RECRUITMENT Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, selecting, and on boarding a qualified person for a job.

At the strategic level it may involve the development of an employer brand which includes an 'employee offering'. The stages of the recruitment process include: job analysis and developing a person specification; the sourcing of candidates by networking, advertising, or other search methods; matching candidates to job requirements and screening individuals using testing (skills or personality assessment); assessment of candidates' motivations and their fit with organizational requirements by interviewing and other assessment techniques. The recruitment process also includes the making and finalizing of job offers and the induction and onboarding of new employees.[1] Depending on the size and culture of the organization recruitment may be undertaken inhouse by managers, human resource generalists and / or recruitment specialists. Alternatively parts of all of the process might be undertaken by either public sector employment agencies, or commercial recruitment agencies, or specialist search consultancies. The process of finding and hiring the best-qualified candidate (from within or outside of an organization) for a job opening, in a timely and cost effective manner. The recruitment process includes analyzing the requirements of a job, attracting employees to that job, screening and selecting applicants, hiring, and integrating the new employee to the organization. Meaning Of Recruitment Recruitment of candidates is the function preceding the selection, which helps create a pool of prospective employees for the organization so that the management can select the right candidate for the right job from this pool. The main objective of the recruitment process is to expedite the selection process. Recruitment is a continuous process whereby the firm attempts to develop a pool of qualified applicants for the future human resources needs even though specific vacancies do not exist. Usually, the recruitment process starts when a manger initiates an employee requisition for a specific vacancy or an anticipated vacancy. According to Edwin B. Flippo, Recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation.

A formal definition states It is the process of finding and attracting capable applicants for the employment. The process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their applicants are submitted. The result is a pool of applicants from which new employees are selected .

Need for Recruitment:

Vacancies due to promotions, transfer, retirement, termination, permanent disability, death and labour turnover.. Creation of new vacancies due to the growth, expansion and diversification of business activities of an enterprise. In addition, new vacancies are possible due to job specification. Determine the present and future requirements of the organization on conjunction with its personnel-planning and job analysis activities. Increase the pool of job candidates at minimum cost. Help increase the success rate of the selection process by reducing the number of visibly under qualified or overqualified job applicants. Help reduce the probability that job applicants, once recruited and selected, will leave the organization only after a short period of time. Meet the organizations legal and social obligations regarding the composition of its work force. Begin identifying and preparing potential job applicants who will be appropriate candidates. Increase organizational and individual effectiveness in the short term and long term. Evaluate the effectiveness of various recruiting techniques and sources for all types of job applicants.

Needs are of Three types PLANNED i.e. the needs arising from changes in organization and retirement policy. ANTICIPATED needs are those movements in personnel, which an organization can predict by studying trends in internal and external environment. UNEXPECTED Resignation, deaths, accidents, illness give rise to unexpected needs.

Purpose and Importance of Recruitment

Attract and encourage more and more candidates to apply in the organization. Create a talent pool of candidates to enable the selection of best candidates for the organization. Determine present and future requirements of the organization in conjunction with its personnel planning and job analysis activities. recruitment is the process which links the employers with the employees. Increase the pool of job candidates at minimum cost. Help increase the success rate of selection process by decreasing number of visibly under qualified or overqualified job applicants. Help reduce the probability that job applicants once recruited and selected will leave the organization only after a short period of time. Meet the organizations legal and social obligations regarding the composition of its workforce . Begin identifying and preparing potential job applicants who will be appropriate candidates. Increase organization and individual effectiveness of various recruiting techniques and sources for all types of job applicants

