Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment - Definition

lIs the process of finding and attracting

capable applicants for employment. The
process begins when recruits are sought
and ends when their applications are
submitted.
lThe result is pool of applicants from which
new employees are selected.
 The Importance of Recruiting

Recruiting

¡Is the process of generating a pool of qualified

applicants for organizational jobs
¡Seeks to improve workforce quality for competitive
advantage.

6–3
 Reasons to Recruit Staff
l Business is expanding due to:
¡Increasing sales of existing products
¡Developing new products
¡Entering new markets
l Existing employees leave:
¡To work with competitors or other local employers
¡Due to factors such as retirement, sick leave, maternity
leave
l Business needs employees with new skills
l Business is relocating – and not all of existing
workforce want to move to new location
Changes in Employment Patterns
Affecting Recruitment
l The way we work is changing rapidly:
¡Increase in part-time working
¡Increases in numbers of single-parent families
¡More women seeking work
¡Ageing population
¡Greater emphasis on flexible working hours
¡Technology allows employees to communicate more
effectively whilst apart (“teleworking”)
¡People rarely stay in the same job for life

l Businesses need to understand and respond to

these changes if they are to recruit staff of the
right standard – and keep them!
Recruitment Methods

lInternal recruitment

lExternal recruitment
Recruiting within the Organization
lBenefits of a promotion-from-within
policy:
¡Capitalizes on past investments (recruiting,
selecting, training, and developing) in current
employees.
¡Rewards past performance and encourages
continued commitment to the organization.
¡Signals to employees that similar efforts by them
will lead to promotion.
¡Fosters advancement of members of protected
classes within an organization.
 Recruiting within the Organization
l Limitations of a promotion-from-within policy:
¡Current employees may lack the knowledge,
experience or skills needed for placement in the
vacant/new position.
¡The hazards of inbreeding of ideas and attitudes
(“employee cloning”) increase when no outsiders are
considered for hiring.
¡The organization has exhausted its supply of viable
internal candidates and must seek additional
employees in the external job market.
Internal Methods of Locating Qualified
Job Candidates
lHuman Resources Information
Systems (HRIS)
¡Database systems containing the records and
qualifications of each employee that can be
accessed to identify and screen candidates for
an internal job opening.
lJob Posting
¡Posting vacancy notices and maintaining lists
of employees looking for upgraded positions.
Internal Recruiting
Employee Job
Databases Postings

Internal
Recruiting
Sources
Former
Promotions
Employees
and Transfers
and Applicants

Current-
Employee
Referrals

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 6–10

May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or
posted to a publicly accessible Web site, in
External Recruiting
Media Sources

Competitive Employment
Recruiting Sources Agencies

External
Recruiting
Sources
Labor Unions Job Fairs

Educational
Institutions

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be 6–11

scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
accessible Web site, in whole or in part.
Effectiveness of Recruitment Sources

Source: David E. Terpstra, “The Search for Effective Methods.” Reprinted from HRFocus, May 1996.
© 1996 American Management Association International. Reprinted by permission of American
Management Association International, New York, NY. All rights reserved. http://www.amanet.org/.
Recruitment Measurement Metric
Areas
lRecruits: quality and quantity
lRecruitment sat. Analyses
lTime to fill opening
lRecruitment cost
lYield ratio
lSelection rate
lAcceptance rate
Employee Turnover Rates

lComputing Turnover Rates:

Matching People and Jobs
lSelection
¡The process of choosing individuals who have relevant
qualifications to fill existing or projected job openings.
lSelection Considerations
¡Person-job fit: job analysis identifies required
individual competencies (KSAOs) for job success.
¡Person-organization fit: the degree to which individuals
are matched to the culture and values of the
organization.
Typical Division of HR Responsibilities: Selection

7–16