Recruitment and Selection and Its Current Challenges

IRJMSH Vol 5 Issue 5 [Year 2014] ISSN 2277 – 9809 (0nliine) 2348–9359 (Print)

International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity ( IRJMSH ) Page 233

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Recruitment and Selection and Its Current Challenges

Main Author - Ms. Navodita Chaudhary

(Assistant Professor, College of Vocational Studies, University of Delhi).

Co-Author -Ms. Aakanksha Nirala

(Assistant Professor, College of Vocational Studies, University of Delhi).

Abstract

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, organizations have to respond quickly to

requirements for people. The market has been witnessing growth which is manifold for the last

few years. Many 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 or an

organization is measured through the quality of products and amount of customer satisfaction.

Human resources in this regard has become an important function in any organization. All

practices of marketing and finances can be easily imitated but the capability, skills, and

knowledge of a person cannot be imitated. Hence, it is important to have a well defined

recruitment policy in place, which can be positions. Selecting the wrong candidate or rejecting

the right candidate could turn out to be costly mistake for the organization. Therefore, a

recruitment practice in an organization must be effective and efficient in attracting the best

manpower. This process includes HR planning, attracting applicants and screening them. The

recruitment and selection decision is becoming increasingly important, as the company evolves

and changes, as new recruits show willingness to learn, adaptability and ability to work as a part

of team. The Recruitment and Selection procedure ensures that these criteria are addressed.

Introduction

Recruitment is defined as a process or art of finding the most suitable candidate for a new or

vacant position in any organization. Recruiting the right types of employees having the job fit

remain a big challenge to the employers who want to achieve guaranteed success in their

business operations and enhance their Return on Investment (ROI). HR departments have

become strategic entities in their functioning since they have to recruit the best resources,

involve them fully in organizational productively and plan for their value addition in order to

ensure retention. By using the right strategy and assessment tools for candidates selection

process, the recruiters need to obtain complete information of their KSAs and past behaviors

which truly reflect the competencies of the candidates. The recruiters must have complete

knowledge of relevant industry and job descriptions and specifications for the positions to be

hired.


International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity ( IRJMSH ) 34

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Employee recruitment is the process of reaching out, searching for and attracting a large supply

of people or large pool of interested applicants from which the organization can choose those it

considers competent or most qualified for the job. The human factor is fundamental to the

achievement of organizational goals. According to KHAN (2008), recruitment means informing

the market that new people are going to be appointed which can be done either by internal

sources like promotion, referrals or by external sources like advertising or campus recruitment or

e-recruitment. On the other hand, selection is the process by which companies decide who will or

who will not be allowed into organizations (Noc et al, 2006). The aim of recruitment is to find

high quality people that are suitable for the company organization at the lowest cost possible.

Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment is more likely to achieve its objectives if recruiting sources reflect the type of

position to be filled, certain recruitment sources are more effective than others for filling certain

types of positions. Internal sources, has its merits such as, it endears the workers to the

organization and increases employee patriotism. It build morale through expectations of rising

through ranks, it is less costly than going outside to recruit. There are several factors which

influence recruiting efforts like organizational reputation, attractiveness of the job, cost of

recruiting, recruiting goals and recruiting philosophy (Since, 2002). Furthermore, organizations

are faced by the following challenges during recruitment and selection processes – use of

different recruitment methods like suggestions from current employees, word of mouth,

government job services, colleges placement offices, job announcement on bulletin boards,

identification of labour pools, application of variety of selection tools like application forms,

interviews, reference checks, pre-employment tests and trial period (Maloney, 2002).

Recruitment and selection forms a core part of the central activities underlying human resource

management, namely, acquisition, retaining, developing and reward of workers. It frequently

forms an important part of the work of human resource managers. However, decisions regarding

recruitment and selection are often taken by the line managers. Therefore, it should be the

responsibility of all managers, and where human resource department exists, human resource

managers should play more of a supporting advisory role to those people who will supervise or

work with the new employee (French and Rumbles, 2010). Recruitment and selection has an

important role to play in ensuring worker performance and positive organization outcomes.

Selection of workers occurs not just to replace deporting employees or add to work force but

rather aims to put in place workers who can inform at high level and demonstrate commitment

(Ballantyne, 2009). Pil beam and Cor bridge (2006) provide a useful overview of potential

positive and negative aspects of recruitment and selection practices. They observe that the

requirement and selection of employees is fundamental to the functioning of an organization, and

there are compelling reasons for getting it right. Inappropriate selection decisions reduce

organization effectiveness, invalidate reward and development strategies, are frequently unfair

on the individual recruit and can be distressing for managers who have to deal with unsuitable

employees. Better recruitment and selection strategies result in improved organizational

outcomes like financial performance, quality of products and services, productivity, customer

satisfaction, employee satisfaction and retention of quality employees. The more effectively

organizations recruit and select candidate, the more likely they are to hire and retain satisfied

employees.



