TOPIC 1: IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING, INTERNAL AND

EXTERNAL SOURCES, AND RECRUITMENT

IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

2.1 Concept of Human resource planning:

Human resource planning is important for helping both organizations and

employees to prepare for the future. The basic goal of human resource planning is to
predict the future and based on these predictions, implement programmes to avoid
anticipated problems. Very briefly humans resource planning is the process of examining
an organization‘s or individual‘s future human resource needs for instance, what types of
skills will be needed for jobs of the future compared to future human resource capabilities
(such as the types of skilled employees you already have) and developing human resource
policies and practices to address potential problems for example, implementing training
programmes to avoid skill deficiencies.

2.1.1 Definition of HRP:

According to Vetter, ―HRP is the process by which management determines how the
organization should move from its current man power position to desired manpower
position. Through planning, management strives to have the right time, doing things
which result in both the organization and individual receiving maximum long run
benefits‖.

According to Gordon Mc Beath, ―HRP is concerned with two things: Planning of

manpower requirements and Planning of Manpower supplies‖.

According to Beach, ―HRP is a process of determining and assuming that the

organization will have an adequate number of qualified persons, available at proper
times, performing jobs which meet the needs of the enterprise and which provides
satisfaction for the individuals involved.

HRP is a Four-Phased Process.

▪ The first phase involves the gathering and analysis of data through manpower
inventories and forecasts,
▪ The second phase consists of establishing manpower objectives and policies and
gaining top management approval of these.
▪ The third phase involves designing and implementing plans and promotions to
enable the organization to achieve its manpower objectives.
▪ The fourth phase is concerned with control and evaluation of manpower plans to
facilitate progress in order to benefit both the organization and the individual. The
long run view means that gains may be sacrificed in the short run for the future
grounds. The planning process enables the organization to identify what its
manpower needs is and what potential manpower problems required current
action. This leads to more effective and efficient performance.

2.1.2 Nature of Human resource planning:

It is the process of analyzing and identifying the availability and the need for human
resources so that the organization can meet its objectives. The focus of HR planning is to
ensure that the organization has the right number of human resources, with the right
capabilities, at the right times, and in the right places. In HR planning, an organization
must consider the availability and allocation of people to jobs over long periods of time,
not just for the next month or the next year.
HRP is a sub system in the total organizational planning. Actions may include shifting
employees to other jobs in the organization, laying off employees or otherwise cutting
back the number of employees, developing present employees, and/or increasing the
number of employees in certain areas. Factors to consider include the current employees
‘knowledge, skills, and abilities and the expected vacancies resulting from retirements,
promotions, transfers, and discharges. To do this, HR planning requires efforts by HR
professionals working with executives and managers.

2.1.3 Objectives of Human Resource Planning:

✓ To ensure optimum utilization of human resources currently available in the
organization.
✓ To assess or forecast the future skill requirement of the Organization.
✓ To provide control measures to ensure that necessary resources are available as
and when required.

A series of specified reasons are there that attaches importance to manpower planning
and forecasting exercises. They are elaborated below:
✓ To link manpower planning with the organizational planning
✓ To determine recruitment levels.
✓ To anticipate redundancies.
✓ To determine optimum training levels.
✓ To provide a basis for management development programs.
✓ To cost the manpower.
✓ To assist productivity bargaining.
✓ To assess future accommodation requirement.
✓ To study the cost of overheads and value of service functions.
✓ To decide whether certain activity needs to be subcontracted, etc.

HRP is the subsystem in the total organizational planning. Organizational planning

includes managerial activities that set the company’s objective for the future and
determines the appropriate means for achieving those objectives. The importance of HR
is elaborated on the basis of the key roles that it is playing in the organization.

▪ Future Personnel Needs: Human resource planning is significant because it helps

to determine the future personnel needs of the organization. If an organization is
facing the problem of either surplus or deficiency in staff strength, then it is the
result of the absence of effecting HR planning. All public sector enterprises find
themselves overstaffed now as they never had any planning for personnel
requirement and went of recruitment spree till late 1980‘s. The problem of excess
staff has become such a prominent problem that many private sector units are
resorting to VRS ‗voluntary retirement scheme ‘. The excess of labor problem
would have been there if the organization had good HRP system. Effective HRP
system will also enable the organization to have good succession planning.

