Everything you need to know about recruitment and selection in human resource management. After manpower planning has been done, the personnel Human Resource Manager can proceed with identification of sources of recruitment and finding suitable candidates for employment. Both internal and external sources of manpower are used depending upon the types of personnel needed.
The selection process starts with the receipt of applications for various jobs from the interested candidates. Totally unsuitable candidates are rejected at the screening stage.
The human resource (HR) departments take various kind of tests to determine if the candidates would be able to do their job efficiently. Those passing this stage are called for employment interview. Candidates found suitable for employment are required to go through medical examination and references checking.
The employment process is completed when appointment letters are issued to the candidates found suitable for employment.
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Learn about the process of recruitment and selection in HRM.
Recruitment and Selection in HRM
Recruitment in HRM:
According to Flippo, “Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating & encouraging them to apply for jobs in an organisation.”
According to Yoder, “Recruitment is a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient workforce.”
In words of JS Lord, “Recruitment is a form of business competition. Just as corporation compete to develop, manufacture and market the best product or service, so they must also compete to identify, attract and hire the most qualified people. Recruitment is a business, and it is a big business.”
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In words of Haneman, HG et al., “Recruitment is the process of seeking out and attempting to attract individuals in external labour market, who are capable of and interested in filling available job vacancies. Recruitment is an intermediate activity whose primary function is to serve as a link between human resource planning on the one hand and selection on the other.”
Conclusively, it can be said that recruitment is a process of locating prospective employees and attracting them to apply for jobs in the organisation. Recruitment involves publishing vacancies in the organisation and encouraging the candidates to apply for the same.
Recruitment begins with publicising information about jobs and ends when job applications are collected. The result of recruitment process is a number of qualified applicants from which the most eligible candidate can be selected.
Recruitment is called as a positive process because in recruitment, efforts are made to invite more and more applications. Recruitment brings together employer and applicants.
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Recruitment process involves following steps:
(a) Identifying the need of human resource in organisation.
(b) Identifying the sources of supply of human resource in adequate number and of right kind.
(c) Advertising information about job vacancies.
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(d) Evaluating various sources of supply of human resource and selecting best one.
(e) Receiving the applications.
Sources or Methods of Recruitment:
A source of recruitment means the source from where the supply of human resource may be available.
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Sources of recruitment may be mainly categorised into two parts:
1. Internal sources
2. External sources
1. Internal Sources of Recruitment:
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Internal sources of recruitment are related to existing workforce of organisation. Internal recruitment is made from within the four corners of organisation.
Internal sources of recruitment include:
i. Transfer:
It involves transfer of human resource from the department, branch, office in which their supply is excess to the department, branch, office in which their demand is excess. Transfer involves only a change of place of job, not the status or level. For example, transfer of excess workers from production department to sales department.
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ii. Promotion:
In promotion, the vacancies are filled by promoting the human resources working at lower level. For example, when GM retires, one of departmental heads may be promoted to the post of GM. Promotion involves increase in responsibility, increase in status and salary. Promotion is based on efficiency and experience.
iii. Demotion:
Demotion is exactly opposite to promotion. If the employee does not perform his task efficiently, he may be demoted to lower level job and a vacancy at lower level may be filled. Demotion involves decrease in responsibility, decrease in status and salary. For example, a departmental manager may be demoted to the post of deputy departmental manager.
iv. Retired and Retrenched Employees:
Employees who have retired or have been retrenched may be recruited again in case of requirement on temporary or permanent basis.
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Advantages of Internal Sources:
(a) Increase in motivation and morale of employees.
(b) Employee commitment.
(c) Low cost of recruitment, training and orientation.
(d) Trade unions prefer this method.
(e) Reduced labour turnover.
(f) Less time consuming.
(g) Easy adjustment in new jobs.
Disadvantages of Internal Sources:
(a) The decision may be biased.
(b) Morale of those not promoted decreases.
(c) Lack of new- ideas because entry of new employees is restricted by this method.
(d) This source cannot be used for all vacancies.
(e) New enterprises cannot use this method.
2. External Sources of Recruitment:
When appropriate candidates are not available from within the organisation, the external sources are resorted to. In external sources, employees are recruited from outside the organisation; and a wide choice is available to select employee from external sources.
External sources of recruitment include:
i. Advertisement:
It refers to advertising the job in newspapers, journals, radio, etc. Through this method, candidates spread over a wide area can be approached. Information about the job description and job specification can also be given in advertisement so that only those candidates, who are eligible for job, can apply for it.
ii. Casual Callers:
In case of companies or organisation, having a very good corporate image, people on their own initiative, apply for jobs in such companies in personal or by mail.
Such applications are known as unsolicited application. A file of such applications is maintained. Whenever the need arises, the candidates from these applications may be selected.
iii. Employment Exchange:
Employment exchanges in the country are run by government and government has made it mandatory for employers to fill some vacancies through these methods.
