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Need of E-Recruitment strategies in emerging scenario NEED OF E-

RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES IN EMERGING SCENARIO

Conference Paper · April 2012

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 Need of E-Recruitment strategies in emerging scenario

NEED OF E-RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES IN EMERGING

SCENARIO
Prof. Priya Unadkat
Unadkat.priya@gmail.com

 ABSTRACT:
E- Recruitment strategy is the well articulated technique for effective utilization of internet
technology to improve efficiency as well as effectiveness of the recruitment process. As
internet usage became widespread, the first step of e-recruiting was the addition of online
career option on corporate websites itself. It was mostly accepted that corporate website
recruitment has improved recruiting efficiency. Major two kinds of E-recruitment involve use
of job portals and the other is online career option in the organization’s web site. E-
recruitment strategies provide many advantages like centralized platform, less paper work,
streamline workflow, etc. But at the same time it offers disadvantages like low internet
penetration in rural India, preventing face-to-face communication, authenticity of the
resumes, etc. This paper is meant for detailed study of the E-recruitment strategies in the
current scenario as usage of the internet is widespread now-a-days and organizations are
gradually turning to virtual organizations. Data collection method used for this research is the
combination of primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected using interview of
E-recruitment user. Secondary data were collected by referring different web articles,
research papers, journals, etc. It was found from the research that E-recruitment strategies has
improved recruitment efficiency and it is widely accepted by the MNCs but at the same time
major limitation is that it does not allow face-to-face communication. It will be useful for the
E-recruitment user to focus on the limitation of E-recruitment strategies for eliminating the
discrepancies and effectively implementing E-recruitment strategies.

Key words:
E-Recruitment, Job Portals, Online-Career, Authenticity.

 BACKGROUND:
What is recruitment?
Recruitment is one of the important process of HRM which is effective selection and
utilization of human resource. Right people at the right place and right time is the chief
motive of HRM in organization. Recruitment is ultimately inviting the pool of candidates to
get selected and join the organization. The objective of the recruitment is to obtain qualified
employees for the organization to achieve organizational goals. Recruitment process acts as a
bridge between employee and job seeker. Recruitment is a positive process as we are inviting
pool of candidates to get selected for the job.
Recruitment process mainly includes,
o Application
o Screening
o Interview
o Selection

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 Need of E-Recruitment strategies in emerging scenario

Selection is the outcome of recruitment process.

Recent trends in recruitment are,
o Outsourcing
In simple terms, outsourcing is purchasing the services related to HR from a vendor
rather than providing it yourself.

o Poaching/Raiding
It is employing a competent and qualified candidate from another reputed
organization of either same or different industry.

o E-recruitment
E- Recruitment is the well articulated technique for effective utilization of internet
technology to improve efficiency as well as effectiveness of the recruitment process.

E-recruitment:
E-recruitment is one of most recent trend in recruitment. As internet usage became
widespread, the first step of e-recruiting was the addition of online career option on corporate
websites itself. It was mostly accepted that corporate website recruitment has improved
recruiting efficiency. Major two kinds of E-recruitment involve
I. Use of job portals
II. Online career option in the organization’s web site

 OBJECTIVE:
This paper is meant for detailed study of the E-recruitment strategies in the current scenario
as usage of the internet is widespread now-a-days and organizations are gradually turning to
virtual organizations.

 LITERATURE REVIEW:
Effective & efficient selection and utilization of HR has been acknowledged by many
practitioners before. Recruitment just one function of HRM but it is very significant for the
further function of HR.

Recruitment:
Recruitment is those activities and practices carried on by the organization with the primary
purpose of identifying & attracting potential employees (Barber, 1998). Recruitment has been
conceptualised as encompassing all organizational practices and decisions that affect either
the number or types of individuals who are willing to apply for, or accept, a given vacancy
(Rynes, 1991). Recruitment might be the “most critical human resource function for
organizational success and survival” (Taylor and Collins 2000: 304).
More specifically, for recruitment to become strategic, HR practitioners must find effective
answers to the following five questions (Breaugh 1992; Breaugh and Starke 2000): (1) Whom
to recruit? (2) Where to recruit? (3) What recruitment sources to use (e.g., the Web,
newspapers, job fairs, on campus, etc.)? (4) When to recruit? (5) What message to

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 Need of E-Recruitment strategies in emerging scenario

communicate? For example, the size and quality of the initial applicant pool may be crucial in
determining the effectiveness of recruitment overall (Carlson, Connerley and Mecham 2002;
Collins and Han 2004).

Internet Economy:
The Internet economy has revolutionized and changed the way business is conducted by
opening new avenues of communication, collaboration and coordination between consumers,
businesses and trading partners (Barua & Whinston 2000). The Internet brings together
buyers and sellers of goods and services and by automating transactions, web markets expand
the choices available to buyers, give sellers access to new customers and reduces transaction
costs for all the players (Kaplan and Sawhney 2000). The rapid advances in technology have
dramatically changed the way business is conducted and this increasingly use of and reliance
on technology is clearly demonstrated by the number of organizations and individuals who
utilise the internet and e –mails (Erica R. Marr, 2007).

