A SYNOPSIS ON

THE STUDY OF Recruitment & selection process in software industry in India

Submitted By

Ankush Sharma
Enrollment no.2007ECS004 In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree Of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

IN HRM

INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, MANGALAYATAN UNIVERSITY, rd 33 KM STONE, ALIGARH-MATHURA HIGHWAY, BESWAN, ALIGARH

Introduction:
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 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 2. Prepare job description and person specification 3. Advertising the vacancy 4. Managing the response 5. Short-listing 6. Arrange interviews 7. 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.

Employee Selection Process

Employee Selection is the process of putting right men on right job. It is a procedure of matching organizational requirements with the skills and qualifications of people. Effective selection can be done only when there is effective matching. By selecting best candidate for the required job, the organization will get quality performance of employees. Moreover, organization will face less of absenteeism and employee turnover problems. By selecting right candidate for the required job, organization will also save time and money. Proper screening of candidates takes place during selection procedure. All the potential candidates who apply for the given job are tested. But selection must be differentiated from recruitment, though these are two phases of employment process. Recruitment is considered to be a positive process as it motivates more of candidates to apply for the job. It creates a pool of applicants. It is just sourcing of data. While selection is a negative process as the inappropriate candidates are rejected here. Recruitment precedes selection in staffing process. Selection involves choosing the best candidate with best abilities, skills and knowledge for the required job. The Employee selection Process takes place in following order Preliminary Interviews- It is used to eliminate those candidates who do not meet the minimum eligiblity criteria laid down by the organization. The skills, academic and family background, competencies and interests of the candidate are examined during preliminary interview. Preliminary interviews are less formalized and planned than the final interviews. The candidates are given a brief up about the company and the job profile; and it is also examined how much the candidate knows about the company. Preliminary interviews are also called screening interviews. Application blanks- The candidates who clear the preliminary interview are required to fill application blank. It contains data record of the candidates such as details about age, qualifications, reason for leaving previous job, experience, etc. Written Tests- Various written tests conducted during selection procedure are aptitude test, intelligence test, reasoning test, personality test, etc. These tests are used to objectively assess the potential candidate. They should not be biased. Employment Interviews- It is a one to one interaction between the interviewer and the potential candidate. It is used to find whether the candidate is best suited for the required job or not. But such interviews consume time and money both. Moreover the competencies of the candidate cannot be judged. Such interviews may be biased at times. Such interviews should be conducted properly. No distractions should be there in room. There should be an honest communication between candidate and interviewer. Medical examination- Medical tests are conducted to ensure physical fitness of the potential employee. It will decrease chances of employee absenteeism. Appointment Letter- A reference check is made about the candidate selected and then finally he is appointed by giving a formal appointment letter.

Software Industry :Software industry encompasses all the activities and businesses
involved with development, maintenance and distribution of computer software. Software industry started its operation during mid-70's. In this modern era of technology, software industry can be regarded as the most booming industry in the world. Software industry also covers the activities like software servicing, training and consultancy.The software industry is the largest and most booming industry in the world. For the last couple of years this industry is dominated by the software industry giant Microsoft corporation. One of the report of Microsoft software magazine shows that in 2005, the total amount of revenues earned by software companies were highest. Software industry primarily concerned with the development of two types of software. One is proprietary software, which are owned by a single organization or individual and the other is open source software, which are written to use, distribute, recode and decode free of cost. The software industry business are principally based on proprietary software. Proprietary software needs to deal with the activities of licensing and security and these require lots of money to invest, whereas earning through open source software comes specifically from selling of services, or through training activities.

Present tendencies of software industry

The economy of the leading companies are mostly dependent on the development of proprietary software product . Although some major companies like IBM, Sun Microsystems are also taking part in developing open source software to take the advantage of getting some portion of market share.

Some aspects of software industry

Packaged applications: Made for business purposes and are written for mass distribution Enterprise software: This type of software is basically made for big corporations for their production or selling purposes. Systems software: Specifically made for system related functions, like Operation system software.Some other categories are utility software, application software, etc.

