Personnel Management

Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment

After identifying the number and type of personnel required in any organisation by the process of manpower planning and job analysis, next comes the process of recruitment and selection. Both recruitment and selection are integrated and interrelated terms. Recruitment involves location of such personnel motivating them to offer their candidature and selection involves selecting the suitable candidates and rejecting the unfit ones

Definitions

 Recruitment  is   the   process  of locating, identifying and attracting capable applicants.

             -Taylor

Recruitment is a process of searching for prospective employees     and     stimulating    and encouraging them to apply for jobs in an organization.

-Flippo

Recruitment is a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an effective working force.

-Dale Yoder

Recruitment means attracting candidates, which is primarily a matter of identifying, evaluating and using the most appropriate source of applicants.

-Michael Armstrong

Recruitment is the process of finding and attracting capable applicants for the employment. The process begins when new results are sought and ends when their applications are submitted. The result is a pool of applicants from which new employees are selected.

-Werther and Davis

Features of Recruitment

  1. It is positive act since it attempts to encourage potential applicants to seek jobs in the firm.
  2. Recruitment is a process  or  a series   of activities rather   than   a single  act  or event.  The  activities in this  process  are  described  under   the  next
  3. The basic purpose  of recruitment  is to locate  the  sources  of people required to meet  job  requirements   and  attracting such  people to offer  themselves for employment  in the
  4. It represents the first contact that an organization has with its potential employees.
  5. It aims to discover and determine the sources of manpower to be utilized in tune with the strategic goals of the organization.
  6. Recruitment is a pervasive function as all organisations  engage in recruiting activity. But the volume and  nature   of recruitment  varies  with  the size, nature and  environment  of the  particular
  7. Recruitment is a two-way process.  It takes   a recruiter  and  a recruitee.  Just as the recruiter  has  a choice whom  to recruit or not,  Similarly the prospective employee can  choose for  which  organisation  to apply  for  a job.
  8. Recruitment is a complex job  because too many  factors affect  it, e.g.,  image of the  organisation,   nature   of jobs  offered, organisational  policies, working conditions  and   compensation   levels  in  the  organisation,   rate   of growth of the  organisation,   past   recruitment record, employment conditions in  the community,  trade    union     labour laws,   Government  policies  (e.g. reservation  (or  SC/ST). Most   of these    factors   serve   as   constraints    restricting    the   freedom   of management in recruitment.

Recruitment Process

The recruitment  process  consists  of the following steps:

  1. Recruitment process  generally begins when  the human resource  department receives requisitions   for  recruitment  from  any  department   of the  company. The  human  resource requisitions  contain details about   the  position  to be filled,   number   of  persons   to  be  recruited,   the  duties    to  be  performed, qualifications    required    from   the   candidate,    terms    and   conditions    of employment and   the   time   by  which    the   person    should   be   available for  appointment.   etc
  1. Locating and   developing   the  sources   of  required   number   and   type   of employees.
  1. Identifying the prospective  employees with  required  characteristics.
  2. Communicating the  information  about   the  organisation,   the  job   and   the terms   and  conditions  of service.
  1. Encouraging the  identified candidates  to apply  for  jobs   in the  organisation.
  1. Evaluating the effectiveness of recruitment  process.

Sources of Recruitment

Various  sources  of recruitment   may  be classified  into  two broad   categories.  namely internal sources  and  external  sources.

Internal   Sources

  Internal  sources  consist   of the  following:

  • Present employees

Permanent,      temporary  and  casual   employees  already on the  pay  of the organisation  are  a good  source.  Vacancies may  be filled  up from  such   employees  through  promotions,   transfers,   upgrading  and  even demotion.  Transfer  implies shifting of an employee from  one job  to another without any major   change in the status   and  responsibilities   of the employee. On  the other   hand,   promotion  refers   to shifting of an  employee to a higher position  carrying  higher   status,   responsibilities   and  pay.

  • Former Employees

Former employees are also an internal source of applicants. Some retired employee 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.

  • Employee Recommendations

Personnel may be employed on some special recommendations from employee side.