Unemployed persons can enroll themselves in these employment exchanges, from where they can be recruited in the organisations. Thus employment exchanges play an important role in bringing employer and employee together.
iv. Placement Agencies:
These are private organisations which act as a mediator between employer and employee. Employers hire placement agencies for recruitment. The employer saves his time by getting this work done from experts. Placement agencies charge substantial fee for it. This method is used to fill the higher level vacancies.
v. Direct Recruitment:
It is also known as recruitment at factory gate. In this method, a notice is displayed on the notice board regarding vacancies, eligibility, date of selection, etc. Prospective employees gather outside the premises on specified date and selection is made on the spot. Unskilled or semi-skilled workers are recruited through this method.
vi. Campus Placement:
Campus placement is very popular mode of recruitment these days. Every student wants to get recruited from campus so that he does not have to struggle for getting the job. For campus placement, organisations approach, the placement cell of institutions or universities and select the students for recruitment before they leave the institution.
Usually technical and managerial staff is hired through this method. This method is convenient and requires less time & money. Through this method, highly educated persons with innovative ideas can be recruited in the organisation.
vii. Recommendations:
In this method of external recruitment, persons who are recommended by present employers are recruited. Friends and relatives of present employees are good source of recruitment as their background is known to some extent. Recruitment, through this method also satisfies the employees and trade unions.
viii. Labour Contractors:
Labour contractors have close contacts with labourers and they can supply the labourers at short notice. An employee may also be a labour contractor. Through this method unskilled or semi-skilled workers can be recruited. Limitation of this method is, if labour contractor leaves the organisation; employees recruited through him also leave the organisation. Due to this limitation, usage of this method is declining.
ix. Management Consultants:
These are also known as ‘Head Hunters’. They maintain a database of people who can be employed in various organisations. Database consists of information like personal details, educational details and experience of people.
Organisations take the help of management consultants to recruit technical, managerial and professional personnel at middle and top level in organisation. Management consultants also do the whole recruitment task on behalf of organisations i.e., they are hired by organisations.
x. Telecasting:
Telecasting refers to display about vacancy over T.V. channels. The details about job and profile of organisation are publicised over T.V. A wide number of prospective employees can be covered through this method.
xi. Web Publishing:
In this method, recruitment is done through internet. Some websites perform the task of bringing employer near to employee like www(dot)monster(dot)com, www(dot)naukri(dot)com, www(dot)jobstreet(dot)com, www(dot)carriage(dot)com, etc. These websites are commonly visited by the employers and candidates; employer can contact the candidate if his profile matches the job requirement.
Recruitment at national and international level can be done through this method. This method covers the largest area. Limitation of this method is that, it cannot be used for lower level jobs because of computer illiteracy prevalent among workers.
Advantages of External:
a. Selection from wider pool can be made.
b. Introduction of new ideas and innovation in organisation.
c. Competition between existing and new employees act as motivational factor and performance improves.
d. Persons of required eligibility and experience are available.
Disadvantages of External Sources:
a. Costly and time consuming method.
b. It can become a reason of resentment between existing employees.
c. There is no guarantee of candidates selected from outside the organisation.
Selection in HRM:
In recruitment, applications for job are invited from prospective employees. Out of these applications, best candidate is chosen after a complete process known as selection.
In words of Koontz et al., “Selection is the process of choosing from among the candidates from within the organisations or from outside, the most suitable person for the current position or for the future position.”
According to Yoder “Selection is the process by which candidates for employment are divided into class—those who will be offered employment and those who will not.”
Thus, selection is the process of choosing the most suitable candidate from a number of applicants. This process involves collecting information about applicants and matching it with the demands of job and organisation.
Recruitment is a positive process, because in it, more and more persons are motivated to apply for the job; while selection is a negative process because in it, number of applications is reduced step by step for most suitable candidate to be selected.
A set of methods is used for selection of most suitable candidate from a number of applicants. This process differs from organisation to organisation due to difference in personnel policies.
Mainly following steps are followed in a selection process:
1. Preliminary Interview:
This interview provides the basic information about candidates; its main purpose is to eliminate totally unsuitable candidates. Elimination may be based on lack of certain requirements e.g., education, training, experience, etc. This interview tells whether it is worthwhile if the candidate fills application blank. Candidates who clear preliminary interview are asked to fill the application blank.
2. Application Blank:
After clearing the preliminary interview, candidates are required to fill the application forms. These application forms become the permanent record of candidates’ education details, experience, interest, habits, etc. Application forms should be as simple as possible and should include questions so as to judge the suitability of candidate for the job.
These application forms are then properly screened by a committee to select the candidates who will be called for further process.
