The Effects of Information Technology

on Recruitment
PARBUDYAL SINGH AND DALE FINN
University of New Haven, West Haven, CT 06516

I. Introduction
It is a widely held view that an organization's human resources are its most important
assets and, among the resources available, may offer the only non-imitative competi-
tive edge (Pfeffer, 1994; Huselid, 1995). Thus, an organization's ability to attract and
retain capable employees may be the single most important determinant of organiza-
tional effectiveness. As the point of entry for employees, the recruitment function plays
a critical role in enhancing organizational survival and success in the extremely com-
petitive and turbulent business environment.
Traditionally, organizations depended on fairly low-tech methods, including news-
paper ads and employee referrals, to locate and attract qualified candidates. Of late, the
recruitment function has been undergoing dramatic changes as a result of information
technology (IT), leading one observer to remark, "few markets have been hit as hard
by the power of the Web and E-commerce as the recruiting industry. While there are
still more changes underway, it's clear that the Web has quickly and dramatically
changed the way the recruiting industry works" (Kay, 2000, p. 72). The Internet is
one of the most popular IT methods used in recruiting job candidates, and even though
it is difficult to gauge the actual level of hiring via this source, it has been estimated
that recruitment is the second largest source of income for providers, following pornog-
raphy (Maynard, 1997). According to a 1996 survey, there were more than 1.2 million
jobs posted on the Internet, 3,512 employment web sites, and 5,800 companies recruit-
ing on-line (Hogler et al., 1998). Another survey by the Internet Business Network puts
the number of Internet job postings in 1998 at approximately 28 million, and this is
estimated to climb to at least 30 million in 2004 (Thomas and Ray, 2000).
Herein, we examine the effects of information technology on the recruitment func-
tion of organizations. In Section II, we give an overview of the processes associated
with the recruitment function and the nature of information technology. We also out-
line the extent to which IT is being used in recruitment. In Section III, we examine
the impact of IT on recruitment in terms of its effects on people, processes, and orga-
nizational structures, and in the final section of the paper (Section IV), we discuss chal-
lenges and prospects facing recruiters as they brace themselves for the inevitable IT
onslaught.

JOURNAL OF LABOR RESEARCH

Volume XXIV, Number 3 Summer 2003
396 JOURNAL OF LABOR RESEARCH

II. The Recruitment Function and Information Technology: An Overview

As a filtering mechanism in the selection process, the recruitment function is one of
the most important areas of human resource management. Essentially, the purpose of
recruitment is to locate and attract qualified job candidates to fill job vacancies. The
emphasis is on qualified candidates, since considerable resources may be wasted pro-
cessing unqualified applicants. Ideally, recruitment follows from a systematic human
resource planning process, whereby an organization analyzes and plans for the flow
of people into, through, and out of the organization. Recruitment also goes hand in
hand with the selection process whereby organizations evaluate the suitability of can-
didates for various jobs. Thus, without effective planning systems, organizations may
recruit the wrong type and numbers of people, and without effective recruitment, organ-
izations may end up processing and selecting people who are not the best on the market.
Essentially, the recruitment process begins with the identification of a vacancy,
after which the recruiter receives authorization to fill it. The job is then carefully ana-
lyzed and the knowledge, skills, ability, and experience required to effectively per-
form the job are identified. This implies using existing job analysis data or doing a
job analysis. The recruiter may also consider the job environment, as well as the orga-
nization's culture and strategy, to determine individual characteristics necessary for a
job fit. The recruitment effort is then planned and coordinated. In the past, the recruiter
depended on fairly low-tech methods to produce a pool of potential qualified candi-
dates. Internally, one of the most common methods, especially in unionized organiza-
tions, involved posting vacancies within the organization and encouraging bids from
current employees. Externally, the organization depended on employee referrals, news-
paper and other print media ads, employment agencies, search firms, college recruit-
ing, and job fairs.
Recently, many organizations have begun to use innovative information technol-
ogy (IT) methods to complement the traditional sources. Following from the research
conducted by the Sloan School of Management (Massachusetts Institute of Technol-
ogy) and business experts, these IT methods are viewed as including hardware (from
large-scale mainframe computers to microcomputers), software (from word process-
ing programs to expert systems), networks (from public to private broadband to nar-
rowband), workstations, robotics, and smart chips (Snell et al., 1995; Scott Morton,
1991). The Internet is one of the most popular IT tools, with such varied vehicles as
the Users' Network or the UseNet (home of the electronic bulletin boards or news-
groups), electronic mail or e-mail, electronic mailing lists (posted by the list server to
e-mail lists' subscribers only), and the World Wide Web or Web (for a description of
how these may be used by recruiters, see Wilson, 1996; Ojala, 1997). On the Web,
numerous searchable job posting sites exist, including Career Magazine (<www.career
mag.com>), CareerMosaic (<www.careermosaic.com>), CareerPath (<www.cweb.com>),
JobCenter (<www.jobcenter.com>), the Monster Board (<www.monster.com>), and
Career Builder (<www.careerbuilder.com>). An organization's own web site can pro-
vide significant benefits in recruiting qualified candidates (Thomas and Ray, 2000).
PARBUDYAL SINGH and DALE FINN 397

