Three critical relationships of recruitment with other HR activities are (1) human resource planning, (2) job analysis and design, and (3) training. In essence they determine who appropriate job candidates are. After that, an organization's HR information system helps to tie these activities together. Before an organization's activity starts recruiting applicants, it should consider the most likely source of the type of employees it needs. Some companies try to develop new or external sources, while other try to use the old or internal sources.
1. Internal Sources of Recruitment
Recruiting employees from inside the organization is called internal source of recruitment. They include present employees, friends of employees, former employees and former applicants. Promotions, demotions and transfers can also provide applicants for department or divisions within the organization.
a. Promotions: It is the most important internal source of recruitment. It has several benefits to both of the parties. The simplest meaning of promotion is advance into positions with greater challenge, more responsibility, more authority, more rewards (in most of the case) then the employee's previous job. It is also called vertical movement. It helps to promote freedom and empowerment. Promotion is also a tool of motivation.
Strengths: (i) Less costly, (ii) Less time consuming, (iii) Improves motivation and morale of the employees, and (iv) They are already known person to the organization.
Weakness: (i) Fresh (outside), candidates are discouraged, (ii) Less change, innovation and dynamism in the organization, and (iii) Sometimes it is costly to the organization (often outside candidate can be cheaper than internal candidate).
b. Transfers: Another critical way to recruit internally is by transferring current employees without promotion. Transfers are often important in providing employees with the more broad-based view of the organization that is necessary for future promotions. Transfers are often important in providing employees with the more broad-based view of the organization that is necessary for future promotions. In other words, transfer is the movement of an employee to a different job assignment in a different area of the company. It is also called horizontal movement.
Strengths: (i) Less time consuming, (ii) Less costly, (iii) Improvement in skills and motivation, and (iv) They are already a known people to the organization
Weakness: (i) Fresh candidate are discouraged, (ii) Organization may become static, and (iii) Possibility of over burden to the candidate.
c. Former employees (Rehire and Recalls): Former employees are also an important source of internal recruitment. It includes: (a) temporarily laid off staff and retired employees (b) People who left the company for some reason or the other who are now willing to come back and work again, etc.
Strengths: (i) Less costly (no need of selection tests and orientation program), (ii)Less time consuming, (iii) Provides known and trusted people (iv) Improves motivation and moral of past employees
Weakness: (i) Fresh candidates are discouraged, (ii) Organization may become static.
d. Previous applicants: Although they are not truly an internal source. They are the person who have previously applied/ interviewed can be contacted. It is a quick and less costly way to fill an unexpected opening or vacancy.
Strengths: (i) Less costly (ii) Less time consuming, (iii) Helpful source when few candidates has to be hired.
Weakness: (i) Other than the previous candidates don't go chance, (ii) selection becomes less effective.
2.Internal Methods of Recruitment
There are many methods for internally advertising job vacancies. Candidates can also be identified by word of mouth, company personal records, promotion lists based on performance, potential ratings obtained from assessment activities, seniority lists, and lists obtained from skills inventory, in an organization's HRIS. Important methods are as below:
a. Job Posting: It refers to the prominent (famous) vacancy display conveying over or several or job openings currently available. In essence, job posting is extending an open invitation to all employees in an organization to apply for a job vacancy. The means used for announcing the job vacancies are:
- Notice on bulletin board,
- Memo to supervisors/circulars,
- In-house newsletters,
- Report in employee publication, and
- Electronic mail to concerned employees, etc.
Advantages
of Internal Sources and Methods |
Disadvantages
of Internal Sources and Methods |
1. It builds up morale; |
1. It may
lead to inbreeding; |
2. It encourages efficient
people who have ambition; |
2. Discouraging
new blood from entering an organization; |
3. It is less costly than
outside recruitment; |
3. If
promotion is based on seniority, the really capable hands may be left out; |
4. It improves the
probability of a good selection; and |
4. It gives
chances to favoritisms. |
5. Employee turnover is
reduced. |
5. It
reduces the area of choice. |
3. External Sources of Recruitment
These sources lie outside the organization. Source outside the organization provide an organization with various benefits. Important sources of external recruitment are :
a. Poaching/raiding: Raiding means attracting the employees working elsewhere to join the organization. Even though many hiring companies believe that it is unethical to directly contact the employees of other organizations, many companies do engage in such raiding. This is particularly true where the need to recruit is especially urgent. It is commonly used by both the public and private sectors. In other words, poaching means hiring a competent and experienced person has already working with another company, in the same or different industry. The company may even be competing one to your company. Strategy used in this source is " Buying Instant Talent" rather than developing it.
Strengths: (i) Less time consuming, (ii) No need of talent management or career planning and development, (iii) very helpful in urgent/contingent situations, (iv) many times it is cheaper then developing inside.
