2.

2 Recruitment
&
Selection
Strategic Approach to Recruitment
Strategic recruitment refers to a well thought-out plan that properly
fulfills the needs and desires of your company.

Winning in today’s competitive business world is largely dependent

on having the right people to implement the organization’s business
strategy
 What is a Recruiting Strategy?

A recruiting strategy is formal plan of action involving an organization’s

attempts to successfully identify, recruit, and hire high-quality candidates for
the purpose of filling its open positions.

This plan extends to and involves any search consultants or recruiting

agencies that the organization enlists in its attempts to hire.
 6 Key Elements of an Effective Talent Acquisition Strategy

Conduct workforce planning

Build your employer brand

Source and recruit job candidates

Leverage recruiting technology

Develop an effective onboarding program

Utilize data analytics

 Strategic recruitment process
Employer Brand:
To attract an audience, your employer brand should express a fun,
innovative, ambitious, and comfortable company culture. Enhance your
employer brand through videos, pictures, and social media use.
Identify Target Audience:
Having a target audience will narrow down your candidate pool, and assist
you in properly creating and distributing your content to appeal to the
desired candidate.
Social Media Networks:
The use of social media sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook allow recruiters to join and post
content to groups with a shared interest—groups that are often comprised of eager job
seekers.

Job Descriptions: Make sure job descriptions use proper language and explanations of job
requirements.

Extensive Interview Process: .The interview process should be slow, steady, and well
thought-out.
Here are some tips to remember during the interview process:
1. Take the time to fully read over the candidate’s résumé to ensure your ability to ask
specific, detailed questions.
2. Pose a sample scenario question.
3. Include colleagues in the process.
 Recruiting strategies
Cold calling
Email marketing
Referrals
Social media
Job posting websites
Identifying who should be recruited.
Reaching targeted individuals.
Determining the best timing for recruitment.
Designing a recruitment message.
Planning an organizational site visit.
Evaluating past recruitment efforts.
Managing the entire recruitment operation.
 Five-step process:
Create the recruiting strategy.
Execute the strategy.
Track the effectiveness of the strategy.
Analysis the results.
Make adjustments to the strategy based on your analysis of its
effectiveness.
 Benefits of a Strategic Approach

◦ Knowing the business and industry to successfully recruit qualified employees

◦ Identifying keys to success in the labor market, including ways to deal with competitors’
recruiting efforts
◦ Cultivating networks and relationships with sources of prospective employees
◦ Promoting the company brand so that the organization becomes known as a good place
to work
◦ Creating recruiting metrics in order to measure the effectiveness of recruiting efforts
 Regular vs. Flexible Staffing

•Flexible Staffing
•The use of workers who are not traditional employees.
•Temporary workers
Hiring temporary staff members or contracting with agencies supplying temporary
workers on a rate- per-day or rate-per-week basis.
•Independent contractors
Workers who perform specific services on a contract basis.
 Labour Markets & Recruitment
•Recruiting
•The process of generating a pool of qualified applicants for
organizational jobs
•Labor Markets
•The external supply pool from which organizations attract their
employees
•Tight versus Loose Labor Markets
•Low unemployment creates competition for employees, raising labor
costs.
•High unemployment results the availability of more applicants and
more qualified applicants.
 Labor Market Components

•Labor Force Population

•All individuals who are available for selection if all possible recruitment
strategies are used.
•Applicant Population
•A subset of the labor force that is available for selection using a particular
recruiting approach.
•Applicant Pool
•All persons who are actually evaluated for selection
Labor Markets and Recruiting
Recruiting and Diversity Considerations
In a global economy, increasing your workforce diversity is a core
factor in developing your company’s competitive advantage

Employees from a variety of cultural backgrounds bring with them

new perspectives, skills, and most important, new ideas.

Blending the previously untapped resources of diversity recruiting to

your organization enhances the strength and depth of your workforce’s
competencies.
 Five areas of diversity recruiting
Understanding Your Current Culture
You have to ask and answer questions about your company’s current culture. Is your workforce
diverse and do existing groups align with your community environment?
Reach Out to All Groups in Your Community
Diversity recruitment begins by recognizing the uniqueness of each group. Familiarize yourself
with a variety cultural needs and norms.
Provide Diversity Training to the Existing Culture
Prepare the organization for diversity. Begin with managers at the highest level. Their actions
will model expected behaviour.
Finding the Right Candidate
First, you have to ensure that each candidate is treated equally regarding
fairness during the process. The people involved in the hiring process on the
company’s behalf must be unbiased.