Before we examine the effects of information technology on recruitment, it is

imperative that we assess the actual extent to which companies are using new tech-
nology. In a recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
and AON Consulting, human resource professionals reported that traditional recruit-
ing remains popular in attracting good candidates (Click, 1997). More specifically, 61
percent reported that employee referrals are considered good sources of job applicants;
60 percent ranked newspaper ads as good sources; recruiting firms, 58 percent; college
recruitment, 52 percent; temporary help firms, 46 percent; job fairs, 32 percent; the
Internet, 20 percent; and walk-ins, 18 percent. Similarly Fein (1998), in a survey of
277 employers, found that employers continue to use traditional methods over high-
tech methods, with the recruitment sources ranking similarly on their level of impor-
tance. In this survey, one high-tech recruiting vehicle considered important was
employers' use of their own Internet web sites (with approximately 30 percent of the
sample asserting that this method is important). However, others fared poorly, with
only 10 percent of the respondents reporting that the use of commercial/third party
electronic databases to choose job candidates was important, and the highly touted opti-
cal character recognition (OCR) scanning device was not used by approximately 73
percent of the responding employers (Fein, 1998). Nevertheless, as the author notes,
there were differences in the responses by sector/industry, with the information tech-
nology and engineering sectors responding more favorably to high-tech methods over
consumer products and the manufacturing sectors. Larger companies also used high-
tech methods more than smaller companies.
Other surveys suggest that the use of IT-related systems is increasing. A 1999 sur-
vey by SHRM found that although approximately 66 percent of recruiters continue to
use newspaper ads for recruiting, almost 40 percent are on the Internet as well. In fact,
it was projected that 32 percent of all recruiting advertising budgets in 2000 would
have been spent on the Internet, while the share that goes to newspapers will decrease
from 70 percent to 52 percent. By 2004, it is estimated that on-line services will account
for 42 percent of advertising budgets, with print ads and agencies declining by 10 per-
cent and 8 percent, respectively (Berger, 2000). The foregoing suggests that even though
traditional recruiting methods continue to be widely used, new IT methods are on
the rise.
Not wanting to lose out on either the continued importance of traditional meth-
ods or the promise of high-tech approaches, many companies are adopting a dual
approach, viz., using both high- and low-tech approaches. For instance, some firms are
placing short print ads in newspapers, with a reference to the full ad on a web site. Oth-
ers advertise in newspapers, such as the Wall Street Journal, that also place the ads on
their web sites at no extra cost (Kay, 2000; Maynard, 1997).
There are several advantages of using advanced IT, including the Internet, to
recruit. In a recent survey of 311 HR managers and 244 independent recruiters, respon-
dents identified the following as the most important reasons, in descending order: access
to more candidates; improved ability to target specific audience; cost of placing job
398 JOURNAL OF LABOR RESEARCH

posting; speed; absence of middlemen; convenience; wide distribution of postings;

quality of candidates; less paperwork; better rrsum6 management; and better service
(Kay, 2000).
As a result of such benefits, organizations are increasingly turning to IT methods
to enhance the recruitment function. For instance, many firms now use IT systems
that accept rrsumrs from a scanner, a fax, or e-mail. An optical character recognition
(OCR) device then converts the scanned material into basic format (ASCII), upon which
the system's artificial intelligence reads the text and extracts key data, such as name,
skills, qualifications, and experience. The computer then organizes this information
into a standard summary format dictated by the recruiter. The system then compares
every vacancy in the organization and notes any/all matches. If no match occurs, the
information is kept in the system until an appropriate opening occurs (Theaker, 1995).
Other employers may use simpler methods, such as browsing job posting web sites.
From the foregoing, it seems evident that organizations do not want to lose out
on the promise of exciting IT systems to make their recruitment functions more effec-
tive. Here to stay, these IT systems are beginning to change the nature of the recruit-
ment function itself.

