RECRUITMENT

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ANNOTATED OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION
Recruitment is the process of locating and encouraging potential
applicants to apply for existing or anticipated job openings
 Certain influences, however, restrain a firm while choosing a
recruiting source such as:
 Poor image
 Unattractive job
 Conservative internal policies
 Limited budgetary support
 Restrictive policies of government

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Sources of Recruitment

The sources of recruitment may broadly be divided into two

categories: internal sources and external sources. Both have their
merits and demerits.

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Merits and demerits of hiring people from

within
Merits Demerits
(i) Limited choice:
(i) Economical: The organisation is forced to
The cost of recruiting select candidates from a limited
internal candidates is minimal. pool. It may have to sacrifice
No expenses are incurred on quality and settle for less qualified
advertising. candidates.

(ii) Inbreeding:
(ii) Suitable: It discourages entry of talented
The organisation can pick the people, available outside an
right candidates having the organisation. Existing employees
requisite skills. The candidates may fail to behave in innovative
can choose a right vacancy ways and inject necessary
where their talents can be fully dynamism to enterprise activities.
utilized.

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iii)Reliable:
The organisation has knowledge about
the suitability of a candidate for a
position. ‘Known devils are better than
unknown angels!’.
(iv)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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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.
(iv)Bone of contention:
Recruitment from within may lead to
infighting among employees aspiring for
limited, higher-level positions in an
organisation. As years roll by, the race for
premium positions may end up on a bitter
note.
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Merits and demerits of hiring people
from outside
Merits
Wide choice:
The organisation 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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Demerits
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,
to test and to select suitable
employees. Where suitable ones
are not available, the process has
to be repeated.
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 of their
best and earn rewards, etc.
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Demotivating:
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 recognised by the
organisation, forces them to work with less
enthusiasm and motivation.
Uncertainty:
There is no guarantee that the
organisation, ultimately, will 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 set-up.
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Methods Of Recruitment

Internal methods

 Promotions and transfers: Promotion is the movement of an employee

from a lower level position to a higher level position with increase in salary.

Transfer, on the other hand, is a lateral movement within the same grade,
from one job to another.

 Job posting: It is a method of publicising job openings on bulletin boards,

electronic media and similar outlets by a company.

 Employee referrals: It is a kind of recommendation from a current

employee regarding a job applicant.

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Possible benefits and costs of employee

referrals
 Recommender gives a realistic picture about the job. The applicant can
weigh the pros and cons carefully before handing over the CV. The
applicant is more likely to accept an offer if one is made and once
employed, to have a higher job survival.

 It‘s an excellent means of locating potential employees in those

hard-to-fill positions. The recommender earns a reward and the
company can avoid expensive recruiting search – in case the candidate
gets selected.

 Recommenders may confuse friendship with job competence.

Factors such as bias, nepotism, and eagerness to see their friends in the
company may come in the way of hiring a suitable candidate.

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Direct methods

 Campus recruitment

It is a method of recruiting by visiting and participating in college

campuses and their placement centres. Possibly the most popular
way of hiring the best brains in the country, this method has to be
used with lot of care and caution. Campus hiring, of course, is not
easy.

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Guidelines for campus recruiting

 Shortlist campuses

 Choose recruiting team carefully

 Pay smartly, not highly

 Present a clear image

 Do not oversell yourself

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Indirect methods

 Newspaper advertisements
 Television and radio advertisements

Third party methods

 Private employment search firms
 Employment exchanges
 Gate hiring and contractors
 Unsolicited applicants/walk-ins

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Alternatives to recruiting

Overtime: Short term fluctuations in work volume could best be solved through overtime. The
employer benefits because the costs of recruitment, selection and training could be avoided.
The employee benefits in the form of higher pay. However, an overworked employee may
prove to be less productive and turn out less than optimal performance. Employees may slow
down their pace of work during normal working hours in order to earn overtime daily. In course
of time, overtime payments become quite routine and if, for any reason, these payments do not
accrue regularly, employees become resentful and disgruntled.

Subcontracting: To meet a sudden increase in demand for its products and services, the firm
may sometimes go for subcontracting – instead of expanding capacities immediately.
Expansion becomes a reality only when the firm experiences increased demand for its
products.