▪ Part of Strategic Planning: HRP has become an integral part of strategic planning
of strategic planning. HRP provides inputs in strategy formulation process in terms
of deciding whether the organization has got the right kind of human resources to
carry out the given strategy. HRP is also necessary during the implementation
stage in the form of deciding to make resource allocation decisions related to
organization structure, process and human resources. In some organizations HRP
 play as significant role as strategic planning and HR issues are perceived as
inherent in business management.

▪ Creating Highly Talented Personnel: Even though India has a great pool of
educated unemployed, it is the discretion of HR manager that will enable the
company to recruit the right person with right skills to the organization. Even the
existing staff hope the job so frequently that organization face frequent shortage
of manpower. Manpower planning in the form of skill development is required to
help the organization in dealing with this problem of skilled manpower shortage

▪ International Strategies: An international expansion strategy of an organization is

facilitated to a great extent by HR planning. The HR department ‘s ability to fill key
jobs with foreign nationals and reassignment of employees from within or across
national borders is a major challenge that is being faced by international business.
With the growing trend towards global operation, the need for HRP will as well
will be the need to integrate HRP more closely with the organization’s strategic
plans. Without effective HRP and subsequent attention to employee recruitment,
selection, placement, development, and career planning, the growing competition
for foreign executives may lead to expensive and strategically descriptive turnover
among key decision makers.

▪ Foundation for Personnel Functions: HRP provides essential information for

designing and implementing personnel functions, such as recruitment, selection,
training and development, personnel movement like transfers, promotions and
layoffs.

▪ Increasing Investments in Human Resources: Organizations are making increasing

investments in human resource development compelling the increased need for
HRP. Organizations are realizing that human assets can increase in value more
than the physical assets. An employee who gradually develops his/ her skills and
abilities become a valuable asset for the organization. Organizations can make
investments in its personnel either through direct training or job assignment and
the rupee value of such a trained, flexible, motivated productive workforce is
difficult to determine. Top officials have started acknowledging that quality of
work force is responsible for both short term and long-term performance of the
organization.

▪ Resistance to Change: Employees are always reluctant whenever they hear about
change and even about job rotation. Organizations cannot shift one employee
from one department to another without any specific planning. Even for carrying
out job rotation (shifting one employee from one department to another) there is
a need to plan well ahead and match the skills required and existing skills of the
employees.

▪ Uniting the Viewpoint of Line and Staff Managers: HRP helps to unite the
viewpoints of line and staff managers. Though HRP is initiated and executed by
the corporate staff, it requires the input and cooperation of all managers within
an organization. Each department manager knows about the issues faced by his
department more than anyone else. So, communication between HR staff and line
managers is essential for the success of HR Planning and development.

▪ Succession Planning: Human Resource Planning prepares people for future

challenges. The ‗stars‘are picked up, trained, assessed and assisted continuously
 so that when the time comes such trained employees can quickly take the
responsibilities and position of their boss or seniors as and when situation arrives.

▪ Other Benefits: (a) HRP helps in judging the effectiveness of manpower policies
and programmes of management. (b) It develops awareness on effective
utilization of human resources for the overall development of organization. (c) It
facilitates selection and training of employees with adequate knowledge,
experience and aptitudes so as to carry on and achieve the organizational
objectives (d) HRP encourages the company to review and modify its human
resource policies and practices and to examine the way of utilizing the human
resources for better utilization.

2.1.4 HRP Process:

HRP effectively involves forecasting personnel needs, assessing personnel supply
and matching demand – supply factors through personnel related programmes. The HR
planning process is influenced by overall organizational objectives and environment of
business.

The HRP Process

Environmental Scanning: It refers to the systematic monitoring of the external forces
influencing the organization. The following forces are essential for pertinent HRP.
o Economic factors, including general and regional conditions.
o Technological changes
o Demographic changes including age, composition and literacy,
o Political and legislative issues, including laws and administrative rulings
o Social concerns, including child care, educational facilities and priorities.
By scanning the environment for changes that will affect an organization, managers
can anticipate their impact and make adjustments early.