Retention and the Bottom Line

After hiring, you need to develop each employee to the fullest and help them
become acclimated.
 Employment Advertising
Company Websites
The company website is an excellent communications tool for open positions if the
company is well known and receives consistent web traffic.
Online Job Boards
Online job boards are a popular place for many companies to post open positions.
Print Media
Print media can be used to advertise job listings, but these advertisements do not qualify
candidates in advance.
Colleges and Universities
Companies can advertise with local educational
institutions. Schools often have work-study or job-
placement programs that advertise on behalf of
participating companies
 Recruiting diverse workforce
Posting on the Internet
There are hundreds of diversity-related job boards on the Internet. The
goal is to identify those that will get you the best return on investment.
Newspaper
The newspaper will always be a recommended job posting avenue to
attract a diverse population.
Universities
Prior to starting a university recruiting program, you first need to focus on
the universities that meet your needs with regard to the disciplines you
are trying to attract.
Employee Referrals

Sharing the open position with your staff is a great method to attract fantastic
candidates. Many employers have a referral bonus program which provides an
incentive for staff to identify those they know who would make great
employees.
 Definition
Workplace diversity is understanding, accepting, and
valuing differences between people of different
races, genders, ages, religions, disabilities, and sexual
orientations, as well as differences in personalities,
skill sets, experiences, and knowledge.
 What is workplace diversity?

Workplace diversity is the idea is that your workplace should reflect the makeup of greater society.
The concept of diversity in the workplace has become important because historically, this wasn’t the
case. When people think of diversity, they often think of demographic groups like race or gender.
However, diversity is a much broader and more inclusive concept.
There are two main categories of diversity:
Inherent diversity: demographic characteristics like race, sex, and age.
Acquired diversity: factors such as education, experience, values, skills and knowledge.
Workplace diversity is defined as understanding, accepting, and valuing differences between people of
different races, ethnicities, genders, ages, religions, disabilities, and sexual orientations, as well as
differences in personalities, skill sets, experiences, and knowledge bases.
 The Benefits of a Diverse Workplace

Workforce diversity and inclusion as a key driver of internal

innovation and business growth.
Diversity creates better performance for product
development and creating new markets.
Groups of diverse problem solvers outperform groups of high-ability problem
solvers.
Diverse executive boards enjoy significantly higher earnings and returns on
equity.
Multicultural social networks increases your creativity.
 The Challenges of a Diverse Workplace

Acquired differences (e.g., differences in experiences, skill sets, and knowledge bases):
produce constructive debate over an issue these constructive debates should be
encouraged
Inherent diversity (e.g., demographic differences like race, gender, and age):
can sometimes lead to interpersonal conflict
These conflicts often require more thorough and lengthy communication to resolve and
to reach a common understanding
These conflicts need to be managed carefully to avoid lowering performance and morale
Other challenges of diversity in the workplace includes:
Promoting inclusiveness
Combating stereotypes and discriminatory behaviour
Challenges of implementing diversity recruiting
Management and analysis of inclusion efforts
How to Increase Workplace Diversity
Write your job posting more carefully to attract more diverse
candidates
Offer workplace policies that are more appealing to diverse candidates
Use a personality assessment to recruit more diverse candidates
Use sourcing methods that contain more diverse candidate pipelines
Strategically seed your pipelines with more diverse candidates
 Recruiting Source Choices
Recruitment is the process of attracting the potential candidates and motivating them
to apply for the jobs or selecting skilled and right candidates from the pool of applicants
and appointing them for right jobs.
Here strategic thinking and decision making can help in finding the potential candidates.
 Internet Recruiting

Advantages
Recruiting cost savings
Recruiting time savings
Expanded pool of applicants
Morale building for current employees

Disadvantages
More unqualified applicants
Additional work for HR staff members
Many applicants are not seriously seeking employment
Access limited or unavailable to some applicants
Legal Issues in Internet recruiting
◦ The use (or misuse) of screening software
◦ Exclusion of protected classes from the process
◦ Collection of federally required applicant information
◦ Identification of “real” applicants
◦ Online Informality that leads to improper discussions or
information
 General Recruiting Process Metrics

Yield ratios
•A comparison of the number of applicants at one stage of the recruiting process to the
number at the next stage.
Selection rate
•The percentage hired from a given group of candidates.
Acceptance Rate
•The percent of applicants hired divided by total number of applicants.
Success Base Rate
•Comparing the percentage rate of past applicants who were good employees to that of
current employees.
(A) Internal Sources:
Best employees can be found within the organisation… When a vacancy arises
in the organisation, it may be given to an employee who is already on the pay-
roll. Internal sources include promotion, transfer and in certain cases
demotion. When a higher post is given to a deserving employee, it motivates
all other employees of the organisation to work hard. The employees can be
informed of such a vacancy by internal advertisement.
 Internal Sources Are Given Below:
1. Transfers:
Transfer involves shifting of persons from present jobs to other similar jobs.
These do not involve any change in rank, responsibility or prestige. The numbers
of persons do not increase with transfers.
2. Promotions:
Promotions refer to shifting of persons to positions carrying better prestige,
higher responsibilities and more pay. The higher positions falling vacant may be
filled up from within the organisation. A promotion does not increase the
number of persons in the organisation.
3. Present Employees:
The present employees of a concern are informed about likely vacant positions. The employees recommend their
relations or persons intimately known to them. Management is relieved of looking out prospective candidates.
4. .Demotions
Depending on the performance of the employees of the organizations, sometimes managers have to take decisions
regarding lowering the positions of few employees of the organization. These employees can act as a source of
recruitment to the lower positions.
5.Retired employees
If the organizations do not find the right persons to fulfill the key managerial positions then they call back the
retired employees for achieving the objectives.
 Advantages of Internal Sources:

1. Improves morale:
When an employee from inside the organisation is given the higher post, it helps in increasing the morale of
all employees. Generally every employee expects promotion to a higher post carrying more status and pay .

2. No Error in Selection:
When an employee is selected from inside, there is a least possibility of errors in selection since every
company maintains complete record of its employees and can judge them in a better manner.
3. Promotes Loyalty:
It promotes loyalty among the employees as they feel secured on account of chances of advancement.
4. No Hasty Decision:
The chances of hasty decisions are completely eliminated as the existing employees are well tried and can be
relied upon.
5. Economy in Training Costs:
The existing employees are fully aware of the operating procedures and policies of the organisation. The existing
employees require little training and it brings economy in training costs.
6. Self-Development:
It encourages self-development among the employees as they can look forward to occupy higher posts.
 Disadvantages of Internal Sources:

(i) It discourages capable persons from outside to join the concern.

(ii) It is possible that the requisite number of persons possessing qualifications
for the vacant posts may not be available in the organisation.
(iii) For posts requiring innovations and creative thinking, this method of
recruitment cannot be followed.
(iv) If only seniority is the criterion for promotion, then the person filling the
vacant post may not be really capable.
(B) External Sources:

All organisations have to use external sources for recruitment to higher positions
when existing employees are not suitable. More persons are needed when
expansions are undertaken.
 External sources are discussed below:
1. Advertisement:
It is a method of recruitment frequently used for skilled workers, clerical and
higher staff. Advertisement can be given in newspapers and professional
journals. These advertisements attract applicants in large number of highly
variable quality.
2. Employment Exchanges:
Employment exchanges in India are run by the Government. For unskilled, semi-
skilled, skilled, clerical posts etc., it is often used as a source of recruitment.
3. Schools, Colleges and Universities:
Direct recruitment from educational institutions for certain jobs (i.e.
placement) which require technical or professional qualification has become
a common practice.
4. Recommendation of Existing Employees:
The present employees know both the company and the candidate being
recommended. Hence some companies encourage their existing employees
to assist them in getting applications from persons who are known to them.
5. Factory Gates:
Certain workers present themselves at the factory gate every day for
employment. This method of recruitment is very popular in India for
unskilled or semi-skilled labour. The desirable candidates are selected by the
first line supervisors. The major disadvantage of this system is that the
person selected may not be suitable for the vacancy.
6. Casual Callers:
Those personnel who casually come to the company for employment may
also be considered for the vacant post. It is most economical method of
recruitment. In the advanced countries, this method of recruitment is very
popular.
7. Central Application File:
A file of past applicants who were not selected earlier may be maintained. In
order to keep the file alive, applications in the files must be checked at
periodical intervals.
8. Labour Unions:
In certain occupations like construction, hotels, maritime industry etc., (i.e.,
industries where there is instability of employment) all recruits usually come
from unions.
9. Labour Contractors:
This method of recruitment is still prevalent in India for hiring unskilled and semi-skilled workers in
brick klin industry. The contractors keep themselves in touch with the labour and bring the workers
at the places where they are required. They get commission for the number of persons supplied by
them.
10. Former Employees:
In case employees have been laid off or have left the factory at their own, they may be taken back
if they are interested in joining the concern (provided their record is good).
11. Other Sources:
Apart from these major sources of external recruitment, there are certain other sources which are
exploited by companies from time to time. These include special lectures delivered by recruiter in
different institutions, though apparently these lectures do not pertain to recruitment directly.
 Merits of External Sources:
1. Availability of Suitable Persons:
Internal sources, sometimes, may not be able to supply suitable persons from within. External sources do give a
wide choice to the management. A large number of applicants may be willing to join the organisation. They will
also be suitable as per the requirements of skill, training and education.
2. Brings New Ideas:
The selection of persons from outside sources will have the benefit of new ideas. The persons having experience
in other concerns will be able to suggest new things and methods. This will keep the organisation in a
competitive position.
3. Economical:
This method of recruitment can prove to be economical because new employees are already trained and
experienced and do not require much training for the jobs.
 Demerits of External Sources:

1. Demoralisation:
When new persons from outside join the organisation then present employees feel
demoralised because these positions should have gone to them. There can be a heart burning
among old employees. Some employees may even leave the enterprise and go for better
avenues in other concerns.
2. Lack of Co-Operation:
The old staff may not co-operate with the new employees because they feel that their right
has been snatched away by them. This problem will be acute especially when persons for
higher positions are recruited from outside.
3. Expensive:
The process of recruiting from outside is very expensive. It starts with inserting
costly advertisements in the media and then arranging written tests and
conducting interviews. In spite of all this if suitable persons are not available,
then the whole process will have to be repeated.
4. Problem of Maladjustment:
There may be a possibility that the new entrants have not been able to adjust
in the new environment. They may not temperamentally adjust with the new
persons.
 Suitability of External Sources of Recruitment:

(i) The required qualities such as will, skill, talent, knowledge etc., are available from external
sources.
(ii) It can help in bringing new ideas, better techniques and improved methods to the organisation.
(iii) The selection of candidates will be without preconceived notions or reservations.
(iv) The cost of employees will be minimum because candidates selected in this method will be
placed in the minimum pay scale.
(v) The entry of new persons with varied experience and talent will help in human resource mix.
(vi) The existing employees will also broaden their personality.
(vii) The entry of qualitative persons from outside will be in the long-run interest of the
organisation.
 Introduction to Selection Process
Definition: The Selection is a process of picking the right candidate with
prerequisite qualifications and capabilities to fill the jobs in the organization.

