Discuss the Advantages & Disadvantages of the Internal & External Recruiting?

Advantages & Disadvantages of the Internal & External Recruitment:

Recruiting employees can be a somewhat precarious process. With the exorbitant cost of
hiring and training an employee with job and soft skills matching the job description,
making a mistake in this arena can substantially harm net profit for the entire year. One
major consideration in recruitment is whether to hire externally or promote from within
your organization. There are advantages & disadvantages to either method of filling
openings.

Internal Recruitment
An internal recruitment strategy is characterized by promoting employees from within an
organization to fill upcoming positions. Many firms use such devices as job posting boards,
email flashes, intranet posts and fliers to advise existing employees of positions they may
vie for. This recruitment may be in the form of creating and shuffling temporary teams to fill
certain tasks or may be permanent changes. Internal recruitment may be primarily
horizontal or it may be for promotions in which the promoted employee's former position
may not be filled.
Advantages of Internal Recruitment
Internal recruitment has some natural advantages. You do not have to "reinvent the wheel"
with an internal recruit. He will likely understand your business model, your culture and
your processes before assuming the new position. The resulting outcome is that he will
assimilate into the new position faster than a new employee who will need to be trained on
the many formalities of your firm from benefits to where your fire exits are before he can
begin job-specific training. These employees take longer to find, longer to train, more
money to prepare for the job and may not fully integrate into your culture after all of the
training process. Often, the opportunity to advance provides a strong motivation in a firm
that employs a strong internal recruitment strategy.
Advantages

Less Expensive

Existing employees have opportunity to enhance their career

Further job opportunities may be created as a result of recruiting internally

Organization can make use of its pool of existing workers

Easier to assess applicants since more information is available

Promoted employee is already familiar with organization policies, culture, etc.

Signals to employees that career opportunities exist in organization

Improve employee morale and organization loyalty

Disadvantages
1. Limited Choice:Internal recruitment provides limited choice of talent available in
the organization as it avoids the arrival of fresh candidates. Internal recruitment does not
tap any candidate from outside the organization; hence, the choice upon members
of organization is limited.

2.

Implementation

Of

Traditional

System:

Internal recruitment requires

the

implementation of traditional form, system, process and procedures. And this limits the
scope of fresh talent in the organization.

3. No Opportunity: In internal recruitment, the internal employees are protected from

competition by not providing any opportunity to fresh talents. This also develops a
tendency among the employees to take promotions without any extra knowledge or talent.

4. Favourism: There will be tendency of referring friends and family members in

the organization. Then, the organization will be overstaffed with talent-less crowd.

5. Limited Internal Sources:The source of supply of manpower is limited in

internal recruitment method. When an employee is promoted, his/her previous position will
be vacant and another personnel is to be recruited to fill that vacant position.

6.

Costly:

Taking

into

consideration

that

when

an

employee

is

promoted,

his/her position will be vacant. In this regard, another employee is to be recruited to fill
that position, which may be costly affair

Small pool of workers to choose from/fewer applicants.

Less opportunity to bring new skills, idea and experience into the organization

Lack of ownership of tasks due to employee expectation of moving on to another job

Lack of stability in work teams due to team member regularly moving to other
positions
May not help turn company around
Training will be needed and learning curve will occur for the job duties, Internal
politics will occur (e.g., possible discontent of rejected applicants; new subordinates
discount new boss knowledge and expect special treatment; etc.)
Difficult to do with rapid growth
Affirmative action goals may be more difficult to achieve

Advantages & Disadvantages of External Recruitment

External Recruitment
An external recruitment is the assessment of a human resources department
will systematically search the employee pool of job candidates, other than
existing staff, to see if there are any sufficiently skilled or qualified to fill and
perform existing job vacancies. It is the process of searching outside of the
current employee pool to fill open positions in an organization.
For Example many firms will use advertisements in newspapers, job search
websites, job fairs and referrals from current employees to fill positions. Some
companies will utilize a temporary employee agency to fill positions that can be
completed quickly and with less company-specific skill required to complete the
desired task. Other firms will use headhunters or hiring consultants to seek,
screen and deliver employees for a fee.

Advantages of External Recruitment:

As with any recruiting method, hiring from outside an organization instead of promoting
from within the company carries both advantages and disadvantages. Let's explore some of
the advantages:

When an organization recruits externally, it opens the organization up to a larger

pool of applicants, which increases its chance of finding the right person for the job.

External recruitment provides an opportunity for a fresh outlook on the industry that
a company may need to stay competitive.

Bringing in fresh talent from the outside can help motivate the current employees to
produce and achieve more in hopes of obtaining the next promotional opportunity.

Looking outside the organization also allows a company to target the key players
that may make its competition successful. Hiring a candidate with a proven track
record for the competition allows the company to get an insider's view as to what the
competition is doing to be successful. This gives the organization a chance to stay a
step ahead of the competition.

Hiring an external candidate also opens up many opportunities to find experienced

and highly-qualified and skilled candidates who will help a company meet its
diversity requirements.

An outside prospect often yields new ideas. She may bring information or
methodologies from her former employer that can be integrated into your best
practices.