The Steps of the Recruiting Process and How to Identify Failure Points

The 19 Steps in an Effective Recruiting Process

In this section Ill list each of the 19 distinct steps in the recruiting process, as well as the primary goal and the common cause of failure for each. Step #1 Determine your ideal recruiting target the goal of this step is to determine precisely who recruiting efforts should target, including performance level, experience level, and whether or not they are actively looking for a job. If youre targeting top performers or poaching from competitors, the remaining steps of the recruiting process must be designed to fit the needs in the job search process of your targeted candidate if you expect to even gain their attention. At this step many firms prioritize their jobs, so that they focus resources on jobs with the highest business impact. Common reason for failure: defining your target but failing to design the approaches used in a way capable of recruiting and hiring that type of target. Step #2 Understanding your targets decision criteria a significant part of any recruiting process is attracting desired talent, which you cannot do effectively without understanding what your targets consider important. This step focuses on identifying the key factors, known as job acceptance criteria, that are necessary in order to convince a qualified prospect to apply for and eventually accept a job at your firm. Common reason for failure: omitting this step altogether and producing messages based on what the recruiting team finds compelling versus what the target talent needs to hear about. Step #3 Knowing where your target hangs out having defined your target and their decision criteria, the next step aims at identifying where you are most likely to find the target talent, including what communication channels would be effective for recruitment messages. If you dont accurately identify where they spend their time, there will be a low probability of you placing compelling information about the company and the opportunity in a place they will find or pay attention to. Common reason for failure: omitting this step altogether and deploying employment branding and recruitment marketing to channels that are easiest to deploy to.

Step #4 Employment branding driving a pipeline of talent is the role of employment branding, a science-driven discipline that produces a consistent flow of qualified talent interested in some day working for your organization. The goal of this step is proactively developing and deploying content about what makes your organization a desirable place to work in the minds of your target talent populations. Obviously, if qualified individuals havent ever heard of your firm or they dont really think that your firm offers any positive or compelling features, you wont get many direct applicants. Common reason for failure: firms present their employer brand message in a perfect corporate format that is not judged to be authentic or believable by the target audience. Step #5 Learning your targets job search process at this step you implement a process designed to identify the typical process that your target audience uses once they begin a job search. The goal is to better understand precisely how they look for jobs, so that you can engineer your approach to advertising opportunities to make your jobs visible to them. If for example you learned that top talent often start job searches using Boolean search strings entered into a major search engine versus visiting a major job board, you may focus your attention on making your jobs listing search-engine acceptable and optimized, versus broadcasting to macro and micro job boards. Common reason for failure: again, many recruiting processes omit this step and as result, rely on luck or coincidence in order to be at the right place at the right time. Step #6 Posting jobs for active candidates because active candidates are proactively seeking out job openings, it doesnt take a lot to make your job postings visible. During this step, the goal is to write position postings and place them where active candidates can easily find them. Obviously if the descriptions are written so that they are unappealing or they are placed where your active candidates wouldnt likely see them, you would have a low percentage of active candidates applying. Common reason for failure: many firms refuse to gather data, so they are forced to guess where active candidates look for job openings. Step #7 Directly sourcing non-active prospects because non-active prospects are not in job search mode, they are unlikely to read any job postings or to visit your corporate career site. Instead, recruiters (or your employees through the referral program) will have to identify them, contact them, build a relationship, and eventually convince them to apply through direct sourcing. Common reason for failure: many recruiting functions do little direct sourcing and as a result, they are forced (often without realizing it) to select from a pool of primarily active candidates. Step #8 Providing prospects with additional information at this step potential candidates have decided to consider your firm but want additional information before they decide to actually apply. The goal of this step is to make it easy for potential candidates to find positive information about your firm and its jobs. Many will visit your corporate website for additional information, opting not to apply if what they find isnt immediately compelling. Smart prospects will also look for information about your firm and what its like to work there in places you cant control, including blogs, ratings sites, and via social media. The best firms identify trusted information sources and work