Internal  sources  have  the  following merits:

i. Morale and   motivation  of employees  improve  when   they  are  assured   that they  would   be preferred   in filling  up  vacancies  at  higher     A sense   of security is  created  among   employees.

ii. Suitability of existing  employees  can  judged    better   as  record    of  their qualifications   and   performance   is  already  available  in  the  organisation. Chances  of proper    selection  are  higher.

iii. It promotes  loyalty and  commitment  among  employees  due  to sense   of job security and  opportunities for  Stability  of  employment improved.

iv. Present employees are  already familiar with  the organisation  and  its policles. Therefore,  time  and  costs  of orientation  and  training  are

v. The time  and  expenditure  of recruitment  are  reduced  as  there  is little  need for  advertising  vacancies,  or  arranging  rigorous  tests   and

vi. Relations with  trade   unions   remain  good  because  unions   prefer   internal recruitment   particularly  through

vii. Filling   of  higher    level  jobs   through  promotions   within    the  organisation helps   to  retain    talented   and   ambitious      Labour   turnover   is reduced.

Internal  sources  have  the  following demerits:

i. It may lead to inbreeding. It discourages entry of talented people, available outside the organization.

ii. The organization is forced to select candidates from a limited pool. It may have to sacrifice quality and settle for less qualified candidates.

iii. Promotions are based on length of service rather than merit, may prove to be blessing for inefficient candidates.They do not work hard and prove their worth.

iv. This source of recruitment is not available to a newly established enterprise.

v. Recruitment from within may lead to infighting among employees aspiring for limited, higher level positions in an organization.

External Sources of Recruitment

External sources  of recruitment  lie outside the  organisation.

These   are  as  follows:

a) Educational and Training Institutions.

Various institutes like IIMs, IITs, engineering colleges, medical  colleges, ITIs  and  universities  are  a good  source   for recruiting well-qualified executives, engineers, medical staff,  pharmacists,  chemists, etc. They provide facilities for campus  interviews and  placement.  Good  institutions have  placement  cells/officers  to  serve   as  liaison between the   employers  and   the students.  This  source   is known  as Campus Recruitment .  They  are  hired   as soon  as they graduate.  Group  offers  are  also  a new trend at B-schools.

b) Executive Search  Agencies  or   Placement  Agents  or   Head­ hunters.

Several  private  consultancy  firms perform  recruiting  function  on  behalf  of client companies by charging fee. These   agencies are  particularly  suitable  for recruitment of executives and   specialists.   They   perform  all  the  functions   of recruitment  and selection so  that   the  client   is  relieved of this  burden.   But  the  cost  of recruitment through these   agencies  is  quite  high.

c) Employment Exchanges

Government of  India   has   established   public employment exchanges throughout  the country. These  exchanges provide information about job vacancies  to  the  job seekers   and  help   employers  in  identifying   Suitable candidates.  They   contain  a  data   bank    of  candidates   for  different  types  of jobs. Whenever they get requisition/notice   from  employers,  the  concerned  candidates  are informed. A list  of  such   persons   is  also   sent   to  the  employer.  The  Employment Exchanges (Compulsory  Notification of Vacancies) Act,1959 makes  it obligatory for both public  sector   and   private  sector   enterprises   to fill  certain    types   vacancies through employment  exchanges.

d) Casual Callers

Due  to  widespread   unemployment   in  the  country, many jobseekers visit  the  offices  of well-known companies  on their  own.  Such  callers  are generally considered   a nuisance  to the  daily  work   routine  of the  enterprise.  But  a waiting list of such   unsolicited  visitors  can  be prepared   to fill temporary  and lower level jobs. It is a very inexpensive  source   of recruitment.

e) Labour Contractors

Manual workers can be recruited  through contractors who maintain  close  links   with  the  sources  of such   workers.   This   source    is often used to  recruit   labour   for  construction  jobs.  The  disadvantage  of this  source is  that when the contractor  leaves  the  organisation,   people  employed  through  him  also go.

f) Gate Recruitment

Unskilled workers may  be recruited  at the  factory gate. In some  industries,  like jute,  a large  number  of workers  work  as badli   or substitute workers. These   may  be  employed  whenever  a permanent   worker  is  absent.  More efficient among  these  badli   workers  may  be recruited  to fill permanent  vacancies . A notice on the  notice  board   of the  company  specifying the details   of job  vacancies can be put.  Such  recruitment   is  called   direct     recruitment. It is very  economical  and  used mainly for unskilled  and  casual  job vacancies. On the spot  recruitment  through Walk-in interviews  and  job  fairs   are  becoming  popular  particularly   for  call  centres, BPO firms,   etc .