III. The Effects of Information Technology on Recruitment

Much of the discussion on the effects of IT on an organization's human resource func-
tion has focused on two key issues, viz., how it affects the nature of specific jobs, and
its effects on the level of employment (Osterman, 1991; Yates and Benjamin, 1991).
However, recent research suggests that the effects are more pervasive (Snell et al., 1995).
As Scott Morton (1991, p. 8) argues, "information technology has important general-
purpose power to manipulate symbols used in all classes of work, and therefore, as an
'information engine,' it can do for business what the steam engine did for the days of
the Industrial Revolution. It goes beyond this, however, as a technology that permits
one to manipulate models of reality, to step back one pace from the physical reality.
Such an ability lies at the heart of IT's capacity to alter work fundamentally."
A review of the literature reveals that the increased use of IT in recruitment is hav-
ing a fundamental impact on all aspects of an organization's recruitment function,
including its people, i.e., the HR personnel involved (the recruiters themselves);
processes, i.e., the operations inherent in the recruitment function; and organizational
structures or forms.
Impact on People. As mentioned above, there are two key aspects of IT's impact
on people: its effect on employee skills due to the changing nature of jobs, and the level
of employment or the number of jobs. There may be other social and psychological
effects, such as job stress accompanying the perception of job losses following the
implementation of IT; however, we focus on the two historically important effects.
Effects on Employee Skills~Nature of Jobs. One of the major historical debates
in the literature has focused on whether new technology leads to job deskilling versus
PARBUDYAL SINGH and DALE FINN 399

upgrading; in the former, the scope of jobs are narrowed whereas in the latter, jobs
are enriched (Yates and Benjamin, 1991). As McKersie and Walton (1991) note, both
views may be correct depending on the objectives of IT. That is, when the intent is on
cost reductions, deskilling is more likely to occur; when the objective is to improve
effectiveness, skills upgrading is more likely. Some of the early IT innovations that
emphasized cost reductions led to job deskilling (Yates and Benjamin, 1991). For
instance, telegraph operators, stenographers, and file clerks were all more narrowly
defined job categories than the general clerks who preceded them. However, recent IT
innovations are more sophisticated and serve more as decision-making tools that are
most valuable when used by sophisticated users with broad responsibilities. This seems
to be the case in recruitment where IT seems to be leading to a transformation of the
skill set of recruiters. HR professionals have generally been known to be technopho-
bic (Wilson, 1998). However, with advanced IT systems being implemented, they have
to learn, and even master, the new technologies in order to perform their jobs effec-
tively. This has led organizations to re-train their HR and recruiting staff, or hire trained
personnel off the labor market, with the end result being a more technology-oriented
recruiting/HR department and better service to stakeholders.
The upgrading of skills of HR personnel is leading to a transformation of the HR
department itself. As Snell et al. (1995, p. 162) argue, "as IT changes operations within
HR, it simultaneously recasts HR from solely an administrative function to one that is
more oriented toward technical/professional expertise." This logic applies to the recruit-
ment function, as well. That is, as IT becomes institutionalized in recruiting, the knowl-
edge, skills, and ability levels of recruiting staff will become more oriented to technical
expertise, rather than administrative.
Level of Employment. The second transformational people-oriented effect relates
to the level of employment. Many organizational leaders believe that an increasing
use of IT will result in reduced employment levels. This is not necessarily true. As Yates
and Benjamin (1991, p. 87) assert: "In the historical period, the labor-saving aspects
of new IT were virtually always accompanied by rapid growth of the type of work
they were designed to facilitate. Thus, although the technologies may have reduced the
amount of labor needed to accomplish a specific task, firms and their information-
handling needs were growing so fast that the labor saved resulted in only slightly less
employment growth than might otherwise have occurred."
The replacement of the handwriting aspect of some jobs, by the typewriter, illus-
trates this apparently unintended result. Even though the typewriter was more than three
times as fast as handwriting, its adoption in the late 19th century coincided with a sig-
nificant growth of clerical and secretarial positions. This trend continued in the first
three decades into the 20th century as vertical filing, calculating machines, and other
new office devices were adopted (Yates and Benjamin, 1991). This employment increase
was largely driven by economic growth and changes in management systems that
emphasized dependence on written documents. Furthermore, as Kanter (1977) notes,
the typical secretarial function may be de-skilled, or suffer from "trained incapacity,"
400 JOURNAL OF LABOR RESEARCH

