Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment

1) Recruitment is the “process of finding and attempting to attract job candidates who are
capable of effectively filling job vacancies.”

2) Recruitment is the process of finding and hiring the best and most qualified candidate for
a job opening, in a timely and cost-effective manner.

3) Recruitment can also be defined as the “process of searching for prospective employees
and stimulating and encouraging them to apply for jobs in an organization”.

Sources of Recruitment

1) Internal sources
2) External sources

1) Internal Sources of Recruitment

Internal sources of recruitment refer to hiring employees within the organization. In other words,
applicants seeking for the different positions are those who are currently employed with the same
organization. Applications are invited to promote people to higher posts (promotion) or transfer
to other departments at the same level. Employees assume responsibilities of the same status in
transfers and higher status in promotions.

Internal sources of recruitment are the best and the easiest way of selecting resources as
performance of their work is already known to the organization. The various internal sources of
recruitment are:

i) Promotions
Promotion refers to upgrading the cadre of the employees by evaluating their performance in the
organization. It is the process of shifting an employee from a lower position to a higher position
with more responsibilities, remuneration, facilities, and status. Many organizations fill the higher
vacant positions with the process of promotions, internally.

ii) Transfers
Transfer refers to the process of interchanging from one job to another without any change in the
rank and responsibilities. It can also be the shifting of employees from one department to another
department or one location to another location, depending upon the requirement of the position.
This internal shifting of an employee from one branch to another branch is called as Transfer.
iii) Former Employees
Recruiting former employees is a process of internal sources of recruitment; wherein the
employees are called back depending upon the requirement of the position. This process is cost
effective and saves plenty of time. The other major benefit of recruiting former employees is that
they are very well versed with the roles and responsibilities of the job and the organization needs
to spend less on their training and development.

iv) Internal Advertisements (Job Posting)

Internal Advertisements is a process of posting/advertising jobs within the organization. This job
posting is an open invitation to all the employees inside the organization, where they can apply
for the vacant positions. It provides equal opportunities to all the employees working in the
organization. Hence, the recruitment will be done from within the organization and it saves a lot
of cost.

External Sources of recruitment

i) Advertisements
This is the most widely used source of external recruitment. Job vacancies are advertised in the
newspapers, specifying the nature of job, type and number of people required, qualification and
experience of applicants, their duties and responsibilities, method of application etc. Special
reference can be made to provisions for overtime, travelling etc. Advertisement must be
appealing as it projects the image of the company.

The contents and presentation of advertisement should enable the candidate to make a firm
decision on whether or not he wants to apply for the job. However, advertisements bring huge
number of applications. It involves lot of time in screening and taking action.

ii) Educational Institutions

Many companies approach educational institutions (colleges, universities etc.) and recruit
candidates to suit their requirements. This is known as campus recruitment. Companies generally
hold group discussions and interviews to recruit candidates from educational institutes. Some
institutions have placement cells linked to companies.

They help the students find jobs suitable to their qualification and knowledge. Companies get
fresh but inexperienced candidates through this source. Some employers also fund the education
of students in schools and colleges on the agreement that students will work for their companies
after completing their studies.

iii) Employment Agencies

These agencies have list of candidates with different qualifications and experience. Companies
approach these agencies and get information about people who can fill their vacancies. These can
be public employment agencies run by the Government and private employment agencies
managed by private individuals and institutions. They charge fees for rendering services which
may be lump-sum or percentage of salary of the job attached to the service.
Though this is a costly source of recruitment and also takes place outside the organization over
which it does not have much control in terms of implementation of recruitment policies, it has
the following advantages:

i) The organization does not have to advertise the vacant position.

ii) It saves considerable time which organizations can use for other productive activities.
iii) It provides specialized services to organizations which do not have specialized human
resource / personnel department.

iv) Electronic Media

Television and Radio sometimes announce lists of candidates with specific qualifications who
are in need of jobs. Companies can approach the media and recruit people of their requirement.

v) Professional Associations
Companies that need professionals for top positions can approach professional associations
(Institute of Engineers, All India Management Association etc.) and get a list of candidates with
desired professional qualification. These associations charge high fees for providing recruitment
services but provide candidates whose qualifications meet the organization’s requirements. The
benefits usually far outweigh the costs of recruitment paid to these specialized agencies.

vi) Employee Referrals

Employee referrals are an effective way of sourcing the right candidates at a low cost. It is the
process of hiring new resources through the references of employees, who are currently working
with the organization. In this process, the present employees can refer their friends and relatives
for filling up the vacant positions.

