Shri D. N.

Institute of Business HRM

Administration
Name of Faculty: Ritesh H. Patel
Class: SYBBA (Gen)
Unit: 2

Recruitment:
Concept of Recruitment:
Recruitment means search of the prospective employee to suit the job requirements as
represented by job specificationa technique of job analysis.
Edwin Flippo defined Recruitment as the process of searching for prospective employees and
stimulating them to apply for jobs in the Organization.
Dale S. Beach has defined Recruitment as the development and maintenance of adequate
manpower resources. It involves the creation of a pool of available labor upon whom the
organization can depend when it needs additional employees.
Recruitment involves estimating the available vacancies and making suitable arrangements for
their selection and appointment. In order to attract people for the jobs, the Organization must
communicate the position in such a way that job seekers respond. To be cost effective, the
recruitment process should attract qualified applicants and provide enough information for
unqualified persons to self-select themselves out.
Thus, the recruitment process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their
applications are submitted. The result is a pool of applicants from which new employees are
selected.

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Sources of Recruitment:
The sources of recruitment may be broadly divided into two categories:
1. Internal sources and
2. External sources.

A. Internal sources
Persons who are already working in an Organization constitute the internal sources. Retrenched
employees, retired employees, dependents of deceased employees generally constitute the
internal sources. Whenever any vacancy arises, someone from within the Organization is
upgraded, transferred, promoted or even demoted.
The internal sources of recruitment are:1.

Promotions: Promotion means to give a higher position, status, salary and responsibility
to the employee. So, the vacancy can be filled by promoting a suitable candidate from the
same organization.

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2.

Transfers: Transfer means a change in the place of employment without any change in
the position, status, salary and responsibility of the employee. So, the vacancy can be filled
by transferring a suitable candidate from the same organization.

3.

Employee Referrals: Employee referral means using personal contacts of employees to

locate job prospects. It is a recommendation from a current employee regarding a job
applicant. The logic behind employee referral is that it takes one to know one. Employees
working in the Organization, in this case, are encouraged to recommend the names of
known persons, working in other Organizations for a possible vacancy in the near future.

4.

Job Posting: Job posting is another way of hiring people from within. In this method, the
organization publicizes job opening on bulletin boards, electronic method and similar
outlets. One of the important advantages of this method is that it offers a chance to highly
qualified persons working within the Company to look for growth opportunities without
looking for greener pastures outside.

Advantages of Internal Sources:

Economical: The cost of recruiting internal candidates is minimal. No expenses are incurred on
advertising.
Suitable: The Organization can pick the right candidates having the requisite skills. The
candidate can choose a right vacancy where their talents can be fully utilized.
Reliable: The Organization has the knowledge about suitability of a candidate for a position.
This supports the saying Known devils are better than unknown angels!
Satisfying: A policy of preferring people from within offers regular promotional avenues for
employees. It motivates them to work hard and earn promotions. They will work with loyalty,
commitment and enthusiasm.

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Disadvantages of Internal Sources:

Limited Choice: The Organization is forced to select candidates from a limited pool. It may
have to sacrifice quality and settle down for less qualified candidates.
Inbreeding: It discourages entry of talented people, available outside the Organization. Existing
employees may fail to explore innovative ways and inject necessary dynamism to enterprise
activities.
Inefficiency: Promotions based on length of service rather than merit, may prove to be a blessing
for inefficient candidates. They do not work hard and prove their worth.
Bone of contention: Recruitment from within may lead to infighting among employees aspiring
for limited, higher level positions in an organization. As years roll by, the race for premium
positions may end up in a bitter race.

2. External sources.
External sources refer to the practice of getting suitable persons from outside. The various
external sources are advertisement, employment exchange, past employees, private placement
agencies and consultants, walks-ins, campus recruitment, trade unions, etc.
The following external sources of recruitment are commonly used by the big enterprises:
The external sources of recruitment are:1.

Management Consultants: Management consultants are used for selecting higher-level

staff. They act as a representative of the employer. They make all the necessary arrangements
for recruitment and selection. In return for their services, they take a service charge or
commission.

2.

Public Advertisements: The Personnel department of a company advertises the vacancy

in newspapers, the internet, etc. This advertisement gives information about the company, the

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job and the required qualities of the candidate. It invites applications from suitable
candidates. This source is the most popular source of recruitment. This is because it gives a
very wide choice. However, it is very costly and time consuming.
3.

Campus Recruitment: The organization conducts interviews in the campuses of

Management institutes and Engineering Colleges. Final year students, who're soon to get
graduates, are interviewed. Suitable candidates are selected by the organization based on
their academic record, communication skills, intelligence, etc. This source is used for
recruiting qualified, trained but inexperienced candidates.