Advertising, Marketing and PR

Customer service & Tech support
Research
Email
E-Commerce
9%
66% Recruit
Education
Other

Figure 1: Objectives of Hosting a Web Site (Chmielewski 1997)

E - Recruitment:
In terms of HRM, the internet has changed recruitment from both an organizational and a job
seeker point of view (Epstein et al., 2003; Feldman et al., 2002; Warner 2005). At the same
time, the Internet has made recruitment both more efficient and effective. On the one hand,
the Internet has helped to cut down recruiting costs and times dramatically, but on the other it
has also made applicant pools virtually unlimited (Cappelli 2001).
Most common ways to use the Internet as a means to recruit and identify other online
activities within the scope of E-Recruiting have been described as threefold: (1) Adding
recruiting pages to an existing organization site, (2) Using online job boards, and (3) Using
electronic advertisements on media sites (Galanaki, 2002).

1. Corporate Web site recruiting methods can generally be defined as either eccentric or
basic recruiting (recruitsoft.com/iLogos Research 2000). For the survey, eccentric
recruiting is defined as “the practice of posting jobs online and using e-mail or a
resume builder on the Web site to receive applications.” Basic recruiting is defined
“as using the Web to post job openings but encourage candidates to apply to the
company through more traditional hiring channels, such as by mail or by fax.”

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 Need of E-Recruitment strategies in emerging scenario

2. Another method of recruitment over the Internet is on-line job boards. Companies
subscribe to an on-line job board and post available positions, sometimes
anonymously. Job seekers visit the job board for potential opportunities. In addition,
job seekers may post their resume with the on-line job board for companies to search
and match skills and needs. Some on-line job boards automatically notify a registered
company via e-mail each time a job seeker responds to a specific posting and each
time a new seeker posts a resume using a title that matches company needs (Feldman
1999) as well as job boards notifying job seekers via e-mail of new related job
postings. The user can also input keywords and the database will search and match
keywords.

3. A third and, less common method, are to recruit passive candidates (those not actively
searching for a position) over the Internet. On-line recruiters called source strategists
are using recruitment sourcing techniques to track down potential candidates on the
Internet. A source strategist may search personal web pages to association sites to
locate, identify and find potential candidates to fill a position (HR Magazine August
2000).

Companies recruit over the Internet with their own in-house human resources department or
they may outsource the work to professional consulting services that provide recruiting
services. Similarly, companies may host the web site in-house or offsite with an application
service provider (ASP). With the increased expansion of web site recruiters and online
recruiting activity, Crispin claims that at least 30,000 web sites are trying to gain a piece of
this market (Crispin 2000).

Advantages:

o The Internet creates the advantage of providing current information to a broad

audience and improving communication in an efficient and timely manner. In
addition, some see the Internet as a low-cost advertising medium that facilitates
paperless, real time transactions (Seneiratine 1999).
o Internet recruiting reduces costs and streamlines the process of reviewing thousands
of resumes and conducting hundreds of interviews (Business Wire 2000).

Head hunters
Newspaper
Channel

Job fair
Campus recruitment
Internet

0 5000 10000 15000

Total Recruitment cost ($)

Figure 2: Total Recruitment Costs per Employee by Channel in 1998 for a Fortune 500
Computer Manufacturer (recruitsoft.com/iLogos Research 1998)

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 Need of E-Recruitment strategies in emerging scenario

o The study found that 67% of surveyed managers reported that Internet recruiting
causes the same or less work for the human resources department. The survey claims
that Internet technology can shorten or reduce 12 days from a typical recruiting cycle.

Less Same
39% 28%

More
33%

Figure 3: Workload for Human Resource Department with Internet Based Recruiting
(recruitsoft.com/iLogos Research 1998)

 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
o Research problem:
To study need of E-recruitment strategies in emerging scenario

o Data collection:
Data were collected using combination of primary and secondary data. Primary data
were collected using unstructured interview of E-recruitment users. Secondary data
were collected by referring various web articles, research papers, journals, etc.

o Sampling:
15 samples were selected using convenient sampling technique.

 TEXT OF THE STUDY:

E- Recruitment is the well articulated technique for effective utilization of internet
technology to improve efficiency as well as effectiveness of the recruitment process.
Major two kinds of E-recruitment involve,
I. Use of job portals
II. Online career option in the organization’s web site

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 Need of E-Recruitment strategies in emerging scenario

I. Use of job portals:

The use of various job portals is increasing day

by day by the candidates. It provides ease for
applying for the job. Moreover, as internet usage
has been increased in the recent years, it is one of
the convenient ways also for application.
Candidates can search for the suitable jobs and at
the same they can apply from home for the job.
Generally these job portals have tie-ups with the
organizations and by screening the candidates
profile and considering the requirements of the
organization, job portals refer to the candidates
with the suitable job profile for the application.

