Introduction
According to, Graham and Bennett, recruitment is the first part of the process of filling a vacancy; and includes the examination of the vacancy, the consideration of sources of suitable candidates, making contact with the candidates, and attracting applications from them.
H. Graham and R. Bennett, (1995). Adds however that, to recruit new employees there needs to be a vacancy that needs to be filled; either from an internal or external source. The internal sources give the company an advantage as they motivate the employees and provide an opportunity for improvement of themselves and increase the chances of getting a promotion. Whereas external sources vary from one business to another as there exists a process that should be followed to be successful in the business market.
According to the international journal of Career Management Volume, recruitment encompasses all organizational practices and decisions that affect either the number or types, of individuals who are willing to apply for or to accept, a given vacancy, Volume 7: Number 3 · 1995 · 3–13.
Cornelius, 2001, says that we now operate in the global economy with many leading organizations operating internationally, recruiting, selecting, and working with a diverse workforce not only locally but around the world to sell their services and products to diverse customers, which shows that most of the successful organizations in the business world are aware of the recruitment importance.
Recruitment is thus the key to a growing and successful company. Great companies are built by great people and the hardest thing is finding the right person, Thus recruiting requires strategic planning and a classic recruiting system to be successful in the search for a top employee. Therefore, recruiting new people needs to be an efficient and well-organized plan with the managers’ effort and attention.
The recruitment process is an important function in any organization’s future development plan from the management point of view and it is, therefore, necessary for a high standard of management style.
Aims and Objectives
Aims
- To improve the performance of companies and organizations.
- To come up with the most successful recruitment.
- To find out the impact of recruitment in an organization
- To fill a vacancy with the suitable person
Objectives
- To find out how a good recruitment strategy can affect the performance
- To find out how the recruitment and selection cost be reduced
- To know the benefits got from recruiting both local and international employees for any organization.
Conceptual Framework
Conceptual frameworks will demonstrate the theory of the sequence of cause and effect that ultimately leads to a positive view and a particular ultimate result. It will typically trace out several layers of causality as well as lateral relationships.
The conceptual framework in recruitment has three levels.
- Preliminary stage
- Intermediate stage
- Final stage
Resources for implementing successful recruitment and selection may include
- A list of all the appropriate recruitment selection procedures should be prepared.
- Case study on the development of a graduate recruitment
- Creation of forms and relevant templates
- Recommended readings.
Methodological Issues
In the recruitment process, a clear strategy shall be needed of which it shall be intellectual enough to bring the candidates to the organization. In every organization, the human resource manager should always have a vivid understanding of the prevailing job markets. He should also know what each job position entails to be able to match applicants to suitable jobs.
Career development international, vol. 13 issue 3, 2008 states that a good strategy for recruitment is not likely to alter everything; but it should highlight the status of the time and the possible advancements for an organization’s future.
The recommended steps to be followed for any organization that needs to recruit new people are as those mentioned by (Cornelius, 2001)
Identify the need to recruit
When a vacancy becomes available, the manager shall be aware of the suitable candidate needed, and how that place will be occupied. The flexibility of the requirement of the job shall have to be considered before a decision to recruit is made.
The importance of flexible working as identified by Cornelius, ( 2001), flexible working enables organizations to attract and retain employees with diverse needs provided that those employees will be treated fairly and equitably in respect of contract terms, conditions of service, and training opportunities as core employees
Analyses the requirement
This will be considered as the most effective stage in the recruitment process, the aim of any organization shall be filling a vacancy with a suitable person.
Collecting information will be one of the main recruitment and selection processes as follow ( Cornelius, N, 2001).
- Job analysis: It will give the chance to the potential applicants to assess themselves for the job and provides a scale for judging achievements.
- Role analysis: will identify how flexible the person shall be with the work, and how could he perform with others.
- Attributes analysis: the company should ensure that it properly assesses the skills of all potential candidates.
