Recruitment

"Discovering the sources of manpower for placements".

In an educational institution, the teaching staffs are the primary staff, whereas the administrative
staffs are the supporting staff. Both the teaching and nonteaching staffs are to be recruited and placed
Recruitment is a positive process of searching the prospective employee and selection is a negative
process because it involves the rejection of unsuitable candidates. However, both recruitment and
selection are the two phases of the Same process.

Recruitment, being the first phase, envisages taking decisions on the choice. Selection is the second
phase, which involves giving various types of tests to the candidates and interviews them in order to
select the most suitable candidates.

The term recruitment means bringing the applicants to the selection in the educational institution. It
forms the first stage in the process which continues with selection and ceases with the placement of
the candidate. As Yoder points out "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 efficient working force"

Definitions

Recruitment is a process of securing applicants to fill vacant positions. It covers both the
filling of new and replacement of previously established posts which fall vacant.

Recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and stimulating them
to apply for jobs in the organization.
-Flippo

Recruitment is the development and maintenance of adequate manpower resources. It involves the
creation of a pool of available labour upon whom the organization can depend when it needs
additional employees.
-Dales S Beach
Factors Affecting Recruitment

 Size of the institution

 Number of departments
 Courses offered
 Specialization offered
 Employment conditions in the community
 Working conditions, salary, and other benefits
 Rate of growth of the institution
 Plan for the future expansion
 Cultural, economic and legal forces, etc.

Steps of Recruitment Process

 Preparation of the recruitment policy and rules.

 Planning and assessment of recruitment programs.
 Demand forecasting.
 Determination of the sources of recruitment
 Writing job description and person specifications.
 Drafting the application forms and instructions to the candidates.
 Preparation of the advertisement and release in the media.
 Collecting filled up application forms.
 Handing over to the selection department.

Recruitment Policy
This, in general, serves as a guide to thinking and action of those who have to make decision
in the course of accomplishment of the educational institution's goal and as such here the recruitment
of the teaching and non-teaching staff. Such a policy asserts the objectives of the recruitment and
provides a framework of implementation of the recruitment program in the form of procedures.
A good recruitment policy must contain these elements:

Institution’s objectives
Identification of the recruitment needs
Preferred sources of recruitment
Criteria for selection and preferences
The cost of recruitment and financial implications.

Sources of Recruitment

The sources may be internal and external.

Internal Sources
These include personnel who are already working in the institutions, i.e. its present working
force. Whenever any vacancy arises in the institution, somebody within the institution is upgraded,
transferred and promoted for the new position.

External Sources
These sources lie outside the institution. They usually include:

New entrants to the labour force, i.e. the young and fresh graduates.
The unemployed.
Retired experienced persons.

Importance of Recruitment Method

 It determines the number of qualified applicants applying for a particular position.

 It influences how well the organization meets its obligations to hire minority group members
and women. This usually entails advertising in minority newspaper, sending recruitment to
minority colleges and high schools and cooperating with such agencies as the urban league
that specializes in working with the minority community.
It can sometimes affect the subsequent turnover rates of employees.

Methods or Techniques of Recruitment

Direct Method
In this method, the management of the institution sends recruiters to colleges. In most colleges,
recruiting is done in cooperation with the placement office of a college. Sometimes an organization
solicits information from the head of the institution and from the professors about students with an
outstanding record. Other direct methods include sending recruiters to seminars and setting up
exhibits at fairs, etc.

Indirect Method

Indirect methods involve mostly advertising in newspaper, on the radio, in trade and professional
journals, technical magazines and brochures. Senior posts are largely filled by such methods when
they cannot be filled by promotion within.
Third Party Method

These include the use of commercial or private employment agencies, state agencies, placement
offices of colleges and professional associations, recruiting firms, indoctrination seminars for college
professors and friends and relatives.

Selection

The selection starts from the point where the recruitment is over or ends. The term recruitment refers
to the activity of bringing the adequate number of applicants to the education institutions for the
teaching and nonteaching posts. The selection process begins only after an adequate number of
applicants has been secured through the recruitment. The selection procedure is concerned with
securing relevant information about an applicant. The objective of the selection process is to
determine whether an applicant meets the qualifications for a specific job and to choose the applicant
who is most likely to perform well in that job.
Selection process starts with the initial screening interview and concludes with the final
employment decision. The traditional selection process includes preliminary screening interview,
completion of application form, employment tests, comprehensive interview, background
investigations, physical examination, and final employment decision to hire.

Steps in Selection Procedure

 Receipt of the application form from the recruitment section

 Screening the applications
 Preliminary interviews
 Asking for additional information
  Tests, if any
 Interviews
 Checking of references
 Provisional selection
 Final selection
 Medical examination, if any
 Placement
 Induction.

Placement
It is the determination of the job to which an accepted candidate is to be assigned, and his
assignment to that job. A proper placement of a worker reduces employee turnover, absenteeism and
improves morale. The newly selected teachers and office bearers are to be placed on jobs for which
they are being selected. After selection, the employee is generally put on a probation period
ranging from 1 to 2 years after his employment and may be regularized, provided that during this
period his work has been found to be satisfactory.