Weakness: (i) To be very honest, it is unethical (though it may be legal), (ii) It kills the policy of hiring from inside source (iii) Existing employees may be frustrated and demotivated (iv) If not motivated and used properly they can be a burden to the organization.
b. Executive searching/ Head hunting: Very senior managers are sometimes recruited by a process known as 'executive search or headhunting.' Its advocates believe that the best candidates are not only those who reply to advertisements or look for new jobs. There are also the candidates who are successful in their present jobs are not thinking of moving elsewhere. This sources tries to explore that types of candidates also. On receipt of a commission (from a client) the headhunter wills search for potential candidates. They can explore the candidate (i) from competing businesses, (ii) in the membership lists of professional bodies and newspapers, and (iii)through confidential headhunting network, Selected candidates are then approached discreetly and one or two of them are introduced to client firm. Some of the importance aspects of headhunting are:
- Headhunting is highly disruptive (troublesome) to successful business. The organization may loss expensively trained senior managers.
- A headhunted individual might subsequently be motivated by other headhunters to leave his new firm after a short period. To avoid this, some companies attach golden handcuffs (chains) to senior management position. That is , they pay large cash bonuses which are only available to executives who stay with the firm for a certain number of years.
- An unsuitable candidate might bribe the headhunter to recommend him for the vacant job.
Strength and Weakness of External Source of Recruitment
External sources of Recruitment has the following Strengths and Weakness.
Strengths of External Sources |
Weakness
of External Sources |
Outside
candidates can be cheaper and champions. |
It is costly
than internal sources |
Better
selection opportunities are offered. |
It may
discourage and dissatisfy existing employee. |
It helps to
promote change, innovation and dynamism in the organization. |
It is more
time consuming than internal sources. |
Helps to
blend experience (old employees) and new knowledge (fresh candidates). |
It may lead
towards lower level of motivation and morality of existing staff. |
Less chance
of favoritism. |
Chances of
selecting wrong candidates. |
Helps to
create check-and-balance situation in organization (among the employees). |
It demands
more HR activities like orientation, socialization and training after being
selecting the candidates. |
Conclusion: Which particular source is to be adopted will depend on the policy of a firm, the position of laobur supply, government regulations and agreements with labour organizations. However, the human resource manager must be in close touch with these different sources. They must use them in accordance with their needs. The best management policy regarding recruitment is to look first within the organization. If that source falls, external recruitment must be adopted.
4. External Methods of Recruitment
External methods of recruitment are used to utilize the external sources of recruitment. Many organizations looking for all types of applicants engage in extensive advertising. Examples of them are radio advertising, television advertising and local to international newspapers. We discuss them separately as below:
a. Radio/television advertisement: These methods are expensive. So, they are used very less. But coverage of them is very good and they are used when there is less time to fill the vacancies. Still today, they are used by organizations for specific posts. Their use is limited in Nepal due to:(a) high unemployment rate, and (b) increasing use of internet facility.
Strengths: (i) It has wide coverage, (ii)Helps to fill vacancies in critical situation (less time consuming), (iii) A large pool is created-selection is easy.
Weaknesses: (i) These methods are relatively expensive, (ii) It is not a durable method (immediately perishable), (iii) Suitable only for big organizations.
b. Newspaper advertisement: It is the most widely used method for attracting qualified and experienced candidates. When qualified and experienced persons are not available through other sources, advertising in newspapers and professional (and trade/technical) journals is used. Things to be considered in it are:
- All types of advertisements can be made in newspapers.
- Only particular types of posts should be advertised in the professional and technical journals.
- For example, only accounting jobs should be advertised in journals published by ICAN (in Nepal).
- Important newspapers like Gorkhapatra, Kantipur, Nayapatrika, Nagrik, etc. publish classified advertisements with fixed days and/or page number.
- Online skill assessment,
- Conducting background checks over the internet,
- Interviewing candidates via videoconferencing, and
- Managing the entire process with web-based software, etc.
- The position wanted advertisement, which solicits resumes from candidates and invites employers to search the files (this is a passive method).
- The "on-line classified" where the job hunter (seeker) searches list of jobs directly from employers or newspapers, trade journals, and so on, and
- The " two-way street" where both the employers and the job seekers are looking for each other. In some case, companies pay to register their jobs. In others, job seekers pay to put their electronic resumes (bio-data) on file. And in still others, both parties contribute to the cost.
Merits of
External Methods of Recruitment |
Demerits
of External Methods of Recruitment |
It brings
young blood in the organization. |
Decrease in
moral of existing staff. |
Wide field
of choice (selection becomes easy). |
Chances of
selection of poor candidates. |
Less Chance of biasness and favoritism. |
It is an
expensive method. |
It is
helpful to bring innovation, change and dynamism. |
It may help
to increase employee turnover. |
Offers the
chance to blend old and new employees (automatic check and balance). |
It may harm
the labour-management relationship. |
Helps to
create image and goodwill in the society. |
It is a time
consuming method. |
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