Organizations encourage employee referrals, because it is cost effective and saves time as
compared to hiring candidates from external sources. Most organizations, in order to motivate
their employees, go ahead and reward them with a referral bonus for a successful hire.

vii) Word of mouth

Sometimes, recruitments are made through word of mouth. Word of mouth is an intangible way
of sourcing the candidates for filling up the vacant positions. There are many reputed
organizations with good image in the market. Such organizations only need a word-of-mouth
advertising regarding a job vacancy to attract a large number of candidates.

viii) Casual applications

Many candidates submit applications to companies with their resume in the hope to get a job
there. Companies prepare a list of such candidates and recruit them whenever there arises a job
vacancy.

ix) On-the-gate recruitment (Gate hiring)

Generally, for appointing blue collar workers (semi-skilled and unskilled) for temporary periods,
companies put notices on the gate mentioning the period of vacancies and number of people
required. Workers assemble at the gate on the specified date and time. Managers select suitable
candidates out of them.

x) Trade unions
Trade unions have a list of workers which can be used for recruiting labour with varying degrees
of skills (skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled). Unions are usually considered a trust worthy
source of recruitment and it is believed they will recommend people who will be loyal to the
company.

xi) Other organizations

Some organizations have competent, qualified and skilled employees who may be interested in
leaving their jobs to join other organizations which offer them better compensation packages.
Organizations wanting such employees can attract them by offering suitable incentives.

Factors Affecting Recruitment

Recruitment is an important function of the Human Resource Management in an organization,

and it is governed by a mixture of various factors. Proactive HR Professionals should understand
these factors influencing the recruitment and take necessary actions for the betterment of the
organization.

When the market condition changes, the organization also needs to monitor these changes and
discover how it affects the resources and analyze these functions for making recruitment an
effective process.

We have Internal Factors as well as External Factors that influence the recruitment process.
Internal Factors

Organizations have control over the internal factors that affect their recruitment functions. The
internal factors are −

 Size of organization
 Recruiting policy
 Image of organization
 Image of job

Size of Organization

The size of the organization is one of the most important factors affecting the recruitment
process. To expand the business, recruitment planning is mandatory for hiring more resources,
which will be handling the future operations.

Recruiting Policy
Recruitment policy of an organization, i.e., hiring from internal or external sources of
organization is also a factor, which affects the recruitment process. It specifies the objectives of
the recruitment and provides a framework for the implementation of recruitment programs.

Image of Organization

Organizations having a good positive image in the market can easily attract competent resources.
Maintaining good public relations, providing public services, etc., definitely helps an
organization in enhancing its reputation in the market, and thereby attract the best possible
resources.

Image of Job

Just like the image of organization, the image of a job plays a critical role in recruitment. Jobs
having a positive image in terms of better remuneration, promotions, recognition, good work
environment with career development opportunities are considered to be the characteristics to
attract qualified candidates.

External Factors

External factors are those that cannot be controlled by an organization. The external factors that
affect the recruitment process include the following −

 Demographic factors − Demographic factors are related to the attributes of potential

employees such as their age, religion, literacy level, gender, occupation, economic status,
etc.

 Labor market − Labor market controls the demand and supply of labor. For example, if
the supply of people having a specific skill is less than the demand, then the hiring will
need more efforts. On the other hand, if the demand is less than the supply, the hiring will
be relative easier.

 Unemployment rate − If the unemployment rate is high in a specific area, hiring of

resources will be simple and easier, as the number of applicants is very high. In contrast,
if the unemployment rate is low, then recruiting tends to be very difficult due to less
number of resources.

 Labor laws − Labor laws reflect the social and political environment of a market, which
are created by the central and state governments. These laws dictate the compensation,
working environment, safety and health regulations, etc., for different types of
employments. As the government changes, the laws too change.

 Legal considerations − Job reservations for different castes such as STs, SCs, OBCs are
best examples of legal considerations. These considerations, passed by government, will
have a positive or negative impact on the recruitment policies of the organizations.
  Competitors − When organizations in the same industry are competing for the best
qualified resources, there is a need to analyze the competition and offer the resources
packages that are best in terms of industry standards.

Selection
1) Selection is defined as the process of finding out the most suitable candidates for a job
from a pool of applicants.

