COMMUNICATION AND PERSONNEL SELECTION IN ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Communication is not simply a channel through which organisational information is transmitted; it is a constitutive resource through which organisations recruit people, evaluate candidates, establish employment relationships, coordinate work, and develop organisational capability. This critical integrative review examines the relationship between communication and personnel selection in the context of organisational development, with particular attention to digital human resource management (HRM) and artificial intelligence (AI)-supported recruitment. The literature was identified through searches of major scholarly databases and academic search systems using combinations of terms relating to organisational communication, recruitment and selection, communication competence, digital HRM, algorithmic hiring, artificial intelligence, employee engagement, and organisational development. Recent literature was prioritised, while foundational theoretical works were retained where they remain central to the argument. The review synthesises the literature thematically and critically rather than merely describing individual studies. The synthesis indicates that communication operates across the entire personnel cycle: recruitment communication shapes applicant understanding and attraction; screening depends on the quality and interpretation of communicated evidence; interviewing makes communication competence observable; placement and promotion depend on accurate personnel information; and employee relations require continuing upward, downward, horizontal, and digital communication. The review further finds that AI can improve the speed, scale, consistency, and administrative efficiency of recruitment, but these benefits do not establish that algorithmic decisions are automatically fair or objective. Bias in training data, opacity, privacy risks, unequal access to digital systems, automation bias, and weak accountability can undermine legitimate selection. The manuscript therefore proposes an integrated communication-selection-development framework in which technology augments rather than replaces responsible human judgement. The paper contributes a conceptual bridge between organisational communication, personnel selection, communication competence, and digital HRM, and identifies implications for HR practitioners, managers, policy makers, and researchers.