Induction
The newly selected teachers may not have the full acquaintance with the changing
circumstances. They may not be in a position to know fully about the rules and regulations of the
educational institution. Everything will be new for them. So there is an absolute necessity to orient
them to the changed circumstances. This activity is called induction. So induction is a technique by
which a new employee is rehabilitated into the changed surroundings and introduced to the practices,
policies, and purposes of the institution. In other words, it is a welcoming process;
the idea is to welcome a newcomer, make her feel at home and give her a feeling that her own job,
however small, is meaningful and has significance as a part of the total institution.

Objectives of Induction

 It leads to reduction of such anxieties; dispels the irrational fears of present employees and
holds colleagues responsible for assisting the newcomer, so that he may feel confident.
  It helps minimize the reality shock, which may be caused by the incompatibility between
what the employees expect in their new jobs and the realities they are confronted with.
 It helps to introduce the new employee and the institution to each other, to help them become
acquainted and to help them accommodate each other.

Promotion
The word 'promote' is derived from the Latin expression defines promovere' meaning to
move forward. The dictionary meaning of promote are.
Definitions
Promotion involves a change from one job to another that is better in term of status and
responsibilities.'
-Flippo
• The term 'promotion' refers to a change for better prospects from one job to another job in deemed
by the employee. The factors which are considered by employees as implying promotion are:
- An increase in salary
-An increase in job prestige
-An upward movement in the hierarchy of jobs
-Additional supervisory responsibility
-A better future.

Principles or Promotion
Principle of seniority
This principle is widely prevalent in government services. It is also a method of promotion in most
of the countries. In India, this method is used. According to the seniority of the job, employees are
promoted to higher ranks.

Merits of principle of seniority:

 Senior man is more experienced

 Every in the organization gets an opportunity of pro- motion
 It is objective because it is very easy to find the seniority of the employees
 Less political interference
 Morale of the employees is expected to high
  The principle of seniority gives certainty of promotion of employees, thus competent person
are attracted
 High turnover.

Demerits of principle of seniority:

 There is no guarantee that a senior employee is more competent

 Unskilled and incompetent get the opportunity
 Low morale of competent employees
 It will lead to low productivity
 Inefficiency will take place.

The Principle of Merit

 According to this principle, promotions are given to competent, skilled persons.

 'Merits rating is a systematic, periodic and so far as humanly possible an impartial rating of
an employee's excellence in matters pertaining to his present job and to his potential for better
job.
-Flippo

Merits of Principle of merit:

 Only competent employees get promotion

 Enhance morale of junior and competent employees
 Increased in predictability
 Retaining of junior employees
 Recognition of organization
 Good quality achieved.

Methods of testing merit:

  Promotion examination: Promotion examination to check the ability of employees is done by
open competition, limited competition and by passing examinations.
 Efficiency ratings or service records: This is done through rating scales. The main rating
scales are graphing rating scales, descriptive rating scales and numerical rating scales. It also
includes production records and personality inventory system.

Retention
Retaining means 'possession' of employees by employers. It is necessary for every organization to
retain their employees to achieve the laid down objectives of the institution. It will lead to high
turnover of the employees. For 'Retaining' of the employees, every organization has policies, so that
skilled managers and competent to be retained.

Steps of Selection Procedure

Preliminary interview: The preliminary interview is generally brief and does the job of
eliminating the totally unsuitable candidates. It may consist of a short exchange of
information with respect to organizations interested in hiring. It may severe primarily to
determine whether it is worthwhile for the applicant to fill in an application.
Receiving applications: Whenever there is a vacancy, it is advertized or enquiries are made
from suitable sources, and applications are received from the candidates. It gives a
preliminary idea of the candidate to the interviewer and helps him in formulating to the
questions to have more information about the candidate.
Screening of applications: After applications are received they are screened by the screening
committee and a list is prepared of the candidates to be interviewed. Applicants may be called
for interview on some specific like sex, desired age group, experience and qualification. The
number of candidates to be called for interview is normally five to seven times, the number of
posts to be filled up. The screened applications are then reviewed by the personnel manager
and interview letters are dispatched by registered post.
Employment tests: Employment tests are used to select person for various jobs. They help in
matching the characteristics of individuals with the vacant jobs so as to employ right kinds of
personnel.
The following types of tests have gained popularity these days:
- Intelligence tests
-Aptitude tests
 -Proficiency tests
-Interest tests
-Personality tests
Interviews: Selection tests are normally followed by personal interview of the candidates.
The basic idea here is to find out overall suitability of candidates for the jobs. It also provides
an opportunity to give relevant information about the organization and an accurate picture of
the job with details of term and conditions.
Medical examination: It is carried out to ascertain the physical standards and fitness of
prospective employees. A qualified medical expert appointed by the organization should
certify whether the candidate is physically fit to the requirements of a job.
Final selection: After a candidate has cleared all the formalities in the selection procedure,
then he is formally appointed by issuing an appointment letter or by concluding with him a
service agreement. The appointment letter contains the terms and conditions of
employment and pay scale and other benefits associated with the job.

Limitations of the Selection Process

 The diversity of the selection approaches and tests indicates that there is no one perfect
way to select staff.
 There is a distinction between what a person can do, that is, their ability to perform, and
what they will do?