Software industry revenue and growth

The U.S. is estimated to control more or less 50% share of the world software market and the U.S. software companies are the leading companies in the world in respect of development and production of softwares. The packaged software market in U.S. is estimated about $70 billion. One survey report by US Census Bureau reveals the fact that System software publishing earned total revenues of $31,497 $31,459 $31,842 for the year 2003, 2002 and 2001 respectively. The application software publishing earned a total of $38,492 $37,473 $37,297 for the year 2003, 2002, and 2001 respectively.

Problem identification
Line managers often do not understand the whole process of recruitment. Managers involved in the recruitment should not hire employees that should start as soon as possible. This habit leads to poor recruitment and mis-profiling of individuals who will in turn become part of the problems in the system. Recruitment at an officer and managerial level should be done effectively and one should remember that once you make the mistake it takes sometime before that mistake is corrected. It may be costly to the organization. Many people we see in organizations today are in the wrong jobs and as a result, they are not utilizing their full potential. This is compounded by the fact that some companies have built a tradition of hiring people based on personal connections when the person is not qualified for the job. This is a vivid case in most Organizations today. From the authors experience, most recruitment that involves managers are done during discussions at lunch hour, at social clubs or during the coffee break time. All the other processes that follows will only be a formality as the decision would have been made by line managers involved in the process. This practice suffocates the Organization for professionalism and to some extend leads to obsolete policies. Many of those appointed may not have the necessary skills and competencies to carry out the functions competently. Also they may not have proper qualifications in the field they are working. Such people will not have much desire to make any contributions in terms of growth and development. Their contributions are marginal if any, they are just passengers in the system and are protected by those who recommenced them. The other thing that the author observed is that, those line managers who are involved in the recruitment are not given courses to enlighten them on the importance of the process. One may ask, why it is necessary always to be systematic in recruitment process?. Certain type of managers can make a significant impact on Organizations or Companies. Consequently, a process or a strategy is necessary to deal effectively with equal opportunity issues, to hire the right people, to minimize cost and most importantly, to identify marginal performers before they are hired. Inadequate recruitment procedures will result in a number of staff not being sufficiently qualified either for the positions they hold or their grades levels, especially in management positions. Most formal systems are flawed in such fundamental respects that there is a tendency to circumvent it through the application of ad hoc measures, which often rely heavily on personal contacts.

Advertisements and Job descriptions Some Managers during the process tailor make the job descriptions to suit the requirements of their favored candidates they want to recruit. This process of cause has been going on for sometimes and still HR Practitioners are also involved in this professional scandal. This means HR will not have much control over the accuracy of the job description. This makes those individuals sought unique in the system thereby depriving those right candidates who have the necessary qualification. The job adverts which are toiler made have little resemblance to the job descriptions. Essential requirements of the organization are omitted. Job descriptions should take into account the changing demands, changing technologies and working methods, and reflect the needs of the Organization rather than skills of the organization. Managers should not overstate qualifications. Setting unrealistically high level for candidates increases the problem of attracting applicants and results in di-satisfaction among the candidates when they find their talents are not been utilized. Implications of poor recruitment by line managers Most managers are technically minded and therefore require guidance in this operation. Absence of a plan leads to chaotic recruitment that leads to a bumper harvest of unqualified applicants resulting in more unnecessary work for the staff in the recruitment. If you start the process without a systematic approach, you can rush your decision and end up with a mismatched person who will not be suited to work in the Organization. This is a typical case in some organizations. There is a need to have a system that assists to assess candidates throughout. This reduces the odds that you will have to repeat this extensive, time consuming process. To terminate a poorly recruited employee especially at managerial level is a costly failure to the Organization, considering the cost involved in recruitment, selection, training etc. Wrong placements at officer levels can lead to stagnation within the system. This may also affect production at one point or the other during the times of change.

