UNIT- II Recruitment

Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, and selecting qualified

people for a job at an organization or firm. For some components of the recruitment
process, mid- and large-size organizations often retain professional recruiters or
outsource some of the process to recruitment agencies.

The recruitment industry has five main types of agencies: employment agencies,
recruitment websites and job search engines, "headhunters" for executive and
professional recruitment, niche agencies which specialize in a particular area of staffing
and in-house recruitment. The stages in recruitment include sourcing candidates by
advertising or other methods, and screening and selecting potential candidates using
tests or interviews.

Meaning of Recruitment :
Recruitment is an important part of an organization’s human
resource planning and their competitive strength. Competent
human resources at the right positions in the organisation
are a vital resource and can be a core competency or a
strategic advantage for it.

The objective of the recruitment process is to obtain the

number and quality of employees that can be selected in
order to help the organisation to achieve its goals and
objectives. With the same objective, recruitment helps to
create a pool of prospective employees for the organisation
so that the management can select the right candidate for
the right job from this pool.

Recruitment acts as a link between the employers and the

job seekers and ensures the placement of right candidate at
the right place at the right time. Using and following the
right recruitment processes can facilitate the selection of
the best candidates for the organisation.

The Purpose and Importance of Recruitment are given below:

 Attract and encourage more and more candidates to apply in the organisation.

 Create a talent pool of candidates to enable the selection of best candidates for the
organisation.

 Determine present and future requirements of the organization in conjunction with its
personnel planning and job analysis activities.

 Recruitment is the process which links the employers with the employees.

 Increase the pool of job candidates at minimum cost Help increase the success rate of
selection process by decreasing number of visibly under qualified or overqualified job applicants.

 Help reduce the probability that job applicants once recruited and selected will leave the
organization only after a short period of time.

 Meet the organizations legal and social obligations regarding the composition of its workforce.

 Begin identifying and preparing potential job applicants who will be appropriate candidates.
 Increase organization and individual effectiveness of various recruiting techniques and
sources for all types of job applicants.

Recruitment Process
The recruitment and selection is the major function of the human resource department and
recruitment process is the first step towards creating the competitive strength and the
recruitment strategic advantage for the organisations. Recruitment process involves a
systematic procedure from sourcing the candidates to arranging and conducting the interviews
and requires many resources and time. A general recruitment process is as follows:

 Identifying the vacancy:

The recruitment process begins with the human resource department receiving requisitions for
recruitment from any department of the company. These contain: • Posts to be filled
• Number of persons
• Duties to be performed
• Qualifications required

• Preparing the job description and person specification.

• Locating and developing the sources of required number and type of employees
(Advertising etc).

• Short-listing and identifying the prospective employee with required characteristics.

• Arranging the interviews with the selected candidates.

• Conducting the interview and decision making

1. Identify vacancy Prepare job description and person specification

2. Advertising the vacancy

 3. Managing the response

4. Short-listing

5. Arrange interviews

6. Conducting interview and decision making

The recruitment process is immediately followed by the selection process i.e. the
final interviews and the decision making, conveying the decision and the
appointment formalities.

Sources of Recruitment:
Every organisation has the option of choosing the
candidates for its recruitment processes from two kinds of
sources: internal and external sources. The sources within
the organisation itself (like transfer of employees from
one department to other, promotions) to fill a position are
known as the internal sources of recruitment. Recruitment
candidates from all the other sources (like outsourcing
agencies etc.) are known as the external sources of
recruitment.

Internal Sources of Recruitment:

Some Internal Sources Of Recruitments are given below:

1. TRANSFERS
The employees are transferred from one department to another according to their efficiency and
experience.

2. PROMOTIONS
The employees are promoted from one department to another with more benefits and greater
responsibility based on efficiency and experience.

3. Others are Upgrading and Demotion of present employees according to their performance.

4. Retired and Retrenched employees may also be recruited once again in case of shortage of
qualified personnel or increase in load of work. Recruitment such people save time and costs of
the organisations as the people are already aware of the organisational culture and the policies
and procedures.

5. The dependents and relatives of Deceased employees and Disabled employees are also
done by many companies so that the members of the family do not become dependent on the
mercy of others.