3. Selection or Employment Tests:
Tests are the methods to check ability, skills, capacity, competency and calibre of employees which are required for performing a job. These tests help in matching the individual skills and demands of job, so that posts are filled with right type of persons.
Following types of tests are applied in selection process:
a. Intelligence tests
b. Aptitude tests
c. Personality tests
d. Interest tests
4. Employment Interview:
Those candidates who pass the selection tests are called for final interview. The interview is taken by a panel of personnel manager and head of other departments. This interview provides more information about the candidates, about their qualities, communication skills, personality, etc. Interviewer and interviewee both should come prepared for the interview.
5. Reference Check:
In application blank, candidates are asked to give references so that his details can be cross checked and verified. References also give information about character of candidate. Known persons, teachers and previous employers can be contacted for reference checks.
6. Medical Examination:
Selected candidates are to pass a medical examination to ascertain whether they are medically fit or not. It prevents the transmissible diseases from entering the organisation.
7. Appointment Letter:
After a candidate clears all the steps of selection process, he is given appointment letter describing the details of job, terms of employment e.g., salary, work hours, etc. When the employee joins the organisation, he is properly placed at right job and induction programme is carried out.
Recruitment and Selection in HRM
After manpower planning has been done, the personnel Human Resource Manager can proceed with identification of sources of recruitment and finding suitable candidates for employment. Both internal and external sources of manpower are used depending upon the types of personnel needed.
The selection process starts with the receipt of applications for various jobs from the interested candidates. Totally unsuitable candidates are rejected at the screening stage. The human resource (HR) departments take various kind of tests to determine if the candidates would be able to do their job efficiently.
Those passing this stage are called for employment interview. Candidates found suitable for employment are required to go through medical examination and references checking. The employment process is completed when appointment letters are issued to the candidates found suitable for employment.
Recruitment in HRM:
“Recruitment is the process of identifying the sources for prospective candidates to stimulate them to apply for the jobs in the organisation”.
It includes seeking and attracting a pool of people from which qualified candidates for job vacancy can be chosen. The process of identification of different sources of personnel is known as recruitment. It is a positive process as it attracts suitable applicants who apply for available jobs.
The process of recruitment:
1. Identifies the different sources of labour supply,
2. Assesses their validity,
3. Chooses the most suitable source or sources, and
4. Invites applicants from the prospective candidates for the vacant jobs.
Recruitment is concerned with listing the candidates for consideration of selection to various jobs. It enables the management to select suitable employees for different jobs. Recruitment is done before selection or employment of workers. Recruitment is a positive process of searching the prospective employees and attracting then to apply for the vacancies.
The sources of recruitment of employees may be either internal or external. Internal sources of recruitment means the personnel already working in the organisation. External sources denote recruitment from sources outside the organisation.
1. Internal Sources:
The internal sources of recruitment include:
i. Transfer:
Transfer means shifting a worker from one job to another having similar status and responsibilities.
According to Dale Yoder,” A transfer involves the shifting of an employee from one job to another without special reference to changing responsibilities or compensation”. That is Transfer means shifting of an employee from one job to another, one unit to another or shifts to another and may involve a new geographical location.
ii. Promotion:
A promotion is the transfer of an employee to a job that pays more money and that enjoys some preferred status. According to Pigors and Myers,” Promotion is the advancement of an employee to a better job in terms of greater responsibilities, greater skills, higher status and higher pay”.
The existing employees may be given training for promotion to get higher position in the enterprise. If a vacancy is filled from within the enterprise, it acts as a stimulating force for the employees to develop themselves.
iii. Re-Employment of Ex-Employers:
It refers to employing the employees who have left the organisation because of some reason. It may be on temporary or permanent basis.
1. The internal candidates having intimate knowledge of the organisation structure can handle the new jobs easily.
2. Promotion will increase the morale of the employees.
3. Promotion will ensure sincere effort on the part of employees because they know that they may rise to senior positions by promotions.
4. The cost of training the insiders for the senior post will be less.
5. The cost of internal recruitment is very low.
6. Reliance on internal sources will enable the enterprise to make best use of the capabilities of its employees.
Demerits/Limitations of Internal Sources:
1. Better qualified outsiders may not be reached by the management. Moreover, the person promoted to a senior job mayn’t possess the required qualities.
2. The mobility of manpower is restricted. Once a man joins an organisation, he will stick to that organisation. Employee turnover to a certain extent is good for the health of the organisation.
3. In promotion, there may be clash between factors like seniority and ability. Such decision may lead to favouritism.
4. Further growth of the business is hindered by the limited talent of the insiders. The entry of fresh talent into the organisation will be restricted.
2. External Sources:
Many a times, suitable candidates are not available from the internal sources. So, in order to meet the demands of the company, the external sources have to be used.