Need and significance of the work along with managerial understanding and applicability
Managing aspirations Software professionals are professionally qualified and young knowledge workers with very high levels of ambition and aspiration. This is clearly indicated in the results; two such variables viz. career satisfaction and met expectations found strong support as predictors of employee turnover. Managing these aspirations, therefore, is an important dimension of attrition-control measure. Managing careers is not a challenge for HR professionals alone but a challenge for others concerned as well - line managers and top management. As role models, project managers, project leaders, group leaders or practice heads are people whom software professionals have the highest degree of interaction with as a member of the project team. These role models would have insights to individual differences among their team-mates that no survey or assessment exercises can identify. Their role in managing and/or directing the careers of these people is, therefore, very important. As 'knower' of the strengths and weaknesses of their team members, they can give feedback on their (team members) training and development needs for skills or personality development. As assessors of the software professionals performance appraisal, these leaders can convincingly tell them reasons behind the differences in their performance ratings, and have an open discussion on the same. As members of the higher management group, they can bring their team members' common concerns to the top managements attention help the management modify the respective policies as required. On the other hand, they are in the position to convey the vision, mission, and objectives of the company and their underlying rationale so as to increase the level of synergy between the team members organizational and personal goals. HR managers are the facilitators of various HR policies that meet the organizational strategy. As recruitment specialists, they can contribute significantly to the career management of software professionals. They can induct 'right' people in the company whose career aspirations are in tune with the companies work and reward systems. They can identify people whose need for utilization of knowledge, skills, and abilities' are in tune with the kind of job-assignments they are being recruited for. More over, they can identify the income, advancement and growth needs of prospective candidates and attempt to select those with high fit with the compensation and reward system of the company. In a pressure to recruit a large number of people (that the company requires), they need not make 'false promises' or paint a 'rosy picture that may later result in employees dissatisfaction. As performance managers, they can improve on a performance measurement system, as objectively as possible, upon discussion with the line managers. They need to clearly define the role for each position in the organisation, and communicate the positions to the new entrants respectively. They may formulate a reward system that is in tune with industry standards, and company's retention and performance strategy, and take local and overseas opportunities as factors of consideration. As facilitators of training and development activities, they may identify their teams individual training needs which may involve technological, behavioral or cross-cultural contents. As career counselors, they may develop different career paths - technical or managerial, and attempt to satisfy the needs of the software professionals.

Top management, in defining the organization's vision, mission and strategy may clearly convey to the line and HR managers its definition and expectation of those concerned. Its occasional support for all new and relevant HR initiatives may leads to better responsiveness to environmental conditions, thereby paving the way for increased levels of motivation, satisfaction and employee retention. Managing Expectations is a great challenge for managers of software companies. The expectations arise not only after joining the company but also during a job interview. Unmet expectations in a previous organisation could result in a job change. These expectations are especially high in the case of software professionals because they are in a sellers market, while organizations are in a buyers. Again, like career management line managers, HR managers and members of the top management team need to play an important role in managing this aspect. E.g. the project manager may make all attempts to know of the software professionals expectations from the organisation in general, and from project manager himself in particular. This is due to the fact that people come with preconceived notions based on their experiences with organizations they have worked in previously or otherwise. Similarly, HR managers can manage expectations right from the recruitment stage itself. Problems often result from mismatched expectations created at this early point in an individual's relationship with the company. Recruitment managers may, therefore, play the role of a good film director - explaining to the actors what the film is all about, and what is expected of them. Clear communication with regards to technological and on-site opportunities, company's position on the value chain, company's future plans, ESOPs etc., as identified by the study, will help manage expectations to a large extent. The top management can help balance the needs of individuals with those of organizations. Clearly defined vision, mission, and organizational objectives can help line and HR managers articulate the firm's needs and expectations further. Managing fit The results reveal that person-culture (P-C) fit and person-job (P-J) fit are the two important variables that are closely related to employee turnover, the former being the fit between personal beliefs and values of and individual whereas the later being the fit between the job challenges and achievement orientation of a person. Lack of these fits results in lower job satisfaction and consequently in employee turnover. Both these variables are highly relevant to software industry a people and skill intensive industry. Attaining high levels of fit starts right from the recruitment stage and HR managers need to devise the selection process accordingly. Impact of tight labour marketLabour market assumes immense importance in the context of software industry on account of acute global shortage of skilled professionals and Indian professionals being in demand in India as well as in many other countries. The study finds that on account of availability of large number of jobs in the market, the extrinsic satisfaction perceived by these professionals is less likely to lead in high turnover. Managing size and the start-up challenge The study incorporates 14 software organizations as sample organizations with high

variance in size and maturity. Size here is a function of number of employees working in the company, whereas maturity relates to the number of years the company is operating in the field of software development. Size is inseparable from growth in software industry, particularly in services the segment. With new organizational requirements (new customer segments, new technologies, new clients), it becomes necessary to add new members to the organisation. The study reveals that larger size and high maturity companies are more susceptible to employee turnover on account of low levels of satisfaction. Issues that managers of large software companies should address are:

