Recruitment

Recruitment is understood as the process of searching for & obtaining applicants for jobs, from whom the right people can be selected. OR Recruitment is the process of attracting prospective employees and stimulating them for applying job in an organization. Recruitment refers to the process of receipt of applications from job seekers. There are recruitment boards for railways, banks & other organizations.

Purposes & Importance of Recruitment:

The general purpose of recruitment is to provide a pool of potentially qualified job candidates. - Determine the present & future requirements of the firm in conjunction with its personnel-planning & job-analysis activities; - Increase the pool of job candidates at minimum cost; - Help increase the success rate of selection process by reducing the number of visibly unqualified & over qualified job applicants; - Help reduce the probability that job applicants, once recruited & selected will leave the organization only after a short time; - Increase organizational & individual effectiveness in the short-run & in long-run.

Recruitment represents the 1st contact that a company makes with potential employees. It is through recruitment that many individuals will come to know a company & eventually decide whether they wish to work for it. A well-planned & well-managed recruiting effort will result in high-quality applicants. The recruitment process should inform qualified individuals about employment opportunities, create a positive image of the company, provide enough information about the jobs so that applicants can make comparisons with their qualifications & interests, & generate enthusiasm among the best candidates so that they will apply for the vacant positions. The failure to generate an adequate number of reasonably qualified applicants can prove costly complicating the selection process & may result in lowering of selection standards.

Factors Governing Recruitment OR Factors Influencing Recruitment:

External Factors:
- Supply & Demand:

Supply of specific skills in the labour market is one of the important external factor. If the demand for a particular skill is high relative to the supply, an extraordinary recruiting effort may be needed. For E.g. the demand for programmers & Financial Analysts is likely to be higher than their supply.

- Unemployment Rate:
When The unemployment rate in a given area is high, the company’s recruitment process may be simpler.
- Labour Market:
Labour market conditions in a local area are of primary importance in recruiting for most non-managerial, supervisory & middle-management positions. However, so far as recruitment for executive & professional positions is concerned, conditions for all India Market is concerned.
- Political & Legal Considerations:
Reservations of jobs for SC’s, ST’s, minorities & OBC’s is a political decision. There is a strong case for giving preference to people hailing from less-advantaged sections of the society.
- Sons of soil:
- Company’s Image:
The company’s image also matters in attracting large number of job seekers. Blue chip co’s attract large number of applications. Infosys handles nearly 1 million applications per annum.

Internal Factors:
- Recruiting Policy:
Most firms have a policy on recruiting internally or externally. Generally, the policy is to prefer internal sourcing, as own employees know the company well & can recommend candidates who fit the organization’s culture.
- Temporary & Part-time Employees:
An organization hiring temporary & part-time employees is in a less advantageous position in attracting sufficient applications.
- HRP:
A major internal factor that can determine the success of the recruiting programme is whether or not the company engages in HRP. In most cases, a company cannot attract prospective employees in sufficient numbers with required skills overnight. A Effective HRP greatly facilitates the recruiting efforts.

- Size of the firm:
Size Of the firm is another internal factor having its influence on the recruitment process. An organization with 1000 employees will find less problematic than a firm with just 100 employees.
- Cost:
Cost of recruiting is yet another internal factor that has to be considered. Recruiting costs are calculated per new hire & the total amount is considerable now a days. Careful HRP & forethought by recruiters can minimize recruitment costs. Evaluating the quality, quantity & costs of recruitment helps ensure that it is efficient & cost-effective.
- Growth & Expansion:
Growth & Expansion will have more recruiting on hand than the one which finds its fortunes declining.

Recruitment Process:

Recruitment is the process of identifying & attracting job seekers so as to build a pool of qualified job applicants. The process comprises 5 interrelated stages:- Planning, Strategy Development, Searching, Screening & Evaluation & Control.

1. Recruitment Planning:
Planning Involves the translation of likely job vacancies & information about the nature of these jobs into a set of objectives that specify the number & type of applicants to be contacted.
- Number of Contacts:
Organizations nearly always plan to attract more applicants than they will hire. Some of those contacted will be uninterested, unqualified, or both. Companies calculate yield ratio which expresses the relationship of applicant inputs to outputs at various decision point.
- Type of Contacts:
This refers to the type of people to be informed about job openings. The type of people depends on the tasks & responsibilities involved & the qualifications & experience expected.

2. Strategy Development:
Once Number of contacts & type of contacts are known, serious consideration needs to given to ( Make or Buy, Technological Sophistication of recruitment & selection devices, Geographic Distribution of labour markets comprising job seekers, sources of recruitment, sequencing the activities in the recruitment process)
- Make or Buy:
Firms must decide whether to hire less skilled employees & invest on training & education programmes, or they can hire skilled labour & professionals.
- Technological Sophistication:
Computers have given employers & job seekers a wide scope of options in the initial screening stage. Technological advancement has made it possible for job seekers to gain better access. They have begun sending videotapes about themselves to a number of companies without wasting time & without spending money on travel.

- Where to Look:
In Order to reduce costs, firms look into labour markets most likely to offer the required job seekers. Generally, companies look into the national market for managerial & professional employees, regional or local markets for technical, clerical & blue-collar employees. But now-a days company’s adopt incremental strategy in which initial efforts are concentrated in regional or local labour markets & expanded only if these efforts fail to achieve the desired result.
- How to look:
It refers to the methods or source of recruitment. It can broadly classified into 2. Internal Source & External Source.
Internal recruitment seeks applicants for positions from those who are currently employed.

