Topic 

 Employee
Recruitment
4
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to do the following:
1. Describe the source of recruitment within an organisation.
2. Examine the source of the external recruitment process.
3. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of employee recruitment
methods.
4. Explain the best practices of social media recruitment.

 INTRODUCTION
Human resources are dynamic. People can choose to stay in or leave an
organisation. Employees are more likely to leave when they have options to do
so, especially if it comes with better opportunities. Even when employees choose
to stay, they will leave an organisation when they come to the age of retirement.
As a result, an organisation will always be looking for replacements.

All businesses compete within the same labour market. Globalisation has opened
the door for businesses to look for potential employees beyond geographical
regions. However, the same factor allows people to have more employment
options. Therefore, organisations are compelled to find job candidates who are
able and willing to do the assigned jobs.

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94  TOPIC 4 EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT

In the recruitment process, effort is put into informing applicants about the
qualification requirements in performing a job, as well as job opportunities that
are offered by an organisation to its workers. Recruitment that will be made
depends on the supply of existing personnel, the organisationÊs human resource
policy, and important matters involved in a particular job.

This topic discusses an important function of human resource management, which

is recruitment. Discussions will be structured around three types of recruitment,
namely, internal, external, and social media recruitment, as we are now living in
the age of the Internet.

ACTIVITY 4.1

What is the purpose of recruitment? Discuss with your coursemates in

the myINSPIRE online forum.

4.1 INTERNAL RECRUITMENT

When an employee is promoted or resigns from an organisation, his or her position
must be filled. If a replacement is chosen from within the organisation, it is easier
for the organisation to assess the successorÊs capability. Furthermore, it can
motivate staff to stay longer in a company. Internal candidates who are most
qualified have to be identified so that no issues will arise regarding regulations
and laws, and the organisationÊs needs and employeesÊ aspirations can be fulfilled.

The effectiveness of internal sources can be further strengthened by giving the

opportunity to employees who feel that they are qualified to apply for the position
offered. Internal candidates who are suitable can be identified through the human
resource information system and job posting and bidding.

(a) Human Resource Information System (HRIS)

Information technology enables an organisation to create a database that
contains records and qualifications of each of its employees. A manager can
obtain information about candidates and identify those who have potential
to fill the position offered.

The existing data can also be used to forecast employeesÊ career path and
predict when and where the opportunity for promotion will be announced.
However, the data has to be updated and there has to be a systematic method
to update the data.

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(b) Job Vacancy Advertisement and Recruiting

The management announces the existence of a job vacancy while at the same
time retaining a list of employees who are trying for a better position. The
announcement can be made through a bulletin board, the organisationÊs
bulletin, special handouts, public address, and other appropriate methods.
Sometimes, announcements can also be made through computer systems
such as e-mails.

Job vacancy advertisement methods can be seen as beneficial when

employees are confident regarding the fairness of the system. It is more
effective when these methods are seen as part of the career development
programme for employees.

Among the advantages of recruiting from within the organisation are as

follows:

 Most organisations give priority to existing employees to fill in vacant

positions which are higher than their current positions. The offer to fill in
a certain position or job is considered a promotion. By this, organisations
can get back returns from the recruitment, selection, training, and
development initiated for their employees.

 A promotion in an organisation can act as a reward for an employeeÊs

performance. The result is an increase in employee morale and
motivation.

 By recruiting existing employees in an organisation, costs related to

orientation and training can be reduced. This is because employees are
already familiar with the organisationÊs work environment.

 In certain situations, internal recruitment can save employees from being

terminated and upgrade their working experience through transfers.

 The performance records of employees who are offered a new job are
more reliable when compared to that of a new employee who is hired
from outside the organisation.

However, recruiting employees from within the organisation has its weaknesses
and limitations, as follows:

 Job requirements cannot be matched by existing employees, especially for

those higher-ranking positions.

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96  TOPIC 4 EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT

 Organisations do not have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and

expertise of employees who have been trained by other organisations.

 It is difficult for organisations to encourage free flow of new ideas among

existing employees and tackle their existing negative attitudes.

 Organisations have to face the risk of employee cloning, i.e., employees who
maintain a repetitive work behaviour and attitude.

4.2 EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT

There are many sources and places where an organisation can recruit employees
from the outside. However, the source of recruiting professional and skilful
employees such as accountants is not the same as the source of recruiting skilled
employees such as a flour mixer operator in a bread factory.

Among the sources of external recruitment are:

(a) Advertising
Advertising is the most popular source of attracting applicants. The
advertising mediums that are often used by organisations are newspapers,
radio and television commercials, posters, billboards, and business journals.
The types of advertisements used by the organisation depend on the type of
job vacancy that needs to be filled and the type of labour market. It also
depends on the cost that the organisation is willing to bear.