as these employees are forced to focus more on the demands of their bosses rather than
their own personal development. Thus, learning new skills may be inherently diffi-
cult. Secretaries may also prefer traditional work systems if a new innovation does
not foster increased "autonomy, pay, status, and mobility opportunity associated with
it" (Kanter, 1977, p. 103).
There are two main reasons why recent IT may not lead to an increase in employ-
ment. First, job creation in earlier periods was facilitated by the high underemploy-
ment of women. In the current labor market, the relatively high employment rate of
this group may check further job creation. Rather, employers may be forced to empha-
size job retraining and skills building instead. Second, employment of recruiting per-
sonnel in organizations may actually decrease if job retraining is not possible. That is,
employers may outsource recruiting activities to trained independent recruiters who
already possess the skills, knowledge, and abilities required for effective performance.
Impact on Processes. The effective application of IT may involve significant new
procedures and processes. In fact, it may be argued that this is the intent of IT's use
in recruitment. That is, new processes are needed so as to lower labor costs, acceler-
ate transactions, improve efficiency, and provide better service to stakeholders.
New Processes and Recruitment Costs. Contemporary IT systems are leading or-
ganizations to implement new processes in recruitment and selection. That is, many
organizations are using different ways to screen potential employees. For instance, or-
ganizations might request applicants to provide on-line biographical information often
used to predict employee performance, including educational attainment and relevant
job experience (Milkovich and Boudreau, 1997). As in weighted application blanks,
this information may be used to assess the likelihood of an applicant performing a
job at a satisfactory level. The employer may then decide to make an offer of employ-
ment to someone passing this stage, or have the applicant take further tests, some or
all of which may also be done on-line. For the recruitment personnel, these new pro-
cedures may save time and money. For instance, Coopers and Lybrand eliminates
about one-quarter of its initial applicants through on-line contact (Hogler et al., 1998).
For many recruiters, Web-based prescreening tools can help in assessing a per-
son's "potential fit" with the organization. This is a relatively inexpensive alternative
to hiring a good testing consultant or having an HR department that is dedicated to seri-
ous testing. For instance, using Net-Interview, an on-line screening tool developed by
Advantage Hiring, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania firm, managers and recruiters can cre-
ate a set of multiple-choice questions for job candidates to answer on-line. These ques-
tions include those written by organizational psychologists and managers based on a
profile created for each position. Candidates participate in the Net-Interview when
applying for a job on-line, thus allowing the recruiter to do an initial review of the appli-
cant in real time (Samson, 2000).
IT may also help the firm save money by helping to reduce turnover. For instance,
State Street, a Quincy, Massachusetts-based provider of management and administra-
tion services for institutional investors, with over 17,400 employees worldwide and a
PARBUDYAL SINGH and DALE FINN 401

350-person IT contractor staff, sought to cut expenses and paperwork in recruitment

by turning to IT.com. This firm provides prescreening assessments, including skills and
psychological testing, and a data bank of potential employees' skills and experience.
Using IT.com's data bank, State Street was able to make a better assessment of desir-
able employees' qualities, thus able to retain people longer and saving the company
between $2 to $5 million with this service (Samson, 2000).
Advertising costs are also generally lower on the Internet versus traditional meth-
ods. Even though there are some discrepancies in the reported figures on the cost-per-
hire in traditional versus IT methods, there is consensus that the latter cost far less. In
one study, the average cost per hire via Web ads was reported to be about $152, com-
pared with $1,383 using traditional methods (Kay, 2000). Another survey found that
in traditional advertising cost-per-hire was $3,295 compared to the Internet cost-per-
hire of about $377 (Zall, 2000). In other instances, the difference is even more glar-
ing; in the trucking industry many job-posting sites charge $100 or less for a single
job posting, thus saving a recruiter as much as $6,000 in recruitment costs for each
position filled (Zall, 2000).
Speed, Efficiency, and Just-in-Time Recruitment. One of the primary ways in
which IT is influencing recruitment is by increasing the speed and efficiency in deal-
ing with applicants and clients. The Internet, for instance, is available 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, thus making it possible to advertise a position on-line almost instan-
taneously. As Zall (2000) notes, this alone can save a recruiter as much as five days
off the time it takes to fill a job. Furthermore, response time from candidates may also
be reduced. In fact, some companies report that they are receiving rtsumts on the same
day as posting. This may be leading to a form of just-in-time recruitment whereby
organizations fulfill their employment needs as expeditiously as possible. Of course,
the success of a just-in-time recruitment system would depend on the availability of
relevant labor on the market. In a tight market, job seekers, even passive ones, can
search the Web, leave a rtsumt, and receive a job when a match is secured (Goodridge,
2000). This process is transforming the nature of the employment relationship as well.
Employment can become transactional rather than extended, with an employee using
his/her skills sets to bargain and move from one employer to another so as to enhance
his/her career (Piturro, 2000).
The case of Electronic Arts, a 3,000-employee California software firm, illustrates
the power of e-recruiting and the process whereby passive job seekers (those not
actively seeking employment) may be targeted. With annual revenues of $1.4 billion,
a plush working environment, and overall excellent employee benefits, the company
had little problems retaining employees. Rather, the problem was to find them. In 1999,
the company retained the services of Hire.corn, an independent recruiting firm, and
began to target passive job seekers. It is a truism that the best possible employees are
not posting their rtsumts on job boards; they already have jobs. Using its Web tech-
nology, Hire.corn was able to build a database of 27,000 passive job seekers who
expressed some interest in working for the company; many are already on board
402 JOURNAL OF LABOR RESEARCH

