Recruitment and Selection

We will find one thing quite similar between all the high performing organizations.
All of them believe that people are an organizations most important assets. Right from
planning to execution, manpower is involved at every step. Even the most advanced and
automated organizations do need manpower. Human Resource Planning i.e. selecting and
placing the right people at the right jobs is essential to effectively use the manpower. This
makes the job of human resource department quite challenging and complex. We will
discuss some of the issues related to recruitment and selection of human resources.
What is Recruitment?
For any organization, hiring involves two broad group of activities (i) recruitment,
and (ii) selection. Recruitment can be defined as the process of attracting people with
the right qualifications (as determined in the job analysis) to apply for the job. It
involves attracting and obtaining as many applications as possible from eligible job
seekers. Theoretically, recruitment process is said to end with the receipt of applications.
In practice, however, the activity extends to the screening of applications so as to
eliminate those who do not meet certain standards. In everyday language, the term
Recruitment is often used interchangeably with selection. However, as students of OB,
we need to understand and appreciate the subtle difference between the two. The
organizations can decide whether they would promote someone from within the
organization (internal recruitment) or would hire someone from outside the organization
(external recruitment).
Purpose/Objective and Importance of Recruitment
Recruitment can itself serve as a potential source of competitive advantage to the
firm. An effective approach to recruitment can help a company successfully compete for
limited human resources. A recruiting programme helps a firm in four ways: i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

Attract highly qualified and competent people

Ensure that the selected candidates stay longer with the firm
Make sure that there is a match between cost and benefit
Help the firm to create a culturally diverse workforce
A poor recruitment process can complicate the process of selection and lower the
selection standards. Poor quality of selection means extra costs on training and
supervision. Further, when recruitment fails to get the desired talent, a typical response is
to raise entry pay levels which might adversely affect the company.
Factors influencing recruitment
The process of recruitment is naturally subject to influence of various external &
internal factors. These are as below: -

External factors: (i)

Demand and supply: The supply and demand of specific skills in the labor market
affects recruitment. If the demand for a particular skill is high as compared to its
supply, extraordinary efforts need to be put in for recruitment.

(ii)

Unemployment rate: If the unemployment rate in a given area is high, recruitment

for a company would be easier, the number of unsolicited applicants are higher, and
increased size of labor pool provides better opportunities for attracting qualified
candidates.

(iii)

Labor market conditions: For recruitment of non-managerial, supervisory and midlevel positions, local labor market conditions are of primary importance. However,
for recruitment for executive and professional positions, the conditions of national
level market make difference.

(iv)

Legal and Political considerations: Certain Govt. regulations and political

consideration also effect the recruitment process.

(v)

Company image: The image of a company also matters. Companies with good
image are likely to attract huge number of applications whereas, companies with
bad image or thin visible presence are likely to attract less applicants.

Internal factors: (i)

Recruitment policies: The recruitment policies of an organization affect the process

of recruitment. Some organizations prefer internal recruitment (out of their own
employees) while others prefer external (from outside sources). Another related
policy is to have temporary and part time employees. Companies hiring temporary
or part time employees are likely to attract less qualified candidates.

(ii)

Human Resource Planning: Whether or not a company engages in human resource

planning determines whether it will be able to attract good volume of quality
applications. In most cases, a company cannot attract prospective employees
overnight. It requires meticulous human resource planning.

(iii)

Size: Small organizations will find recruitment process less problematic than the
large ones.

(iv)

Costs: Cost of recruiting is another factor that affects the recruitment process.

Process of Recruitment
Recruitment is a five stage process which goes as follows: (a) Identifying vacancy: The process begins with the Human Resource Department
getting requests from other departments for staff. Decisions on the number of
personnel required in a particular department and such other questions are taken at
this stage.
(b) Job analysis: At this stage a detailed and systematic study of a specific job is
conducted to prepare job description (which includes title, location, duties, working
condition, hazards etc.) and job specification (which includes qualification,
experience, age limit required etc.). If job description and specification for a
particular position already exists, job analysis is not required until the organization
wants to evaluate or reclassify a particular profile.
(c) Advertising vacancy: The next step is communicating vacancy to desired applicants
which can be done by advertisement using various mediums.
(d) Managing response: The stage involves screening of applications so as to eliminate
those who do not meet certain standards. It is a crucial stage where applications
need to be handled carefully by qualified staff otherwise it might lead to inclusion
of undesirable candidate in the selection process or the organization might miss an
opportunity to recruit desirable candidate.
(e) Arranging interview: This is the last stage in the recruitment process which leads to
the initiation of selection process. The suitable candidates which are selected in
previous stage should call for interview and arrange interview for those candidates.
Sources of Recruitment
The sources of recruitment can be broadly categorized into two categories: - (i)
Internal sources, and (ii) External sources. These sources are as follows: Internal sources
(i) Present employees (by promotion or transfer)
(ii) Employee referrals
(iii) Former employees (re-employment)
(iv)Previous applicants

External sources
(v) Media advertisements (print, electronic and social media, Internet)
(vi)Employment exchange
(vii) Job fairs
(viii) Campus recruitment
(ix)Employment agencies
(x) Contractors
(xi)Acquisitions and mergers
(xii) Consultants
(xiii) Competitors
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