More focused businesses Developing leaders at all levels Managing change Establishing open communication

Managers of matured software companies, too, need to respond to a great deal of challenges from the start-up firms on account of aggressive approach to recruitment, new technologies, high compensation, and foreign affiliation of start-up firms. Apart from the major findings and implications as described above, the following are challenges that managers in software companies need to address:

Retention Plan for High Stayers The Challenge of Foreign Visits The Challenge of Pay-Job Inequity among Application and Services Companies Coping with the Challenge of P-J Fit and Lack of Internal Opportunities among Systems Companies Threat of High External and Low Internal Job Opportunities among Product Companies Bridging the Perception-Gap between HR and Software Professionals on Turnover Reasons

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Primary objective: To study the effectiveness of recruitment and selection process in Software Industry. Secondary objectives: To study the various sources of recruitment. To study the present and future manpower requirements of the organization

Hypotheses

1. There is no effective policy in recruitment and selection process in Software Industry. 2. There is two sources of recruitment that is internal or external sources. External source is better than internal source. 3. The present and future manpower require for the success of the organization.

Review of Literature
RECRUITMENT: Placing the RIGHT PERSON in RIGHT PLACE at RIGHT TIME DEFINITIONS: Recruitment is defined as, the process of discovering potential candidates for actual and anticipated organizational vacancies . - Yodel. Recruitment is defined as, the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization. -Edwin B.Flippo FACTORS INFLUENCING RECRUITMENT Strategic plans: The steps most commonly used in developing an HR strategy: Setting the strategic direction Designing the Human Resource Management System Planning the total workforce Generating the required human resources Investing in human resource development and performance Assessing and sustaining organizational competence and performance. Organizational policies: o Basic Overviews of Human Resource Management o Getting the Best Employees o Paying Employees (and Providing Benefits) o Training Employees o Ensuring Compliance to Regulations o Ensuring Safe Work Environments o Sustaining High-Performing Employees. Recruitment Criteria: o Technical criteria, i.e. know-how, professional skills, and experience in your field. o The candidates personality and charisma are the most influential criteria in the process of recruitment in France. o Communication skills and the knowledge of foreign languages are also very important, to ensure the smooth flow of communication between the company and its subsidiary. SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT

INTERNAL SOURCES Promotions: The process of elevating a person to higher level job is what is known as promotion. Transfers: Transfer of an employee may be either from one section to another or from one department to another. Job rotation: Moving an employee to get specialized in various posts of the organization. Re-employment of ex-employees: Re-employment of ex-employees is one of the internal sources of recruitment in which employees can be invited and appointed to fill vacancies in the concern. There are situations when ex-employees provide unsolicited applications also. EXTERNAL SOURCES External sources of recruitment have to be solicited from outside the organization. External sources are external to a concern. But it involves lot of time and money. The external sources of recruitment include Employment at factory gate, advertisements, employment exchanges, employment agencies, educational institutes, labor contractors, recommendations etc. Employment at Factory Level This a source of external recruitment in which the applications for vacancies are presented on bulletin boards outside the Factory or at the Gate. This kind of recruitment is applicable generally where factory workers are to be appointed. There are people who keep on soliciting jobs from one place to another. These applicants are called as unsolicited applicants. These types of workers apply on their own for their job. For this kind of recruitment workers have a tendency to shift from one factory to another and therefore they are called as badli workers. Advertisement It is an external source which has got an important place in recruitment procedure. The biggest advantage of advertisement is that it covers a wide area of market and scattered applicants can get information from advertisements. Medium used is Newspapers and Television. Employment Exchanges There are certain Employment exchanges which are run by government. Most of the government undertakings and concerns employ people through such exchanges. Now-a-days recruitment in government agencies has become compulsory through employment exchange. Employment Agencies There are certain professional organizations which look towards recruitment and employment of people, i.e. these private agencies run by private individuals supply required manpower to needy concerns.