2) Selection is the process of through which managers try to match knowledge, skills &
abilities of the applicants with the requirements of the jobs.

Selection Criteria: In most of the cases the applicants are selected on the basis of following
factors or criterion.

 Education
 Competence
 Experience
 Skills & Abilities
 Personal Characteristics

In way the applicant that best fits the above criterion is selected rather than the one that has
extraordinary skills or over as well as under qualified because in such case the later selected
person would not properly adjust in the organization.

Steps Involved in the Selection Process

There are several internal & external factors that influence the selection process & therefore the
managers must consider these factors before making a final decision of selection. Following are
the standardized steps of the selection process but some organizations may alter some of these
steps in their selection process.

1) Initial Screening
2) Application blank
3) Pre-employment Testing
4) Interview
5) Background Checks
6) Conditional Job Offer
7) Medical Exam
8) Final Selection Decision
1) Initial Screening: Generally the Selection process starts with the initial screening of
applicants so that the unqualified ones are drop out at the initial stage. Initial screening is helpful
to save the time, cost & effort of the selection committee in the following steps of the selection
process. In this step certain general questions are asked from the applicants. There are chances
that the some applicants would be unqualified for the job but some of them would be qualified.
So the main purpose of screening of applicants is to reduce the number of applicants available in
the selection process.

2) Application Blank: The person’s application for employment is formally recorded in the
shape of application blank. In the next step of the selection process, an application form for the
employment is completed by the prospective applicant. The information contained in the
application blank differ from one organization to another organization and in job posts, it may
vary even within the same organization. But generally the informational needs and the
requirements of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) are covered in the application blank. The
historical data from the candidate can be quickly collected through the application blanks so that
further verification about the accuracy of the data can be carried out.

3) Pre-employment Test: The physical & mental abilities, knowledge, skills, personal
characteristics & other aspects of behavior can be effectively measured through the pre-
employment tests. For this purpose there are hundreds of test that can measure the different
aspects of human behavior. With the passage of time, the application of pre-employment test is
growing at a fast rate in the selection process because they can explain the qualities & skills of
applicant clearly.

The advantage of application of tests in the selection process is that it can ensure the potential &
qualified candidate selection from a pool of applicants for a job.

4) Job Interviews: In the interview, the interviewer & applicant exchange information in order
to achieve a goal through conversation. The employment interviews are conducted during the
selection process through proper planning. The pleasant location of the interviewing place is
selected and the interviewer has the good personality with empathy & ability to communicate &
listen effectively. A job profile must be prepared on the basis of job description before
conducting interview.

5) Back Ground Checks: The accuracy of the application form of the candidate is verified
through references & former employer. The educational, criminal record & legal status to work
are verified. Personal references of applicant are contacted to confirm the validity & accuracy of
the provided information. Effort is made to know the past behavior of the employees to that the
future behavior can be predicted from it. Background checks assist the selection committee in
dropping the applicants that have past insubordination issues, attendance problem, theft or
special behavioral problems. The level of responsibility of the new job directs the intensity of the
background investigation.

6) Conditional Job Offer: After going through all the previous steps of selection process, there
comes the most important step of the selection process in which the decision of hiring is made.
The applicant that best meets the requirements of the job is selected. At start conditional job
letter is issued which must be followed by medical exam.

7) Medical Exam: When the conditional job letter is issued the next step of the selection process
starts in which the physical/medical examination of the selected candidate is conducted. The
medical exam of the candidate is essential to check either he takes the drugs or not. If he passes
the exam, he would be finally selected for the job.

8) Final Selection Decision: After passing the medical exam by the candidate, the final offer for
the job is made to the candidate by the relative department.

Difference between Recruitment and Selection

Basis Recruitment Selection

The process of searching for The process of identifying and
prospective employees and choosing the best person out of a
Definition
stimulating them to apply for jobs number of prospective candidates
is known as Recruitment. for a job is known as Selection.
It is a positive process as it It is a negative process as it
Nature stimulates people to apply for the eliminates to get the most
job. competent candidate
It aims to create a pool of It aims to ensure that competent
Purpose
applicants. candidate is selected for a job.
It is a simple process as there are It is a complex process as there are
Process
not many steps or hurdles. many steps or hurdles.
Recruitment takes place before the It starts after the recruitment
Stage
selection process begins. process ends.