Cont…

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Alternatives to recruiting

Temporary employees: Employees hired for a limited time to perform a specific job are called
temporary employees. They are particularly useful in meeting short term human resource
needs. A short term increase in demand could be met by hiring temporary hands from
agencies specializing in providing such services. In this case the firm can avoid the expenses
of recruitment and the painful effects of absenteeism, labour turnover, etc.

Employee leasing: Hiring permanent employees of another company who possess certain
specialised skills on lease basis to meet short-term requirements .In this case, individuals work
for the leasing firm as per the leasing agreement/arrangement. Such an arrangement is
beneficial to small firms because it avoids expense and problems of personnel administration.

Cont…

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Alternatives to recruiting

Outsourcing: Any activity in which a firm lacks internal expertise and requires on
unbiased opinion can be outsourced. Many businesses have started looking at
outsourcing activities relating to recruitment, training, payroll processing, surveys,
etc., more closely, because they do not have the time or expertise to deal with the
situation. HR heads are no longer keeping activities like resume management and
candidate sourcing in their daily scrutiny. This function is more commonly outsourced
when firms are in seasonal business and have cyclical stuffing needs.

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Evaluation of the sources of

recruitment
 Time lapse data: they show the time lag between the date of
requisition for manpower supply from a department to the actual
date of filling the vacancies in that department

 Yield ratios: they show the number of contacts required to

generate a given number of hires at a point of time.

 Surveys and studies: they could be carried out to find out the
suitability of a particular source for certain positions.

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Recruitment Policies And Procedures

A recruitment policy indicates the organisation’s code of conduct in a

specific area.

Recruitment policy statement

In its recruitment activities, the company will:
 Advertise all vacancies internally
 Reply to every job applicant promptly
 Inform job applicants the basic details and job conditions of every job
advertised
 Process all applications with efficiency and courtesy
 Seek candidates on the basis of their qualifications
 Aim to ensure that every person invited for interview will be given a fair
and thorough hearing

Cont…

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Recruitment Policies And Procedures

The company will not:

 Discriminate unfairly against potential applicants on the basis of sex, race,
religion, caste, etc.;
 Knowingly make any false or exaggerated claims in its recruitment
literature or job advertisements

A recruitment procedure will lay down a clear path to be followed by

the HR department while hiring people. Of course, the procedures
have to be framed in a flexible manner so as to permit the HR
department to respond to the requests made by various departments
and by potential candidates quickly.

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Recruitment: Indian Experiences

Recruitment of trainees:
expectations of Indian companies
Pepsi: Pepsi is a flat organisation. There are a maximum of four reporting levels.
Executives here emphasise achievement, motivation, the ability to deliver
come what may. As the Personnel Manager of Pepsi Foods remarked “we hire
people who are capable of growing the business rather than just growing with
the business”. Recruitees must be capable of thinking outside the box, cutting the
cake of conventional barriers whenever and wherever necessary. They must
have a winner’s mindset and a passion for creating a dynamic change. They
must have the ability to deal with ambiguity and informality.

Cont…

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Recruitment of trainees:
expectations of Indian companies
Reebok: As Reebok’s customers are young, the company places emphasis on
youth. The average age at Reebok is 26 years. Employees are expected to
have a passion for the fitness business and reflect the company’s aspirations.
Recruitees should be willing to do all kinds of job operations. The
willingness to get one’s hands dirty is important. They must also have an ability to
cope with informality, a flat organisation and be able to take decisions
independently and perform consistently.

Indian Hotels: The Taj group expects the job aspirants to stay with the
organisation patiently and rise with the company. Employees must be
willing to say ‘yes sir’ to anybody. Other criteria include: communication
skills, the ability to work long and stressful hours, mobility, attention to
personal appearance and assertiveness without aggression.

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Recruiters these days expect B-

school graduates to possess certain
skills:

Skills recruiters want in India

1. Ability to work in a team
2. Analytical and problem solving skills
3. Communication and other soft skills
4. Creativity and resourcefulness
5. Leadership potential
6. General Managerial skills

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