The personnel department may use the following external sources of recruitment:
i. Direct Recruitment:
The unemployed persons may contact the employment section of various enterprises to determine if they can be casually employed. Many firms follow the practice of recruitment at factory gate to fill casual vacancies; such workers are known as Budli workers. This method is very useful for recruiting unskilled workers. It does not involve cost of advertising the vacancies. Whenever the regular worker absent themselves in large number or whenever there is rush for work, this source of recruitment may be used.
ii. Casual Callers:
In case of reputed organisations, many qualified people apply for employment on their own initiative, such applications are known as unsolicited application or casual callers. They serve as a good source of manpower. A proper file may be kept of such applications and the candidates may be called whenever the need arises. For example – an applicant visits various colleges and gives his resume copy so that if any vacancy arrives, he can be called. A file is always maintained of all these applicants.
iii. Advertising:
Advertising a job has become the fashion of the day with the large companies particularly when the vacancy is for a higher post or when there are a large number of vacancies. This helps in approaching the candidates spread over different parts of the country.
Information about the job description and job specification can be given in the advertisement so that only the candidates who think themselves to be suitable may only apply. This method also increases the choice of the management. For example – advertisement given in the newspapers.
iv. Employment Exchanges:
There is a network of employment exchanges in the country which is run by the government has also made it compulsory for the employers to fill some vacancies through the employment exchanges. Thus employment exchanges play an important role.
v. Placement Agencies:
Professional bodies have come into existence which provides their services to the enterprises for recruitment and selection of employees. These agencies specialise in the supply of particular categories of workers.
vi. Management Consultants/Head Hunters:
Management consultancy firms help the organisations to recruit technical, professional and managerial personnel. They specialise in middle and top level executive placements. They maintain data bank of persons with different qualifications and skills and even advertise the jobs on behalf of their clients to recruit right number of personnel.
vii. Campus Recruitment:
Colleges and institutes of management and technology have become a popular sources of recruitment for technical, professional and managerial jobs. Many big organisation maintain a close contact with the universities, vocational schools and management institutes to recruit qualified personnel for various jobs. Recruitment from educational institutions is the well-established practice of business and other organisations. This is referred to as “campus recruitment”.
viii. Recommendations by the Existing Employees:
Some employers recruit employees on the basis of recommendations of the existing workers. The policy creates goodwill among the present employees and helps in finding reliable candidates. For example – Many multinational companies recruit the employees on the referral basis that is referral week is being conducted may be once or twice a year and the recruitment is done.
ix. Labour Contractors:
Recruitment may also take place through intermediaries known as agents or labour contractors. In some cases, the labour contractors are themselves the members of the companies concerned. This system of recruitment has lost popularity these days. If a labour contractor leaves enterprise, the workers employed through him will also leave the organisation. Thus, it is not a reliable method of employment.
x. Telecasting:
The practice of telecasting of vacant posts over T.V. (Doordarshan and other channels) is gaining importance these days. The detailed requirements of the job and the qualities required to do it are publicised along with the profile of the organisation where the vacancy exists.
xi. Web Publishing:
Internet is becoming a popular source of recruitment these days. There are certain websites specifically dedicated for the purpose of providing information about job seekers and job opening both. In fact, websites such as www(dot)naukri(dot)com, www(dot)monster(dot)com, www(dot)jobstreet(dot)com, www(dot)careerAge(dot)com etc., are very commonly visited both by the perspective employees and the organisations searching for suitable people.
Advantages/Merit of External Source of Recruitment:
1. External sources provide a large number of applicants. This permits the enterprise to have a free hand is making the right choice of candidates.
2. The enterprise can expect to get fresh, talented candidates from outside. This means infusion of new blood and new ideas into the enterprise.
3. Internal candidate have to compete with outside candidates for the higher jobs. It serves as inducement for the existing employees to show better performance.
Limitations of External Recruitment:
1. Recruitment from outside may cause dissatisfaction and frustration among the existing employees who aspire for promotion.
2. External recruitment takes more time than the internal recruitment since the enterprise has to publicise the vacancies, and wait for the response of prospective candidates.
3. The prospective candidates from outside may or may not be good for the enterprise. There is no guarantee that the enterprise will be able to attract suitable applicants even after advertisement and other steps.
4. It is very costly to recruit staff from external sources. A lot of money has to be spent on advertisement and processing of applications.
Selection in HRM:
Selection is the process of choosing the best person for particular job. It leads to employment of workers. Selection is the negative process as it involves rejection of unsuitable candidates. More candidates are rejected than are selected.
Selection involves several steps to weed out the unsuitable candidates for the job under consideration. Criteria are laid down at each stage. Those who do not fulfil these criteria are rejected.