External job recruiting allows for rebalancing in this realm if needed.

External recruiting may lead to team stability, as teams may remain intact when
hiring externally.

New Workers can bring new skills and innovation to the organization

The organization attracts a wider pool of home and abroad

More chances of recruiting a ?good fit ?because the organization is recruiting from a
wider pool

Disadvantages of External Recruiting

There are some potential disadvantages of hiring an external candidate:

It can take longer and cost more than hiring from within the organization.

It can also damage employee morale because current employees may feel this
lessens their chances for promotion. When employee morale decreases, productivity
can also decrease.

It also takes more time to train an external candidate on the systems the
organization uses; therefore, taking the candidate a little longer to get up and
running.

It can be difficult to tell by a candidate's information whether or not he or she will fit
in with the company and its employees. While a new employee may bring fresh
outlooks and ideas, this can be considered a disadvantage, because these ideas may
produce conflict with current employees.

More Expensive

Existing employees will not have the chance to enhance the careers

Recruitment process may be slower

WHAT TECHNIQUES CAN ADMINISTRATOR CAN USE TO IMPROVE THEIR RECRUITMENT AND
SELECTION PRACTICES?

Techniques can Administrators can use to

Practices

Improve Recruitment and Selection

A considerable amount of time and money is required to find the right candidate for an
open position, but many Administrators put most of their focus on the wrong parts of the
process. Several steps for improving employee selection can be taken to find the best
people to hire and increase productivity and success in business Organization. Following
technique can Administrator can use to improve recruitment and selection practices:
1. Vacancies should be advertised early and should be detailed enough for prospective
applicants to assess themselves whether they can do the job required of them.
Administrators reiterated that vacancies are not made public in time and the duties and
roles are most often not properly specified.
2. Procedure for selection of potential employees should be strictly adhered to.
Administrators ensures that job requirement and its relevant experience should be adopted
in the selection of new recruits which cost little and more so time saving as such people
spends little or no time during orientation.
3. Adequate background check on all potential employees should be the order of the day.
Administrators should not solely rely on the qualifications and experience but lifestyles and

background of all would be employees should be checked to make sure the best is being
recruited
.

4. Write a thorough job overview, which should include the position title and a description
of every facet of the position: technology, education and experience requirements; daily
tasks; and job expectations. Managers in charge of hiring often could do better with job
descriptions for newspapers and online classified ads.

5.Offer a competitive salary to attract the best candidates. Research job listings for what
competitor companies are offering for similar positions, and put up an attractive salary on
your listings, like pay to attract the most qualified candidates if you offer a competitive
salary.

6.Post job descriptions on industry-specific websites and publications, and use general job
sites like Craigslist as a last resort. This eliminates getting resumes from dozens,
sometimes hundreds, of semi-qualified applicants and focuses your reach on industryspecific communities.

7.Give the interview process adequate attention, and be willing to invite several applicants
back for a second or third interview. Figure out if the applicant is qualified to successfully do
the job and if she will fit into the culture at your company. Ask questions that elicit
personality-revealing answers, as well as questions that require applicants to talk about
past successes. Use their answers as a chance to decide if applicants seem honest,
genuine, self-centered, arrogant or well-balanced.

8.Hire the candidate who best fits with the long-term goals of the company. Decide if the
applicant seems like advancement material and will be beneficial to the company in two,
three or five years. Choose the person who has positive references, has the right
experience and seems as if he get along with other employees.

Job candidate engagement and relationship management, recruitment metrics

and streamlining, selection assessment, and hiring manager relations are all
key areas of opportunity for many organizations and some of the major hiring
practice trends this year.
Here are some ways to improve these aspects of your hiring process.

Improve candidate engagement

Each conversation and interaction with a candidate is an opportunity to engage or
disengage the individual and establish a positive or negative relationship or perception of your
organization. Remember that declined candidates can be sources of other job applicants, and
they are just as important to engage.

Establish a timeline for the hiring process regarding when candidates should expect certain
stages to occur (interviewing, testing, offer, etc.). Communicate this to candidates.

Follow up with candidates in a timely manner by setting a standard for response time. For
example, set a goal to respond to candidates who have submitted a resume to your organization
within 3 business days of their submission.

Communicate expectations. Tell candidates when they will hear from your organization following
a stage in the hiring process, such as an interview.

Communicate all decisions to candidates. Follow up with candidates after each interview and
stage of the hiring process, and when the final decision has been made. Additionally, consider
providing feedback to candidates on why they were not selected. Approach the conversation in a
way that keeps the door open for on on-going relationship.

Make a good impression. Be sure that hiring managers or others involved in the hiring process
act professionally, ask appropriate interview questions, are prepared and have reviewed
resumes, and treat the candidate with respect.

Survey or gather feedback from the candidate about the hiring process. Applicants and
candidates are your customers, and in order to improve your hiring process, their feedback can
be helpful.

Manage candidate relationships

Staying in touch with candidates and building relationships with them over time can help
improve the recruitment process and build a network of contacts for future positions. It also can
save money on sourcing.

Connect with all great job candidates on LinkedIn so that you can maintain contact with them in
the future, should staffing needs emerge.

