It involves assigning a specific rank and responsibility to an individual. It implies matching the requirements of a job with the qualifications of the candidate. Placement is understood as assigning jobs to the selected candidates. Assigning jobs to employees may involves a new job or different jobs. Thus, placement may include initial assignment of job to new employee, on transfer, promotion or demotion of the present employees. 

“Placement is the determination of the job to which an accepted candidate is to be assigned and his assignment to that job. It is a matching of what the supervisor has reason to think he can do with the job demands (job requirements) and it is matching of what he imposes (in strain, working conditions etc.) and what he offers (in the form of payroll companionship with others, promotional possibilities etc.).’’ -Pigors  and Myres. 

Proper placement helps to improve employee morale. It also helps to reduce employee turnover, absenteeism and accident rates. If a candidate adjusts himself to the job and continuous to perform as per expectations, it might mean that the candidate is properly placed. However, if the candidate has problems in adjusting himself to the job and he continues to perform below expectations, he might be misplaced. Supervisors/executives should review all such cases to find out cases of misplacement. Such candidates should be assigned some other more suitable jobs. Alternately, they may be given further training to make them fit for the job. 

Advantages

Right placement of workers can have the following advantages

1. Reduced labour turnover rate. 

2. Reduced absenteeism rate. 

3. Increased safety of workers and lower accidents. 

4. Increased morale of workers. 

5. Better human relations in the organisations. 

Principles of placement

While taking the placement decision, the following consideration or principles must be kept in mind

 1. Job Requirements

An employee should be placed on the job according to the requirements of the job such as physical and mental ability, eyesight, hearing, stress etc. The job shouldn’t be adjusted according to the qualification and abilities of the employees. Job placement profile charts can be used to match the worker’s physical and mental abilities with the job requirements. This profile chart displays an evaluation of both job requirements and worker abilities for key features of the job so that the management can easily determine how well worker fits a job. 

2. Suitable Qualifications

The job should be offered to only that person who is suitably qualified. Over qualified and under qualified persons might create problems for the organisation in the long run. 

3. Adequate Information to the Job Incumbent

The employee should be provided with the complete information and facts relating to the job, including the working conditions prevailing in the firm. He should also be made known to the rewards associated with the performance levels. 

4. Commitment and Loyalty

While placing the new employee, an effort should be made to develop a sense of commitment, loyalty and cooperation in his mind so that he may realise his responsibilities better towards the job, the organisation and his associates. 

5. Flexibility

The placement in the initial period may be temporary as changes are likely after the completion of training. The employee may be later transferred to the job where he can do better justice.