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RECRUITING HUMAN RESOURCES

Chapter 6

Human Resources Management

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What is Recruitment?

• The process of locating and attracting qualified candidates for job vacancies within an organisation

It involves:• recruitment sources - determining where qualified

candidates can be located• recruitment methods - choosing specific means of

attracting potential employees to the organisation

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• It satisfies the organisation’s strategic requirements

• It helps candidates to assess the job, the organisation and whether they meet the position requirements

Recruitment is a Two-way Process:

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Strategic business objectivesWhat is to be achieved and how.

Human resource planning• Determine number and type

of jobs to be filled• Match HR supply with job

openings

Job analysisCollect job information

Job description• Job title• Duties and responsibilities• Relationships• Know-how• Accountability• Authority• Special circumstances

Job specification• Experience• Qualifications• Skills, abilities, knowledge• Personal qualities• Special requirements

RecruitmentIdentify and attract a pool of

qualified candidates.

Source: Asia Pacific Management Co Ltd.2001

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Initial Considerations1. Is there a genuine need for this job to be filled? Could the

work be reallocated? Would the work be better outsourced?

2. Should the job be filled internally or externally?

3. What is the budget for filling the position? Which departments will be charged the costs of recruitment?

4. What are the duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, qualifications, experience, skills and personal qualities required?

5. What salary and fringe benefits will the position attract? What are the conditions of employment?

6. How will candidates be recruited: job posting? Newspaper advertisement? Personnel agency?

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Initial Considerations (cont)

7. What advertisement copy/layout/style will be used? Will the advertisement be prepared in-house or by an advertising agency? Which newspapers, magazines and other communication media will be used to relay the advertisement to potential applicants?

8. Who will be involved in the recruitment and selection process? Who will conduct the interviews? Who will make the hire/reject decisions? Will psychological tests be used? Will a medical examination be required?

9. Who will handle the induction? Who will be responsible for placing the new hire on the payroll?

10. Who will give the job instructions? Who will arrange for any special training required?

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Recruitment Policy• Provides the framework for the organisation’s

recruiting action• Reflects the organisation’s recruitment objectives• Considers issues of EEO and AA, promotion,

diversity, part-time and full-time work arrangements, the selection of methods, information about the organisation, legal requirements

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Items to be Considered in the Recruitment Policy

• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) & Affirmative Action (AA )

• promotion;• recruiting personnel from local, interstate or international

sources;• permanent part-time and casual employment;• hiring people with disabilities;• hiring women and members of minority groups;• employees taking early or normal retirement;• employing gay and lesbian personnel;• employing relatives and friends of existing employees;

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Items to be Considered in the Recruitment Policy

(cont)• employing union/non-union members;

• the balance of the emphasis on technical skills and formal qualifications and the emphasis on the values held by the applicant;

• the selection of methods and media to recruit personnel — which positions will be advertised? Which will be placed with executive search firms?

• the decision about to what extent to inform applicants about the position, career opportunities, the company, its products;

• the decision about how and when to inform applicants about the job, the company and so on.

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Effective Recruitment Activities

• determine and categorize the organization’s long-range and short-range HR needs;

• keep alert to changing conditions in the labour market;

• develop appropriate recruitment advertisements and literature;

• record the number and quality of applicants from each recruiting source; and

• follow up on applicants to evaluate the effectiveness of the recruiting effort.

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Recruitment Methods

1) Internal RecruitmentComputerized record systemsJob Posting

2) External RecruitmentAdvertisingGovernment employment agenciesPersonnel consultancies/agenciesUniversity recruitingEmployee referralsProfessional associations/trade unions

3) Electronic Recruiting

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RECRUITMENTInternal sources

Advantages•Organisation has more knowledge of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses•Candidate already knows the organisation•Employee morale and motivation is enhanced•Organisation’s return on investment in training and development is increased•Can generate a succession of promotions•Organisation needs to hire only entry-level candidates.

Disadvantages•Employees may be promoted beyond their level of competence•Employee infighting for promotion can affect morale.•Inbreeding can stifle creativity and innovation •System can become bureaucratic•Excellent training and development programs are necessary

Source: Asia Pacific Management Co. Ltd. 2001

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RECRUITMENTExternal sources

Advantages• The pool of talent is bigger• New insights, skills and know-how can be introduced into the organisation• It is often cheaper and easier to hire employees from outside the organisation• Outside employees are not members of existing cliques

Disadvantages• Attracting and selecting a new employee is more difficult• New employee adjustment and orientation takes longer• Morale may suffer among existing employees who have been passed over• An employee may be selected whose performance is below the standard required or whose personality does not match with the organisation’s culture

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Electronic Recruitment

• Electronic recruiting, cybercruiting or recruiting on the internet (and intranet for internal recruiting) presents a major change to the way in which companies traditionally recruit personnel.

• Companies can immediately advertise a job vacancy, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, include detailed and comprehensive information about the job and the company, reach large numbers of potential applicants and expect an almost immediate response.

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EEO and AA in Recruitment

EEO and AA legislation requires that organizations: eliminate discriminatory recruiting practices take specific action to ensure disadvantaged groups

are given fair access to job opportunities (eg, women, minorities, disabilities, aged workers)

select the best person for the job in terms of skills, regardless of differences in race, gender, religion, nationality or sexuality.

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Evaluation of Recruitment

• Should include short-term and long term:– Short term: wether the vacancies are filled

immediately, with qualified people, at acceptable costs;

– Long term: measurement of quality of applicants and successful applicants, acceptance-to-offer ratio, costs per applicants

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Evaluation of Recruitment Activity

• Productivity

– Applications per recruiting method

– Applicants interviewed per recruiting method

– Applicants selected per recruiting method

• Quality

– Employee on job performance ratings by recruiting method

– Early turnover rate by recruiting method

• Costs

– Advertising expenditure employment agency fees applicant and staff travel and interviews remuneration

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Evaluation of Recruitment Activity

• Time

– Time from when the recruiting action is initiated until an application is received

• Soft data

– Applicants’ satisfaction with a particular recruiting method

– Applicants’ reasons for applying to the organization

– Line managers’ satisfaction with the recruiting methods