Various job portals in India are,

o www.naukri.com o www.timesjobs.com
o www.shine.com o www.jobrapido.com
o www.monesterindia.com o www.careerbuilder.co.in
o www.jobstreet.com o www.simplyhired.com
o www.clickjobs.com o www.Govtjobsdaily.com, etc.

According to www.bestindiansites.com, December, 2011, best job sites in India are,

1. Naukri
2. Monster India
3. Times jobs
4. Jobstreet
5. Govtjobsdaily.com
6. Careerbuilder.co.in
7. Careerjet
8. Naukri Hub
9. Career India
10. Bestjobsindia.in

Another different online recruitment service is the online Referral/Reward based recruitment
service. These websites are new kind of recruitment portal that unlike to other Indian job
portals offer cash rewards for referrers along with finding or browsing jobs in it. Moreover
from the employers perspective they can upload videos of their organization, which will be
YouTube linked. e.g. www.Reffster.com. This service is the first of its kind that lists only
premium mid and Senior Management openings.

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 Need of E-Recruitment strategies in emerging scenario

II. Online career option in the organization’s web site:

One of the recent options available for

the E-recruitment is online career option
in the company’s website itself. Many
huge companies have started adopting
this option. Website will have a separate
‘Career’ option so that passive applicants
can apply online only for the job and
they will be called at the time of
respective requirement in future. This
method is also very useful to save the
time as well as resources of the
organization. Many companies like, Sun
Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline, BAN labs
ltd, Kotak Mahindra Bank, etc are using
online career option in their websites.

New age E-recruitment strategies involves further advancement in recruitment like,

BLOGS An activity to suport employer branding

ONLINE
TESTING Online assessments & reduces administrative overhead

BROADBAND Live video resumes & virtual office tour

SOCIAL Community & professional linkages transffered in

NETWORKING recruitment

Figure 4: New age E-recruitment

Major Advantages which E-recruitment is offering are,

o Lower cost:
E-recruitment is offering low cost alternative compared to tradition recruitment
process. It is easier to us internet than giving advertisements in the newspaper for the
recruitment.

o No intermediaries:
E-recruitment strategy asks for no mediaries. Organization can directly add career
option in the website or they can use job portals for available vacancy.

o Time saving:
It also helps in saving time of organization as well as applicant also.

o Ease of access:
It is available for 24*7. Candidates can apply at his/her convenient and organization
can check it any time when required.
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 Need of E-Recruitment strategies in emerging scenario

o Centralized platform:
It provides central platform for each the candidate. Everyone can apply without any
discrimination or biases.

o Reduced paper work:

E-recruitment helps in reducing paper work and hence save the environment.

At the same time E-recruitment offers certain Drawbacks also, which are,
o Low penetration of internet in the rural India
o Avoids face-to-face communication
o Authenticity of resumes
o Neglects ‘Graphology’ technique

 FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS:

Various questions asked to the respondents were comparison of traditional and E-recruitment,
problems they are facing in E-recruitment, cost for recruitment, number of portals they are
using, checking the authenticity of resumes, etc.
o Traditional Vs E-recruitment:
Most of the respondents agreed upon that E-recruitment have provided better way for
recruitment. Though it is having some drawbacks but it is time saving and effective
process.

o Problems in E-recruitment:
One of the problems that E-recruiters are facing using job portals is duplication of
work. If accurate delegation of responsibilities is not there same candidate will be
scanned and called by 2-3 employees and wastage of time and resources will be there.
Many a times it happens, for particularly job portal users, that the exact required job
description is not available in the job portal option, hence for such situation
personalized option is required. It is generally occurring for technical designation.

o Cost for recruitment:

Cost of recruitment varies from organization to organization and the type of
organization as well as objective of the training.

o Number of portals in use:

It is varying from 3-5 job portals.

o Checking the authenticity of the resumes

It is one of the major issues faced by E-recruiters. Online resumes are not that
authentic as the person applying online may write exaggerated data and checking its
authenticity is very difficult. But E-recruiters accepted that over a period of time with
experience just by talking with the person on telephone they come to know about the
probable authenticity of the person

It was found from that E-recruitment strategies has improved recruitment efficiency and it is
widely accepted by the MNCs as well but at the same time major limitation is to check the
authenticity of the resumes and it does not allow face-to-face communication as well.

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 Need of E-Recruitment strategies in emerging scenario

 FUTURE / SCOPE:
It will be useful for the E-recruiters to focus on the limitation of it and problems associated,
with the aim of eliminating the discrepancies and effectively implementing E-recruitment.

 REFERENCES:
1. Barber, A. E., 1998. Recruiting employees: Individual and Organizational
Perspectives. Thousand Oak, California, 91320: Sage publication Inc.
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3. Breaugh, J. A. (1992). Recruitment: Science and Practice. Boston: PWS-Kent.
4. Breaugh, J. A. and Starke, M. (2000). 'Research on Employee Recruitment: So Many
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5. Cappelli, P. (2001). 'Making the Most of on-Line Recruiting'. Harvard Business
Review, 79/3:139-146.
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 Need of E-Recruitment strategies in emerging scenario

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