- When to look:

An Effective recruiting strategy must determine when to look – decide on the timings of events- besides knowing where & how to look for job applicants. Time Lapsed Data (TLD) will be highly useful in determining the timings. TLD show the average time elapses between major decision points in the recruitment process.

1. Present Employees: Promotions & transfers from among the present employees can be a good source of recruitment. Promotion to higher positions has several advantages. ( It builds morale, it encourages competent individuals who are ambitious, it is a cheaper than outside to recruit, those chosen internally are familiar with the organization)
2. Employee Referrals: Employees working with an organization recommend their families or friends for vacant positions in the organization. When used wisely, referrals can be an effective way of recruiting.
3. Former Employees: Former employees are also an internal source of applicants. Some retired employees may be willing to come back to work on a part-time basis or may recommend someone who would be interested in working for the company.

4. Previous Applicants: Although not truly an internal source, those who have previously applied for jobs can be contacted by mail, a quick & inexpensive way to fill an unexpected opening.

External Recruitment-
1. Professional or Trade Association: Many associations provide placement services for their members. Many associations publish or sponsor trade journals or magazines for their members. These publications often carry classified advertisements from employers interested in recruiting their members. ( E.g. American Bar Association, National Notary Association etc.)
2. Advertisements: ‘Want Ads’ describe the job & the benefits, identify the employer, & tell those who are interested & how to apply. They are the most familiar form of employment advertising. ‘Blind Ads’ is another form where no identification of the firm is given. Respondents are asked to reply to a post box number or to a consulting firm that is retained by the organization.
3. Campus recruitments: Colleges, universities, institutes are one of the important external source of recruitment for organizations looking for fresh talents. IIM’s, IIT’s are on the top of the list of avenues for recruiters.
4. Walk-ins, Write-ins, & Talk-ins: The most common & least expensive approach for candidates is direct applications in which job seekers submit resumes. Write-ins are those who send written enquiries. These jobseekers are asked to complete application forms for further processing. Talk-ins are becoming more popular now-a days. Job aspirants are required to meet the recruiter for detailed tasks.
5. Consultants: Consultants are useful as they have nation-wide contacts & lend professionalism to the hiring process. E.g. ABC Consultants, Ferguson Associates etc.

6. Contractors: Contractors are used to recruit casual workers. The names of the workers are not entered in the company records & the difficulties experienced in maintaining permanent workers are avoided.

7. Displaced Persons: Rehabilitating the displaced people is a social responsibility of business. Such people are a source of recruitment for the company. Rehabilitation of displaced persons is mandated by the government also.
8. Radio & Television: Radio & Television are used mostly by the government departments. Companies in the private sector are hesitant to use the media because of the high cost & they also fear that such advertising will damage the conservative image.
9. Competitors: Rival firms can be a source of recruitment. Popularly called poaching. This method involves identifying the right people in rival companies & offering them better terms.

10. E-recruiting: Currently, employers can electronically screen candidates soft attributes, direct potential candidates for online skill assessment, interview candidates via videoconferencing & manage entire process with web-based software.

3. Searching:
Once a recruiting plan & strategy are worked out, the search can begin. The 2 steps involved are:
- Source Activation:
This means that if the firm has planned well & done a good job of developing its sources & search methods, activation soon results in a flood of applications/resumes. The applications received must be screened. Those who pass have to be contacted & invited for interview.
- Selling:
Another important issue here is communication. Organizations walk a tightrope. On one hand, they want to do whatever they can to attract desirable applicants. On the other they must resist the temptation of overselling their virtues. In selling the company, both the message & media deserve attention.
4. Screening:
Screening of applications can be regarded as an integral part of the recruiting process, though many view it as the 1st step in the selection process. The selection process will begin after the applications have scrutinized & shortlisted. The purpose of screening is to remove from the recruitment process, at an early stage, those applicants who are visibly unqualified for the job. Effective screening can save a great deal of time & money.

5. Evaluation & Control:
Evaluation & Control is necessary as considerable costs are incurred in the recruitment process. Costs incurred are:- ( Salaries for recruiters; Management time spent on preparing job description, job specifications, & advertisements; Cost of Advertisements; Recruitment Overheads, Costs of overtime, etc) Questions should be asked to know whether the recruitment methods used are valid & whether the recruitment process is effective.
- Evaluation of Recruitment Process:
The Recruitment process has the objective of searching for & obtaining applications from job-seekers in sufficient numbers & quality. Evaluation might include:-
a. Number of suitable candidates for selection;
b. Retention & performance of the candidates selected;
c. Cost of the recruitment process;
d. Time lapsed data;
e. Comments on image projected.

- Evaluation of Recruitment Methods:
a. Number of initial enquiries received which resulted in completed application forms;
b. Number of candidates at various stages of the recruitment & selection process, especially those shortlisted;
c. Number of candidates recruited;

d. Number of candidates retained in organization after 6 months

Recruitment Policy:

The recruitment policy of an organization would normally be in alignment with the objectives & policies of the organization. It lays down the objectives of recruitment, & the channels & sources of recruitment. A good policy recruitment policy is based on the organization’s objectives, identification of the recruitment needs, preferred sources of recruitment, cost of recruitment, & so on. It should reflect the reputation &image of the organization.