PREREQUISITES OF GOVERNMENT POLICY: 1. It should be in conformity with its general personnel policies. 2. It should be flexible enough to meet the changing needs of an organization. 3. It should be so designed as to ensure employment opportunities for its employees on a long term basis. 4. It should match the qualities of employees with the requirements of the work for which they are employed. 5. It should highlight the necessity of establishing job analysis. SELECTION PROCESS Definition of selection: According to Dale, selection may be defined as the process by which the organization chooses from among the applicants, those people whom they feel would best meet the job requirement, considering current environmental condition. Factors influencing selection process: 1. Nature of the organization 2. Nature of the labor market 3. Union requirements 4. Government requirements 5. Composition of the labor force 6. Location of the organization. Steps in selection procedure: Receiving application: The candidates mar be asked to submit their applications together with their bio data on a plain paper. Preliminary interview: The object of this interview is to see the candidate personally to ensure whether he is physically and mentally suitable for job. Application blank: The printed applications contain the details desired by the employer from the candidate with sufficient space for the candidate to furnish the particulars. Tests: A test is a sample measurement of a candidates ability and interest for the job. Final interview: An interview is a face to face oral examination of a candidate by an employer. Back ground verification: The background verification is done to check the honesty and integrity of the candidate. Final selection: If the employer is satisfied with the candidate, then the selection will be made.

 Physical examination: It is important that a person selected for the job must also be medically fit to perform it. Placement: If the employer is satisfied with the medical report of the candidate, he may place in the concern. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Introduction: Research methodology is a systematic process of identifying and formulating by setting objective and method for collecting, editing and tabulating to find solution. Research design: The problem that follows the task of defining the research problem is the preparation of the design of the research project is called as research design. The research design undertaken by researcher is Descriptive research design. This research design concerned with the research studies with a focus on the portrayal of the characteristics of a group of individual or a situation. Sampling technique: The non- probability sampling procedure has been used by the researcher because it does not give a representative sample of population. Sampling method: Convenience sampling method has been used by the researcher. Sampling size: The sample size chosen by the researcher is 150 respondents, which is 10 per cent of the total employees in the organization. The targeted respondents are both middle level and lower level employees. SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION: Primary data Secondary data PRIMARY DATA: The Primary data used by the researcher is questionnaire. SECONDARY DATA: The secondary data used in this research are Books referred and websites RESEARCH INSTRUMENT: The instrument used for this study by the researcher is questionnaire. STATISTICAL TOOLS: In order to come out with the findings of the study, the following statistical tools are used by the researcher

 Percentage analysis method Chi- square method Weighted average method DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION The data collected has to be processed and analyzed for the purpose of developing the research plan. This is essential for a scientific study and for ensuring that we have all the relevant data. Processing implies editing, coding, classification, and tabulation of collected data and so that they acquiescent to analyzes. The term analysis refers to the computation of certain measures along with searching for patterns of relationship that exists among data groups. Thus, In the process of analysis, relationships with original or new hypothesis should be subjected to statistical tests of significance to determine with that validity data can say as to indicate any conclusions. Analysis of data in a general way involves a number of closely related operation that are performed with the purpose of summarizing the collected data and organizing them in such a manner that answer the research questions. The whole chapter of analysis and interpretation is based on the responses of 150 respondents who were administered with a questionnaire which contain the personal data their views about the recruitment and selection process and procedure.

Bibliography

www.Google.com www.citihr.com

Organization Study TABLE OF CONTENTS

Topic
1. Introduction

page no.
1

2. Problem Identification

3. Need and Significance of the work

4. Objectives of Study

5. Hypothesis 6. Review of Literature

10 10

7. Research methodology 8. Bibliography

.

13 14