proactively to influence information on them. Common reason for failure: lack of interest in identifying what information candidates are most interested in and delivering a candid set of information. Step #9 The job application process by this step, potential candidates have been convinced to apply for a position, so the goal is for a large percentage of the qualified individuals who visit the site to complete the application process. Common reason for failure: most application processes are tedious or frustrating and there is no feedback mechanism to find out why applicants drop before they complete the process. Step #10 Sorting applications by job once applications are received, the goal is to ensure that the highest quality applications are sorted relevant to the most appropriate jobs (manually or via software). Common reason for failure: no metric or feedback mechanism to measure the percentage of applications that were routed to the wrong job. Step #11 The initial screening of applications and resumes at this step applications are screened to see if they meet minimum qualifications for the job. The goal is to successfully qualify the applicants so that qualified applicants are not sorted out and that only a small percentage of unqualified candidates make it to the next step. Common reason for failure: the absence of a metric or feedback mechanism to measure the percentage of applications that were misclassified or that advanced without meeting minimum standards. Step #12 The initial phone screen having screened resumes, the next step involves screening the individual behind the application. The goal of this step is to gather additional information on the candidates qualifications and fit, which should help you more accurately determine which candidates advance to an interview. Common reason for failure: no metric or periodic testing to determine the accuracy of the screening process. Step #13 Interviewing and selling qualified applicants in this step the most qualified candidates advance to formal interviews and other assessment activities. The primary goal is to rank order the candidates by level of desirability, with a secondary goal of providing a positive candidate experience that effectively sells the best candidates on this job. Common reason for failure: the absence of a feedback mechanism to identify problems and candidate dissatisfaction with the process that leads to top talent opting out before the process is completed. Step #14 The final interview the goal of this step is to confirm your initial desirability ranking and set expectations among those most likely to receive an offer. Common reason for failure: the very best candidates have been previously screened out by mistake or voluntarily dropped out of the process, so remaining choices are mediocre. Step #15 The reference checking process with your short list vetted and expectations for an offer set, the next step validates the perception of your assessment team using references. The goal is to gather additional information on the finalist(s) and

ensure information provided is not erroneous. Common reason for failure: the reference checking process is underfunded and no one is accountable for demonstrating effectiveness. Step #16 The offer process the goal of this step is to put together an offer that is within the companys boundaries and that meets as many of the candidates job acceptance criteria as possible. The process should have the sales and influence component that work to improve the likelihood of top candidates accepting. Common reason for failure: no one is held accountable for this step and there is seldom an effective mechanism to analyze failures and to provide feedback on how the offer process can be improved. Step #17 The post-offer acceptance process once an offer is accepted, it doesnt ensure the candidate will actually show up for work! The goal of this step is to ensure those that accept our offers dont back out (as a result of a counteroffer or second thoughts). That often means continuous communications with the new hire and providing more ties that closely link the individual to the firm prior to their start date. Common reason for failure: this step is often left to chance or is omitted. Step #18 The onboarding process contrary to popular belief, the primary goal of onboarding is not to get employees enrolled in benefits, but rather to provide resources and information that enable new hires to become productive as fast as possible. Common reason for failure: failures often occur because of the week handoff between the recruiting and onboarding functions and no defined budget for onboarding. Step #19 Feedback and new hire monitoring if the ultimate goal is continuous improvement of the recruiting process, then this step is the most important of all. The goal of this step is to assess the performance of new hires and to use that performance information to validate or prove that the overall recruiting process is producing quality hires. If a high percentage new hires fail, quit, or are poor performers, you will know that the hiring process needs significant improvement. A secondary goal is using new hires to determine what elements of the recruiting process were and were not effective. Some organizations also consider it a goal for recruiters to work individually with new hires to improve retention. Common reason for failure: this step is skipped altogether.

Criteria for Assessing a Recruiting Failure Point

After mapping each of the steps of the recruiting process, the next thing to do is to determine if there are any indicators that point to an activity as a possible failure point. An individual step becomes an automatic candidate for closer examination as a key failure point if it meets one or more of the following six characteristics: 1. The step is absent if a step is nonexistent, it cant make its contribution to the overall hiring process! 2. The step has no defined goals without published clear and measurable goals, it is unlikely that any activity will purposely produce desirable results. 3. Performance measures do not exist without feedback mechanisms to provide data or metrics to monitor the output of the step, the probability of failure increases dramatically. 4. Handoffs are not aligned the handoff between preceding and subsequent activities is not aligned. If they are not aligned, the outputs of one step will not easily mesh with the inputs of the next step. 5. No individual is accountable if no individual owns the step, there is less likelihood that errors will be caught. 6. The step has no defined funding without a defined budget, there is no need to justify the existence and the performance of the step.

One of the quickest and cheapest ways to identify potential failure points is to make a simple list of the steps in the hiring process. For each step, list the primary goals, how you measure performance of the activities in the step, and who is accountable. If you find missing steps, unclear goals, missing metrics or lack of accountability, you know what weaknesses may be leading to poor performance.