(Berger, 2000). Once in the database, Electronic Arts builds a relationship with poten-
tial employees, sending them e-mail updates and marketing the company.
The speed with which IT is facilitating some work processes can be quite amaz-
ing. For instance, using new IT systems, it is possible for a request for a new hire to
be entered into a computer, after which HR staff view the request on-line and select a
group of qualified candidates from stored r6sum6s. Interviews are then scheduled and
letters sent out, with the entire process taking ten minutes or less (Greengard, 1994).
Theaker (1995) reports that top IT systems can conduct a complex search on 300,000
r6sum6s in approximately six seconds. Recent innovations at National Semiconductor
Corporation (Santa Clara, California) further illustrate how IT may speed up the recruit-
ment and selection processes. At the beginning of the 1990s, many of the company's
HR processes, including a paper-based r6sum6 tracking system, were done manually.
When a vacancy occurred, a recruiter took days, even weeks, to sort through hundreds
of color-coded files to find qualified applicants (Greengard, 1994). The company then
moved to install sophisticated scanning and data-storage software from Resumix
(another Santa Clara, California company), reducing its hiring cycle from 110 days to
62, finding better workers, and making the overall process more efficient by using exist-
ing staff to do additional work.
Increasing Connectivity. Apart from reducing paperwork, electronic databases
with applicants' files allow increased connectivity among organizational departments
and managers. For instance, like many organizations, KPMG accepts r6sum6s elec-
tronically. These are then scanned into a database, giving a recruiter access to thou-
sands of applications in seconds; he/she may develop a list of qualified candidates
within minutes. After interviews and employment testing, which may be on-line, hir-
ing decisions are made whereupon the system can notify departments - - such as secu-
rity, the mail distribution department, the cafeteria - - when a new employee is arriving;
rejection letters may also be generated (Patterson, 1997). Relevant information col-
lected through the recruitment process may be transferred into the human resource
information system of firms; this can be accessed by all persons in authority when-
ever necessary. These electronic file folders reduce or eliminate the need for traditional
personnel files and paperwork.
The ultimate effect of these changes in processes is that the recruitment/HR func-
tion is becoming more responsive to other stakeholders, moving away from a position
of acquiring power through its access and ownership of employee data. Snell et al.
(1995, p. 165) note, "as line managers and employees gain access to HR data bases,
the focus of HR shifts toward customer service." Rather than owning recruitment data,
HR is now beginning to share it among organizational members; thus organizational
power is becoming increasingly based on knowledge about the data, rather than its stor-
age and pseudo-ownership.
Impact on Organizational Structures. In general, information technology has the
potential to help in the reinvention of the organization. As Scott Morton (199 l, p. 17)
states, this is true in part because "it permits the distribution of power, function, and
PARBUDYAL SINGH and DALE FINN 403

control to wherever they are most effective, given the mission and objectives of the
organization and the culture it enjoys." Traditional organizational structures, dominated
by the bureaucratic structure, became necessary with the increase in organizational size
following the industrial revolution and the subsequent need to coordinate information
within and across the organization. By shrinking time and distance, new IT systems
are allowing for more effective information coordination and management, leading to
new organizational forms and increased use of virtual teams.
Creating New Organizational Forms. In many large organizations, the recruit-
ment function is an integral aspect of human resource management, with some hav-
ing specific departments and staff responsible for recruiting job candidates. The rise
of IT, coupled with the popularity of outsourcing in many contemporary organizations,
may be leading to changes in an organization's internal structure mainly through its
effects on roles, power, and hierarchy. First, rather than having in-house recruitment
personnel, the organization may have an outside agency conduct its recruitment, in an
arrangement that takes the appearance of an extension arm to the existing organiza-
tional structure. Many organizations have contracts with particular recruiters and have
over time developed strong extra-organizational relationships, as in the case of Elec-
tronic Arts and Hire.com described earlier.
Second, better access to applicant data fostered by IT may be leading to a flat-
tening of some organizational structures. Line managers can now have access to infor-
mation once owned by the HR department. Such access may allow direct contact with
applicants, thus reducing bureaucratic administrative procedures, and most likely
increasing efficiency. Nevertheless, line managers must ensure that they work in close
collaboration with the HR department so as avoid legal and other blunders. Herein
lies the power of IT, since it allows for instantaneous collaboration among departments
and the simultaneous handling of applicant files.
Furthermore, IT has the potential to radically alter future organizational forms.
In an article that projects into the future, Malone and Laubacher (1998) postulate that
an "e-lance" economy is dawning. That is, rather than a stable chain of management
in a large, permanent company, business would instead be conducted by independent
contractors connected through personal computers and electronic networks, and that
"these electronically connected freelancers - - e-lancers - - j o i n together into fluid tem-
porary networks to produce and sell goods and services. When the job is done - - after
a day, month, or year - - the network dissolves, and its members become independent
agents again, circulating through the economy, seeking the next assignment" (p. 145).
As Malone and Laubacher note, far from being a wild hypothesis, the e-lance econ-
omy may be here already, as evident in the evolution of the Internet, the emergence of
virtual companies, the rise of outsourcing and telecommuting, and the proliferation of
freelance and temporary workers. As the e-lance economy becomes reality, or at least
parts thereof, the recruitment function will be further transformed. It seems as if just-
in-time recruitment will become more prevalent and an organization's overall recruit-
ment function will be less permanent.
404 JOURNAL OF LABOR RESEARCH

