Human Resource

Management
ELEVENTH EDITION

GARY DESSLER

Part 2 | Recruitment and Placement

Chapter 5

Personnel Planning and Recruiting

2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.
All rights reserved.

PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook

The University of West Alabama

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Explain the main techniques used in employment
planning and forecasting.
2. List and discuss the main outside sources of
candidates.
3. Effectively recruit job candidates.
4. Name and describe the main internal sources of
candidates.
5. Develop a help wanted ad.
6. Explain how to recruit a more diverse workforce.

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The Recruitment and Selection Process

1. Decide what positions to fill through personnel planning
and forecasting.
2. Build a candidate pool by recruiting internal or external
candidates.
3. Have candidates complete application forms and
undergo initial screening interviews.
4. Use selection tools to identify viable candidates.
5. Decide who to make an offer to, by having the
supervisor and others interview the candidates.

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FIGURE 51

Steps in Recruitment and Selection Process

The recruitment and selection process is a series of hurdles aimed at selecting the best candidate for the job.

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FIGURE 52

Linking Employers Strategy to Plans

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Planning and Forecasting

Employment or Personnel Planning
The process of deciding what positions the firm

will have to fill, and how to fill them.

Succession Planning
The process of deciding how to fill the companys

most important executive jobs.

What to Forecast?
Overall personnel needs
The supply of inside candidates
The supply of outside candidates

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Forecasting Personnel Needs

Forecasting
Tools

Trend Analysis

Ratio Analysis

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Scatter Plotting

57

FIGURE 53
Determining the
Relationship
Between Hospital
Size and Number
of Nurses
Note: After fitting the
line, you can project
how many employees
youll need, given your
projected volume.

Size of Hospital
(Number
of Beds)

Number of
Registered
Nurses

200

240

300

260

400

470

500

500

600

620

700

660

800

820

900

860

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Drawbacks to Traditional Forecasting

Techniques
They focus on projections and historical relationships.
They do not consider the impact of strategic initiatives
on future staffing levels.
They support compensation plans that reward
managers for managing ever-larger staffs.
They bake in the idea that staff increases are
inevitable.
They validate and institutionalize present planning
processes and the usual ways of doing things.
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Using Computers to Forecast Personnel

Requirements
Computerized Forecasts
Software that estimates future staffing needs by:
Projecting

sales, volume of production, and

personnel required to maintain different volumes
of output.

Forecasting

staffing levels for direct labor, indirect

staff, and exempt staff.

Creating

metrics for direct labor hours and three

sales projection scenariosminimum, maximum,
and probable.

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FIGURE 54
Management
Replacement
Chart Showing
Development
Needs of
Potential Future
Divisional Vice
Presidents

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Forecasting the Supply of

Inside Candidates

Qualification
Inventories

Manual
Systems and
Replacement
Charts

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Computerized
Information
Systems

512

The Matter of Privacy

Ensuring the Security of HR Information
Control of HR information through access matrices
Access to records and employee privacy

Legal Considerations
The Federal Privacy Act of 1974
New York Personal Privacy Act of 1985
HIPAA
Americans with Disabilities Act

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FIGURE 55

Keeping Data Safe

Since intruders can strike from outside an organization or from within, HR

departments can help screen out potential identity thieves by following four
basic rules:
1.

Perform background checks on anyone who is going to have access to

personal information.

2.

If someone with access to personal information is out sick or on leave,

dont hire a temporary employee to replace him or her. Instead, bring in
a trusted worker from another department.

3.

Perform random background checks such as random drug tests. Just

because someone passed five years ago doesnt mean their current
situation is the same.

4.

Limit access to information such as SSNs, health information, and

other sensitive data to HR managers who require it to do their jobs.

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Forecasting Outside Candidate Supply

Factors In Supply of Outside Candidates
General economic conditions
Expected unemployment rate

Sources of Information
Periodic forecasts in business publications
Online economic projections
U.S.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

U.S.

Department of Labors O*NET

Bureau
Other

of Labor Statistics (BLS)

federal agencies and private sources

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Effective Recruiting
External Factors Affecting Recruiting
Supply of workers
Outsourcing of white-collar jobs
Fewer qualified candidates

Other Factors Affecting Recruiting

Consistency of recruitment with strategic goals
Types of jobs recruited and recruiting methods
Nonrecruitment HR issues and policies
Successful prescreening of applicants
Public image of the firm
Employment laws

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Effective Recruiting (contd)

Advantages of Centralizing Recruitment
Strengthens employment brand
Facilitates applying strategic priorities
Reduces duplication of HR activities
Reduces cost of new HR technologies
Builds teams of HR experts
Provides better measurement of HR performance
Allows for sharing of applicant pools

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FIGURE 56

Sample Acceptable Questions Once Conditional Offer Is Made

1. Do you have any responsibilities that conflict with the job vacancy?
2. How long have you lived at your present address?
3. Do you have any relatives working for this company?
4. Do you have any physical defects that would prevent you from
performing certain jobs where, to your knowledge, vacancies exist?
5. Do you have adequate means of transportation to get to work?
6. Have you had any major illness (treated or untreated) in the past 10
years?
7. Have you ever been convicted of a felony or do you have a history of
being a violent person? (This is a very important question to avoid a
negligent hiring or retention charge.)
8. What is your educational background? (The information required here
would depend on the job-related requirements of the position.)

