Recruitment Process

Recruitment
Recruitment means identifying the sources of required staff and contacting the sources to attract the sufficient number of candidates from which the choice can be made. According to Edwin B Flippo, recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for the jobs in the organization.

Characteristics of Recruitment
Recruitment is a process or a series of activities rather than a single act or event. Recruitment is a linking activity as it brings together those with jobs (employer) and those seeking jobs (prospective employees). Recruitment is a positive process as it seeks to develop a pool of eligible candidates from which the most suitable ones can be selected. The basic purpose of recruitment is to locate the sources required to meet job requirements and to attract such people to offer themselves for employment in the organization.

Recruitment is an important function as it makes it possible to acquire number a and types of persons necessary for the continued functioning of the organization.
Recruitment is a pervasive function as all organizations engage in the recruiting activity.

Recruitment is a two way process.

Recruitment is a complex process as too many factors affect it, e.g.: image of organization, nature of jobs offered, working conditions, compensation levels., employment conditions, etc.

Recruitment involves the following activities

Identifying the sources from which adequate number of qualified candidates can be obtained. Assessing the suitability of different and choosing the most appropriate source.

Contacting the chosen sources and encouraging the prospective candidates to offer themselves for employment in the organization.

Sources of Recruitment
1. 2. There are two main sources of recruitment of staff : Internal Sources, and External Sources.

1) Internal Sources : Internal sources consist of people already working in the organization. There are two main sources of internal recruitment (a) Promotions and (b) Transfers. Internal Recruitment offers the following advantages : Filling vacancies of higher jobs by promoting employees from within the organization helps to motivate and improve the morale of the employees. Internal recruitment helps to reduce labour turnover and absenteeism.

It is a cheaper source of recruitment. Full information about candidates is already available. Time and money need not be spent on advertising of vacancies, tests, interviews, checking references, etc. Candidates working in the organization do not require induction training.

Internal Sources suffer from the following drawbacks :

There may be inbreeding as fresh talent from outside may not be obtained. Internal candidates may not give a fresh outlook and fresh ideas to the business. Unsuitable candidates may be promoted to positions of higher responsibility as choices are limited. The employees may become lethargic if they are sure of time bound promotions. There may be infighting among those who aspire for promotions within the organization. Internal recruitment cannot be a complete method in itself. The enterprise has to resort to external recruitment at some stage or the other because all vacancies cannot be filled from within the organization.

2) External Sources : It refers to recruitment of employees from outside the organization.

External Recruitment offers the following advantages : External sources provide for a wide choice of the required number of employees having the desired qualifications. It also provides people with new ideas and specialized skills required to cope with new challenges and to ensure the growth of the organization.

External Recruitment offers the following disadvantages : External source of recruitment is time consuming and expensive. External recruitment may create frustration among employees who aspire for promotion. There is no guarantee that the organization will attract a sufficient number of candidates.

Various external sources of recruitment are as follows

1. Advertisements : Advertisements in newspapers and journals are the most widely used methods of recruiting staff. It is a convenient and economical source of recruitment. It provides a large pool of candidates from all parts of the country. Employment Exchanges : These organisations register the names, addresses and other particulars of job seekers. When employers notify job vacancies to these exchanges, they refer the names of suitable candidates. Placement Agencies : The agency can hire such an agency to the complete job of recruitment. The agency will advertise the job, receive and screen applications, select suitable persons and short-list them. Campus Recruitment : It is a very convenient and inexpensive method of recruitment.

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The employer gets help from the placement cell of the educational institutions in recruitment and selection. Recommendations : Applicants introduced by present employees or their friends and relatives may prove to be a good source of recruitment.