New Work Teams. IT can also influence organizational structures through its abil-
ity to facilitate intra- and inter-organizational teams. In fact, Ken Olsen, former Chair-
man of Digital Equipment Corporation, believes that the ability to bring teams together
electronically is one of the most important features of the company's IT capability
(Rockart and Short, 1991). IT systems, such as electronic mail and computer-to-com-
puter links, are accelerating team facilitation and capabilities. For instance, as a result
of new IT, recruitment and other work teams can now better coordinate their work asyn-
chronously (across time zones) and geographically (across remote locations). Fur-
thermore, the development of computer software specifically designed to support
collaborative work (groupware) is fostering even greater use of teams in and across
organizations.

IV. Challenges and Prospects

As generally the case with innovations, organizational managers will be faced with
uphill challenges in managing IT, including those related to data processing and man-
agement, avoiding legal pitfalls, and using 1T to aid in achieving strategic objectives.
One of the significant advantages of IT in recruitment lies in the ability of new
systems to generate a large applicant pool. Ironically, for many HR departments, this
boon may pose an inherent challenge, viz., the allocation of scarce time and resources
needed to effectively process the volume of inquiries and r6sum6s. As Samson (2000,
p. 64) puts it, "without a strong administrative system, recruiters and managers can lose
track of e-r6sum6s. They may lack the capacity to handle e-mail inquiries from inter-
ested applicants or lack the time to review r6sum6s adequately. This leaves recruiters
and hiring managers in an uncomfortable spot: outside that small window of time when
talented individuals are actually considering job offers. The entire recruitment process
can be painful for companies - - and unweicoming to IT professionals you're trying
to hire." The challenge for recruiters is to systematically plan and streamline the can-
didate identification and hiring processes (Borck, 2000). Towards this end, some com-
panies are using additional technical tools such as applicant tracking programs,
Web-based prescreening interviews, and on-line skills and psychological tests. Nev-
ertheless, for positive results, scarce resources would have to be budgeted and top lead-
ership commitment assured; this will continue to be a challenge.
Using IT systems in recruitment may also have legal implications. As enunciated
by the Supreme Court in Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1971), it is illegal for firms to use
recruitment and selection systems that disproportionately affect a group protected under
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In this instance, Duke Power relied on a high school
diploma and a satisfactory score on an ability test to screen and select its employees.
African-American employees challenged these criteria on the grounds that they were
inherently discriminating. In court, the plaintiffs showed that the educational require-
ments disqualified African-Americans at a significantly higher rate than whites. Duke
Power could not demonstrate that the screening devices were related to employee per-
formance, leading the Court to rule that Title VII "proscribes not only overt discrimi-
PARBUDYAL SINGH and DALE FINN 405