4.

Recommendations: The organization may also recruit candidates based on the

recommendations received from existing managers or from sister companies.

5.

Deputation Personnel: The organization may also recruit candidates who are sent on
deputation by the Government or Financial institutions or by holding or subsidiary
companies.

6.

Direct Recruitment: An important source of recruitment is direct recruitment by placing

a notice on the notice board of the enterprise specifying the details of the jobs available. It is
also known as recruitment at factory gate.

7.

Employment Exchanges: As a statutory requirement, Companies are also expected to

notify (wherever the Employment Exchanges Act, 1959, applies) their vacancies through the
respective Employment Exchanges, created all over India for helping unemployed youth,
displaced persons, ex-military personnel, physically handicapped, etc.

Advantages of External sources:

Wide Choice: The Organization has the freedom to select candidates from a large pool. Persons
with requisite qualifications could be picked up.
Injection of fresh blood: People with special skills and knowledge could be hired to stir up the
existing employees and pave the way for innovative ways of working.

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Motivational force: 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.
Long term benefits: Talented people could join the ranks, new ideas could find meaningful
expression, a competitive atmosphere would compel people to give out their best and earn
rewards, etc.
Disadvantages of External sources:
Expensive: Hiring costs could go up substantially. Tapping multifarious sources of recruitment is
not an easy task either.
Time consuming: It takes time to advertise, screen and test, to select suitable employees. Where
suitable ones are not available, the process has to be repeated.
De-motivating: 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.
Uncertainty: There is no guarantee that the Organization will ultimately be able to hire the
services of suitable candidates. It may end up hiring someone who does not fit and who may not
be able to adjust in the new setup.

Selection:
Meaning & Definition
To select means to choose. Selection is a part of the recruitment function. It is the process of
choosing people by obtaining and assessing information about the applicants (age, qualification,
experience and qualities) with a view of matching these with the job requirements and picking up
the most suitable candidates. The choices are made by elimination of the unsuitable at successive
stages of the selection process.

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According to O. Donnell, Selection is the process of choosing from among the candidates, from
within the organization or from the outside, the most suitable person for the current position or
for the future position."
Employee Selection is the process of putting right men on right job. It is a procedure of matching
organizational requirements with the skills and qualifications of people. Effective selection can
be done only when there is effective matching. By selecting best candidate for the required job,
the organization will get quality performance of employees.

Selection Procedure:
The Employee selection Process takes place in following order-

1.

Preliminary Interviews- It is used to eliminate those candidates who do not meet the
minimum eligibility criteria laid down by the organization. The skills, academic and family
background, competencies and interests of the candidate are examined during preliminary
interview. Preliminary interviews are less formalized and planned than the final interviews.
The candidates are given a brief up about the company and the job profile; and it is also
examined how much the candidate knows about the company. Preliminary interviews are
also called screening interviews.

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2.

Application form- The candidates who clear the preliminary 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.

3.

Written Tests- Various written tests conducted during selection procedure are aptitude
test, intelligence test, reasoning test, personality test, etc. These tests are used to objectively
assess the potential candidate. They should not be biased.

4.

Employment Interviews- It is a one to one interaction between the interviewer and the
potential candidate. It is used to find whether the candidate is best suited for the required job
or not. But such interviews consume time and money both. Moreover the competencies of the
candidate cannot be judged. Such interviews may be biased at times. Such interviews should
be conducted properly. No distractions should be there in room. There should be an honest
communication between candidate and interviewer.

5.

Reference Check- After the interview, the Personnel department checks the references
of the successful candidates. These references are contacted personally or by telephone or by
letter, and they are asked their opinion about the candidate. The main purpose of a reference
check is to collect information about the past performance of the candidate in order to judge
his future performance. The accuracy of the information given by the candidate can also be
checked.

6.

Medical examination- Medical tests are conducted to ensure physical fitness of the
potential employee. It will decrease chances of employee absenteeism.

7.

Final Selection, Placement and Induction- The candidates who are successful in the
medical examination are issued appointment letters, and they are asked to join the
organisation on a particular date. On the joining date, the candidate is properly placed and
inducted.

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Employee Training:
Training of employees takes place after orientation takes place.
Training is the process of enhancing the skills, capabilities and knowledge of employees for
doing a particular job.
Training process moulds the thinking of employees and leads to quality performance of
employees. It is continuous and never ending in nature.
Training makes a very important contribution to the development of the organizations human
resources and hence to the achievement of its aims and objectives. To achieve its purpose,
training needs to be effectively managed so that the right training is given to the right people, in
the right form, at the right time and at the right costs.
The benefits of training can be summed up as:

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1.

