Recruitment

Recruitment is the process of generating a pool of qualified candidates for a particular job. The firm must announce the job's availability to the market (inside and outside the organization) and attract qualified candidates to apply.

To date most of the research conducted has addressed recruitment sources, recruiters, and realistic job previews. Once an employer has decided that external recruitment is necessary, a cost-effective and appropriate method of recruitment must be selected. There are a number of distinct recruitment sources to choose from, each of which is more or less appropriate in different circumstances. As a result, most employers use a wide variety of different recruitment sources at different times; the most prominent are the following (in many situations there is also a good case for using different sources in combination when looking to fill the same vacancy):

• 1.
  Current employees. Internal job postings give current employees the opportunity to move into the organization's more desirable jobs. Internal advertising has the advantage of providing maximum information to all employees, who might then act as recruiters. It also provides the opportunity for all internal employees to apply, and is speedy and cost-effective. Conversely, it is limited to a certain number of applicants, the internal candidates are not matched against those from outside, and it could be unlawful if it inserts indirect discrimination.
• 2.
  Referrals from current employees. Studies have shown that employees who were hired through referrals from current employees tended to stay with the organization longer and displayed greater loyalty and job satisfaction than employees who were recruited by other means. Employee referrals can be an effective recruitment tool, because employees have a good sense of what it takes to be a successful worker and member of the organization.
• 3.
  Former employees. An organization may decide to recruit employees who previously worked for the organization. Forming an online alumni network could be a simple and cost-effective way to maintain a hiring pool of competitive candidates. Moreover, [Page 1339]a network of former employees can be a source of employee referrals, because they are familiar with the company, its culture, and its values.
• 4.
  Print and radio advertisements. Advertisements can be used both for local recruitment efforts and for targeted searches. Advertising in the national press has the advantage of reaching large numbers and constitutes the accepted medium for search by those seeking particular posts. Conversely, the cost might be high and much of the cost could be wasted in reaching inappropriate people. Advertising in the technical and targeted press has the advantage of reaching a specific population with minimum waste, but it is inappropriate when a nonspe-cialist is needed or where the specialism has a choice of professional publications.
• 5.
  Internet advertising and career sites. Employers are increasingly turning to the Web as a recruitment tool, because online ads are relatively cheap, are more dynamic, and can often produce faster results than newspaper ads. For employers the principal attraction is the way that the internet allows jobs to be advertised inexpensively to a very large audience. The cost of setting up a good Web site is quite low. The other big advantage is speed. People can respond within seconds of reading about a job opportunity by e-mailing their CV. Shortlisting can also be undertaken quickly with the use of CV-matching software or online application forms. In practice, however, there are major problems. A key drawback is the way that employers advertising jobs tend to get bombarded with hundreds of applications. To prevent this, online shortlisting software that is able to screen out unsuitable applications must be used. Such technologies, however, are not wholly satisfactory. Those that work by looking for key words in CVs inevitably have a “hit and miss” character and can be criticized for being inherently unfair. The alternative is to require candidates to apply online by completing an application form or psychometric test. Other problems concern fears about security and confidentiality, which serve to deter people from submitting personal details over the Web. Criticisms have also been made about poor standards of ethicality on the part of cyber agencies.
• 6.
  Employment agencies. Many organizations use external contractors to recruit and screen applicants for a position. Agencies can be particularly effective when the firm is looking for an employee with a specialized skill.
• 7.
  University or college recruiting. Many organizations recognize that there is value in interacting with university or college students, developing relationships, and generating interest in the pool of candidates through activities such as company visits to college campuses, job fairs, and internships.
• 8.
  Customers. An innovative recruitment source is the organization's customers, who are already familiar with the organization and what it offers. Customers may bring more enthusiasm to the workplace than other applicants and, as the recipients of the firms product or service, may have valuable insights into how the organization could be improved.

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