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Measuring Recruiting Effectiveness

Evaluating
Recruiting
Effectiveness

What to
Measure

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How to
Measure

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TABLE 51

Selection Devices that Could be Used to Initially Screen Applicants

Selection Device

Validity for Predicting Job

Performance*

Construct
General mental ability tests

0.51

Conscientiousness tests

0.31

Integrity tests

0.41

Method
Work sample tests

0.54

Job knowledge tests

0.48

Structured interviews

0.51

Biographical data

0.35

Grade point average

0.23

Ratings of training and experience

0.11

Note: *Higher is better.

Source: Kevin Carlson et al., Recruitment Evaluation: The Case for Assessing
the Quality of Applicants Attracted, Personnel Psychology 55 (2002), p. 470.

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FIGURE 57

Recruiting Yield Pyramid

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Internal Candidates: Hiring from Within

Advantages
Foreknowledge of
candidates strengths and
weaknesses
More accurate view of
candidates skills
Candidates have a
stronger commitment to
the company
Increases employee
morale
Less training and
orientation required

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Disadvantages
Failed applicants become
discontented
Time wasted interviewing
inside candidates who will
not be considered
Inbreeding strengthens
tendency to maintain the
status quo

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Finding Internal Candidates

Rehiring Former
Employees

Job Posting

Hiring from
Within

Succession
Planning (HRIS)

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Outside Sources of Candidates

Locating Outside Candidates
1

Recruiting via the Internet

Executive Recruiters

Advertising

On Demand Recruiting
Services (ODRS)

Employment Agencies

College Recruiting

Temp Agencies and Alternative

Staffing

Referrals and Walk-ins

Offshoring/Outsourcing

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Outside Sources of Candidates (contd)

Recruiting via the Internet
Advantages

Cost-effective way to publicize job openings

More applicants attracted over a longer period

Immediate applicant responses

Online prescreening of applicants

Links to other job search sites

Automation of applicant tracking and evaluation

Disadvantages

Exclusion of older and minority workers

Excessive number of unqualified applicants

Personal information privacy concerns of applicants

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FIGURE 58
Top Job
Boards
Ranked
According
to Average
Number of
Job Listings

Source: Workforce
Management, May 22,
2006, p. 12.

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FIGURE 59

Ineffective and Effective Web Ads

Source: Workforce, December 2001, Crain Communication, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

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Advertising for Outside Candidates

The Media Choice
Selection of the best medium depends on the

positions for which the firm is recruiting.

Newspapers:

local and specific labor markets

Trade

and professional journals: specialized

employees

Internet

job sites: global labor markets

Effective Ads
Create attention, interest, desire, and action (AIDA).
Create a positive impression of the firm.

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FIGURE 510

Help Wanted Ad That Draws Attention

Source: The New York Times, May 13, 2007, Business p. 18.

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Employment Agencies
Types of Employment
Agencies

Public
Agencies

Nonprofit
Agencies

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Private
Agencies

530

Outside Sources of Candidates (contd)

Why Use a Private Employment Agency
No HR department: firm lacks recruiting and

screening capabilities.
To attract a pool of qualified applicants.
To fill a particular opening quickly.
To attract more minority or female applicants.
To reach currently employed individuals who are

more comfortable dealing with agencies.

To reduce internal time devoted to recruiting.

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Outside Sources of Candidates (contd)

Avoiding Problems with Employment Agencies
Provide the agency with accurate and complete job

descriptions.
Make sure tests, application blanks, and interviews

are part of the agencys selection process.

Review candidates accepted or rejected by your firm

or the agency for effectiveness and fairness of

agencys screening process.
Screen agency for effectiveness in filling positions.
Supplement the agencys reference checking by

checking the final candidates references yourself.