Sources Of Recruitment
Every organization has the option of choosing the candidates for its recruitment processes from two kinds of sources: internal and external sources. The sources within the organization itself (like transfer of employees from one department to other, promotions) to fill a position are known as the Internal sources of recruitment. Recruitment candidates from all the other sources (like outsourcing agencies etc.) are known as the External sources of recruitment.

Internal Sources of Recruitment

An internal recruiter (alternatively in-house recruiter or corporate recruiter) is member of a company or organization and typically works in the human resources (HR) department. Internal recruiters may be multi-functional, serving in an HR generalist role or in a specific role focusing all their time on recruiting. Activities vary from firm to firm but may include, screening CVs or rsums, conducting aptitude or psychological testing, interviewing, undertaking reference and background checks, hiring; administering contracts, advising candidates on benefits, onboarding new recruits and conducting exit interviews with employees leaving the organisation. They can be permanent employees or hired as contractors for this purpose. Contract recruiters tend to move around between multiple companies, working at each one for a short stint as needed for specific hiring purposes. The responsibility is to filter candidates as per the requirements of each client.

The internal sources of recruitment are:1. Promotions : Promotion means to give a higher position, status, salary and responsibility to the employee. So, the vacancy can be filled by promoting a suitable candidate from the same organization. 2. Transfers : Transfer means a change in the place of employment without any change in the position, status, salary and responsibility of the employee. So, the vacancy can be filled by transferring a suitable candidate from the same organisation. 3. Internal Advertisements : Here, the vacancy is advertised within the organisation. The existing employees are asked to apply for the vacancy. So, recruitment is done from within the organisation. 4. Retired Managers : Sometimes, retired managers may be recalled for a short period. This is done when the organisation cannot find a suitable candidate. 5. Recall from Long Leave : The organisation may recall a manager who has gone on a long leave. This is done when the organisation faces a problem which can only be solved by that particular manager. After he solves the problem, his leave is extended.

Merits of Internal Sources

The benefits / advantages / merits of using internal sources of recruitment:1. It is time saving, economical, simple and reliable. 2. There is no need of induction training because the candidate already knows everything about the organisation, the work, the employee, the rules and regulations, etc. 3. It motivates the employees of work hard in order to get higher jobs in the same organisation. 4. It increases the morale of the employees and it improves the relations in the organisation. 5. It reduce executive turnover. 6. It develops loyalty and a sense of responsibility

Demerits of Internal Sources

The limitations / demerits of using internal sources of recruitment:1. It prevents new blood from entering the organisation. New blood brings innovative ideas, fresh thinking and dynamism into the organisation. 2. It has limited scope because it is not possible to fill up all types of vacancies from within the organisation. 3. The position of the person who is promoted or transferred will be vacant. 4. There may be bias or partiality in promoting or transferring persons from within the organisation. 5. Those who are not promoted will be unhappy. 6. The right person may be promoted or transferred only if proper confidential reports of all employees are maintained. This involves a lot of time, money and energy.

EXTERNAL SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT

Professional or Trade Associations: Many associations provide placement service to its members. It consists of compiling job seekers lists and providing access to members during regional or national conventions. Also, the publications of these associations carry classified advertisements from employers interested in recruiting their members. These are particularly useful for attracting highly educated, experienced or skilled personnel. Also, the recruiters can zero on in specific job seekers, especially for hard-to-fill technical posts.

Advertisements: It is a popular method of seeking recruits, as many recruiters prefer advertisements because of their wide reach. Want ads describe the job benefits, identify the employer and tell those interested how to apply. Newspaper is the most common medium but for highly specialized recruits, advertisements may be placed in professional or business journals. Advertisements must contain proper information like the job content, working conditions, location of job, compensation including fringe benefits, job specifications, growth aspects, etc. The advertisement has to sell the idea that the company and job are perfect for the candidate. Recruitment advertisements can also serve as corporate advertisements to build company image. It also cost effective.