Reach out to exceptional job candidates every once in awhile to check in and build a
relationship. You never know when you may be looking for their talent.

Periodically call or email employees that have left the organization on good terms. Stay in touch
with top talent that has left your organization.

Consider creating alumni groups or events for previous employees that have left the
organization. Some organizations create these groups on social networking sites like LinkedIn or
Facebook, while others initiate in-person meetings or events.

Use more effective selection methods

Selection problems typically occur when a) the methods used dont match the skills, abilities, or
knowledge that need to be evaluated and b) the process or people involved in the process
approach it in an unstructured, untrained manner that makes decision-making subjective and
error-prone. A comprehensive selection process should be based on a thorough review of the
knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the position, as well as organizational and cultural fit.

By analyzing your hiring needs in depth, your organization can create selection practices that
best fit the requirements of the position.
For example, if your organization wants to determine whether a candidates style or personality
fits the position, it is best to conduct an assessment versus asking personal questions in the
interview. If other candidate traits should be evaluated, such as leadership style or problem
solving abilities, assessments can be used to evaluate those traits. By focusing on selection
methods that fit the position, your organization can improve its selection effectiveness.
Additionally, your organization may consider improving its interviewing practices by providing
more structure to hiring managers with an interview guide to ensure that they are asking
appropriate, targeted, and consistent questions of all applicants and rating them according to
objective criteria or by ensuring that managers are trained on interviewing practices.

Measure effectiveness
Your hiring process should be measured so you know how it is working. If your organization
only has time to track a few critical hiring metrics, make sure these are the ones: time to fill,
cost per hire, sourcing effectiveness, and quality of hire. They will show how efficient and costly
your process is, what sourcing is generating the most applicants and the best hires, and the
quality of candidates whom you are hiring all important to measuring your recruitment and
hiring processs effectiveness. Additionally, linking or correlating quality of hire metrics back to
the selection tools and sourcing methods can help your organization validate its hiring
approaches and determine which ones are effective.

Enhance recruiter/HR and hiring manager relations

Recruitment of great talent can suffer when HR and hiring managers are not on the same page.
This can create disorganization, inefficiencies, and inconsistent communication that candidates
often pick up on during the hiring process. Positive and efficient recruiter/HR and hiring
manager relations can be improved by enhancing communication in all of the following ways:

At the beginning of the process, identify the core people that will need to interview, partake in
selection phases, and make the final decision. This will prevent the inevitable reeling of others
into the process which can elongate the hiring timeframe.

Communicate the hiring process to hiring managers before recruitment for the position starts.
You may consider including a timeline to manage their expectations, help them carve out time,
and answer questions. This could be an introductory email or a meeting.

Manage their involvement in the selection process. If managers are to rate candidates in an
interview, be sure that they have received rater training. If they design interview questions or
conduct interviews, be sure they have received interview training. Also ensure that managers
have the job description and are aware of any competencies or criteria they will need to assess.
Give hiring managers the tools and training to hire effectively.

Keep hiring managers abreast of the hiring process and where candidates stand. Maintain open
lines of communication throughout the process.

Streamline
If technology isnt being used in your organizations recruitment process, its time to start
integrating new systems of tracking applicant and recruiting data. One of the most challenging
aspects of recruitment is managing resumes and applications. There are plenty of great
systems and software applications that your organization can invest in to help streamline this
process. Leveraging applicant tracking systems is important in making the process efficient.
Beyond social media, which is also technology your organization can use to enhance its
recruitment and hiring process, some organizations have expanded their sourcing efforts to
mobile technology like cell phones and texting.

More Trends
These are just some of the major trends and improvements other organizations are
implementing to their recruiting and hiring processes. To learn about more current recruitment
and hiring trends, join us for our Trends in Recruiting program on March 15th which will explore
topics including using social media, ideas to improve diversity hiring, utilizing assessments and
developing metrics to help your organizations achieve more recruiting success.
Also, consider benchmarking your hiring and selection practices with other local employers by
participating in our Hiring & Selection Practices Survey.

Additional Resources for Recruiting & Hiring

HR
University
Join us for our HR University Series, which includes a course on Staffing & Recruitment
practices.

Selection
Assessments
To learn more about our Selection Assessment services, delivered by our in-house
Management Psychologist, pleaseclick here.
HR
Help
Desk
To obtain additional information on any of the topics addressed in this article, please
contact hrhelp@yourerc.com.
Compensation
Surveys
To obtain information on what to pay your new-hires, consider participating in ERCs 2011
Salary & Wage Surveys. Member participants receive the results for no cost.
Cost-Savings
ERC Members enjoy plenty of great cost-savings on many aspects of their recruitment and
hiring processes, including ALL of the following:

Discounts on Job Postings - savings through Cleveland.com

Background and Drug Screening - cost savings and preferred rates on background and drug
screenings conducted with Corporate Screening Services

Savings on Executive Search & Recruitment - preferred rates on projects conducted with
Waverly Partners

Applicant Tracking System - preferred pricing for ERC members with myTalentLink

Discounts and Free Staffing Services - free hiring process review and contingent workforce
management cost analysis with Staffing Solutions & Integrity Staffing