- Competency analysis: this will be concerned with expectations of workplace performance and the standards individuals will be expected to attain; it will also be concerned with behavioral competencies and the characteristics people bring to work role( Cornelius, 2001)
Select the right person
Numerous applications will be received when a vacancy comes up. Interviewing the applicants would be a good procedure to know more about the person. The response to the interview questions shall give a clear image of if the candidate will be suitable for the job or not.
Recruitment strategy is not only of importance to the private organization but also to the government since it is an issue that could affect the labor market. Social security is a major challenge to national development plans and a top priority in state plans.
This concept was used in the draft recruitment strategy in Saudi Arabia to with the challenges faced by the labor market, as there were high unemployment ratios, because of the need to overcome the structural imbalances and for the development of competent human resources.
Recruitment and selection costs
Recruitment cost depends on the recruitment process used. Employing people will cost money. A decision to employ someone is equivalent to an investment decision costing thousands of pounds (Cowling,& Mailer, 1998).
The cost will not only be financial but also, there will be a need for efficient and experienced managers in the company.
From Cornelius, point of view, however, on the cost of recruitment and selection, the cost of recruiting and selecting the right person can be high to the manager both in financial and non-financial terms.
The recruitment cost will include
- The cost of the recruitment and selection process.
- Costs of training the selected person to undertake a full and contributing role to the organization.
- The costs of recruiting the wrong person.
Another costly issue will arise from selecting the right person, which will require high attention from the organization as there are interviews and applications to be reviewed. (Cornelius. 2001)
The cost of advertising any vacancy will be another considerable issue that might cost the organization. The most popular method of recruitment is to advertise the vacancy and invite candidates to apply to the company, according to Graham & Bennett (1995
Positivism vs. phenomenology
In the positivism theory, the researcher should be able to visually see and verify his findings. Logical positivism can be used by the researcher to carry out his research. However, in this scenario, the researcher shall use the phenomenological approach.
This will involve the researcher collecting information and ideas through qualitative means such as questionnaires, participant or active observation, and interviews. He or she will then represent the data collected from his understanding of the collected information.
Methods of data collection
The methods used in collecting data will be mainly qualitative means rather than quantitative ones. These methods include:
Questionnaires will be issued and the respondents will be required to fill them in. On filling, the researcher will collect the questionnaires and tally the data. Improperly filled questionnaires will be filled again by the respondents and in cases where a redo cannot be arranged the researcher will term such forms as void and will not consider them in his data analysis.
The researcher will be actively involved as an observer in the staff recruitment process. The researcher will prepare a list of important data needed and he will fill the data while observing the occurrences. Passive observation will also take place depending on the type of activity.
Interviews will also be arranged with key personalities that hold important information. The interview will be formal with the respondent being supplied with a list of questions to expect. This will avoid delving out of the topic during the research.
Access to Methodology
A statement of issues related to access
Due to the high rate of unemployment; the company shall expect to receive many applications. Since the competition is high between the candidate’s selection requirements are needed for the organization.
Many of the educated people will be applying to the company; graduate recruitment will be a tough challenge for the increasing number of employers who have realized that the future of their organizations will depend on the recruitment and selection of the best among an increasing number of graduates in different disciplines from a wider range of higher education institutions.
Access to the organization
Gaining access into an organization is expected to be difficult because many organizations are very sensitive to employer-employee issues. Numerous consultations with the organization’s management have to be done well in advance. This will ensure that the company is confident of the arrangement. A confidentiality contract will have to be signed with the company to ensure that the researcher does not expose unwanted information from his research.
Access to data
Data from the research will be collected in many ways. It will be collected from the first-person interview, questionnaires, and company records. The main setback may result from dishonest answers due to the fear and discomfort of the respondents. The researcher will therefore try to reassure all respondents that their contributions are will be kept confidential.
Access to key people
Access to key people will have to be arranged well in advance. This is to ensure that the people are not busy and that they could be able to sacrifice some of their time to aid in the research. Unique time schedules should be crafted to meet the programs of these key respondents as they are very important to the research.