“Selection is the process of choosing from among the candidates from within the organisation or from the outside, the most suitable person for the current position or for the future position”. – Dale Yoder
“Selection is a managerial decision making process as to predict which job applicants will be successful if hired”. – S.P. Robins
The benefits of selecting right kind of people for various jobs are:
1. Proper selection and placement of personnel go a long way towards building up a suitable workforce. It will keep the rates of absenteeism and labour turnover low.
2. Component employees will show higher efficiency and enable the organisation to achieve its objective effectively.
3. The rate of industrial accidents will be considerably low if suitable employees are placed on various jobs.
4. When people get jobs of their taste and choice, they get higher job satisfaction. This will build up a contended workforce for the organisation.
5. The morale of the employees who are satisfied with their jobs is often high.
Steps in the Selection Procedure:
1. Preliminary Interview:
It is generally taken for the executive jobs. It is brief, about three to four minutes and has the job of eliminating the totally unsuitable candidates. Lack of certain requirements in education, training or experience may determine unsuitability. The candidates who clear the interview are asked to fill in the application blank. It is mainly for the management jobs.
2. Screening of Application Forms:
When a candidate comes for an interview, he is given an application form on request to fill. It asks for a written record of qualifications, Experience and other qualities of the candidate. The application form should be as simple as possible and incorporate questions having effect on the suitability of the applicant for the job.
Application forms are processed by the screening committee and properly screened to select the candidates who are to be given the employment tests and called for an interview. The purpose of preliminary screening is to reject the totally unsuitable candidates.
This will save a lot of time and money.
3. Selection or Employment Test:
Employment tests are being widely used to select persons for various jobs. These tests help in matching the characteristics of individuals with the vacant jobs so as to employ right type of personnel.
The following types of tests are given to the candidates:
(a) Intelligence test
(b) Aptitude test
(c) Occupational or Professional test
(d) Personality test.
4. Employment Interview:
After an applicant clears the various employment tests. He is then called for final interview. The interview is taken by the board consisting of the personnel manager and the representatives of other departments. The interview is held to determine the suitability of the candidate and to provide them a complete picture of the responsibilities associated with the job.
It is of great importance to the applicant and the employer. There should be proper physical arrangement for the interview. It will enhance the reputation of the employers and give confidence to the candidates. Privacy and comfort should not be forgotten to ensure that the objectives of interview are achieved.
If this is not done, there would be wastage of money on interviewing and right type of candidates may not be selected. The interviewers should also come fully prepared for the interview and should give proper attention to each candidate.
5. Reference Checking:
Many employers request names, addresses and telephone number of reference for the purpose of verifying information and gaining additional information on an applicant. Previous employers known persons, teachers and university professors, can act as references.
6. Medical Examination:
It is given to the selected candidates to ascertain their physical capability and protect the employer from employing physically unsuitable candidates. Medical test is given by the medical expert appointed by the employer.
7. Appointment Letter or Job Offer:
When a candidate has cleared the above listed hurdles in the selection procedure, he is given an appointment letter and is requested to join the organisation. When the employee reports for duty, he is given some sort of orientation and is placed on the job for which he is appointed.
Recruitment and Selection in HRM
Recruitment in HRM:
Recruitment occupies prime status in the functions of personnel department. It is recruitment through which desired workforce is procured. This workforce is a factor on which depends a major proportion of achievement of organisational goals. Thus it can be said that “unless right people are hired for right jobs, even the plans, organisation charts and control system would not do much good”.
Recruitment is the first stage in the process which continues with Selection, Placement, Induction, Training of the manpower. It is the next-step in the procurement function. Recruitment makes it possible to acquire the number and types of human resources necessary to ensure the continued operation of the organisation.
The success of an organisation largely depends upon the team of skilled and qualified workers who are selected out of a number of applicants for the concerned job. Recruitment is the first step in the employment process which aims at developing and maintaining the adequate manpower resources upon whom the organisation can depend when it needs additional employees.
An analysis of job is a pre-requisite to any recruitment process. It involves the preparation of job description and job specification for individual job, Recruitment process begins only when the requisite number of persons and the requirements of different jobs are known.
“Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for the jobs in the organisation.”
The term “recruitment” stands for discovering the sources from where potential employees will be selected. Systematic recruitment may ultimately result in greater productivity, higher morale, reduction in labour turnover and better reputation of the concern.
”Recruitment is a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate number to facilitate effective selection of an efficient working force,” According to the purpose, recruitment is to locate sources of manpower to meet job requirements and job specifications – Dale Yoder.
“It is a process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating and encouraging them to apply for jobs in an organisation. It is often termed positive, in that it stimulates people to apply for jobs to increase the hiring ratio of the number of applicants for a job and number of jobs to increase the hiring ratio of the number of applicants for a job and number of jobs. Selection on the other hand tends to be negative because it rejects a good number of those who apply, leaving only the best to be hired” – Flippo.