The selection process is quite lengthy and complex as it involves a series of

steps before making the final selection. The procedure of selection may vary
from industry to industry, company to company and even from department
to department. Every organization designs its selection process, keeping in
mind the urgency of hiring people and the prerequisites for the job vacancy.
Selection Process
1. Preliminary Interview: The preliminary interview is also called as a screening interview
wherein those candidates are eliminated from the further selection process who do not meet
the minimum eligibility criteria as required by the organization.
2. Receiving Applications: Once the individual qualifies the preliminary interview he is
required to fill in the application form in the prescribed format. This application contains the
candidate data such as age, qualification, experience, etc.
3. Screening Applications: Once the applications are received, these are screened by the
screening committee, who then prepare a list of those applicants whom they find suitable for
the interviews.
4. Employment Tests: In order to check the mental ability and skill set of an individual,
several tests are conducted. Such as intelligence tests, aptitude tests, interest tests,
psychological tests, personality tests, etc.
Employment Interview: The one on one session with the candidate is conducted to gain more
insights about him. Here, the interviewer asks questions from the applicant to discover more
about him and to give him the accurate picture of the kind of a job he is required to perform.
Checking References: The firms usually ask for the references from the candidate to cross check
the authenticity of the information provided by him. These references could be from the
education institute from where the candidate has completed his studies or from his previous
employment where he was formerly engaged.
Medical Examination: Here the physical and mental fitness of the candidate are checked to
ensure that he is capable of performing the job. In some organizations, the medical examination is
done at the very beginning of the selection process while in some cases it is done after the final
selection.
Final Selection: Finally, the candidate who qualifies all the rounds of a selection process
is given the appointment letter to join the firm.
Thus, the selection is complex and a lengthy process as it involves several stages than an
individual has to qualify before getting finally selected for the job.
Succession Planning
Definition: Succession planning is a process by which individuals are
scanned to pass on the leadership role within a company. The
process ensures that business continues to operate efficiently
without the presence of people who were holding key positions as
they must have retired, resigned, etc.
Succession planning is the process of developing talent to replace executive,
leadership or other key employees when they transition to another role, leave
the company, are fired, retire or die.
It is relevant to all companies, from the largest to the smallest, in both the
for-profit and not-for-profit sectors.
The planning process is meant to create a talent pipeline of successors that
will keep the organization running with little to no interruption when
inevitable staff changes occur.
 The Need for Succession Planning
The time needed to find an employee's replacement costs lost productivity,
time and money. For the top executive at a large public company, this can run
upwards of $1 billion, according to a 2016 article in Harvard Business Review.
More baby boomers are retiring, and fewer employees are available with the
skill set to replace senior executives.
During periods when a candidate-driven market exists, companies must
compete for a scarcity of talent, particularly for top talent, which makes hiring
desired candidates more difficult.
 Succession planning helps to manage these factors
and provides numerous benefits, including:
Boosting employee engagement through career development and making workers feel
valued;
Helping the organization create a better reputation as a talent destination;
Saving money by filling key roles more quickly and providing for smoother business
operations and delivery of uninterrupted excellence;
Helping to align HR and the vision for the organization, and supporting HR and managers
in creating and supporting proactive programs; and
Supporting cross-functional cooperation.
 Succession Planning Strategy and Process

Depending on the size of the organization and its goals, the strategic planning and process for
success planning can vary wildly. However, fundamentals include the following:

Gaining the support of key stakeholders, including the CEO or executive director;
Assessing positions (and individuals) and deciding which ones to focus on;
Identifying high-potential employees for key leadership positions and creating learning and
development plans tailored to a wider range of employees for more expansive succession plans;
Assessing the extent to which internal candidates can fill roles (likely with development), who will
be more familiar with company culture and processes and which roles HR should look externally for
the right talent pool;
Creating effective learning and development processes that support the
succession strategy, especially experiential development, such as job
shadowing and cross-functional moves; and
Determining which HR software will be used in support of the succession
planning strategy and process.
 Real-world Succession Planning Example

For several years before Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple in 2011,
he had groomed successor Tim Cook to take the top leadership role. This
included Cook working a wide range of operational roles and directly with
Jobs for CEO-specific experience. Cook also stepped in to lead day-to-day
operations twice when Jobs was on sick leave.

In addition to a succession plan for the top leadership role, Jobs also
founded Apple University in 2008 as a way to provide a leadership
curriculum based on Jobs' experiences and business savvy.
Succession Planning - A 5 Step Process

Step 1: Identify critical positions

Critical positions are the focus of succession planning efforts. Without these roles, the
department or agency would be unable to effectively meet its business objectives. A risk
assessment may also be conducted and compared to current and future vacancies to
identify critical positions within your organization.

Step 2: Identify competencies

A clear understanding of capabilities needed for successful performance in key areas and
critical positions is essential for guiding learning and development plans, setting clear
performance expectations, and for assessing performance.
Step 3: Identify succession management strategies
Now that critical positions have been identified and have been profiled for competencies, the next
step is to choose from a menu of several human resource strategies, including developing internal
talent pools, onboarding and recruitment to address succession planning.

Step 4: Document and implement succession plans

Once strategies have been identified, the next step is to document the strategies in an action
plan. The Succession Planning: Action Plan provides a mechanism for clearly defining timelines
and roles and responsibilities.

Step 5: Evaluate Effectiveness

To ensure that the department or agency’s succession planning efforts are successful, it is
important to systematically monitor workforce data, evaluate activities and make necessary
adjustments.