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Rosita bt.

Mohamed Othman
and
Nadianatra bt. Musa
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak Malaysia.
Email: morosita@fit.unimas.my, nadia@fit.unimas.my
Phone No: 082 583668
Fax No. 082 583764

E- RECRU I TMENT PRACTICE: PROS V S . CONS

OCTOBER 2006 - MARCH 2 0 0 7 V O L . 1 N O . 1


ABSTRACT
The traditional method of recruitment has been revolutionized by the emergence of the Internet. In the past few
years, the Internet has dramatically changed the face of HR recruitment and the ways organizations think about the
recruiting function. In the coming years, digital recruiting and hiring are expected to continue their explosive
growth. Presently, e- recruitment has been adopted in many organizations either from large organizations to small
size companies, even in Malaysia. Most organizations are already using e-recruitment to post jobs and accept
resumes on the Internet, and correspond with the applicants by e-mail. It brings the benefits to the organizations.
In this article, there will be an introduction on e-government and e-recruitment and its practice by government
agencies in Malaysia. There will also be a discussion on the pros and cons of e-recruitment practice broadly taken
from literatures.

Keywords: e-recruitment, e-government, recruitment methods


35

1. INTRODUCTION
In Malaysia, e-recruitment is one of the electronic services E-government by definition is a multimedia networked
(e-services) applications, which is the fifth pilot project paperless administration linking government agencies
of e-government flagship application. As Malaysia within Putrajaya with government centres around the
moves towards achieving K-Society by the year 2020, country to facilitate a collaborative government
e-recruitment instead is in line with E-World expectation environment and efficient service to businesses and
where the primary goal of National IT Agenda (NITA) is citizens (Afrika-Asia, 2002). The objectives of the
to migrate all Malaysians and institutions into the e-government are to offer efficient, high quality on-line
E-World for the new millennium. The five thrust areas services to citizens and businesses, streamline government’s
of E-World comprise of K-Economy, K-Community, processes to improve quality of service, reduce costs
K-Learning, K-Public Ser vices and K-Sovereignty. and increase productivity, strengthen data security and
E-recruitment is part of the e-services applications protect data, increase citizen participation in government
offered by the government of Malaysia. E-Government and to create good governance and transparency
is a large component of K-Public Services which through effective communication and trace ability.
basically is about the opportunity to transform a public
The seven pilot projects of the Electronic Government
sector organization’s commitment in order to function
Flagship Application are as follows:
as citizen-centric.
1. Project Monitoring System (SPP II)
The Electronic Government (e-government) initiative was
2. Human Resource Management Information System
launched in Malaysia as the first step into the Information
(HRMIS)
Age by National IT Agenda (NITA). E-government was one of
3. Generic Office Environment (GOE)
the seven innovative Flagship Applications. It was
4. Electronic Procurement (EP)
aimed to improve the government internal operations
5. Electronic Services (E-Services)
and also service deliveries towards Malaysians.
6. Electronic Labour Exchange (ELX)
7. E-Syariah
Relevant literatures from USA and UK have several According to Gentner Gentner (1984) and Casper (1985),
definitions of online recruitment or better known as the first references to online recruitment appear in
e-recruitment. Basically, e-recruitment refers to the use articles of the mid-1980s while systematic reference to
of the Internet to facilitate the recruitment process by online recruitment in the HR journals began almost a
advertising jobs or contact applicants electronically. It decade later, in the mid-1990s, when IT companies and
PUBLIC SECTOR ICT MANAGEMENT REVIEW

can be conducted by using an organization’s own universities began to use the Internet extensively.
Corporate Web Site or a Web-based job site.
According to Schreyer & McCarter (1998) e-recruitment 2. RECRUITMENT METHODS
refers to There are a lot of recruitment methods available, either
“the recruitment process, including placing job advertisements, traditional method or the latest. From the study of
receiving resumes, and building human resource database Arboledas, Ferrero and Vidal (2001), they present some
with candidates and incumbents.” examples of recruitment methods that organisations
are using: newspaper advertisement, faxed/mailed
From the relevant literature, the words e-recruitment, resumes, recruitment agency or headhunter. All these
online recruitment, cybercruiting, or Internet recruiting methods are defined as traditional recruitment method
are synonymous. They imply the formal sourcing of job Galanaki (2002). From relevant literature, the traditional
information online (Ganalaki, 2002). Hoffman (2001) recruitment method is the way that a company
defined e-recruitment as announced a job opening to the marketplace through
“The utilisation of the Internet for candidate sourcing, a classified advertisement, an executive recruiter, a job
selection, communication and management throughout the fair or other media. Any candidate who happened to
recruitment process” see the announcement would submit his or her resume.
Also, previous studies show that advertisements in news-
Similarly to Hogler (1998) and HR Portal (2003), give the papers are used more frequently than other methods of
idea that employers can electronically advertise jobs, traditional recruitment (Arboledas, Ferrero & Vidal, 2001).
36 scan and store resumes, conduct test, and contact qualified
applicants by using the power of the Internet to match There are several tools that have been used by companies
people to jobs. Moreover, Vidot (2000) suggested that with the aim of recruiting their employees. Some of
e-recruitment is the use of Internet to attract high quality them are more traditional or considered to be generally
candidates; reiterate their company profile and branding effective, while others may prove appropriate for
and streamline application and selection processes. specific situations only. The table below presents the
summary of recruitment method from Galanaki (2002).

