Almarai derives its name from the Arabic translation of "Pasture," signifying its connection to the dairy

industry. Established in 1977 in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Almarai has grown to become the
largest vertically integrated organization in the dairy business. Initially, it was formed as a partnership
between Prince Sultan bin Mohammad bin Saud Al Kabeer and Irish agri-food entrepreneurs Paddy
McGuckian and Alastair McGuckian. Almarai is a leading food and beverage company based in Saudi
Arabia, known for its dairy and consumer goods products.

This research discusses the recruitment and Selection process of Almarai.

The primary recruitment system for Almarai is SAP's ERP Human Capital Management (SAP ERP
HCM) which was implemented in 2010 to replace the paper based HR systems. These systems are used
to integrate the whole HR operations of the organization. The recruitment tools which are used by
Almarai are: advertising on official website in career section, posting on job boards and recruitment
websites and social media websites. The primary focus of Almarai is social media websites especially
LinkedIn because it is the largest professional network including contacts and relationships. HR
management team of Almarai focuses on LinkedIn for recruitment because they believe that LinkedIn
in the most reliable source to find qualified talent. Facebook is also used for social media recruiting.

Using this ERP system, they can easily filter resumes and candidates on the basis of needs assessment
and job description. As a result, they most engage employees in online tests to measure their skills and
capabilities.

As tests are conducted electronically, SAP’s ERP enables Almarai to instantly rank candidates on the
basis of their skills and capabilities. Top ranking candidates are called in for personality tests and
interviews. They are interviewed by a panel. Being a global company, Almarai also offers
interview/skype interviews for distant employees because it is a global employer. After filtering and
screening employees, reference checks are conducted in the end and recruited talent is notified via
phone, email, and post.

It is argued that Almarai is focusing significantly on Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS)
such as ERP HCM while they are relying heavily on social media recruitment. The overall recruitment
and selection process of Almarai is effective as they are making effective use of modern and innovative
technologies to find the talent. These technologies especially social media recruitment is one of the
most effective strategies to recruit and select global talent across borders[Doh10]. Some research
studies like the study of Madia (2011) and Davison, Maraist, & Bing (2011) state that social media
recruitment especially LinkedIn is one of the most effective ways to find reliable talent instantly
because it saves significant organizational costs, time, and efforts. Doherty (2010) writes the social
media recruitment is a strategic recruitment and selection process increasing the efficiency of HR
practices and strategy.

Problem Statement:

the human resource management department has been required to provide strong support through
recruiting and selecting suited employees based on industry development needs. The labour shortage in
human resource management (HRM) may seem more severe than before, and some of the problems of
recruitment and the selection process may have been exposed more than ever.