Recruitment

The essentials

Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation. It creates a pool of applicants from which suitable people can be selected. Because it encourages people to apply, recruitment is called a positive process.

Key points

• Internal sources: transfers (shifting an employee to another job of similar status and pay) and promotions (moving an employee to a higher post with more responsibility and pay).
• Merits of internal sources: motivate employees, make selection and placement simpler, need less orientation, help adjust staff between departments, and cost less.
• Limitations: no fresh talent enters, employees may become lazy if they expect promotion by seniority, a new firm cannot use them, competition among employees may be hampered, and frequent transfers may reduce productivity.
• External sources: direct recruitment (notice at the factory gate, used for casual or unskilled jobs), casual callers (applications kept on file), advertisement, employment exchanges, placement agencies and management consultants, campus recruitment, recommendations of employees, labour contractors, and web publishing on job websites.
• Merits of external sources: qualified people, wider choice, fresh talent and a competitive spirit among existing staff.
• Limitations: dissatisfaction among existing staff, a lengthy process, higher cost and uncertainty about the new employee's adjustment.

Exam tips

• Campus recruitment is useful for hiring young technical and professional people.
• Labour contractors and direct recruitment are typical for unskilled workers.

Common mistakes

• Treating promotion and transfer as external sources.
• Saying recruitment chooses the final candidate. That is selection.