Employment Exchanges: Employment Exchanges have been set up all over the country in deference to the provision of the Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959. The Act applies to all industrial establishments having 25 workers or more each. The Act requires all the industrial establishments to notify the vacancies before they are filled. The major functions of the exchanges are to increase the pool of possible applicants and to do the preliminary screening. Thus, employment exchanges act as a link between the employers and the prospective employees. These offices are particularly useful to in recruiting blue-collar, white collar and technical workers.

Campus Recruitments: Colleges, universities, research laboratories, sports fields and institutes are fertile ground for recruiters, particularly the institutes. Campus Recruitment is going global with companies like HLL, Citibank, HCL-HP, ANZ Grindlays, L&T, Motorola and Reliance looking for global markets. Some companies recruit a given number of candidates from these institutes every year. Campus recruitment is so much sought after that each college; university department or institute will have a placement officer to handle recruitment functions. However, it is often an expensive process, even if recruiting process produces job offers and acceptances eventually. A majority leave the organization within the first five years of their employment. Yet, it is a major source of recruitment for prestigious companies.

Walk-ins, Write-ins and Talk-ins: The most common and least expensive approach for candidates is direct applications, in which job seekers submit unsolicited application letters or resumes. Direct applications can also provide a pool of potential employees to meet future needs. From employees viewpoint, walk-ins are preferable as they are free from the hassles associated with other methods of recruitment. While direct applications are particularly effective in filling entry-level and unskilled vacancies, some organizations compile pools of potential employees from direct applications for skilled positions. Write-ins are those who send written enquiries. These jobseekers are asked to complete application forms for further processing. Talk-ins involves the job aspirants meeting the recruiter (on an appropriated date) for detailed talks. No application is required to be submitted to the recruiter.

Contractors: They are used to recruit casual workers. The names of the workers are not entered in the company records and, to this extent; difficulties experienced in maintaining permanent workers are avoided.

Consultants: They are in the profession for recruiting and selecting managerial and executive personnel. They are useful as they have nationwide contacts and lend professionalism to the hiring process. They also keep prospective employer and employee anonymous. However, the cost can be a deterrent factor.

Head Hunters: They are useful in specialized and skilled candidate working in a particular company. An agent is sent to represent the recruiting company and offer is made to the candidate. This is a useful source when both the companies involved are in the same field, and the employee is reluctant to take the offer since he fears, that his company is testing his loyalty.

Radio, Television and Internet: Radio and television are used to reach certain types of job applicants such as skilled workers. Radio and television are used but sparingly, and that too, by government departments only. Companies in the private sector are hesitant to use the media because of high costs and also because they fear that such advertising will make the companies look desperate and damage their conservative image. However, there is nothing inherently desperate about using radio and television. It depends upon what is said and how it is delivered. Internet is becoming a popular option for recruitment today. There are specialized sites like naukri.com. Also, websites of companies have a separate section wherein; aspirants can submit their resumes and applications. This provides a wider reach.

Competitors: This method is popularly known as poaching or raiding which involves identifying the right people in rival companies, offering them better terms and luring them away. For instance, several executives of HMT left to join Titan Watch Company. There are legal and ethical issues involved in raiding rival firms for potential candidates. From the legal point of view, an employee is expected to join a new organization only after obtaining a no objection certificate from his/ her present employer. Violating this requirement shall bind the employee to pay a few months salary to his/ her present employer as a punishment. However, there are many ethical issues attached to it.

Mergers and Acquisitions: When organizations combine, they have a pool of employees, out of whom some may not be necessary any longer. As a result, the new organization has, in effect, a pool of qualified job applicants. As a result, new jobs may be created. Both new and old jobs may be readily staffed by drawing the best-qualified applicants from this employee pool. This method facilitates the immediate implementation of an organizations strategic plan.

Educational InstitutionDirect recruitment from colleges and universities is prevalent for the recruitment of higher staff in western countries but not in India. Many big organisations maintain a close liaison with educational institutions for recruitment to various jobs. Various recruiting groups develop systematic formal university recruiting programmes. They hold preliminary oncampus interviews and select some students for final interview mostly at their offices.

