RECRUITMENT

CONCEPT & SOURCES

Meaning of Recruitment
The process of identification of different
sources of personnel is known as
recruitment.
It is the process of searching the
candidates for employment & stimulating
them to apply for jobs in the organization.
Linking activity that brings together those
offering jobs & those seeking jobs.
Recruitment refers to the attempt of
getting interested applicants &
providing a pool of prospective
employees so that the management can
select the right person for the right job
from this pool.
It proceeds the selection process in the
organization
Process of Recruitment
Recruitment is a positive process as it
attracts suitable applicants to apply for
available jobs.
The process of Recruitment:
 Identifies the different sources of labour
supply,
 Assesses their validity,
 Chooses the most suitable source or sources &
 Invites applications from the prospective
candidates for the vacant jobs.
Sources of Recruitment
Internal Sources
 Transfer
 Promotion
External Sources
 Recruitment at factory gate
 Casual callers
 Advertisement
 Employment Agencies
 Management Consultants
 Educational Institutions
 Recommendations
 Labour contractors
 Telecasting
Internal Source: Transfer
It involves the shifting of an employee
from one job to another, one department
to another or from one shift to another.
Transfer is a good source of filling
vacancies with employees from overstaffed
departments or shifts.
It should be ensured that the employee to
be transferred to another job is capable of
performing it
Internal Sources: Transfer
In fact transfer does not involve any
drastic change in the responsibilites,
pay and status of the employee.
Transfers or job rotations are also used
for training of employees in learning
different jobs.
Internal Sources: Promotion
It leads to elevating an employee to a
higher position, carrying higher
responsibilities, facilities, status & pay.
Many organizations follow the practice
of filling higher jobs by promoting
employees who are considered fit for
such positions.
By this, employees have the benefit of
motivating the existing employees.
Advantages of Internal
Sources
Employees are motivated to improve their
performance.
Morale of the employees is increased.
Industrial peace prevails in the enterprise
b’coz of promotions.
Filling of jobs internally is cheaper as
compared to getting candidates from
external sources.
Advantages contd..,
A promotion at a higher level may lead
to a chain of promotions at lower levels
in the organisation. This motivates the
employees to improve their
performance through learning &
practice.
Transfer of job rotation is a tool of
training the employees to prepare them
for higher jobs.
Drawbacks of Internal Sources
When vacancies are filled through internal
promotions, the scope for fresh talent is
reduced.
The employees may become lethargic if they
are sure of time bound promotions
The spirit of competition among the
employees may be hampered.
Frequent transfers of employees may reduce
the overall productivity of the organization.
External Sources: Direct
Recruitment:
By placing a notice on the notice board of
the enterprise specifying the details of the
jobs available.
It is called as recruitment @ factory gate.
This method is very cheap as it does not
involve any cost of advertising vacancies.
It is suitable for filling up of casual vacancies
when there is greater rush of work
External Sources: Casual
Callers or Unsolicited Applns.,
If adequate attention is paid to maintain
pending application folders for various
jobs, the HR department may find
unsolicited applications useful in
fulfilling the vacancies whenever they
arise.
External Sources: Media
Advertisement
Advertisements in newspapers or trade &
professional journals is generally used
when qualified & experienced personnel
are not available from other sources.
The advantage of advertising is that
more information about the organisation,
job descriptions & job specifications can
be given in advertisement to allow self
screening by the prospective candidates
External Sources:
Employment Agencies
Employment exchanges run by the
Government are regarded as a good
source of recruitment for
unskilled,semi-skilled & skilled operative
jobs.
In some cases, compulsory notification
of vacancies to the employment
exchange is required by law.
External Sources:
Management consultants
Management consultancy firms help the
organisations to recruit technical, professional
& managerial personnel.
They specialise in middle level & top level
executive placements.
They maintain data bank of persons with
different qualifications & skills, they advertise
the jobs on behalf their clients to recruit right
type of personnel
External Sources: Educational
Institutions or Campus Recruitment

Big organisations maintain a close liaison

with the universities, vocational institutes
and management institutes for recruitment
to various jobs.
Recruitment from educational institutions
is a well-established practice of thousands
of business & other organisations. It is
known as campus recruitment
External Sources:
Recommendations
Applicants introduced by friends &
relatives may prove to be a good source
of recruitment.
When a present employee recommends
some one for a job, a type of
preliminary screening is done & the
person is placed on a job.
External Sources: Labour
Contractors
Workers are recruited through labour
contractors who are themselves
employees of the organisation.
The disadvantage of this system is that
if the contractor leaves the
organisation, all the workers employed
thro’ him will also leave.
External Sources: Telecasting
The practice of telecasting of vacant
posts over T.V. is gaining importance
these days.
Special programmes like ‘Job Watch’ ,
‘youth pulse’, ‘Employment News’, etc.
over the tv have become quite popular
in recruitment of various types of jobs.
Merits of External Sources:
Qualified personnel: the management can
have qualified & trained people to apply for
vacant jobs.
Wider Choice: When vacancies are
advertised widely, a large number of
applicants from outside the organisation
apply. The management has the wide choice
while selecting the people for employment
Merits contd..,
Fresh Talent: the insiders may have
limited talents. External sources facilitate
infusion of fresh blood with new ideas into
the enterprise.
Competitive Spirit: If a company can tap
external sources, the existing staff will have
to compete with the outsiders. They will
work harder to show better performance.
Demerits of External Sources:

Dissatisfaction among Existing Staff: It

may lead to dissatisfaction & frustration
among existing employees. They may feel
that their chances of promotion are reduced.
Lengthy process: Recruitment from outside
takes a long time. The business has to notify
the vacancies and wait for applications to
initiate the selection process.
Demerits contd..,
Costly process: It is very costly to
recruit staff from external sources. A lot of
money has to be spent on advertisement
and processing of applications.
Uncertain Response: The candidates
from outside may not be suitable for the
enterprise. There is no guarantee that the
enterprise will be able to attract right
kinds of people from external sources.