Recruitment and selection of Insurance Companies PREFACE People are a companys most important assets.

They can make or break the fortunes of a business. In todays highly competitive business environment placing the right people in the right position is very critical for the success of any organization. The recruitment and selection decision is of prime importance as it is the vehicle for obtaining the best possible person-to-job fit that will, contribute significantly towards the Company's effectiveness. It is also becoming increasingly important, as the Company evolves and changes, that new recruits show a willingness to learn, adaptability and ability to work as part of a team. The Recruitment & Selection procedure ensures that these criteria are addressed In this project I have studied Recruitment and Selection process of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and attempted to provide some ways so as to make recruitment more effective and to reduce the cost of hiring an employee. I am privileged to be one of the students who got an opportunity to do my training with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. My involvement in the project has been very challenging and has provided me a platform to leverage my potential in the most constructive way. ICICI Prudential Life insurance is one of India's leading financial institutions offering complete financial solutions that encompass every sphere of life. In a short span of time,ICICI has set an example by having a steady and confident journey to growth and success. During the training period I have studied deeply the process of hiring in ICICI Prudential Life insurance and did a SWOT analysis of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

to find out the existing shortcomings and potential threats and thereby recommended suggestions. This project however is an attempt to share as best as possible my experience in corporate world with all my colleagues and my faculty. I would be delighted to receive readers comments which maybe valuable lessons for my future projects. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In todays rapidly changing business environment, organizations have to respond quickly to requirements for people. The Financial market has been witnessing growth which is manifold for last few years. Many private players have entered the economy thereby increasing the level of competition. In the competitive scenario it has become a challenge for each company to adopt practices that would help the organization stand out in the market. The competitiveness of a company of an organization is measured through the quality of products and services offered to customers that are unique from others. Thus the best services offered to the consumers are result of the genius brains working behind them. Human Resource in this regard has become an important function in any organization. All practices of marketing and finances can be easily emulated but the capability, the skills and talent of a person cannot be emulated. Hence, it is important to have a well-defined recruitment policy in place, which can be executed effectively to get the best fits for the vacant positions. Selecting the wrong candidate or rejecting the right candidate could turn out to be costly mistakes for the organization. Therefore a recruitment practice in an organization must be effective and efficient in attracting the best manpower. Coverage The extent and limitation

With largest number of life insurance policies in force in the world, insurance happens to be a mega opportunity in India. Its business is growing at 15-20% annually and presently is of the order of Rs. 450m. Together with banking sector it adds about 7% to the GDP. Like in the case of BPOs, Insurance sector too faces the problem of attrition. Thus, recruitment is an ongoing process carried through out the year. The project is based on the study of recruitment process. The various recommendations suggested have been the result of the study. The idea is to generate ways of dealing with high attrition and making hiring process manageable and efficient. Data Used There were mainly two sources of data collection Primary data: Survey method Personal interview with candidates In depth conversation with the placement agency v Secondary data: Study of recruitment policy Websites Published articles Research methodology used v Study of recruitment and selection at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance by the manual provided by the HR department; v Web sites

v Journals v Magazines v Books Findings v Recruitment is done throughout the year more during the months of MayJune and Oct-Nov; v Huge investment of time; v Huge recruitment cost; To pursue these, I would be going through the recruitment policies of the company. By active participation in the recruitment process, the areas where improvement can be bought about can be identified. Thus the whole research would be done under the guidance of external guide. It will also involve recruitment and selection processes, reading the material provide internally by the organization, information from the new employees

Meaning Of Recruitment

Recruitment Home Meaning Of Recruitment

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 . Recruitment is the activity that links the employers and the job seekers. A few definitions of recruitment are:

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

It is the process to discover sources of manpower to meet the requirement of staffing schedule and to employ effective

measures for attracting that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient working force.

Recruitment of candidates is the function preceding the selection, which helps create a pool of prospective employees for the organisation 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.

RECRUITMENT NEEDS ARE OF THREE TYPES

PLANNED i.e. the needs arising from changes in organization and retirement policy.

ANTICIPATED 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.

Recruitment Process
Recruitment Home Recruitment Process

The recruitment and selection is the major function of the human resource department and recruitment process is the first step towards creating the competitive strength and the strategic advantage for the organisations. Recruitment process involves a systematic procedure from sourcing the candidates to arranging and conducting the interviews and requires many resources and time. A general recruitment process is as follows: y Identifying the vacancy: The recruitment process begins with the human

resource department receiving requisitions for recruitment from any department of the company. These contain: Posts Number Duties Qualifications required to of to be be filled persons performed

y y

Preparing the job description and person specification. Locating and developing the sources of required number and type of employees (Advertising etc).

y y y

Short-listing and identifying the prospective employee with required characteristics. Arranging the interviews with the selected candidates. Conducting the interview and decision making

1. Identify vacancy

2. Prepare job description and person specification 3. Advertising the vacancy 4. Managing the response 5. Short-listing 6. Arrange interviews 7. Conducting interview and decision making The recruitment process is immediately followed by the selection process i.e. the final interviews and the decision making, conveying the decision and the appointment formalities.

Sources Of Recruitment
Recruitment Home Sources Of Recruitment

Every organisation has the option of choosing the candidates for its recruitment processes from two kinds of sources: internal and external sources. The sources within the organisation 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.

SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT

Purpose & Importance Of Recruitment

Recruitment Home Purpose & Importance Of Recruitment

y Attract and encourage more and more candidates to apply in the organisation. y Create a talent pool of candidates to enable the selection of best candidates for the organisation. y Determine present and future requirements of the organization in conjunction with its personnel planning and job analysis activities. y Recruitment is the process which links the employers with the employees. y Increase the pool of job candidates at minimum cost.

y Help increase the success rate of selection process by decreasing number of visibly under qualified or overqualified job applicants. y Help reduce the probability that job applicants once recruited and selected will leave the

organization only after a short period of time. y Meet the organizations legal and social obligations regarding the composition of its workforce. y Begin identifying and preparing potential job applicants who will be appropriate candidates. y Increase organization and individual effectiveness of various recruiting techniques and sources for all types of job applicants

Factors Affecting Recruitment

Recruitment Home Factors Affecting Recruitment

The recruitment function of the organisations is affected and governed by a mix of various internal and external forces. The internal forces or factors are the factors that can be controlled by the organisation. And the external factors are those factors which cannot be controlled by the organisation. The internal and external forces affecting recruitment function of an organisation are:

FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT

Forms Of Recruitment

Recruitment Home Forms Of Recruitment

The organisations differ in terms of their size, business, processes and practices. A few decisions by the recruitment professionals can affect the productivity and efficiency of the organisation. Organisations adopt different forms of recruitment practices according to the specific needs of the organisation. The organisations can choose from the centralized or decentralized forms of recruitment, explained below:

CENTRALIZED RECRUITMENT

The recruitment practices of an organisation are centralized when the HR / recruitment department at the head office performs all functions of recruitment. Recruitment decisions for all the business verticals and departments of an organisation are carried

out by the one central HR (or recruitment) department. Centralized from of recruitment is commonly seen in government organisations.

Benefits of the centralized form of recruitment are:

Reduces administration costs

Better utilization of specialists

Uniformity in recruitment

Interchangeability of staff

Reduces favoritism

Every department sends requisitions for recruitment to their central office

DECENTRALIZED RECRUITMENT

Decentralized recruitment practices are most commonly seen in the case of conglomerates operating in different and diverse business areas. With diverse and geographically spread business areas and offices, it becomes important to understand the needs of each department and frame the recruitment policies and procedures accordingly. Each department carries out its own recruitment. Choice between the two will depend upon management philosophy and needs of particular organization. In some cases combination of both is used. Lower level staffs as well as top level executives are recruited in a decentralized manner.

Recruitment Strategies

Recruitment Home Recruitment Strategies

Recruitment is of the most crucial roles of the human resource professionals. The level of performance of and organisation depends on the effectiveness of its recruitment function. Organisations have developed and follow recruitment strategies to hire the best talent for their organisation and to utilize their resources optimally. A successful recruitment strategy should be well planned and practical to attract more and good talent to apply in the organisation.

For formulating an effective and successful recruitment strategy, the strategy should cover the following elements:

Identifying and prioritizing jobs

Requirements keep arising at various levels in every organisation; it is almost a never-ending process. It is impossible to fill all the positions immediately. Therefore, there is a need to identify the positions requiring immediate attention and action. To maintain the quality of the recruitment activities, it is useful to prioritize the vacancies whether to focus on all vacancies equally or focusing on key jobs first.

Candidates to target The recruitment process can be effective only if the organisation completely understands the requirements of the type of candidates that are required and will be beneficial for the organisation. This covers the following parameters as well:

Performance level required: Different strategies are required for focusing on hiring high performers and average performers.

Experience level required: the strategy should be clear as to what is the experience level required by the organisation. The candidate s experience can range from being a fresher to experienced senior professionals.

Category of the candidate: the strategy should clearly define the target candidate. He/she can be from the same industry, different industry, unemployed, top performers of the industry etc.

Sources of recruitment

The strategy should define various sources (external and internal) of recruitment. Which are the sources to be used and focused for the recruitment purposes for various positions. Employee referral is one of the most effective sources of recruitment.

Trained recruiters The recruitment professionals conducting the interviews and the other recruitment activities should be well-trained and experienced to conduct the activities. They should also be aware of the major parameters and skills (e.g.: behavioural, technical etc.) to focus while interviewing and selecting a candidate.

How to evaluate the candidates The various parameters and the ways to judge them i.e. the entire recruitment process should be planned in advance. Like the rounds of technical interviews, HR interviews, written tests, psychometric tests etc.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Recruitment Home Equal Employment Opportunity

Equal opportunity employment refers to the approach of the employers to ensure the practice of being fair and impartial in the employment process. *The term "Equal Opportunity Employment" was first given by President Lyndon B. Johnson when he signed Executive Order 11246 which was created to prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, sex, creed, religion, color, or national origin*. The scope of the order also covered the discrimination on the basis of the minority status. Discrimination in employment

Discrimination refers to the any kind of prejudice, biasness or favoritism on the basis of

y y y y y y y

disability race age sex sexuality pregnancy Marital status

in employment. No person should be treated less favourably than any other on the basis of the specified issues above. Many countries (like SA) have already implemented Equal Opportunity Act, making it against the law to treat anybody unfairly. Diversity in workforce With the globalization and the increasing size of the organisations, the diversity in the workforce is increasing i.e. people from diverse backgrounds, educational background, age groups, race, gender, abilities etc come together to work for one organisation and common objectives. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the employer to create an equality-based and discrimination-free working environment and practices. Equal opportunity means treating people equally and fairly irrespective of their race, religion, sex, age, disability etc. Giving women an equal treatment and access to opportunities at the workplace. Any employee should be ill-treated or harassed by the employer or other employees. Equal Employment Opportunity principles help to realize and respect the actual worth of the individual on the basis of his knowledge, skills, abilities and merit. And the policy should cover all the employees of an organisation whether permanent or temporary, contractual etc. Equal employment opportunity is necessary to ensure:

y y y

To give fair access to the people of all development opportunities To create a fair organisation, industry and society. To encourage and give disadvantaged or disabled people a fair chance to grow with the society