Recruiting

Recruiting is defined as
• Generating a pool of qualified
candidates

Process of searching for job candidates:

• Adequate number
• Qualified
from which to select staff needed to
meet job requirements
 Recruiting
• Recruitment begins with a clear
specification of two necessary elements:
– The number of people needed
– When they are needed
Goals of Recruiting

• Attract qualified applicants

• Encourage unqualified
applicants to self-select
themselves out
 Labor Markets
• Labor Markets
– The external supply pool from which
organizations attract their employees.
• Labor Force Population
– All individuals who are available for selection
if all possible recruitment strategies are used.
• Applicant Population
– A subset of the labor force that is available for
selection using a particular recruiting
approach.
 Labor Markets
• Applicant Pool
–All persons who are actually evaluated for
selection.
• Tight vs. Loose Labor Markets
–Low unemployment creates competition for
employees, raising labor costs.
–High unemployment results the availability of
more applicants and more qualified applicants.
Labor Market Components
Labor Markets and Recruiting
Labor Market
Characteristics

Geographic Industry Educational

Markets and and
Local, Regional Occupational Technical
National Markets Markets
International KSAs Qualifications
Global
Recruiting Decisions
– Recruiting method
• Advertising medium chosen, including use of employment
agencies.
– Recruiting message
• What is said about the job and how it is said.
– Applicant qualifications required
• Education level and amount of experience necessary, for
example.
– Administrative procedures
• When recruiting is done, applicant follow-up, and use of
previous applicant files.
Constraints on Recruiting Efforts
• Image of the organization
• Attractiveness of job
• Internal organizational policies
• Government influence
• Recruiting costs
• Promote-from-within policies
• Inducements of competitors
• Labor shortages
 Relationships among Job Analysis,
Human Resource Planning, Recruitment, and Selection
 Recruitment Sources

Two forms of recruitment:

• Internal:
–Initial consideration given to current
employees
• External:
–Consideration given to the outside labor
market
Internal Sources Of Recruiting

• Human Resources Information

Systems (HRIS)
– Database systems containing the
records and qualifications of each
employee that can be accessed
to identify and screen candidates
for an internal job opening.
• Job Posting and Bidding
– Posting vacancy notices and
maintaining lists of employees
looking for upgraded positions.
 Recruiting Within the Organization:
Advantages of Job Posting
• Equal opportunity for transfer/promotion
for all qualified employees
• Reduces favouritism
• Demonstrates commitment to career
growth and development
• Communicates organization’s policies on
transfer/promotion
Recruiting Within the Organization:
Disadvantages of Job Posting
• Reduced morale and motivation of
unsuccessful candidates
• Tension if qualified internal candidate
passed over for equal/less qualified
external candidate
• Difficult decision between two or more
equally qualified candidates
 Internal Sources Of Recruiting
• Employee referrals
– Since internal rather than external sources
are used to attract candidates, this
method is still considered internal
• Temporary worker pools (not supplied
by temporary agencies)
– In-house temporaries work directly for the
hiring organization and may receive
benefits
– Used to meet fluctuating labor demands
due to factors such as illness, vacation,
termination, and resignation
Recruiting within the Organization
Benefits of a promotion-from-within
policy:
–Capitalizes on past investments
(recruiting, selecting, training, and
developing) in current employees.
–Rewards past performance and
encourages continued commitment to
the organization.
–Signals to employees that similar
efforts by them will lead to promotion.
–Fosters advancement of members of
designated within an organization.
–Accurate record of past performance.
 Recruiting within the Organization
• Limitations of a promotion-from-within
policy:
– Current employees may lack the
knowledge, experience, or skills needed
for placement in the vacant/new
position.
– The hazards of inbreeding of ideas and
attitudes (“employee cloning”) increase
when no outsiders are considered for
hiring.
– The organization has exhausted its
supply of viable internal candidates and
must seek additional employees in the
external job market.
Recruiting Within the Organization:
Advantages
• Enhanced morale / motivation if competence is
rewarded
• More commitment to company goals
• Longer-term perspective on business decisions
• More accurate assessment of candidate’s skills
• Less orientation required
• Company has a better knowledge of strengths and
weaknesses of job candidate.
• Job candidate has a better knowledge of company.
• The return on investment that an organization has in its
present work force is increased.
 Recruiting Within the Organization:
Disadvantages
• Discontent of unsuccessful candidates
• Time consuming to post and interview all candidates if
one is already preferred
• Employee dissatisfaction with insider as new boss
• Possibility of “inbreeding”, which can stifle new ideas and
innovation
• People might be promoted to the point where they
cannot successfully perform the job.
• Infighting for promotions can negatively affect morale.
Recruiting Outside the Organization
• Labour Market
– Area from which applicants are to be recruited.
• Tight market: high employment, few
available workers
• Loose market: low employment, many
available workers
• Factors determining the relevant labour
market:
– Skills and knowledge required for a job
– Level of compensation offered for a job
– Reluctance of job seekers to relocate
– Ease of commuting to workplace
– Location of job (urban or nonurban)
Recruiting Outside the Organization

Limits of the labor market

•Geography
•Education and/or technical background
required to perform the job
•Industry
•Licensing or certification requirements
•Union membership
External Sources of Recruitment
• Advertisements
• Unsolicited applications and
resumes
• Internet recruiting
• Employee referrals
• Executive search firms
• Open houses and job fairs
 External Sources of Recruitment