nation but also practices that are fair in form, but discriminatory in o p e r a t i o n . . , if
any employment practice which operates to exclude cannot be shown to be related to
job performance, the practice is prohibited" (1971, p. 424). In this case, the plaintiffs
had to demonstrate that the policy affected them disproportionately (including use of
the 4/5ths rule where they have to demonstrate that the employer's rate of selecting
the protected group was less than 4/5ths that of the majority group). The burden of
proof then shifted to the employer who had to prove that its practices were not dis-
criminating. One possible defense is to demonstrate that employment criteria are related
to the job. In Griggs, the employer had no evidence suggesting that the selection cri-
teria were related to employee performance. In the 1989 Wards Cove case, the Supreme
Court shifted the burden of proof to the employee; however, Congress subsequently
amended the Civil Rights Act in 1991 to reflect the law as expressed in Griggs.
There are concerns that Internet recruiting can have adverse impact (Hogler et al.,
1998; Kaplan, 1996). In essence, there is evidence suggesting that blacks, Hispanics,
Native Americans, and women have the least access to computers and the Internet,
whereas whites and Asians have the highest (Hogler et al., 1998; Hoffman and Novak,
1998). One study citing Census Bureau data reports that those lacking IT skills are dis-
proportionately located in rural areas and central cities (Hogler et al., 1998). The data
indicate that rural black households have the lowest computer ownership of any group
(6.4 percent), followed by Hispanics (12 percent) and Native Americans (15.3 percent),
with rural whites (24.6 percent) and Asians (33.7 percent) having the highest owner-
ship rates; the figures are similar for central cities. Thus, as Hogler et al. (1998, p.
155) argue, "a case can be made that the employment impacts of technology on racial
groups are markedly pronounced, either because minorities lack access to computers
or do not have the skills necessary to use on-line recruiting." In summary, while the
Internet is supposedly open to any user regardless of race or gender, there may be a
prima facie case that it has a disproportionate impact on the employment of protected
groups. There has already been at least one legal challenge in which a r6sum6 track-
ing software is in question (Resumix). In a lawsuit filed by employees against Walt
Disney Co. in Los Angeles, it is alleged, "since the Resumix is based on majority white
c u l t u r e . . , it discriminates against African Americans seeking employment or pro-
motions" (Click, 1997). This legal challenge mentions a number of issues at Walt Dis-
ney, of which the use of Resumix is one.
There are several ways in which organizations can counter adverse impact through
the use of IT. First, they should not depend on the Internet for all their recruits; rather,
they should diversify their advertising efforts to include the traditional applicant sources
as well. Second, as many companies are doing, they can use career sections of Web sites
such as BlackVoices.com, HireDiversity.com, and WomenConnect.com, among others,
to locate qualified people. In fact, Texas Instruments, Inc. successfully used diversity-
oriented Web sites to fill as much as 60 percent of its openings in 1999 (Wilde, 2000).
Furthermore, employers should ensure that all instruments used on the Interuet, like
those used in traditional systems, have sound psychometric properties; that is, they
must be reliable and valid.
 406 JOURNAL OF LABOR RESEARCH

Another challenge for organizational leaders is to use IT strategically. Firms stand

to enjoy greater benefits of 1T when they go beyond the efficiency-motivated uses to
incorporate a strategic orientation (Yates and Benjamin, 1991; Venkatraman, 1991).
In terms of recruitment, organizations should use IT to complement and reinforce over-
all strategy; that is, recruitment and organizational strategy must be aligned so as to
realize optimal results. For innovative firms, using IT merely as support systems or as
cost-cutting devices may defeat its potential. Some firms have used IT to make mis-
takes I00 times faster. Organizations must instead look for ways to use IT to funda-
mentally improve the way they do business. As Broderick and Boudreau (1992, p. 16)
contend, "management needs to consider the role of information and information man-
agement in the firm's competitive strategy, to use these advances in ways that not only
keep them in place, but add to the firm's ability to get somewhere, to sustain above
average industry performance."
Once these challenges are successfully met, the prospects for the use of IT in
recruitment appear to be more than promising. The question does not seem to be i f
employers are going to use IT but how. A s one author puts it, "for many staffing pro-
fessionals, the question is not whether they should use the Internet and other technol-
ogy, it's how they can use technology in their recruiting in a way that adds value to
other activities in their recruiting programs" (Paterson, 1997, p. 28). It is evident that
within the next few years, most companies will be using their Web sites as recruiting
tools. Furthermore, experts predict three major changes in the near horizon (Mullich,
2000). First, technology will help on-line job boards prescreen applicants more effec-
tively, judging not only their skill but their ability to manage on the job as well. Sec-
ond, new services will help companies decide how to effectively use the thousands of
job boards now available. Finally, on-line job boards will be transformed into full-serv-
ice entities, providing career guidance and luring passive job seekers. By the time this
article gets printed, the foregoing may be history. The future would have flashed by
and become the p a s t . . , that is the speed at which the IT train is taking us into the
brave new world.

REFERENCES
Berger, Matt. "E-recruiting:Hey Buddy,Can I InterestYou in a Job." Upside Today <www.upsidetoday.com>
(November 2000): 224-27.
Borck, James. "Recruiting Systems Control R6sum6 Chaos." lnfoworld 22 (July 24, 2000): 47-53.
Broderick, Renae and John Boudreau. "Human Resource Management, Information Technology,and the
Competitive Edge" Academy of Management Executive 6 (May 1992): 7-17.
Click, Jennifer. "RecruitmentAgenda: Blend Established Practices with New Technologies." HRMagazine
42 (November 1997): 59-64.
Fein, Richard. "Traditional or Electronic Tools: How Do People Get Hired." Journal of Career Planning
and Employment 58 (Summer 1998): 40-43.
Goodridge, Elisabeth. "Best Practices for E-recruiting." Information Week811 (November6, 2000): 215-16.
Griggs v. Duke Power Co. 1971. 401 U.S. 424.
PARBUDYAL SINGH and DALE FINN 407