Table 1: Recruitment Methods (Source: Galanaki, 2002)

Method Comments
Job Fair Free service, provided at local or national level
Selection consultants-management selection They recruit and select for positions
Head-hunters Keeping of informal network of contacts, especially of those
who may be on constant demand, i.e. senior managers
Temporary agencies Provision of short term cover as an alternative to recruitment of
permanent employees
Advertising on press Local and national papers or trade and professional journals
TV, Radio advertising For local or national coverage
Existing employee contacts – word of mouth The most traditional and yet considered by some as the most
effective recruitment method
School-Colleges and Universities and the The Long – established practice to select employees since they
Careers Service get out of educational institutions
Union and professional referrals Registers kept by unions or professional institutes of
employees seeking employment.
In order to choose which recruitment method the post job vacancies, search for job opportunities and
employer is going to use, the employer needs to apply online and seek advice and help from the ministry.
consider many aspects, for example, the cost of reaching Another example of e-recruitment application is in the
the candidates, the time scales involved, and the culture state of Sarawak, where the Sarawak Government
of the organization. has developed an e- Recruitment application. The
However, in recent years, the Internet has made an e-recruitment website is one of the online services
impact on the human resource field (Bussler & Davis, provided by the Sarawak Government. The application
2002). Organizational recruitment efforts have increasingly is actually an online job application system for the state

OCTOBER 2006 - MARCH 2 0 0 7 V O L . 1 N O . 1


relied on computer technology and one area that has government of Sarawak. It provides an easy way to
evolved is recruiting via the Internet, otherwise known search and apply for vacancies in the Sarawak State
as e-recruitment (Mottl, 1998). This technology can be Government. It allows submission and updates the
used in application tracking, job posting and electronic application, personal details and qualification on-line,
job application. It can facilitate the human resource function anywhere, anytime. Interestingly, any notification is sent
and reduce human resource works. immediately via e-mail and/or Short Messaging Service
From the relevant literature, there is an argument that (SMS). Applicants can view application status and
e-recruitment is needed to be used in conjunction with interview details online.
other techniques. Borck (2000) and Caggiano (1999) By using this system, applicants can search for any available
argue that Internet-based recruiting will not replace jobs within the State Government of Sarawak. Applicants
traditional practices, but a well-implemented e-recruitment can submit and update their personal information in
strategy can help the recruitment process become more the system. Applicants can also apply the jobs online,
successful. Internet recruiting should be only one of lookup for timetables and venues of interviews, receive
many tools used to find and recruit applicants. SMS or email containing interview timetables, check
Similarly, Pearce & Tuten (2001) pointed out that although online status of job application and interview results
the employers see the advantages of e-recruitment, and finally receive information on available jobs
they continued to use traditional methods such as personally via email. 37
newspaper ads, personal referrals, and search agencies
for most their recruiting. Employer viewed the Internet Pros and Cons of e-recruitment
as an important additional tool. In most relevant literatures, there are some commonly
Cullen (2001) also supports that e-recruitment is not identified advantages and disadvantages for the
treated as a stand-alone human resource tool but is organisations which are using e-recruitment. The
integrated into an overall recruiting and selection advantages of e-recruitment will be discussed first in
strategy that includes, among other things, sophisticated this section and followed with the disadvantages.
behavioral and skills assessment, interviewing, and One of the pros of e-recruitment is that e-recruitment
additional means of identifying needs and sourcing facilitates the organisation to reach the large target
candidates. Previous studies show that a human resource and bring the qualified candidates. Millman (1998) cited
department still uses both traditional method and in Rozelle & Landis (2002) suggested that online
e-recruitment in recruiting process. More than 75% of recruitment offers an efficient way to identify and
HR professionals are now using Internet job boards in classify a virtually unlimited number of job seekers.
addition to traditional recruiting method (HR Portal, Similarly, e-recruitment allows employers to broaden
2003). the scope of their search, as a result significantly
The e-recruitment method has also been applied by increasing the likelihood that high-quality candidates
government agencies in Malaysia. For example, the will be found (Markevieius, 2000). It has been sustained
Ministry of Human Resources (MOHR) has developed that e-recruitment can bring the qualified candidates
an online application known as Electronic Labour Exchange to the employers. From relevant literature, applicants
(ELX). The application offers a one-stop service where through the Internet are mostly young, computer literate,
few services are being offered such as job registration educated and showing some interest in the recruiting
and matching, place of work registration and employer’s company [(Ganalaki, 2002), (Zall, 2000)]. From iLogos
annual returns or retrenchment reporting, list of private research 1998 (iLogo, 1998), results show that the
employment agencies and report on foreign employee Internet helps companies to attract better quality
engaged. Besides that, it also offers a job-clearing applicants and Internet users tend to be better-educated
system for the handicapped. By using this e-service, and obviously more computer literate than non-users.
employers can send or update personal information, Additionally, e-recruitment can bring a never-ending
list of links to sites where employers can advertise their of innovation and flexibility (Fister, 1999). The study
vacancies and potential candidates can peruse the available from Pearce & Tuten(2001); Hogler (1998) presented that
jobs and submits their resumes. Moreover, it can reach the organisation with a strong brand name and strong
people at a worldwide level while newspaper can reach geographical presence found their corporate Website
PUBLIC SECTOR ICT MANAGEMENT REVIEW