External Sources of Recruitment

1. PRESS ADVERTISEMENTS
Advertisements of the vacancy in newspapers and journals
are a widely used source of recruitment. The main advantage
of this method is that it has a wide reach.

2. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES
Various management institutes, engineering colleges,
medical Colleges etc. are a good source of recruiting well
qualified executives, engineers, medical staff etc. They
provide facilities for campus interviews and placements.
This source is known as Campus Recruitment.
3. PLACEMENT AGENCIES
Several private consultancy firms perform recruitment
functions on behalf of client companies by charging a fee.
These

agencies are particularly suitable for recruitment of

executives and specialists. It is also known as RPO
(Recruitment Process Outsourcing)

4. UNSOLICITED APPLICANTS
Many job seekers visit the office of well-known companies
on their own. Such callers are considered nuisance to the
daily work routine of the enterprise. But can help in
creating the talent pool or the database of the probable
candidates for the organisation.

5. EMPLOYEE REFERRALS / RECOMMENDATIONS

Many organisations have structured system where the current
employees of the organisation can refer their friends and
relatives for some position in their organisation. Also,
the office bearers of trade unions are often aware of the
suitability of candidates. Management can inquire these
leaders for suitable jobs. In some organizations these are
formal agreements to give priority in recruitment to the
candidates recommended by the trade union.

The recruitment function of the organisations is affected and governed by a mix of various
internal and external forces. The internal forces or factors are the factors that can be controlled
by the organisation. And the external factors are those factors which cannot be controlled by
the organisation. The internal and external forces affecting recruitment function of an
organisation are:

FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT

External Factors
• Supply and demand
• Labour market
• Image /Goodwill
• Political-social-Legal Environment
• Unemployment Rate
• Competitors

The external factors which affecting recruitment are the forces which cannot be controlled
by the organisation. The major external forces are:
1. SUPPLY AND DEMAND
The availability of manpower both within and outside the organization is an important
determinant in the recruitment process. If the company has a demand for more
professionals and there is limited supply in the market for the professionals demanded by
the company, then the company will have to depend upon internal sources by providing
them special training and development programs.
2. labour market-Employment conditions in the community where the organization is located
will influence the recruiting efforts of the organization. If there is surplus of manpower at the
time of recruitment, even informal attempts at the time of recruiting like notice boards
display of the requisition or announcement in the meeting etc will attract more than enough
applicants.
3. IMAGE / GOODWILL
Image of the employer can work as a potential constraint for recruitment. An organization
with positive image and goodwill as an employer finds it easier to attract and retain
employees than an organization with negative image. Image of a company is based on what
organization does and affected by industry. For example finance was taken up by fresher
MBA’s when many finance companies were coming up.
4. POLITICAL-SOCIAL- LEGAL ENVIRONMENT
Various government regulations prohibiting discrimination in hiring and employment have direct
impact on recruitment practices. For example, Government of India has introduced legislation for
reservation in employment for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, physically handicapped etc.
Also, trade unions play important role in recruitment. This restricts management freedom to
select those individuals who it believes would be the best performers. If the candidate can’t meet
criteria stipulated by the union but union regulations can restrict recruitment sources.

5. Internal Factors UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

One of the factors that influence the availability of applicants is the growth of the economy
(whether economy is growing or not and its rate). When the company is not creating new jobs,
there is often oversupply of qualified labour which in turn leads to unemployment.
6.COMPETITORS
The recruitment policies of the competitors also effect the recruitment function of the
organisations. To face the competition, many a times the organisations have to change their
recruitment policies according to the policies being followed by the competitors.

Internal factors
• Recruitment policy
• Human resource Planning
• Size of the firm
• Cost of recruitment
• Growth and expansion

The internal factors or forces which affecting recruitment and can be controlled by the
organisation are
1. RECRUITMENT POLICY
The recruitment policy of an organisation specifies the objectives of recruitment and provides a
framework for implementation of recruitment programme. It may involve organizational system
to be developed for implementing recruitment programmes and procedures by filling up vacancies
with best qualified people.
FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT POLICY

• Organizational objectives
• Personnel policies of the organization and its competitors.
• Government policies on reservations.
• Preferred sources of recruitment.
• Need of the organization.
• Recruitment costs and financial implications.