(b) Internal Application

Organisations often receive applications from internal candidates without
having to advertise. However, the percentage of internal applicants is low.
Even though the percentage is low, organisations cannot ignore self-
applicants as they might prove to be good employees at a later date.

(c) Proposed by Staff

Existing staff can suggest candidates who are qualified. Organisations may
encourage them to continue the effort of searching for the right candidate by
giving a bonus for each successful employment. The risk of this sort of
employment is nepotism, which is the tendency to propose oneÊs own family
members.

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(d) Executive Search Firms

This source assists employers in searching for a suitable employee to fill the
job offered. The fee rate is normally 30% to 40% of the annual salary of the
position that needs to be filled. For senior executive positions, payment is
usually made by the organisation engaging the particular executive search
firm.

(e) Higher Learning Institutions (Public and Private)

The potential candidates are young and formally trained but have less
experience.

(f) Professional Organisations

Usually, professional organisations help their members get jobs as this is one
of the benefits of joining such organisations.

(g) Public Employment Agencies

Public employment agencies such as the Labour Department help job
applicants to look for jobs which are suited to their qualifications.

(h) Private Employment Agencies

Normally, private employment agencies charge a certain fixed rate to help
applicants look for jobs. The fee may be paid by the job seeker or potential
employer.

(i) Agencies Providing Temporary Will

Normally, these types of agencies provide temporary workers to employers
who require temporary workers such as letter dispatchers.

(j) Employee Leasing

In employee leasing, an employee who has been retrenched or dismissed by
an organisation is hired by another company that offers employee leasing
services to interested companies.

(k) Internet Recruitment

The Internet is a source of recruitment that is increasingly popular.
Applicants can surf websites to register online.

(l) EmployeesÊ Union

The employeesÊ union is a good source to obtain employees for certain
positions at the supporting level.

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ACTIVITY 4.2

When you applied for your current job, which recruitment method did
you go through? Share your experience in myINSPIRE.

EXERCISE 4.1

TRUE (T) or FALSE (F) Statements

1. Records and qualifications of each employee are stored in the

Human Resource Information System (HRIS) for easy retrieval in
identifying which employees have the potential to fill in positions
which are offered.

2. The announcement about job openings can be circulated to existing

employees only through email.

3. Organisations should seek potential applicants from external

sources when existing employees cannot match the job
requirements.

4. Suggestion about qualified candidates for job openings from

internal employees is one of the external recruitment methods.

5. Executive search firms assist organisations in searching for suitable

senior executive positions for free.

Sometimes, it can be difficult for organisations to determine the effectiveness of

their sources in identifying suitable candidates at a minimum cost. However, there
are a few things that can be done by a manager to overcome the problem.

Some of the steps that can be taken to increase the effectiveness of external
recruitment are:

(a) Calculating Result Ratio

Result ratio is the percentage of applicants from one source who are qualified
to go to the next level from the selection process. The result ratio will show
the most effective recruitment source.

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An example of how to calculate recruitment cost is as shown below:

SC/H = (AC + AF + RB + NC)/H

Whereby:

SC/H = source cost for every intake of recruiter

AC = advertising cost
AF = agency fee
RB = recommenderÊs bonus
NC = non-cost intake
H = total number of employee intakes

(b) Training Organisation Recruiters

In a big organisation, the recruitment process will be performed by
professional human resource staff. In a small organisation, this process is
carried out by the human resource manager, unit manager or supervisor.

The recruiter can influence a candidate whether to accept or reject a job

offer. Therefore, the recruiter must be trained so that he or she is capable
of attracting more qualified applicants.

(c) Realistic Job Previews (RJP)

Through RJP, a candidate is provided with information on all job aspects,
whether positive or negative. Those who practise RJP believe that applicants
who are given explanation on their jobs will stay on longer and be more
successful in their jobs.

External recruitment has a few advantages. Among these are as follows:

 Attracting external applicants will have the advantage of getting talented or

high-performing workers who are not easily available.

 External recruitment is done for the purpose of injecting new influence into an
organisation so that the existing work culture can be stimulated.

However, in implementing the external recruitment process, the position of the

labour market, be it tight or loose, and a candidateÊs preparedness to transfer must
be considered. The labour market is an area where candidates can be recruited. To
attract the interest of applicants, the organisation must identify the types of jobs
and their suitability to the applicants.

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100  TOPIC 4 EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT

ACTIVITY 4.3

Research has found that employees hired through referrals and self-
applications stay on longer in an organisation and show better
performance than those hired through normal methods, such as
advertising. Based on your work experience, do you agree? Discuss.

4.3 SOCIAL MEDIA RECRUITMENT

With the advent of technology, a new recruitment approach has gained popularity.
Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn were once used to
communicate with others and showcase employeesÊ professional profile.
However, the same platforms are now being used to recruit job candidates from
all over the world. This recruitment approach is called social media recruitment.