people only at a local level [(Chaskelson, 2000), (Ganalaki, could attract more applicants.
2002)]. Thomas & Ray (2000) similarly support that Finally, e-recruitment is considered as a very good tool
e-recruiting can increase applicants pools. to reach the global target (Ganalaki, 2002). It appears
One of the main considerations of e-recruitment is the that other than language barriers, which can be
cost-effective and the economy achieved through its overcome, the Internet has no boundaries.
usage. This is because publishing available positions However, there are some disadvantages of e-recruitment.
on the company’s website costs less than publishing in The first issue that relates to drawback of e-recruitment
other media for example newspaper. Also, employers and that is the discrimination issue forwarded to
can place the vacancy positions on the job board Internet non-user [(Flynn, 2000), (Hogler, Henle & Bemus,
website as it is also at a lower cost. From iLogos 1998)]. It is claimed that e-recruitment may have a
research 1998 (iLogos, 1998), the result shows that disparate impact on certain groups of particularly ethnic
e-recruitment could bring the lower recruiting costs. minorities. People may lack access to computers or do
Companies can achieve cost savings in three areas; not have the skills necessary to use online recruitment.
reduced direct costs of newspaper advertisements, job Therefore, employers need to remember that although
fairs and head hunter fees, reduced mailing cost and the Internet has increased the geographic scope of
reduced workload for human resource department. Also, recruitment, at the moment, it remains limited in its
in terms of time saving the result shows that e-recruitment demographic scope (Hogler, Henle & Bemus, 1998).
can help companies achieve faster recruiting cycle. There
are three results: faster posting jobs on the Internet, Moreover, organisations find it difficult to recruit executive-
38 level talent on the Internet. Arkin and Crabb (1999)
once a job is posted human resource department starts
receiving resumes the same day and the Internet can conclude that executive job applicants still prefer
speed up the processing period by automating some personal contact. Similarly, a point from Seminerio (2001)
tasks. Moreover, a major human resource trade association is that, many companies will want to continue to use
recently conducted a survey to gauge the advertising more traditional recruitment services for hiring certain
costs of traditional recruiting methods versus Internet employees, such as executive level staff. Arboledas,
recruiting. It found that traditional advertising costs Ferrero and Vidal (2001) similarly argued that using
are more expensive that Internet recruiting (IDC, 2000). e-recruitment tends to use only looking for junior
positions and from recent university graduates. It is
Furthermore, Elswick (2000) cited in Bussler & Davis not suitable for recruiting top management. Also, there
(2002) that a good e-recruitment system could bring are some positions that are usually better resourced by
lower cost by 90%. It is similarly supported the greatest using a newspaper or using both newspaper and
benefit of e-recruitment by creating enormous financial website advertisement.
savings [(Cullen, 2001), (Rudich, 2000)].
An organizational economic framework suggests that
Not only cost saving that e-recruitment could bring to electronic recruiting will make up an important dimension
employers, but also the relevant literature presented of human resource management activity in the future.
that e-recruitment could help the company to save the The technology, however, may have a disparate impact
recruiting process time. Time saving is the one of the on certain groups of particularly ethnic minorities. People
most widely adopted assumptions on e-recruitment. may lack access to computers or do not have the skills
Bussler & Davis (2002) in particular, said that e-recruiting necessary to use online recruitment. They suggest that
system can reduce the hiring time by two-thirds. This such a drawback could make it difficult for a company
practice is fast-tracked, starting with an immediately to achieve diversity goals and could represent a potential
response by candidates. The employers may receive legal threat (Hogler, Henle & Bemus, 1998). The use of
applications the very day a vacancy is posted on web the Internet to hire can create discrimination issues
[(Rudich, 2000), (Sunderland, 2000), (Weingarten, 1998)]. (Flynn, 2000). Employers need to remember that
E-recruitment can increase the image of organisation, although the Internet has increased the geographic scope
especially when building a corporate recruitment site, of recruitment, at the moment, it remains limited in its
it is considered to attribute to the company an image demographic scope.
Another disadvantages that could be considered is the 4. REFERENCES
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