2. Human
Effective human resource planning helps in determining the gaps present in the existing
manpower of the organization. It also helps in determining the number of employees to
be recruited and what qualification they must possess.

3. Size of the firm- The size of the firm is an important factor in recruitment process. If
the organization is planning to increase its operations and expand its business, it will
think of hiring more personnel, which will handle its operations.

4. COST
Recruitment incur cost to the employer, therefore, organizations try to employ that
source of recruitment which will bear a lower cost of recruitment to the organization for
each candidate.

5. GROWTH AND EXPANSION. Organization will employ or think of employing more

personnel if it is expanding it’s operations

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, a well defined recruitment policy is

necessary for organizations to respond to its human resource requirements in time. Therefore, it
is important to have a clear and concise recruitment policy in place, which can be executed
effectively to recruit the best talent pool for the selection of the right candidate at the right place
quickly. Creating a suitable recruitment policy is the first step in the efficient hiring process. A
clear and concise recruitment policy helps ensure a sound recruitment process.

It specifies the objectives of recruitment and provides a framework for implementation of

recruitment programme. It may involve organizational system to be developed for implementing
recruitment programmes and procedures by filling up vacancies with best qualified people.

COMPONENTS OF THE RECRUITMENT POLICY

• The general recruitment policies and terms of the organisation

• Recruitment services of consultants

• Recruitment of temporary employees

• Unique recruitment situations

• The selection process

• The job descriptions

• The terms and conditions of the employment

A recruitment policy of an organisation should be such that:

• It should focus on recruiting the best potential people.

• To ensure that every applicant and employee is treated equally with dignity and respect.

• Unbiased policy.

• To aid and encourage employees in realizing their full potential.

• Transparent, task oriented and merit based selection.

• Weightage during selection given to factors that suit organization needs.

• Optimization of manpower at the time of selection process.

• Defining the competent authority to approve each selection.

• Abides by relevant public policy and legislation on hiring and employment relationship.

• Integrates employee needs with the organisational needs.

FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT POLICY

• Organizational objectives

• Personnel policies of the organization and its competitors.

• Government policies on reservations.

• Preferred sources of recruitment.

• Need of the organization.

Recruitment costs and financial implications. Advantages of outsourcing are:

 1. Company need not plan for human resources much in advance.

2. Value creation, operational flexibility and competitive advantage

3. turning the management's focus to strategic level processes of HRM

4. Company is free from salary negotiations, weeding the unsuitable resumes/candidates.

5. Company can save a lot of its resources and time.

Recent trends in recruitment

• In India, the HR processes are being outsourced from more than a decade now. A
company may draw required personnel from outsourcing firms. The outsourcing
firms help the organisation by the initial screening of the candidates according to the
needs of the organisation and creating a suitable pool of talent for the final selection
by the organisation. Outsourcing firms develop their human resource pool by
employing people for them and make available personnel to various companies as
per their needs. In turn, the outsourcing firms or the intermediaries charge the
organisations for their services.

• POACHING/RAIDING
“Buying talent” (rather than developing it) is the latest mantra being followed by the
organisations today. Poaching means employing a competent and experienced person
already working with another reputed company in the same or different industry; the
organisation might be a competitor in the industry. A company can attract talent from
another firm by offering attractive pay packages and other terms and conditions, better
than the current employer of the candidate. But it is seen as an unethical practice and
not openly talked about. Indian software and the retail sector are the sectors facing the
most severe brunt of poaching today. It has become a challenge for human resource
managers to face and tackle poaching, as it weakens the competitive strength of the
firm.

• E-RECRUITMENT
Many big organizations use Internet as a source of recruitment. E-recruitment is the
use of technology to assist the recruitment process. They advertise job vacancies through
worldwide web. The job seekers send their applications or curriculum vitae i.e. CV
through e mail using the Internet. Alternatively job seekers place their CV’s in worldwide
web, which can be drawn by prospective employees depending upon their requirements.

Advantages of recruitment are:

o Low cost.

o No intermediaries

o Reduction in time for recruitment.

o Recruitment of right type of people.

o Efficiency of recruitment process.

Both recruitment and selection are the two phases of the employment process. The differences
between the two are:
1. The recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and stimulating
them to apply for jobs in the organisation WHEREAS selection involves the series of steps by
which the candidates are screened for choosing the most suitable persons for vacant posts.
2. The basic purpose of recruitments is to create a talent pool of candidates to enable the
selection of best candidates for the organisation, by attracting more and more employees to apply
in the organisation WHEREAS the basic purpose of selection process is to choose the right
candidate to fill the various positions in the organisation.
3. Recruitment is a positive process i.e. encouraging more and more employees to apply
WHEREAS selection is a negative process as it involves rejection of the unsuitable candidates.
4. Recruitment is concerned with tapping the sources of human resources WHEREAS selection is
concerned with selecting the most suitable candidate through various interviews and tests.
5. There is no contract of recruitment established in recruitment WHEREAS selection results in a
contract of service between the employer and the selected employee.

Selection

The goal of the selection process is to find the best available person for the job, a person with the
knowledge, skills, abilities, and motivation to successfully fill the position. Selection
Process

The selection process involves evaluating and hiring qualified applicants for open
positions. A specific methodology is used for collecting information about an applicant
in order to determine if that individual should be hired. The following summarizes
several selection methods available to employers.

Process of selection

1. initial screening interview

2. completion of the application form

3. employment tests

4. comprehensive interview

5. background investigation

6. conditional job offer

7. medical/physical exam

8. permanent job offer

Interviewing.

Interviewing is one aspect of the total selection process that aims to uncover as
much relevant information and evidence as possible through personal interaction with
the applicant. More specifically, it provides the opportunity for the mutual exchange of
information. Similar to reference checking, it can be a valuable method of obtaining
first-hand information and evidence concerning an applicant’s qualifications and
suitability for the position. Simultaneously, it enables the applicant to obtain further
information about the position and the company to enable him/her to make an
informed decision as to whether or not there is a proper fit.

Group discussion forms the primary stage of contact between the

interviewer and interviewee. These are management entrance procedures
by universities or also adopted at the recruitment stage by many
companies. Aided with qualifications and multi-faceted job related
profiles candidates are all of the cream variety. Group discussions
once more separates the cream group and makes them eligible for
further rounds of tests so as to be chosen in an accurate career
position.

Though group discussion sounds a cacophonic idea of many individuals,

there stems many management points that can be noticed in an
individual. Skills of management level and expertise in cooling down a
situation can easily be recognized during discussion of a topic. This
helps the conductor of group discussion to list out the right
candidate.

There are many group discussion skills that need to be adhered too.
Firstly the main objective is to participate well and moderate in case
of a confusion. This easily gives more objective to the interviewer.
Be polite and maintain a composure. Easily getting into a heated
argument is not the objective and you may be giving many negative
signals through your body language. Aggressiveness can be modulated in
the form of assertiveness during voicing out an issue.

Decorum has to be clearly maintained. The group discussion is not

merely to impress the conductor but putting forth your firm beliefs.
It could happen that you could be the only one who is believing in a
particular idea and all others have jumped on you. Firstly you should
consider yourself in a better bargaining position than others and use
valid reasons to state your concept perfectly.
Orientation is the process of becoming familiar with a new place,
organization, or complex process.

Orientation training is often given as part of bringing a new

employee into a workplace. The purpose of such orientation is to
inform the new employee of procedures to be followed and hazards to be
avoided, as well as of resources that are available.

The amount of time required for orientation into the workplace will
differ from place to place. Some places orientation will take several
days, at others it may take less than an hour
Definition: Promotion
The advancement of an employee from one position to another position that has a higher
salary range maximum is called a promotion. Promotion can also result in a higher level title
and higher level job responsibilities. Decision making authority tends to rise as well. These
are examples of promotions: HR Assistant to Hr Generalist; HR Generalist to HR Manager;
HR Manager to HR Director; HR Director to HR Vice President.

Definitions of promotion:

• PIGORS & MEYERS: Define promotion as "the advancement of an employee to a better job
- better in terms of greater respect of pay and salary. Better houses of work or better
location or better working conditions-also may characterize the better job to which an
employee seeks promotions, but if the job does not involve greater skill or responsibilities
and higher pay, it should not be considered a promotion." This definition takes into
consideration only a Vertical promotion.

• DALE YODER: According to Dale Yoder, it is a "movement to a position in which

responsibilities and presumably the prestige are increased. Promotion involves an increase
in rank ordinarily; promotion is regarded as a change that results in higher earnings, but
increased earnings are essential in a promotion." This definition talks of both vertical and
horizontal promotions.

• KOONTZ O`DONNEL observed that promotion is "a change within the organization to a
higher position with greater responsibilities and used for more advanced skills than in
previous position. It usually involves higher status and increase in pay." Promotions can be
 from within or can be from outside depending upon the need of the organization as both
have certain advantages and disadvantages. So also are the arguments for and against the
concept of promotion on seniority or merit. A wise policy which is followed by many
organizations is a proper blending of both. Opposite to promotion is demotion. It is more as
a punishment. In certain cases it can be on cost reduction considerations.

Transfers

• PIGORS & MEYERS Consider transfer as "the movement of an employee from one job to
another on the same occupational level and at about the same level of wages or salary" No
appreciable change in task or responsibility is expected, SCOTT and others define transfer as
“the movement of an employee from one job to another. It may involve a promotion,
demotion or no change in job status other than moving from one job to another."

Types of Transfer: Transfers are of many types. It may be a reward transfer or a

punishment transfer. Transfers can be classified as production transfers, Replacement
transfers, Versatility transfers, shift transfers or remedial transfers. They can be temporary
or permanent. However, it is better to have a clear-cut and flexible transfer policy.
Otherwise, it may lead to a lot of heart- burning among the affected employees.

Demotion

A demotion is defined as a reassignment from one position to another position at a lower pay grade
or salary range. A demotion can also be defined as a reassignment of duties to a lower level of pay
or responsibility even if there is not a change in the employee’s job title or position. Involuntary
demotions may occur if work is eliminated, abolished or reorganized, as a disciplinary action or if a
classified employee is unable to perform the work satisfactorily.

Job analysis Job analysis is a systematic approach to defining the job role, description,
requirements, responsibilities, evaluation, etc. It helps in finding out required level of
education, skills, knowledge, training, etc for the job position. It also depicts the job
worth i.e. measurable effectiveness of the job and contribution of job to the
organization. Thus, it effectively contributes to setting up the compensation package for
the job position.

Importance of Job Analysis

Job analysis helps in analyzing the resources and establishing the strategies to
accomplish the business goals and strategic objectives. It forms the basis for demand-
supply analysis, recruitments, compensation management, and training need assessment
and performance appraisal.

Components of Job Analysis

Job analysis is a systematic procedure to analyze the requirements for the job role and job profile.
Job analysis can be further categorized into following sub components.
 •

Job Position
Job position refers to the designation of the job and employee in the organization. Job position
forms an important part of the compensation strategy as it determines the level of the job in the
organization. For example management level employees receive greater pay scale than non-
managerial employees. The non-monetary benefits offered to two different levels in the
organization also vary.

Job Description

Job description refers the requirements an organization looks for a particular job position. It
states the key skill requirements, the level of experience needed, level of education required, etc.
It also describes the roles and responsibilities attached with the job position. The roles and
responsibilities are key determinant factor in estimating the level of experience, education, skill,
etc required for the job. It also helps in benchmarking the performance standards.

Job worth

Job Worth refers to estimating the job worthiness i.e. how much the job contributes to the
organization. It is also known as job evaluation. Job description is used to analyze the job
worthiness. It is also known as job evaluation. Roles and responsibilities helps in determining the
outcome from the job profile. Once it is determined that how much the job is worth, it becomes
easy to define the compensation strategy for the position.

Therefore, job analysis forms an integral part in the formulation of compensation strategy of an
organization. Organizations should conduct the job analysis in a systematic at regular intervals.
Job analysis can be used for setting up the compensation packages, for reviewing employees’
performance with the standard level of performance, determining the training needs for
employees who are lacking certain skills.