Organizational Objectives and Policies: HR plan is usually derived from the

organizational objectives. Specific requirements in terms of number and characteristics
of employees should be derived from organizational objectives.
Once the organizational objectives are specified, communicated and understood by
all concerned, the HR department must specify its objective with regard to HR utilization
in the organization.

HR Demand Forecast: Demand forecasting is the process of estimating the future

quantity and quality of people required to meet the future needs of the organization.
Annual budget and long-term corporate plan when translated into activity into activity
form the basis for HR forecast.
 For e.g.: in the case of a manufacturing company, the sales budget will form the
basis for production plan giving the number and type of products to be produced in each
period. This will form the basis upon which the organization will decide the number of
hours to be worked by each skilled category of workers. Once the number hours required
is available organization can determine the quality and quantity of personnel required for
the task.
Demand forecasting is influenced by both internal factors and external factors:
external factors include-competition, economic climate, laws and regulatory bodies,
changes in technology and social factors whereas internal factors are budget constraints,
production level, new products and services, organizational structure and employee
separations.
Demand forecasting is essential because it helps the organization to
✓ Quantify the jobs, necessary for producing a given number of goods,
✓ To determine the nature of staff, mix required in the future,
✓ To assess appropriate levels in different parts of organization so as to avoid
unnecessary costs to the organization,
✓ To prevent shortages of personnel where and when, they are needed by the
organization.
✓ To monitor compliances with legal requirements with regard to reservation
of jobs.
Techniques like managerial judgment, ratio- trend analysis, regression analysis,
work study techniques, Delphi techniques are some of the major methods used by the
organization for demand forecasting.

HR Supply Forecast: Supply forecast determines whether the HR department will be able
to procure the required number of workers. Supply forecast measures the number of
people likely to be available from within and outside an organization, after making
allowance for absenteeism, internal movements and promotions, wastage and changes
in hours, and other conditions of work.
Supply forecast is required because it is needed as it
✓ helps to quantify the number of people and positions expected to be
available in future to help the organization realize its plans and meet its
objectives
✓ Helps to clarify the staff mixes that will arise in future
✓ It assesses existing staffing in different parts of the organization.
✓ It will enable the organization to prevent shortage of people where and
when they are most needed.
✓ It also helps to monitor future compliance with legal requirements of job
reservations.
Supply analysis covers the existing human resources, internal sources of supply and
external sources of supply.

HR Programming: Once an organization ‘s personnel demand and supply are forecasted

the demand and supply need to be balanced in order that the vacancies can be filled by
the right employees at the right time.

HR Plan Implementation: HR implementation requires converting an HR plan into action.

A series of action are initiated as a part of HR plan implementation. Programmes such as
recruitment, selection and placement, training and development, retraining and
redeployment, retention plan, succession plan etc. when clubbed together form the
implementation part of the HR plan.

Control and Evaluation: Control and evaluation represent the final phase of the HRP
process. All HR plan include budgets, targets and standards. The achievement of the
organization will be evaluated and monitored against the plan. During this final phase
organization will be evaluating on the number of people employed against the established
(both those who are in the post and those who are in pipe line) and on the number
recruited against the recruitment targets. Evaluation is also done with respect to
employment cost against the budget and wastage accrued so that corrective action can
be taken in future.

2.1.5 Requisites for Successful HRP

✓ HRP must be recognized as an integral part of corporate planning
✓ Support of top management is essential
✓ There should be some centralization with respect to HRP responsibilities in order
to have co-ordination between different levels of management.
✓ Organization records must be complete, up to date and readily available.
✓ Techniques used for HR planning should be those best suited to the data available
and degree of accuracy required.
✓ Data collection, analysis, techniques of planning and the plan themselves need to
be constantly revised and improved in the light of experience.

2.1.6 Barriers to HRP

Human Resource Planners face significant barriers while formulating an HRP. The major
barriers are elaborated below:
▪ HR practitioners are perceived as experts in handling personnel matters, but are
not experts in managing business. The personnel plan conceived and formulated
by the HR practitioners when enmeshed with organizational plan, might make the
overall strategic plan of the organization ineffective.
▪ HR information often is incompatible with other information used in strategy
formulation. Strategic planning efforts have long been oriented towards financial
forecasting, often to the exclusion of other types of information. Financial
forecasting takes precedence over HRP.
▪ Conflict may exist between short term and long-term HR needs. For example,
there can be a conflict between the pressure to get the work done on time and
long-term needs, such as preparing people for assuming greater responsibilities.
Many managers are of the belief that HR needs can be met immediately because
skills are available on the market as long as wages and salaries are competitive.
Therefore, long times plans are not required, short planning are only needed.
▪ There is conflict between quantitative and qualitative approaches to HRP. Some
people view HRP as a number game designed to track the flow of people across
the department. Others take a qualitative approach and focus on individual
employee concerns such as promotion and career development. Best result can
be achieved if there is a balance between the quantitative and qualitative
approaches.
▪ Non-involvement of operating managers renders HRP ineffective. HRP is not
strictly an HR department function. Successful planning needs a coordinated effort
on the part of operating managers and HR personnel.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SOURCES

2.2 Sources of Recruitment

After the finalization of recruitment plan indicating the number and type of
prospective candidates, they must be attracted to offer themselves for consideration to
their employment. This necessitates the identification of sources from which these
candidates can be attracted. Some companies try to develop new sources, while most
only try to tackle the existing sources they have. These sources, accordingly, may be
termed as internal and external.
Internal Sources
It would be desirable to utilize the internal sources before going outside to attract
the candidates. Yoder and others suggest two categories of internal sources including a
review of the present employees and nomination of candidates by employees. Effective
utilization of internal sources necessitates an understanding of their skills and information
regarding relationships of jobs. This will provide possibilities for horizontal and vertical
transfers within the enterprise eliminating simultaneous attempts to lay off employees in
one department and recruitment of employees with similar qualification for another
department in the company. Promotion and transfers within the plant where an
employee is best suitable improves the morale along with solving recruitment problems.
These measures can be taken effectively if the company has established job families
through job analysis programmes combining together similar jobs demanding similar
employee characteristics. Again, employees can be requested to suggest promising
candidates. Sometimes, employees are given prizes for recommending a candidate who
has been recruited. Despite the usefulness of this system in the form of loyalty and its
wide practice, it has been pointed out that it gives rise to cliques posing difficulty to
management. Therefore, before utilizing this system attempts should be made to
determine through research whether or not employees thus recruited are effective on
particular jobs. Usually, internal sources can be used effectively if the numbers of
vacancies are not very large, adequate, employee records are maintained, jobs do not
demand originality lacking in the internal sources, and employees have prepared
themselves for promotions.

Merits of Internal Sources: The following are the merits of internal sources of
recruitment:
✓ It creates a sense of security among employees when they are assured that they
would be preferred in filling up vacancies.
✓ It improves the morale of employees, for they are assured of the fact that they
would be preferred over outsiders when vacancies occur.
✓ It promotes loyalty and commitment among employees due to sense of job
security and opportunities for advancement.
✓ The employer is in a better position to evaluate those presently employed than
outside candidates. This is because the company maintains a record of the
progress, experience and service of its employees.
✓ Time and costs of training will be low because employees remain familiar with the
organization and its policies.
✓ Relations with trade unions remain good. Labor turnover is reduced.
✓ As the persons in the employment of the company are fully aware of, and well-
acquainted with, its policies and know its operating procedures, they require little
training, and the chances are that they would stay longer in the employment of
the organization than a new outsider would.
✓ It encourages self-development among the employees. It encourages good
individuals who are ambitious.
✓ It encourages stability from continuity of employment.
✓ It can also act as a training device for developing middle and top-level managers.

Demerits of Internal Sources: However, this system suffers from certain defects as:
✓ There are possibilities that internal sources may ―dry up‖, and it may be difficult
to find the requisite personnel from within an organization.
✓ It often leads to inbreeding, and discourages new blood from entering and
organization.
 ✓ As promotion is based on seniority, the danger is that really capable hands may
not be chosen. The likes and dislikes of the management may also play an
important role in the selection of personnel.
✓ Since the learner does not know more than the lecturer, no innovations worth the
name can be made. Therefore, on jobs which require original thinking (such as
advertising, style, designing and basic research), this practice is not followed.
This source is used by many organizations; but a surprisingly large number ignore this
source, especially for middle management jobs.

External Sources

DeCenzo and Robbins remark, ―Occasionally, it may be necessary to bring in some ‗new
blood to broaden the present ideas, knowledge, and enthusiasm. ‖ Thus, all organizations
have to depend on external sources of recruitment. Among these sources are included:
✓ Employment agencies.
✓ Educational and technical institutes. And
✓ Casual labour or ―applicants at the gate‖ and nail applicants.

Public and private employment agencies play a vital role in making available suitable
employees for different positions in the organizations. Besides public agencies, private
agencies have developed markedly in large cities in the form of consultancy services.
Usually, these agencies facilitate recruitment of technical and professional personnel.
Because of their specialization, they effectively assess the needs of their clients and
aptitudes and skills of the specialized personnel. They do not merely bring an employer
and an employee together but computerize lists of available talents, utilizing testing to
classify and assess applicants and use advanced techniques of vocational guidance for
effective placement purposes.

Educational and technical institutes also form an effective source of manpower

supply. There is an increasing emphasis on recruiting student from different management
institutes and universities commerce and management departments by recruiters for
positions in sales, accounting, finance, personnel and production. These students are
recruited as management trainees and then placed in special company training
programmes. They are not recruited for particular positions but for development as
future supervisors and executives. Indeed, this source provides a constant flow of new
personnel with leadership potentialities. Frequently, this source is tapped through on-
campus interview with promising students. In addition, vocational schools and industrial
training institutes provide specialized employees, apprentices, and trainees for
semiskilled and skilled jobs. Persons trained in these schools and institutes can be placed
on operative and similar jobs with a minimum of in-plant training. However, recruitment
of these candidates must be based on realistic and differential standards established
through research reducing turnover and enhancing productivity.
Frequently, numerous enterprises depend to some extent upon casual labor or
―applicants at the gate‖ and nail applicants. The candidates may appear personally at
the company‘s employment office or send their applications for possible vacancies.
Explicitly, as Yoder and others observe, the quality and quantity of such candidates
depend on the image of the company in community. Prompt response to these applicants
proves very useful for the company. However, it may be noted that this source is
uncertain, and the applicants reveal a wide range of abilities necessitating a careful
screening. Despite these limitations, it forms a highly inexpensive source as the
candidates themselves come to the gate of the company. Again, it provides measures for
good public relations and accordingly, all the candidates visiting the company must be
received cordially.
 Table: Recruiting Sources Used by Skill and Level
Skill/Level Recruiting Source Percentage of Use
Unskilled and Semiskilled Informal contacts 85
Walk-ins 74
Public Employment Agencies 66
Want Ads 52
Skilled Informal Contacts 88
Walk-ins 66
Public Employment Agencies 55
Want Ads 55
Professional Employees Internal Search 94
Informal Contacts 92
Walk-ins 71
Public Employment Agencies 52
Want Ads 48
Private Employment Agencies 22
Managerial Level Internal Search 100
Informal Contacts 71
Walk-ins 31
Private Employment Agencies 20
Want Ads 17
Public Employment Agencies 12

As Jucius observes, trade unions are playing an increasingly important role in labor
supply. In several trades, they supply skilled labor in sufficient numbers. They also
determine the order in which employees are to be recruited in the organization. In
industries where they do not take active part in recruitment, they make it a point that
employees laid off are given preference in recruitment.
Application files also forms a useful source of supply of work force. Attempts may
be made to review the application to determine jobs for which the candidates filed for
future use when there are openings in these jobs. The candidates may be requested to
renew their cards as many times as they desire. All the renewed cards may be placed in
―active‖ files and those not renewed for considerable time may be placed in ―inactive‖
file or destroyed. Indeed, a well-indexed application file provides utmost economy from
the standpoint of a recruiting budget.
Efficacy of alternative sources of supply of human resources should be determined
through research. Attempts may be made to relate the factor of success on the job with
a specific source of supply. Alternative sources can also be evaluated in terms of turnover,
grievances and disciplinary action. Those sources which are significantly positively related
with job performance and significantly negatively related with turnover, grievances and
disciplinary action, can be effectively used in recruitment programmes. The assessment
should be periodically performed in terms of occupations. It may be that source ―A‖ is
most effective for technical workers, while source ―B‖ for semiskilled workers.

Advantages of External Recruitment: External sources of recruitment are suitable for the
following reasons:
✓ It will help in bringing new ideas, better techniques and improved methods to the
organization.
✓ The cost of employees will be minimized because candidates selected in this
method will be placed in the minimum pay scale.
✓ The existing employees will also broaden their personality.
✓ The entry of qualitative persons from outside will be in the interest of the
organization in the long run.
 ✓ The suitable candidates with skill, talent, knowledge is available from external
sources.
✓ The entry of new persons with varied expansion and talent will help in human
resource mix.

Disadvantages of External Sources:

✓ Orientation and training are required as the employees remain unfamiliar with the
organisation. It is more expensive and time-consuming. Detailed screening is
necessary as very little is known about the candidate.
✓ If new entrant fails to adjust himself to the working in the enterprise, it means yet
more expenditure on looking for his replacement.
✓ Motivation, morale and loyalty of existing staff are affected, if higher level jobs
are filled from external sources. It becomes a source of heart-burning and
demoralization among existing employees.

RECRUITMENT

Recruitment forms a step in the process which continues with selection and ceases with
the placement of the candidate. It is the next step in the procurement function, the first
being the manpower planning. Recruiting makes it possible to acquire the number and
types of people necessary to ensure the continued operation of the organization.
Recruiting is the discovering of potential applicants for actual or anticipated
organizational vacancies.

According to Edwin B. Flippo, ―Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective

employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization. ‖

According to Lord, ―Recruitment is a form of competition. Just as corporations compete

to develop, manufacture, and market the best product or service, so they must also
compete to identify, attract and hire the most qualified people. Recruitment is a business,
and it is a big business. ‖

In the words of Dale Yoder, ― Recruiting is a process to discover the sources of

manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective
measures for attracting that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective
selection of an efficient working force. ‖

Human Resource
Planning

Job Analysis

Recruitment

Selection

Placement
 Recruitment to Human Resource Acquisition Process

According to Werther and Davis, ―Recruitment is the process of finding and attracting
capable applicants for employment. The process begins when new recruits are sought and
ends when their applications are submitted. The result is a pool of applicants form which
new employees are selected. ‖

Dales S. Beach writes, ―Recruitment is the development and maintenance of adequate

manpower resources. It involves the creation of a pool of available labor upon whom the
organization can depend when it needs additional employees. ‖

Thus, recruitment process is concerned with the identification of possible sources of

human resource supply and tapping those sources. In the total process of acquiring and
placing human resources in the organization, recruitment falls in between different sub-
processes as shown in Figure 4.2.

According to Scott, Clothier and Spriegel the need for recruitment arises out of the
following situations:
✓ Vacancies created due to expansion, diversification, and growth of business.
✓ An increase in the competitive advantage of certain concerns, enabling them to
get more of the available business than formerly.
✓ An increase in business arising from an upswing during the recovery period of a
business cycle. Vacancies created due to transfer, promotion, retirement,
termination, permanent disability or death.
✓ The normal population growth, which requires increased goods and services to
meet the needs of the people.
✓ A rising standard of living, which requires more of the same goods and services as
well as the creation of new wants to be satisfied.

2.3.1 Process of Recruitment

Recruitment process passes through the following stages:

✓ Recruitment process begins when the personnel department receives requisitions
for recruitment from any department of the company, The personnel requisitions
contain details about the position to be filled, number of persons to be recruited,
the duties to be performed, qualifications expected from the candidates, terms
and conditions of employment and the time by which the persons should be
available for appointment etc.
✓ Locating and developing the sources of required number and type of employees.
✓ Identifying the prospective employees with required characteristics.
✓ Developing the techniques to attract the desired candidates. The goodwill of an
organization in the market may be one technique. The publicity about the
company being a good employer may also help in stimulating candidates to apply.
There may be others of attractive salaries, proper facilities for development etc.
✓ Evaluating the effectiveness of recruitment process.

According to Famularo, personnel recruitment process involves five elements, viz., a

recruitment policy, a recruitment organization, a forecast of manpower, the development
of sources of recruitment, and different techniques used for utilizing these sources, and
a method of assessing the recruitment programme. The explanation of these is described
below:

Recruitment Policy: It specifies the objectives of recruitment and provides a framework

for the implementation of the recruitment programme. It also involves the employer ‘s
commitment to some principles as to find and employ the best qualified persons for each
job, to retain the most promising of those hired, etc. It should be based on the goals,
needs and environment of the organization.

Recruitment Organization: The recruitment may be centralized like public sector banks
or decentralized. Both practices have their own merits. The choice between the two will
depend on the managerial philosophy and the particular needs of the organization.

Sources of Recruitment: Various sources of recruitment may be classified as internal and

external. These have their own merits and demerits.

Methods of Recruitment: Recruitment techniques are the means to make contact with
potential candidates, to provide them necessary information and to encourage them to
apply for jobs.

Evaluation of Recruitment Programme: The recruitment process must be evaluated

periodically. The criteria for evaluation may consist of cost per applicant, the hiring ratio,
performance appraisal, tenure of stay, etc. After evaluation, necessary improvements
should be made in the recruitment programme.

2.3.2 Recruitment Policy

As Yoder et al observe recruitment policy spells out the objectives of the recruitment and
provides a framework for implementations of the recruitment programme in the form of
procedures. It may involve a commitment to broad principles such as filling vacancies with
the best qualified individuals. The recruitment policy may embrace several issues such as
the extent of promotion from within, attitudes of enterprise in recruiting old,
handicapped, and minor individuals, minority group members, part-time employees and
relatives of present employees. In addition, the recruitment policy may also involve the
organization system to be developed for implementing the recruitment programme and
procedures to be employed. Explicitly, an organizational system is a function of the size
of an enterprise. In smaller enterprises, there may be merely informal recruiting
procedures and the line official may be responsible to handle this function along with
their usual responsibilities. On the other hand, in larger organizations, there is usually a
staff unit attached with personnel or an industrial relations department designated as
employment or recruitment office. This specialization of recruitment enables staff
personnel to become highly skilled in recruitment techniques and their evaluation.
However, recruitment remains the line responsibility as far as the personnel requisition
forms are originated by the line personnel, who have also the final word in the acceptance
or rejection of a particular applicant. Despite this, the staff personnel have adequate
freedom in respect of sources of manpower to be tapped and the procedure to be
followed for this purpose.

Recruitment policy covers the following areas:

✓ To prescribe the degree of emphasis. Inside the organization or outside the
organization.
✓ To provide the weightage that would be given to certain categories of people such
as local population, physically-handicapped personnel, personnel from scheduled
castes/tribes and other backward classes.
✓ To prescribe whether the recruitment would be centralized or decentralized at
unit levels.
✓ To specify the degree of flexibility with regard to age, qualifications, compensation
structure and other service conditions.
 ✓ To prescribe the personnel who would be involved in recruitment process and the
role of human resource department in this regard.
✓ To specify the budget for meeting the expenditures incurred in completing the
recruitment process.

According to Yoder, ―the recruitment policy is concerned with quantity and

qualifications of manpower. ‖ It establishes broad guidelines for the staffing process.
Generally, the following factors are involved in a recruitment policy:
✓ To provide each employee with an open road and encouragement in the
continuing development of his talents and skills;
✓ To provide individual employees with the maximum of employment security,
avoiding, frequent lay-off or lost time;
✓ To avoid cliques which may develop when several members of the same
household or community are employed in the organization;
✓ To carefully observe the letter and spirit of the relevant public policy on hiring and,
on the whole, employment relationship;
✓ To assure each employee of the organization interest in his personal goals and
employment objective; To assure employees of fairness in all employment
relationships, including promotions and transfers;
✓ To provide employment in jobs which are engineered to meet the qualifications
of handicapped workers and minority sections; and
✓ To encourage one or more strong, effective, responsible trade unions among the
employees.

Prerequisites of a Good Recruitment Policy: The recruitment policy of an organisation

must satisfy the following conditions:
✓ It should be in conformity with its general personnel policies;
✓ It should be flexible enough to meet the changing needs of an organisation;
✓ It should be so designed as to ensure employment opportunities for its employees
on a long-term basis so that the goals of the organisation should be achievable;
and it should develop the potentialities of employees;
✓ It should match the qualities of employees with the requirements of the work for
which they are employed; and It should highlight the necessity of establishing job
analysis.

2.3.3 Factor Affecting Recruitment

The factors affecting recruitment can be classified as internal and external factors.

The internal factors are:

✓ Wage and salary policies;
✓ The age composition of existing working force;
✓ Promotion and retirement policies;
✓ Turnover rates;
✓ The nature of operations involved the kind of personnel required;
✓ The level and seasonality of operations in question;
✓ Future expansion and reduction programmes;
✓ Recruiting policy of the organisation;
✓ Human resource planning strategy of the company;
✓ Size of the organisation and the number of employees employed;
✓ Cost involved in recruiting employees, and finally;
✓ Growth and expansion plans of the organisation.

The external factors are:

 ✓ Supply and demand of specific skills in the labor market;
✓ Company‘s image perception of the job seekers about the company.
✓ External cultural factors: Obviously, the culture may exert considerable check on
recruitment. For example, women may not be recruited in certain jobs in industry.
✓ Economic factors: such as a tight or loose labor market, the reputation of the
enterprise in the community as a good pay master or otherwise and such allied
issues which determine the quality and quantity of manpower submitting itself for
recruitment.
✓ Political and legal factors also exert restraints in respect of nature and hours of
work for women and children, and allied employment practices in the enterprise,
reservation of Job for SC, ST and so on.

2.3.4 Methods of Recruitment

Methods of recruitment are different from the sources of recruitment. Sources are the
locations where prospective employees are available. On the other hand, methods are
way of establishing links with the prospective employees. Various methods employed for
recruiting employees may be classified into the following categories:

1. Direct Methods:

These include sending recruiters to educational and professional institutions, employees,

contacts with public, and manned exhibits. One of the widely used direct methods is that
of sending of recruiters to colleges and technical schools. Most college recruiting is done
in co-operation with the placement office of a college. The placement office usually
provides help in attracting students, arranging interviews, furnishing space, and providing
student resumes.

For managerial, professional and sales personnel campus recruiting is an extensive

operation. Persons reading for MBA or other technical diplomas are picked up in this
manner. For this purpose, carefully prepared brochures, describing the organisation and
the jobs it offers, are distributed among students, before the interviewer arrives.
Sometimes, firms directly solicit information from the concerned professors about
students with an outstanding record. Many companies have found employees contact
with the public a very effective method. Other direct methods include sending recruiters
to conventions and seminars, setting up exhibits at fairs, and using mobile offices to go to
the desired center.

Methods of Contacting Prospective Candidates

Based on personnel to be recruited
Managerial/technical personnel Operative personnel
Advertisement Public employment exchanges
Internet Labor unions
Walk-ins Employee referrals
Campus recruitments Gate hiring
Job fairs Labor contractors
Consultancy firms
Personnel contacts
Poaching and raiding
Based on the movement of the organization
Direct methods Third party method
Advertisement Consultancy firms
Internet recruiting Public employment exchanges
 Campus recruitment Labor unions
Job fairs Employee referrals
Personnel contacts Labor contractors
Gate hiring

2. Indirect Methods:

The most frequently used indirect method of recruitment is advertisement in

newspapers, journals, and on the radio and television. Advertisement enables candidates
to assess their suitability. It is appropriate when the organisation wants to reach out to a
large target group scattered nationwide. When a firm wants to conceal its identity, it can
give blind advertisement in which only box number is given. Considerable details about
jobs and qualifications can be given in the advertisements. Another method of advertising
is a notice-board placed at the gate of the company.

3. Third-Party Methods:

The most frequently used third-party methods are public and private employment
agencies. Public employment exchanges have been largely concerned with factory
workers and clerical jobs. They also provide help in recruiting professional employees.
Private agencies provide consultancy services and charge a fee. They are usually
specialized for different categories of operatives, office workers, salesmen, supervisory
and management personnel. Other third-party methods include the use of trade unions.
Labor-management committees have usually demonstrated the effectiveness of trade
unions as methods of
recruitment.