Improves morale of employees- Training helps the employee to get job security and job
satisfaction. The more satisfied the employee is and the greater is his morale, the more he
will contribute to organizational success and the lesser will be employee absenteeism and
turnover.

2.

Less supervision- A well trained employee will be well acquainted with the job and will
need less of supervision. Thus, there will be less wastage of time and efforts.

3.

Fewer accidents- Errors are likely to occur if the employees lack knowledge and skills
required for doing a particular job. The more trained an employee is, the less are the chances
of committing accidents in job and the more proficient the employee becomes.

4.

Chances of promotion- Employees acquire skills and efficiency during training. They
become more eligible for promotion. They become an asset for the organization.

5.

Increased productivity- Training improves efficiency and productivity of employees.

Well trained employees show both quantity and quality performance. There is less wastage of
time, money and resources if employees are properly trained.

Techniques of Training:
A. On-the-job Training:
In this method, the trainee is placed on a regular job and taught the skills necessary to perform it. The
trainee learns under the guidance and supervision of the instructor. The trainee learns by observing
and handling the job. Therefore, it is called learning by doing. The following techniques are used for
on the job training of the employees.
1. Coaching: This technique is used to train generally the manager level employees. It is also
applied to the other categories of employees. It is a person to person interaction. The superior or
expert in a particular area observe the performance of an employee closely and initiates
corrective action. This technique focuses identifying weaknesses and finding the areas of
improvement.
2. Mentoring: The junior employees are attached to seniors for training. . The seniors will provide
guidance and understanding of various issues related to the organization, job performance

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techniques, culture and traditions, vision and mission, team work and group behavior, etc to the
juniors..
3. Committee assignments: The employees are nominated as a member of committee to facilitate
learning under this method. This method provides an opportunity for the employee to participate
in decision making process, observe the activities of other members and investigate
organizational problems.
4. Job rotation: Job rotation represents an excellent method for broadening the manager or
potential manager and for turning specialist into generalists. In addition to increasing the
managers experience and allowing the manager to absorb new information, it can reduce
boredom and stimulate the development of new ideas. It can also provide opportunities for a
more comprehensive and reliable evaluation of the manager by his or her supervisors.

B. Off - the Job Training:

There are many management development technique that personal can take is given outside the
actual work place. Few popular ones: 1. Lectures/Conferences: - This approach is well adapted to convey specific information,
rules, procedures or methods. This method is useful, where the information is to be shared
among a large number of trainees. The cost per trainee is low in this method.
2. Films: - can provide information & explicitly demonstrate skills that are not easily presented
by other techniques. Motion pictures are often used in conjunction with Conference,
discussions to clarify & amplify those points that the film emphasized.
3. Simulation Exercise: - Any training activity that explicitly places the trainee in an artificial
environment that closely mirrors actual working conditions can be considered a Simulation.
Simulation activities include case experiences, experiential exercises, vestibule training,
management games & role-play.
4. Cases: - present an in depth description of a particular problem an employee might
encounter on the job. The employee attempts to find and analyze the problem, evaluate
alternative courses of action & decide what course of action would be most satisfactory.
5. Experiential Exercises: - are usually short, structured learning experiences where
individuals learn by doing. For instance, rather than talking about inter-personal conflicts &
how to deal with them, an experiential exercise could be used to create a conflict situation
where employees have to experience a conflict personally & work out its solutions.

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6. Vestibule Training: - Employees learn their jobs on the equipment they will be using, but
the training is conducted away from the actual work floor. While expensive, Vestibule
training allows employees to get a full feel for doing task without real world pressures.
Additionally, it minimizes the problem of transferring learning to the job.
7. Role Play: - Its just like acting out a given role as in a stage play. In this method of training,
the trainees are required to enact defined roles on the basis of oral or written description of a
particular situation.
8. Management Games: - The game is devised on a model of a business situation. The trainees
are divided into groups who represent the management of competing companies. They make
decisions just like these are made in real-life situations. Decisions made by the groups are
evaluated & the likely implications of the decisions are fed back to the groups. The game
goes on in several rounds to take the time dimension into account.
9. In-Basket Exercise: - Also known as In-tray method of training. The trainee is presented
with a pack of papers & files in a tray containing administrative problems & is asked to take
decisions on these problems & is asked to take decisions on these within a stipulated time.
The decisions taken by the trainees are compared with one another. The trainees are
provided feedback on their performance.

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