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Temp Agencies and Alternative Staffing

Benefits of Temps
Increased productivitypaid only when working
Allows trial run for prospective employees
No recruitment, screening, and payroll

administration costs

Costs of Temps
Increased labor costs due to fees paid to temp

agencies
Temp employees lack of commitment to the firm

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Concerns of Temp Employees

Dehumanizing, impersonal, and discouraging treatment
by employers.
Insecurity about employment and pessimism about the
future.
Worry about the lack of insurance and pension benefits.
Being misled about job assignments and whether
temporary assignments are likely to become full-time
positions.
Being underemployed while trying return to the fulltime labor market.
Anger toward the corporate world and its values;
expressed as alienation and disenchantment.
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FIGURE 511

Guidelines for Using Temporary Employees

1. Do not train your contingent workers. Ask their staffing agency to handle training.
2. Do not negotiate the pay rate of your contingent workers. The agency should
set pay.
3. Do not coach or counsel a contingent worker on his/her job performance.
Instead, call the persons agency and request that it do so.
4. Do not negotiate a contingent workers vacations or personal time off. Direct
the worker to his or her agency.
5. Do not routinely include contingent workers in your companys employee
functions.
6. Do not allow contingent workers to utilize facilities intended for employees.
7. Do not let managers issue company business cards, nameplates, or employee
badges to contingent workers without HR and legal approval.
8. Do not let managers discuss harassment or discrimination issues with
contingent workers.
9. Do not discuss job opportunities and the contingent workers suitability for
them directly. Instead, refer the worker to publicly available job postings.
10. Do not terminate a contingent worker directly. Contact the agency to do so.
Source: Adapted from Bohner and Selasco, Beware the Legal
Risks of Hiring Temps, Workforce, October 2000, p. 53.

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Working with a Temp Agency

Invoicing. Make sure the agencys invoice fits your companys

needs.

Time sheets. The time sheet is a verification of hours worked and

an agreement to pay the agencys fees.

Temp-to-perm policy. What is the policy if you want to hire a temp

as a permanent employee?

Recruitment of and benefits for temp employees. How does the

agency plan to recruit and what sorts of benefits it will it pay?

Dress code. Specify the attire at each of your offices or plants.

Equal employment opportunity statement. Get a statement from the

agency that it does not discriminate when filling temp orders.

Job description information. Ensure that the agency understands

the job to be filled and the sort of person you want to fill it.

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Offshoring/Outsourcing White-Collar
and Other Jobs
Political and
Military Instability

Resentment and
anxiety of U.S.
employees/unions

Costs of foreign
workers

Cultural
Misunderstandings

Main
Issues

Special training of
foreign employees

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Customers
security and
privacy concerns

Foreign contracts,
liability, and legal
concerns

537

Outside Sources of Candidates (contd)

Executive Recruiters (Headhunters)
Contingent-based recruiters
Retained executive searchers
Internet technology and specialization trends

Guidelines for Choosing a Recruiter

1. Make sure the firm is capable of conducting a

thorough search.
2. Meet individual who will handle your assignment.
3. Ask how much the search firm charges.
4. Never rely solely on the recruiter to do reference

checking.

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Outside Sources of Candidates (contd)

College Recruiting
On-campus recruiting

goals

To determine if the
candidate is worthy of
further consideration
To attract good
candidates

On-site visits

Invitation letters

Assigned hosts

Information packages

Planned interviews

Timely employment
offer

Follow-up

Internships

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Outside Sources of Candidates (contd)

Employee Referrals
Referring employees become stakeholders.
Referral is a cost-effective recruitment program.
Referral can speed up diversifying the workforce.
Relying on referrals may be discriminatory.

Walk-ins
Seek employment through a personal direct

approach to the employer.

Courteous treatment of any applicant is a good

business practice.
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FIGURE 512

Best Recruiting Sources

Note: Survey of 2,294 organizations.

Source: Workforce Management, December 2004, p. 98.

Percentage of employers reporting best-performing

sources for hiring without regard to cost, 2004.

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Improved Productivity Through HRIS:

An Integrated Technology Approach to Recruiting
Requisition Management System

Integrated Recruiting Solution

Integrated Employee
Recruitment System
Screening Services

Hiring Management

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Recruiting A More Diverse Workforce

Single Parents

The Disabled

Welfare-to-Work

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Older Workers

Minorities and
Women

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Developing and Using Application Forms

Uses of Application
Information

Applicants
education and
experience

Applicants
progress and
growth

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Applicants
employment
stability

Applicants
likelihood of
success

544

FIGURE 513
Employment
Application

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Application Forms and the Law

Education
Achievements

Arrest
Record

Housing
Arrangements

Areas of Personal
Information

Marital
Status

Physical
Handicaps

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Notification in
Case of
Emergency

Memberships in
Organizations

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KEY TERMS
employment or personnel
planning
trend analysis
ratio analysis
scatter plot
computerized forecast
qualifications inventories
personnel replacement charts

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position replacement card

recruiting yield pyramid
job posting
succession planning
alternative staffing
on demand recruiting services
(ODRS)
application form

547