g) Similar Organisations

Experienced employees can be recruited by offering better benefits  to  the  people   working  in  similar  organisations.   Newly  established organisations of well-known  business  houses   often  lure  experienced executives  and technical experts  from  the  public   sector.   This  is  called   raiding for  talent.

h) Employee Referrals

Office bearers  of trade unions are  often  aware   of the suitability of candidates.   Management  can  enquire  these  leaders  for suitable jobs. In some organizations,   there   are  formal   agreements  to give priority  in  recruitment   to the candidates   recommended   by trade   unions.  Relatives and  friends    of employees are  given  priority  in  recruitment   in  some   companies.   Public   sector   undertakings give  preference  to local  people   (sons  of the  soil)  in recruitment   particularly  at lower   level jobs.  In this  source  some sort  of preliminary    screening    takes  place by the employee/union recommending     the  candidate.

i) Press Advertisements

Advertisements     in  newspapers     and  journals,   is a widely used source of recruitment. The advantage   of this  method   is that  it has  a very wide reach. One advertisement in a leading daily can cover millions of persons throughout the country.  Cost  per  person   is  very  low. This  method   can  be  used  for clerical, technical and managerial jobs. However,  this  method   may  bring   in  a large  number  of applications from unsuitable candidates.    The company  has  to waste  considerable  time  and  efforts in sorting out applicants.

Merits of External Recruitment

  1. The organisation has the freedom to select candidates from a large pool. Persons with requisite qualifications could be picked up.
  2. As recruitment is done  from  a wider     market,    best   selection    can  be  made irrespective   of caste,  sex or religion.
  3. Expertise and  experience   from  other  organisations   can  be brought.
  4. It helps in motivating internal employees to work hard and compete with external candidates while seeking career growth. Such a competitive atmosphere would help an employee to work to the best of his abilities.
  5. This source of recruitment never dries up. It is available to even new enterprises.

Demerits of External Recruitment

  1. It is more expensive and time-consuming     to recruit   people   from
  2. Detailed screening is necessary   as very little  is known  about   the existing employees who have put in considerable service may resist the process of filling up vacancies from outside. The feeling that their services have not been recognized by the organization, forces them to work with less enthusiasm and motivation.
  3. If higher level jobs are filled from  external   sources,   motivation    and  loyalty of existing staff are affected.

Techniques /Methods of Recruitment

Recruitment     methods     or  techniques      are   the  means    by  which    an   organisation establishes   contact   with  potential    candidates,     provides    them  necessary    information and encourages    them  to apply  for jobs.  These  methods   are  different   from  the sources of recruitment.    Sources are  the locations   where  prospective    employees   are  available. On the  other   hand,   methods     are  ways  of  establishing     links   with   the  prospective employees.  Various methods   employed  for  recruiting  employees  may  be  classified into  the  following categories :

  1. Direct  Methods

Under  direct recruitment scouting, employee contacts, manned exhibits and  waiting lists  are  used.   In scouting,  representatives   of the  organisation are sent  to educational  and  training institutions.  These  travelling recruiters  exchange information  with  the  students,   clarify  their  doubts,  stimulate  them  to apply  for jobs conduct  campus  interviews  and  short   list  candidates  for  further    screening.  They act in cooperation  with  the placement  office/head of the  institution. In view of the growing demand for young managers, most reputed organisations (such as Hindustan Lever Lts. ,Proctor and Gamble, SBI , TATA Group etc.)   go for campus recruitment in institutes like IITs and IIMs regularly and also sponsor certain popular campus activities with a view to earn goodwill in the job market.

2. Indirect methods

These include advertisements in newspapers, trade journals, professional and technical journals, radio and television etc.The ads generally give a brief outline of the job responsibilities, compensation package, prospects in the organization etc. This method is appropriate when

a) The organization intends to reach a large target group

b) The organization wants a fairly good number of talented people who are geographically spread out.

3. Third Party Methods

Various agencies     can  be  used   to  recruit    personnel. Public  employment  exchanges, management  consulting firms,  professional  societies, temporary  help  societies,trade  unions,  labour   contractors   are  the  main  agencies.

4. Internet Recruitment

In recent years most companies have found it useful to develop their own website and list job openings on it. The website offers a fast, convenient and cost effective means for job applicants to submit their resume through the Internet. There are variety of websites available in addition of company’s own website where applicants can submit their resumes and potential employers can check for qualified applicants such as www.naukri.com, www.monsterindia.com, www.timesjob.com, www.headhunters.com.

Personnel Management

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