Employee recommendations-In order to encourage existing employees, some concern have made a policy to recruit further staff only from the applicants introduced and recommended by employees or employees' union. Other conditions being equal, preference will be given to friends and relatives of existing employees.

LeasingTo adjust short term fluctuations in personnel needs, the possibilities of leasing personnel for some specified period may be considered. This system of leasing has been v. ell adopted by the public sector organisations with the rapid growth of public sector, the acute shortage of managerial personnel has been solved by borrowing the personnel from the Government departments. At the end of their term they are given option to choose either parent services or the present organisation.

Unsolicited ApplicationsOne of the important source of recruitment is unsolicited applicants who send their requests for appointment against a vacancy, if any. By appointing such casual callers the employer saves not only the selection and training costs but also expenditure in the form of pension, insurance and

fringe benefits.

ADVANTAGES OF EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT

1. It helps you acquire competitive intelligence about other firms. 2. New hires can help you identify other potential candidates to poach from their firm. 3. The new ideas that applicants and new hires bring in stimulate the thinking of others. 4. New hires ask why we do things that way so we are often forced to re-think the way we do things. 5. It keeps our employees on the edge because they know they must compete against outsiders for jobs. 6. Outside hires dont have political alliances already set up. This can help them implement new ideas without the baggage of past political battles. 7. Already trained external hires may give us instant talent for new products, programs, and skills. 8. Some argue that hiring already trained people is cheaper than developing and promoting internal talent. This effect varies depending on the cost of a new hire. 9. It allows other firms to train and weed out the turkeys so we can hire the cream of the crop. As a result it can lower training cost. 10. In a stagnant culture, outsiders might help shake things up and help us evolve our culture. 11. When you hire a great talent from a close competitor, you gain one and as an added benefitthe competitor also loses one. 12. The outside recruiting and advertising for outside hires may tangentially help build your brand, send a message that you are growing and also help boost sales. 13. Re-hiring boomerangs (former employees) may aid in retention efforts as they tell other employees that the grass is not greener on the outside. 14. In a fast-growing company (or small firms) you might have no choice but the higher externally because there isnt enough talent to go around inside the firm. 15. If the firm has weak training or development, the inside talent will not have sufficient skill to do the job. 16. If the firm has a weak hiring process promoting internally, is not a realistic option because of the lack of talent. 17. In jobs where you absolutely require experience, there may not be enough experience in newly developing areas. 18. External hiring forces are managers to stay up with trends and to benchmark as they interview search. This is the added impact of improving their learning. 19. In most cases external hiring adds more to the diversity of the workforce than internal hiring. 20. If the firm is going global, it will undoubtedly line that external local hires are superior and performance to internal promotions. 21. The World Wide Web makes recruiting so easy and inexpensive the advantage has shifted towards external hiring.

DISADVANTAGES OF EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT

1. Outside hires can weaken the corporate culture by bringing in counter culture people. 2. The turnover rate for external hires is almost always higher than internal promotions because the candidates must both adjust to a new environment and they come to us as relative unknowns. 3. External hires often have a longer adjustment period and orientation costs are higher. 4. Customers may feel slighted if they dont get one of the Firms current employees. 5. In a tight job the (potentially) higher starting salaries of outside hires may cause internal equity issues and eventually increase all salaries. 6. In a tight job market there may be little external talent available or the quality of the limited talent may be poor. 7. Firms with strategic alliances may anger their partners by poaching their talent. 8. Hiring talent away from customers and suppliers may harm your business relationships. 9. Legal issues can occur when hiring intact teams, top technical talent with noncompete agreements. 10. In a competitive market you cant hire quality talent without a strong recruiting function. 11. Learning internet recruiting and setting up web pages may be prohibitively expensive or time consuming. 12. The world of external recruiting changes so rapidly and is so competitive that we might end up with lesser talent unless we can afford a strong recruiting function. 13. The likelihood of lawsuits resulting from illegal practices by hard to control managers is high. 14. External hires have already demonstrated their lack of loyalty by leaving their firm. They may have the same lack of loyalty at our firm, resulting and high turnover rate. 15. In a cyclical economy, large-scale external hiring might just a mean future layoffs.

INTERNAL RECRUITMENT VS EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT