RECRUITMENT

This is the process of identifying a staffing need, sourcing, screening, shortlisting, interviewing
candidates for a specific job or position within an organization.

SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT – there are two sources of recruitment – internal recruitment and external
recruitment.

1. Internal Recruitment - is a recruitment which takes place within the organization. Internal
sources of recruitment are readily available to an organization.

Internal recruitment may lead to increase in employee’s productivity as their motivation level
increases. It also saves time, money and efforts. But a drawback of internal recruitment is that it
refrains the organization from new blood. Also, not all the manpower requirements can be met
through internal recruitment. Hiring from outside has to be done.

Internal sources -

a. Transfers

b. Promotions

c. Re-employment of ex-employees – this is one of the internal sources of recruitment in

which employees can be invited and appointed to fill vacancies in the concern. There
are situations when ex-employees provide unsolicited applications also.

d. Internal advertisement (job posting)

e. Employee Referrals

f. Previous Applicants

ADVANTAGES

- It boosts the morale of the existing employees

- It enhances better performance especially when they are promoted or upgraded.
- The management is able to evaluate the workers more closely
- It is economical and cost effective
- Promotes loyalty amongst the existing employees
- Saves time that would have been spent on advertisement.

DISADVANTAGES

- Could breed ill-feeling amongst employees especially when one is promoted above the other.
- Favoritism and nepotism may thrive
- It could give room for vendetta or reprisal on a junior employee by a senior colleague where
there had been some dispute before
- No new ideas or innovation introduced.
- Where a good employee is not considered, this might lead to frustration and eventual exit from
the organization.
 2. External Recruitment - External sources of recruitment have to be sought from outside the
organization. This takes a lot of time and money.

a. Employment at Factory Level - This a source of external recruitment in which the

applications for vacancies are presented on bulletin boards outside the Factory or at the
Gate. This kind of recruitment is applicable generally where factory workers are to be
appointed. There are people who keep on soliciting jobs from one organization to
another. These applicants are called as unsolicited applicants.

b. Advertisement - It is an external source which is very important in the recruitment

process. The main advantage of advertisement is that it covers a wide area of the
employment market and applicants all over the country or world can get information
from advertisements. For example, Newspapers, Television and online adverts.

c. Employment Exchanges - There are certain Employment exchanges which are run by
government. Most of the government undertakings and concerns employ people
through such exchanges.

d. Employment/Recruitment Agencies - There are private organizations which specialize in

recruitment and employment of people, that is, these private agencies run by private
individuals supply required manpower to needy concerns. For example, Philips
Consulting. On the part of the government, it is called the National Directorate of
Employment (NDE).

e. Educational Institutions - Tertiary Institutions also serve as an external source for

recruiting fresh graduates. This kind of recruitment done in the educational institutions,
is also called Campus Recruitment.

f. Recommendations - There are certain people who have experience in a particular area.
They enjoy goodwill and a stand in the company. There are certain vacancies which are
filled by recommendations of such people. The biggest drawback of this source is that
the company has to rely totally on such people which can later on prove to be
inefficient.

g. Labor Contractors - These are the specialist people who supply manpower to the
Factory or Manufacturing plants. Through these contractors, workers are appointed on
contract basis, i.e. for a particular time period. Under conditions when these contractors
leave the organization, such people who are appointed have to also leave the concern.
E.g. private security companies or cleaning companies

h. Professional Associations such as ICAN, ICSAN, CIPM etc

ADVANTAGES

- There is always a large number of qualified applicants from which the organization can choose
the best.
- New ideas and innovation would be introduced into the organization by new employees
recruited from outside the organization
- This source eliminates favoritism and unfair judgement.
 - It brings about good competition for the available jobs.

DISADVANTAGES

- The existing employees might have a sense of insecurity and may loose interest in the
organization
- There might be a lack of commitment which could lead to labor turnover.
- It is time consuming
- It is costly

STEPS IN THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS -

1. Staff Requisition – The first and foremost process of recruitment plan is identifying the vacancy.
This process begins with receiving the requisition for recruitments from different departments
of the organization to the HR Department, which contains –

- Number of posts to be filled

- Number of positions
- Duties and responsibilities to be performed
- Qualification and experience required

It is also determined if the position is permanent or temporary, full-time or part-time and what training,
compensation and performance evaluation will be like. These parameters will be evaluated before
commencing recruitment. Proper identifying, planning and evaluating leads to hiring of the right
candidate for the department/team and the organization.

2. Advertisement is placed – the advertisement will carry the job position, job description,
reporting to whom, the location etc., so that prospective candidates will know if they are
qualified or not. The media used to advertise is also very important. E.g. newspapers,
magazines, television, radio, online adverts etc.

3. Preliminary Interview/Screening interviews- It is used to eliminate those candidates who do

not meet the minimum eligibility criteria laid down by the organization. This is the act of
narrowing the pool of candidates and selecting candidates to progress to the next level. It
involves reviewing resumes and cover letters to separate unqualified candidates from those who
align with the job requirement. Each candidate's education, certifications, work experience and
previous achievements are evaluated against the requirements and specifications to know
which will be a match. The skills, academic and family background, competencies and interests
of the candidate are also examined during preliminary interview.

Preliminary interviews are less formalized than the final interviews. The candidates are given a
brief up about the company and the job profile; and this stage is also used to examined how
much the candidate knows about the company. Preliminary interviews are also called screening
interviews.

4. Application blanks- The candidates who clear the preliminary/screening interview are required
to fill application blank. It contains data record of the candidates such as details about age,
qualifications, reason for leaving previous job, experience, etc.
 5. Written Tests- Various written tests conducted during selection procedure are aptitude test,
intelligence test, skill test, reasoning test, personality test, etc. These tests are used to
objectively assess the potential candidate.

6. Employment Interviews- It is a one on one interaction between the interviewer(s) and the
prospective employee which may be physical, telephonic or video interview. It is used to find
out whether the candidate is best suited for the position or not. There should be an honest
communication between candidate and interviewer(s).

Interviews however, consume time and money and can sometimes be biased. Moreover, the
competencies of the candidate cannot be judged.

There are different types of interviews – direct interview, structured interview, unstructured
interview, stress interview, group or discussion interview etc.

7. Medical examination - Medical tests are conducted to ensure physical, mental and sometime
psychological fitness of the prospective employee. This will help decrease the chances of
employee absenteeism. The test is usually conducted in the organization’s preferred medical
facility.

8. Reference – this is an objective evaluation of a candidate’s past job performance from key
individuals which may include past employers, subordinates, academic or family friends etc who
have known and/or worked with the candidate. This is done to verify the information provided
by the candidate about himself/herself.

9. Offer Letter- The next step is officially offering the preferred candidate the position. At this
stage, an offer letter is provided that includes the start date, compensation, working hours and
performance expectations.

10. Appointment letter – When the offer is accepted by the preferred candidate, finally a formal
appointment letter is given.

11. Induction/Orientation – this is the process of introducing new employees to the company, its
culture, policies, procedures, products and services. it might also include introduction to the key
management staff, meeting with the line manager who will give information about the job to be
performed, being shown around the work environment including the office allocated and being
given information relating to health and safety issues.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS –

An interview is a purposeful exchange of ideas, the answering of questions and communication between
two or more persons - the interviewee and the interviewer(s). It is a process of private meeting
conversation between people, where questions are asked and answered, for obtaining information
about qualities, attitudes, prospectus etc.

The primary purpose of an interview is to transfer information from interviewee to interviewer.

Interviews can be either formal or informal, structured or unstructured. Interviews can be carried out
one-to-one or in groups; they can be conducted over telephone or via video conferencing or physically.

Types of Interviews −
  Structured Interview − In this type, the interview is designed and detailed in advance. A
structured interview is pre-planned, accurate, and consistent in hiring the candidates.

 Unstructured Interview or Non-Directive interview – in this type of interview, the interviewers

have no preplanned strategy but rely on broad categories such as previous employment,
education, interest, motivation etc. The candidate has the leeway in determining the course of
the discussion, laying emphasis on the aspects they feel are important. Here, the effectiveness
of the interview is very less and there is a tremendous waste of time and effort of both the
interviewer and the interviewee.

 Group/Discussion Interview − In this type of interview, all the candidates or a group of

candidates are interviewed together. Group interviews are conducted to save time when there
is a large number of applications for a few job vacancies. A topic or problem may be given for
discussion or resolution to the group with a time limit and the interviewer judges the
innovativeness and behavior of each candidate within the group.

 Depth Interview − Depth interview is a semi-structured interview, where the candidates have to
give a detailed information about their education background, work experience, special
interests, etc. And the interviewer takes a depth interview and tries in finding the expertise of
the candidate.

 Stress Interview − Stress interviews are conducted to discover how a candidate behaves in
stressful conditions. In this type of interview, the interviewer will come to know whether the
candidate can handle the demands of a complex job. The candidate who maintains his
composure during a stress interview is normally the right person to handle a stressful job.

 Panel Interview − Panel interview, as the name indicates, is being conducted by a group of
people. In this type of interview, three to five members of the selection committee will be
asking questions to the candidates on different aspects. The final decision will be taken by all the
members of the panel collectively.

 Direct interview – also known as minor interview. This is usually conducted by having direct
questions about the applicant, name, age, marital status, previous work experience etc. This
type of interview is used for low level jobs.

www.managementstudyguide.com
www.upgrad.com
www.indeed.com
www.tutorialspoint.com
www.pediaa.com
www.keydifferences.com