Greengard, Samuel. "How Technology Is Advancing HR." Personnel Journal 72 (September 1993): 80-90.
Hoffman, Donna and Thomas Novak. "Bridging the Digital Divide: The Impact of Race on Computer Access
and lnternet Use." Working Paper, Vanderbilt University (1998) <http://www2000.ogsm.vanderbilt.edu/>.
Hogler, Raymond, Christine Henle, and Carol Bemus. "Internet Recruting and Employment Discrimination:
A Legal Perspective." Human Resource Management Review 8 (Summer 1998): 149-66.
Huselid, Mark. "The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Turnover, Productivity, and Cor-
porate Financial Performance." Academy of Management Journal 38 (June 1995): 635-72.
Kanter, Rosabeth. Men and Women of the Corporation. New York: Basic Books, 1977.
Kaplan, R. "A Legal Look at the Internet As a Recruiting Tool," Journal of Career Planning and Employ-
ment 56 (Summer 1996): 12-13.
Kay, Alan. "Recruiters Embrace the Internet." Information Week 778 (March 20, 2000): 72-80.
Malone, Thomas and Robert Laubacher. "The Dawn of the E-lance Economy." Harvard Business Review
76 (September/October 1998): 144-52.
Maynard, Roberta. "Casting the Net for Job Seekers" Nation's Business 85 (March 1997): 28-29.
McKersie, Robert and Richard Walton. "Organizational Change." In Michael Scott Morton, ed. The Cor-
poration of the 1990s: Information Technology and Organizational Transformation. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1991, pp. 244-78.
Milkovich, George and John Boudreau. Human Resource Management, 8th ed. Chicago: Irwin, 1997.
Mullich, Joe. "Web Recruiters Get Proactive." Internetweek 820 (July 10, 2000): 43-48.
Ojala, Marydee. "Recruiting on the lnternet." Online 21 (March/April 1997): 78-81.
Osterman, Paul. "The Impact of IT on Jobs and Skills." In Michael Scott Morton, ed. The Corporation of
the 1990s: Information Technology and Organizational Transformation. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1991, pp. 220-43.
Patterson, Valerie. "The Paperless Office: 21 st Century Recruiting." Journal of Career Planning and Employ-
ment 57 (Spring 1997): 24-28.
Pfeffer, Jeffrey. Competitive Advantage Through People. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1994.
Piturro, Marlene. "The Power of E-Cruiting." Management Review 89 (January 2000): 33-38.
Rockart, John and James Short. "The Networked Organization and the Management of Interdependence."
In Michael Scott Morton, ed. The Corporation of the 1990s: Information Technology and Organiza-
tional Transformation. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991, pp. 189-219.
Scott Morton, Michael. "Introduction." In Michael Scott Morton, ed. The Corporation of the 1990s: Infor-
mation Technology and Organizational Transformation. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991,
pp. 3-26.
Samson, Ted. "Tools of the Recruitment Trade." lnfoWorld 22 (July 31, 2000): 63-64.
Snell, Scott, Patricia Pedigo, and George Krawiec. "Managing the Impact of Information Technology On
Human Resource Management." In G. Ferris, S. Rosen, and D. Barnum, eds. Handbook of Human
Resource Management. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell, 1995: 159-174.
Theaker, Mike. "Entering the Era of Electronic CVs." People Management 1 (August 10, 1995): 34-37.
Thomas, Steven and Katherine Ray. "Recruiting and the Web: High-Tech Hiring." Business Horizons 43
(May/June 2000): 43-52.
Venkataraman, N. "IT-Induced Business Reconfiguration,' In Michael Scott Morton, ed. The Corporation
of the 1990s: Information Technology and Organizational Transformation. New York: Oxford Univer-
sity Press, 1991, pp. 122-58.
Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Antonio. 1989. 487 U.S. 977.
408 JOURNAL OF LABOR RESEARCH

Wilde, Candee. "Recruiters Discover Diverse Value in Web Sites." Information Week 772 (February 7, 2000):
IA.A. A,8.
Wilson, Eric. "The Technology of Recruiting Today." HR Focus 75 (April 1998): S 11.
. "Zapping Your Recruitment Strategies." HR Focus 73 (November 1996): 6-8.
Yates, Joanne and Robert Benjaimin. "The Past and Present As a Window on the Future." In Michael Scott
Morton, ed. The Corporation of the 1990s: Information Technology and Organizational Transforma-
tion. New York Oxford: University Press, 1991, pp. 61-94.
Zall, Milton. "Recruiting and the Internet." Fleet Equipment 26 (October 2000): 39-43.