Placement Problems In HRM

• Placement refers to the allocation of people to various jobs. It

includes initials assignment of new employees and promotion ,
transfer or demotion of present employees.
• Placement is a process of assigning a specific job to each of the
selected candidates. It involves assigning a specific rank and
responsibility to an individual. It implies matching the
requirements of a job with the qualifications of the candidate .
• Placement of individual in jobs matching their abilities. Personal
offices interviews and test applicants for the purpose of
archiving suitable job placement where there is a good match
between management needs and employee qualifications.
 Jobs are classified into two categories:
1. Independent Jobs:

In independent jobs, non-overlapping routes or territories are

allotted to each employee e.g. in field sales. In such situations, the
activities of one employee have little bearing on the activities of
other workers. Independent jobs do-not pose great problems in
placement. Each employee has to be evaluated between his
capabilities and interests and those required on the job.
The objectives of placement will be:
(a) To fill the job with people who have at least the minimum
required qualifications.
(b) People should be placed on the job that will make the best
possible use of their talents, given available job and HR constraints.
2. Dependent Jobs:

Dependent jobs may be sequential or pooled. In sequential

jobs, the activities of one employee are dependent on the
activities of a fellow employee. Assembly lines are the best
example of such jobs.
In pooled jobs, there is high interdependence among jobs.
The final output is the result of the contribution of all the
workers.
In dependent jobs, an employee is placed in a specific sub
group. While placing, care must be taken to match
characteristics of the employee with that of the sub group.
Because in such jobs, team work matters a lot.
HR specialists must use assessment classification model for
placing newly hired employees.
 Types Of Job Placement
• The important types of placement of people in an organization
are:
• Temporary or contract basis: In this case employees are placed in
the company on a temporary basis and the time period for which
the person may work in the organization is already determined at
the time of hiring him.

• Probationary officer:These are common in banks and other

government jobs wherein the candidate is placed an probation
and his skills are tested before he is made a permanent employee
of the organization.

• Direct job placement: Another common type is directly hire the

employees for the vacancy as a permanent employee.
Internal sources:
Promotions, transfers, upgrading or demotion of
present employees, retrenched employees.

External sources:
Professional associations , Advertisements ,
Employment exchanges Campus placements ,
Online job portals.
 Placement Problems Of Internal Sources
• Sometimes it is difficult to find the “right” candidate within and the organisation
may settle for an employee who possesses a less than ideal mix of competencies.
• If the vacancies are being caused by rapid expansion of the organisation there may
be an insufficient supply of qualified individuals above the entry level. This may
result in people being promoted before they are ready, or not being allowed to stay
in a position long enough to learn how to do the job well.
• Infighting, inbreeding, and a shortage of varied perspectives and interests may
reduce organisational flexibility and growth, and resistance to change by those who
have an interest in maintaining the status quo may present long term problems.
• In times of rapid growth and during transitions, the organisation may promote
from within into managerial positions, regardless of the qualifications of
incumbents. Transition activities and rapid organisational growth often mask
managerial deficiencies; it is not until the growth rate slows that the deficiencies
become apparent and, then, the organisation finds it difficult, if not impossible, to
undo the damage. The resulting cost of remedial training can prove prohibitive.
 Placement Problems For External Source.
• Matching the job descriptions with the resumes that have come is a major
challenge.
• Candidates need to be accessed in every criteria like technical knowledge, aptitude,
attitude, soft skills, communication, etc due to which reason sometimes there are
not enough candidates to fill the available vacancies.
• Deciding the starting pay package for the particular position is also an issue because
this is a point where most of the candidates and companies opinion differs, it needs
to be decided based on the type of job.
• There are lot of opportunities but there is a shortage of talent or required skills
because of which there recruiters find it difficult to select enough candidates for
the number of jobs available.
• Every employee plays and important role in the performance of the company thus
the responsibility of selecting the right person for the right job lies with the
recruiter and at the same time the candidate should also be satisfied with the job
offered to him/her.
• There is a lot for competition for the placement agencies these days as a lot of
placement agencies have come up thus companies get lot of applicants which
becomes too confusing and chaotic and candidates are confused not knowing
where to register themselves.