• Walk in / write in
• Educational institutions
• Professional organizations / trade
associations
• Unions
• Public employment agencies
• Private employment agencies
• Military personnel
 External Recruitment

• University relations, formerly “college recruiting”

– Targeting of certain schools that best meet the organization’s needs
• May offer gifts and grants to the institution
• Summer employment and consulting projects for faculty
• Invitations to placement officers to visit company plants and offices
 External Recruitment
Executive search firms
• Typically used to recruit senior-
level positions. Why use one?
•Maintains confidentiality from an
incumbent or a competitor
•A lack of local resources to
recruit executive-level positions
•Insufficient time
 Recruiting Outside the Organization:
Executive Search Firms
Advantages:
• Often specialize in particular type of talent
• Adept at approaching employed candidates not
currently looking for a job
Disadvantages:
• Must provide detailed candidate requirements
• Non-professional sales approach e.G. May
present poor candidate to make other prospects
more appealing
 External Recruitment
• Employment agencies – most
widely used outside
employment source
– Only receive payment if one of
their referrals results in a hire
(unlike executive search firms)
• Recruitment Advertising
– Includes, but is not limited to,
classified ads in the newspaper
and the company’s website
Pros and Cons of Various Media Sources
 Internet Recruiting
The Internet has become a primary means
for employers to look for job candidates
and applicants to look for jobs.
• 88% of Global 500 companies use websites for
recruiting
• Internet recruiting most widely used in North
America
 Internet Recruiting

Internet Job Boards

Professional/ E-Recruiting
Career Web Sites Methods

Employer Web Sites

 Internet Recruiting (cont’d)
Advantages Disadvantages
– Recruiting cost savings – More unqualified
applicants
– Recruiting time savings
– Additional work for HR
– Expanded pool of staff members
applicants
– Many applicants are
– Morale building for not seriously seeking
current employees employment
– Access limited or
unavailable to some
applicants
 Internet Recruiting (cont’d)
• Legal Issues in Internet recruiting
– The use (or misuse) of screening software
– Exclusion of designated group members and
older employees from the process
– Identification of “real” applicants
– Online Informality that leads to improper
discussions or information
 Advantages and Disadvantages
of Internal Recruiting
Advantages
• Company has a better
knowledge of strengths and
weaknesses The job of talent is much larger. Disadvantages
of pool
candidate. • People might be promoted to the
New insights and perspectives can
point be they cannot
where
• Job candidate has a better
knowledge brought to the organization.successfully perform the job.
of company.
Frequently it is cheaper and
• easier to hire
Infighting for promotions can
• Morale andtechnical,
motivation of or managerial employees
skilled,
employees from
are enhanced. negatively affect morale.
outside.
• The return on investment • Inbreeding can stifle new ideas
that an organization has in and innovation.
its present work force is
increased.
 Advantages and Disadvantages
of External Recruiting

Advantages
• The pool of talent is much
larger.
• New insights and
perspectives can be
brought to the organization.
• Frequently it is cheaper
and easier to hire technical,
skilled, or managerial
employees from outside.
Disadvantages
• Attracting, contacting, and
evaluating potential
employees is more difficult.
• Adjustment or orientation
time is longer.
• Morale problems can
develop among those
employees within the
organization who feel
qualified to do the job.
Personnel Requisition Form
Improving the Effectiveness
of External Recruitment
Calculate Yield Ratios Training Recruiters

External
Recruitment

Realistic Job Previews

 External Recruitment Considerations
• Yield Ratio
– Percentage of applicants from a recruitment source that
make it to the next stage of the selection process.
• 100 resumes received, 50 found acceptable = 50% yield.
• Cost of Recruitment (per employee hired)

SC AC  AF  RB  NC

H H
SC = source cost
AC = advertising costs, total monthly expenditure (example: $28,000)
AF = agency fees, total for the month (example: $19,000)
RB = referral bonuses, total paid (example: $2,300)
NC = no-cost hires, walk-ins, nonprofit agencies, etc. (example: $0)
H = total hires (example: 119)
Cost to hire one employee = $414
General Recruiting Process Metrics
• Yield ratios
– A comparison of the number of applicants at one stage of the
recruiting process to the number at the next stage.
• Selection rate
– The percentage hired from a given group of candidates.
• Acceptance Rate
– The percent of applicants hired divided by total number of
applicants.
• Success Base Rate
– Comparing the percentage rate of past applicants who were
good employees to that of current employees.
 Sample
Recruiting
Evaluation
Pyramid
External Recruitment Considerations

• Sources of Organizational Recruiters

– Professional HR recruiters
– HR generalists
– Work team members
• Requirements for Effective Recruiters
– Knowledge of the recruited job’s requirements
and of the organization
– Training as an interviewer
– Personable and competent to represent the
organization
External Recruitment Considerations
• Realistic Job Previews (RJP)
– Informing applicants about all aspects of
the job, including both its desirable and
undesirable facets.
– Positive benefits of RJP
• Improved employee job satisfaction
• Reduced voluntary turnover
• Enhanced communication through
honesty and openness
• Realistic job expectations
Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal
and External Recruiting Sources
 Recruiting Outside the Organization:
Advantages
• larger, more diverse pool of qualified candidates
• acquisition of new skills and knowledge for
creative problem solving
• elimination of rivalry for transfers/promotions
• cost savings from hiring skilled individuals with
no need for training
Questions