Recruiting is the discovering of potential applicants for actual or anticipated organisational vacancies. In other words it is a “Linking activity” bringing together those with jobs and those seeking jobs.
Recruitment is the development and maintenance of adequate manpower resources. It involves the creation of a pool of available labour upon whom the organisation can depend when it needs additional employee’s – D.S. Beach.
Thus “the purpose of a recruitment function is to seek, to evaluate, to obtain commitment, and to orient the aspirants to fill positions, required for the successful conduct of the work of an organisation.”
Recruitment enables the management to select suitable employees for different jobs. It is significant to point out that hiring of employees through selection is a negative process since it involves the taking of suitable candidates for the organisations and rejection or elimination of other applicants.
There are two major sources of recruitment used by the organizations. The internal source which recruits employees from within the organization and the other is external source where employees are recruited from outside the company.
Merits of Internal Recruitments:
i. It is easy for the employees to get settled.
ii. Internal employment brings a feeling of great satisfaction.
iii. Internal employment helps the organization to save its talent from being used by competitors.
iv. Labor turnover is reduced.
v. Trade union appends the policy of internal recruitment.
vi. The recruitment and selection within the organization raises the probability of genuine selection.
Demerits of Internal Recruitment:
i. It is important for any organization to get the best people for job. It may not be always possible to get the best talent within.
ii. Internal recruitment may lead to conflict within the organization.
iii. Employees also remain callous towards their job when they know that the senior position will be given only to them.
iv. Growth of any enterprise depends on fresh ideas and talent.
2. External Sources:
i. Factory Gate / Walk ins.
ii. Advertising.
iii. On Campus.
iv. Referrals.
v. Labor Contractors.
vi. Internships.
vii. Employment Agencies.
viii. Employee recommendation / Trade union recommendations.
ix. Unsolicited application.
x. Internet recruiting.
Merits of External Recruitment:
i. Wider choice is available
ii. Job specific talent can be recruited
iii. More competent incumbent may be found.
Demerits of External Sources:
i. It de-motivates the existing staff.
ii. It is a costly and time consuming process.
iii. Training after induction is must, which wastes time.
iv. Selection may not be perfect.
Approaches of Recruitment:
Internal recruitment refers to the process of a candidate being selected from the existing workforce to take up a new job in the same organization, perhaps as a promotion, or to provide career development opportunity, or to meet a specific or urgent organizational need. Advantages include the organization’s familiarity with the employee and their competencies insofar as they are revealed in their current job, and their willingness to trust said employee. It can be quicker and have a lower cost to hire someone internally.
1. An employee referral program is a system where existing employees recommend prospective candidates for the job offered, and in some organizations if the suggested candidate is hired, the employee receives a cash bonus.
2. Online resources have developed to help find niche recruiters. Niche firms also develop knowledge on specific employment trends within their industry of and are able to identify demographic shifts such as aging and its impact on the industry.
3. Social recruiting is the use of social media for recruiting including sites like Facebook and Twitter or career-oriented social networking sites such as LinkedIn and XING. It is a rapidly growing sourcing technique, especially with middle-aged people. On Google+, the fastest-growing age group is 45-54. On Twitter, the expanding generation is people from ages 55-64.
4. Mobile recruiting is a recruitment strategy that uses mobile technology to attract, engage and convert candidates. Mobile recruiting is often cited as a growing opportunity for recruiters to connect with candidates more efficiently.
Selection in HRM:
Selection is a negative process and it starts after the completion of the recruitment process. Selection is the process by which the qualified personnel can be chosen from the applicants who have offered their services to the organisation for employment. This process is called a negative process, since more candidates may be turned away than hired.
Selection is the tool in the hands of the management to differentiate the qualified and unqualified applicants by applying various techniques such as tests, interviews etc. In this sense, it is a negative process of employment in which only a few who qualify for the job are offered employment and others are denied the opportunities.
Selection is the process of logically choosing individuals who possess the necessarily skills, abilities, qualities to suit the job. As against this, recruitment is called a positive process, as its objective is to increase the number of applicants.
According to Dale Yoder “Selection process divides the candidates for employment into two categories, namely those who will be offered employment and those who will not be. Selection of employees is a decision making process, where the management decides certain norms or principles on the basis of which, a discrimination between qualified and unqualified desirable and undesirable candidates can be made. A sound selection policy will ensure the selection of a suitable candidate. The objective of selection process is to determine whether an applicant meets the qualifications for a specific job and to choose the applicant who is most likely to perform well on that job.”
After recruitment, the next important staffing function is selection. Selection of the best candidates is the next logical task in the execution of procurement function. Selection of suitable candidates is very essential because wrong selection adversely affects the organisation.
Investment in an inefficient or misfit employee is a great loss to it. At the same time wrong adversely affects the employee in the run as he can never get job satisfaction. It increases the labour turnover and absenteeism. It also reduces the morale among employees.