Ethical Implications
According to Branine, (2008), the number of people entering higher education in the UK has more than doubled since the mid-1980s, but many employers are still unable to recruit the types of employees they need.
One of the effective ways to select a suitable candidate will be by interviewing the applicants. Almost every employer shall include a face-to-face interview as part of the selection process. The initial selection interview would be delegated to a recruitment agency or local jobcentre, but most employers would be reluctant to take on new employers without having met them in person. (Foot and Hook, 2002).
As a manager one is ethically bound not to have any bias or favoritism in the selection process of potential clients. All applicants should be eligible for an equal and fair assessment. The criteria for selection should be based on the applicant’s ability to perform and meet the required conditions of the work. Instances, where an applicant is judged according to age, creed, and color, are highly discouraged. Such practices are what are termed unethical recruitment processes.
In recent past years, many organizations have adopted policies that ensure that people of all kinds have an equal opportunity to work and earn a living. Some of these policies have enabled the physically disabled to have places in the organization.
Instances, where an applicant does some favors for the relevant recruitment authorities in exchange for a position, are also unethical business practices.
The termination of employees should also be done ethically with the employee being given a window period to seek alternative employment options. It is unethical to suck an employee without prior notice and the employee is liable to be charged in a court of law if it happens.
Conclusion
Organizations need to be smart before putting money into any recruitment process. This can be done by evaluating and coming up with the best process.
The organizations will benefit from the improved and effective recruitment strategies suggested by the study and enable them to generate more revenue and thus increase performance in their organizations. The increased performance will lead to increased gross domestic product. Employment and benefit to the government and society.
Recruitment and selection have been identified as an important sector in human recourses, as all the organizations are aware of the importance.
However, there are questions listed below that could have led to further research:
- How can a good recruitment strategy affect performance?
- What might be the benefits form recruiting international employees for any organization?
- How could the flexibility in the work affect positively the employees?
- How could the recruitment and selection cost be reduced?
- Why are interviews important in the selection process?
References
Career Development International: Volume: 13 Issue: 6, 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Clarke, J., 1996, The Staff Recruitment Process: London: Poverty Recruitment Agency.
Cornelius, N., 2001, Human Resource management. Great Britain: Thomson Learning.
Cowling, A. & Mailer, M., 1998, Managing human resource. 3rd ed. Great Britain: Arnold Publishers.
Gorden, R., 1969, Interviewing: Strategy, Techniques and Tactics. Homewood: Dorsey press.
Foot M. & Hook C., 2002, Introducing Human resource management. 3rd ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
Graham, H. & Bennett, R., 1995, Human Resource management. , 8th ed. , London: Longman Group UK Ltd.
Hicks, T., 2003, Ethics Rules for Staff Recruitment. Berkeley: Hicks Skill development.
Stanley, L. & Wise, S., 1993, Feminist Ontology and Epistemology. London: Routledge.
The International Journal of Career Management Volume 7: Number 3 · 1995 · 3–13.
Appendix 1
Questionnaires
Background Information
You are kindly requested to fill in the information required in the spaces provided. This information will be treated as private and confidential. Your cooperation will be of great help to the researcher.
Part A: Tick as Appropriate
- Gender:
- Male
- Female
- Age
- Below 18
- Between 18-30
- 31-40
- 41 and above
- Marital status
- Single
- Married
- Divorced
- Any other
- Occupation …………………………………
Part B; Recruitment Information
- For how long have you been in an organization?……………………………………………
- To which extent do you understand recruitment and selection?……………………
- Have you ever done any form of recruitment?
- Yes
- No
- If yes, which form did it take? I.e. through……………………………
- If yes in (3) above, was it beneficial, if yes state why and if no, also explain the difficulties encountered? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
- If you have never been into a recruitment and selection process, would you like to be involved in one or involve your organization with one?
- Yes
- No
- If no, state reasons………………………………………
- What do you think (in your opinion) should be done to help the organization practice a good recruitment process? ……………………………………………………………………………
Thank you for rendering me your time and the cooperation you have given in answering the questions.
Gant Chart