Many organisations in different industries have started to engage in social media

recruitment. Madia (2011) provided some guidelines on the best practices in using
social media recruitment:

 Social media should be used as an extension of existing recruitment strategies.

Information about recruitment on an organisationÊs website must be up to date
and the website must be capable of handling traffic visits.

 Organisations must make sure that they have the resources to engage
immediately the channels that they create. It includes readiness to respond
immediately and availability to interact frequently.

 Social media recruitment relies heavily on content strategy. Organisations

must spend a reasonable amount of time to work on the contents to ensure
their relevance to the intended recruitment.

 Employees who are in charge of social media recruitment must understand

applicantsÊ expectations, possess the right tone and communication style, be
cognizant of the types of information that can be shared, and act within a given
legal parameter.

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 TOPIC 4 EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT  101

 Choose a social media that suits the intended recruitment. LinkedIn, for
example, serves as one of the best recruitment platforms to attract professional
applicants.

 Social media pages should reflect the overall corporate image. In this situation,
an organisation must be willing to spend some resources to hire a designer or
programmer.

Although organisations engage in the suggested best practices when they want to
use social media recruitment, they also need to know important characteristics that
define recruitment attractiveness among potential applicants. According to Madia
(2011), the attributes include:

 updated information about the recruiting organisation;

 complete and current biography and profile of the recruiter;

 a link to a corporate website;

 natural and unrehearsed contents that reflect the corporate culture;

 the organisationÊs relevance in the marketplace;

 personality of the hiring people;

 consistency of the brand image of the organisation through regular updates;

and

 relevant and interesting content.

ACTIVITY 4.4

Do you think organisations in Malaysia are ready to fully adopt social

media recruitment? Give three reasons for your answer. Share and
compare your answer with your coursemates in myINSPIRE.

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EXERCISE 4.2

TRUE (T) or FALSE (F) Statements

1. Recruitment refers to the method of attracting a pool of candidates

from outside the organisations only.

2. It is usual for competing companies such as those in a high-

technology field to try and get secrets from their competitors by
persuading their competitorsÊ employees to work for them.

3. It is better to avoid using employee referrals as a recruitment source

as the applicantsÊ quality may be questioned.

4. The result ratio helps an organisation to identify which recruitment

source is least effective in producing qualified candidates.

5. The person who should perform recruitment depends on the size

of the organisation. For a large company, a professional human
resource officer should be chosen and trained to find new
employees.

Match the Concepts with Suitable Statements

1. A method that is used to identify A. Social media

the percentage of applicants from recruitment
one area who are qualified to go
to the next level from the
selection process.

2. An area where applicants can be B. Labour

recruited. market

3. A recruitment approach that uses C. Realistic job

social media to recruit job preview
candidates from all over the
world.

4. Informing applicants on all D. Result ration.

matters pertaining to the job,
including positive and negative
matters.

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 TOPIC 4 EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT  103

Multiple Choice Questions

1. There is a relationship between the successes of recruitment

through advertising and the _______________.
A. accuracy and total nature of the advertisement
B. simplicity of the advertisement
C. positive characteristics of the advertisement
D. coverage of the advertisement

2. Human resource planning and strategic planning are related by:

A. relating both human resource planning and strategic
planning processes
B. determining the types of employees who exist in an
organisation
C. ensuring the suitability and flexibility of human resource
planning in an organisationÊs strategy
D. all of the above

3. Through human resource planning, an organisation strives to

balance requirements with human resource supply. Human
resource requirements are based on ___________.
A. where candidates can be obtained
B. how candidates can be obtained
C. when applicants can be employed
D. trend forecasting in business activities

4. Methods that enable an organisation to identify qualified internal

candidates include all these, EXCEPT ______________.
A. announcement of job vacancies
B. re-hiring of employees who have been retrenched
C. a computerised record system
D. word of mouth

Essay Question
Explain how an organisation can engage in social media recruitment
successfully.

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104  TOPIC 4 EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT

 In implementing recruitment functions, a management will find that internal

recruitment offers a lot of advantages to the organisation and its employees.

 Through internal recruitment, the management can reimburse all expenditures

invested in employees during employee training and development.

 For the employees, it is seen as an encouragement to further improve

themselves in the company. However, internal recruitment can cause
employee cloning.

 External recruitment has to be carried out when there is no internal candidate

eligible to fill a vacancy.

 Recruiting employees outside the organisation can help the organisation to

acquire new ideas.

 The recruitment sources used by an organisation depend on the types of jobs

and the labour market.

 Social media recruitment is becoming an important source of attracting

applicants to fill in job openings across geographical boundaries.

External recruitment Realistic job preview

Internal recruitment Social media recruitment

Madia, S. A. (2011). Best practices for using social media as a recruitment strategy.
Strategic HR Review, 10 (6), 19ă24.

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