Therefore it is essential that selecting authorities must be very competent, experts and well knowledge. The selection procedure must be very efficient and satisfactory. Selection problem does not have-only the economic aspect but social aspect also.
It affects not only the organisation but the whole community. The subjective, unbalanced, unsystematic, prejudiced, biased selection may have demoralising effects on the society. Therefore selection must be based on merits, and it must be just.
Selection procedure is certainly a negative procedure of screening as many candidates as are likely to be rejected. It is concerned with securing maximum relevant information about an applicant.
The main objective of selection procedure is to see whether an applicant’s qualifications meet the job requirements or not? Who is the right person for job? Who will be successful on the job? Who is most suitable or desirable for the job? And who is most likely to perform well on that job?
The selection procedure involves several steps and at each step screening takes place. All these steps are necessary for screening every candidate. It depends upon the type the job i.e. operative, managerial, administrative, supervisory etc. Accordingly the steps must be evolved in selection procedure.
Even while selecting the steps, it should be seen whether the job requirements are properly tested or not. There is a series of steps, and every step is going to secure additional information of the candidates. At every step, facts must come to light which may lead to the rejection of the applicant. The applicant has to go through all these steps.
This technique is known as the successive hurdle technique. Thus, an effective selection programme is a non-random process because those selected have been chosen by assuming that they are more likely to be “better” employees than those who have been rejected. For best or ideal selection procedure a selection policy should be formulated.
While formulating selection policy due consideration should be given to organisational requirements as well as technical and professional dimensions of selection procedures. In simple words an effective policy must assert the “why” and “what” aspects of the organisational objectives.
The hiring process can be successful if the following preliminary requirements are satisfied-
(a) A person should have the authority to hire. This authority comes from the employment requisition, as developed by an analysis of the work load and work force.
(b) There must be some ideal or standard of personnel with which a prospective employee may be compared i.e. job description and job specification as developed by the job analysis.
(c) There must be a sufficient number of applications from whom the required number of employees may be selected.
Following are some steps involved in selection procedure.
(1) Preliminary Interview:
On receipt of applications they are screened to sort out the desirable and undesirable ones. Only the desirable applicants are permitted to face preliminary interview. The preliminary interview is generally quite brief and has the object of eliminating the unqualified, undesirable, and unsuitable candidates.
Lack of certain requirements in academic qualification, training, experience, skill, capacity may determine unsuitability of the candidates. In this brief interview appearance, ability in communication, impression, salary expectation etc. of the applicant are quickly evaluated.
This step is beneficial, not to the organisation only but to the applicant also, in a way that, if an applicant is eliminated in the early part of the selection procedure, he may be saved from the hurdle of passing through the long procedure, and organisation is saved from the expenses of processing him through the remaining steps of the procedure. If the applicant appears to have some chance of being selected, he is given the application blank to till in.
(2) Application Blank:
After clearing the preliminary interviews application blank is given to the candidates to fill up. The objective behind application blank is to secure information, in the applicant’s own handwriting sufficient to properly identify him and to draw tentative inferences regarding his suitability for employment.
This is one of the important steps to get a written record of qualifications, experience as well as any other specialisation of the candidate. This application blank should be as simple as possible. It may prove to be useful in big organisations, as to enable them to plan their training programmes, special assignments or promotions after the employee is hired.
(3) Employment Tests:
Testing and employment interviews are two very important devices of screening. An employment test is an instrument designed to measure selected psychological factors. The factors so measured are usually the psychological type, such as ability to reason, capacity for learning, temperament, specific aptitude, interest, mechanical dexterity etc.
Such psychological tests were first introduced in military services in the First World War and later adopted by business as a technique of selection. Employment tests are widely accepted in the selection process. Real value of the tests lies in eliminating those applicants who have very little chance of job success than in selecting applicants who would be definitely successful on the job.
But one should not rely upon tests alone. There are psychological and other steps which can measure the extent of differences among the people. Tests reduce the cost of selection and placement because large number of applicants can be evaluated within small period of time. Tests provide healthy basis for comparing applicant’s background.
Some important test is intelligence tests, aptitude tests, achievement tests, personality tests, interest tests etc. They help in matching the characteristics of individuals with the vacant jobs so as to employ right type of personnel. However, tests should be considered simply as a step and not a replacement for the other phase of the selection process.
It should be remembered that when the tests are used, they should not be relied upon completely. Individuals differ from each other in almost all aspects. They differ in respect to physical characteristics, capacity, and level of mental ability, likes and dislikes and also personality traits. Therefore right type of test should be applied to right type of personnel. Test should be selected according to job requirements.
(4) Employment Interviews:
Interview is probably the most widely used selection tool. It is a complete selection technique because its scope includes measuring all the relevant characteristics and integrating as well as classifying all other information about the applicant.
Although application blanks, tests and group discussions provide much valuable information about a candidate, to enable the organisation to know about the applicant and vice versa. The main aim of an employment interview is to find out the suitability of the candidate, to secure more information about the candidate, to give the candidate an accurate picture of the job with details of terms and conditions and idea of organisation policies and employer-employee relations.
The factual data on the application blank may also be checked. It also tests the capabilities of the candidate. It is an extensive device. It tests not only the personality but also the skill and ability for the job, of an applicant. Interview procedures and technologies vary from organisation to organisation and from individual to individual according to the purpose of the interview.
Interviewing is the most widely used single method of selection despite its some obvious shortcomings. Sometimes the interviewers give different ratings to same candidate and therefore it suffers from subjectivity and unreliability. Interview tests only the personality of the candidate and not his skills and ability for the job.
It depends too much on the personnel judgment of the interviewer which may not always be accurate. Prejudice may affect the result of the interview. Interview is personal, face to face meeting between the panel of interviewers and the candidate. They may also be used for testing certain qualities and capabilities of the candidates.
(5) Checking of References:
A referee is potentially an important source of information about a candidate’s personality specially if he holds a responsible position in some organisation or has been the boss or employer of the candidate. Generally the applicant is also asked to give names of certain persons or firms where he has worked, for references. Such references are very useful in getting information about the candidates.
An applicant may be asked in the application blank to supply two types of references- (a) character reference and (b) experience reference. The references may be requested to provide information regarding behaviour of the applicant.
It is very rare to get a frank opinion about the candidate, even after giving an assurance to them that the information supplied would be kept confidential. Reference checking has its drawbacks also. The reference may not give accurate information about the candidate.
He may give his good impression about him because of his relations with him or if he is his employer, he may give a good report to get rid of him. Therefore one should not remain totally relied upon this method.
(6) Physical /Medical Examination:
After a candidate has cleared the above hurdles, he is asked to go through medical examination by doctors appointed by the employer for this purpose. The pre-employment physical examination or medical test of a candidate is an important step in the selection procedure.
The physical examination may be thorough and comprehensive or it may be general and simple just to check up some important capabilities i.e. eyesight, hearing, lungs, heart or to detect contagious or serious disease the candidate is suffering etc. depending upon the nature of work.
It is important, because the medically fit and healthy employee is likely to work more efficiently as compared to physically unfit and disabled employee. If the employee suffers from some serious and contagious disease, other employees may suffer by coming in contact with such an employee or he may go on leave and claim medical benefit and compensation.
Such employees are the liability than the asset of an organisation. Such employees remain depressed having low morale and disinterested, which may be very expensive for the organisation. These are some objectives behind the medical checkup.
It serves to ascertain the applicant’s physical capabilities to meet the job requirements. It serves to protect the organisation against the unwarranted claims under the Workers Compensation Act. It helps to prevent contagious diseases entering the organisation.
Simply making the prospective employee go through the medical test ensures that employee is physically fit for the job at the time of actual entry. A proper medical examination ensures higher standard of health and physical fitness of the employees and reduces the rate of accidents, labour turnover and absenteeism too.
(7) Approval of the Supervisor:
After the medical examination, sometimes, the personnel department, which is generally in the staff nature, submits the candidate so selected to the line superior for his selection and approval. The reason behind this is, that the organisational relationship often requires that the supervisor be given the right to pass upon his personnel, otherwise he cannot be held accountable for their performance.
Thus the equality of authority and responsibility of the supervisors is preserved. It is better to have an appraisal to both the staff employment interviews and the supervisor, who he better acquainted with the actual job conditions and the type of personnel at present in the department.
This step may be eliminated either by giving authority of final selection to the personnel department or the superior concerned may be made the member of the interview committee, with a good voice in selection or interview.
(8) Selection and Placement:
A final list of candidates, who have successfully passed all the hurdles and therefore selected, is prepared. Such selected candidates are informed about their selection and are asked to report to the department. They may be given a date before which they are supposed to report.
This can be divided in two phases. In first phase only the selection list is published either by displaying it on the notice board or by sending individual letter or through circulars. In second phase appointment letters are issued to individual candidates.
The candidates may be appointed on probation of six months or more. If during the probation period, an employee is not found suitable, the management may give him some training or transfer him to some other job to which he may be expected to do justice. Even after this if, he is not found fit for the job, he may be asked to leave the job.
It is also courteous to inform the rejected candidates expressing the inability to select them.
In this way the selection procedure functions. The procurement programme should be evaluated from time to time in terms of readability, validity, objectivity, difficulty, reasonableness, standardisation, practicability, independence and economy and appropriate corrective actions should be taken to improve upon the existing system.