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Recruitment Process

The recruitment process is concerned with the procedure for the identification and classification

of the potential source of human resources supply and effectively utilizing those sources. In the

overall process of procuring and inducting human resources in the organization, recruitment is

one of the critical sub-process. A well-planned and well managed recruiting process is essential

for attracting high-quality applicants.

Steps in Recruitment Process

Merely placing an advertisement or employing professional agencies to recruit candidates does

not compel the recruitment process. There are several important steps involved in the whole

process.

1. Human Resource Planning:

The first step in the process of recruitment is the framing of human resources plan in tune

with the organizational objectives. Human resource planning involves the estimation of how

many qualified persons are necessary to carry out the assigned activities, how many people will

be available, and what must be done to ensure that the personnel supply equals the personnel

demand at an appropriate point in the future. Thus, the first step is the estimation of future HR

requirements of the organization and a decision to meet the personnel demand with an adequate

supply through recruitment.

Human Resource Planning

Determination of Strategy

Evaluation of sources of recruitment

Implementation of recruitment methods

Feedback and control



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2. Determination of Strategy:

The second step in the process of recruitment is the determination of strategy for

choosing the candidate. It includes development of different sources of recruitment, recruitment

method to be used and series of activities to be undertaken. The strategy must be designed in

such a may that it attracts as many applicants as possible.

3. Evaluation of the Sources of Recruitment:

Once the strategy is finalized, the next step is the evaluation of each source of

recruitment. There are two important sources of each source of recruitment in every firm,

namely, internal and external. Internal sources include, existing employees, employees referral,

while the external sources include, employment exchange, advertisement. Evaluation refers to

the assessment of strengths and weaknesses of the sources available to the organization.

4. Implementation of Recruitment Methods:

The next stage is the finalization of the sources and actual implementation. Regardless of

whether the organization decides to recruit from internal or external sources, the recruitment

method must be implemented in accordance with all relevant laws and regulation.

5. Feedback and Control:

As recruitment is a continuous process, it is essential to evaluate it to enhance its effectiveness.

The quality of the applicant pool is an indicator of the efficacy of the recruitment process. If the

process discourages the potentially qualified individuals from applying, limits the size of

applicant pool or results in inferior applicants becoming the employees of the organization, there

is a need for change in recruitment process.

Sources of Recruitment

Developing different sources of recruitment is essential an organization. When the organization

is successful in gathering a large applicants pool, it can adopt a rigorous procedure in choosing

the best employees from such a pool without compromising on quality. However, there is no

single combination of resources and methods that will work well for all organizations. Thus, an

organization should use multiple recruitment sources to build its applicants pool.



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Sources of Recruitment

___________↓______________

↓ ↓

Internal Sources

- Existing Employees

- Formal Employees

- Employee referrals

External Sources

- Employment exchanges

- Outsources to recruitment agencies

- Advertisements

- Campus Recruitment

- Walk-ins

- Internet recruiting

- Raiding or poaching

Internal Sources

Internal recruitment usually refers to filling open jobs with the current employees of the

organization. It is a process designed to create sufficient interest among the current employees to

cause them to formally indicate an interest in a given position. Internal sources normally consist

of the existing employees, the former employers and employees referrals.

1. Existing Employees:

The most common source of internal recruitment is through existing employees.

Organizations normally maintain inventories of qualification to choose employees for suitable

vacancies. Such inventories contain data such as the current employee’s performance,

educational background and suitability. The usual method of creating a pool of internal

applicants is through job postings. A job posting refers to process of advertising available

position to the employees. Promotions and transfers from among the existing employees are

example of internal sources of recruitment. However, there is a strong possibility that this

method may create a bitter feeling amongst those not selected.

2. Former Employees:

Formal employees are also considered as an internal source of recruitment fir they are

acquainted with the policies and practices of the organizations. Besides, they enjoy familiarity

with the present employees in most cases. It is now increasingly common to take back employees

who left the firm for various reasons. This is because the ex-employees performance and attitude

are well known to the organization and the risk involved in choosing them is relatively less.

3. Employee Referrals:

This methods refers to the practice of the present employees providing information about the

candidates who are willing to be considered for the present vacancies. The applicants may be

friends or relatives of the referring employees. Referral is also a cost effective source of



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recruitment. Its effectiveness lies in the assumption that present employees will recommend only

suitable candidates for the job.

Evaluation of Internal Sources

Merits: Internal recruitment has the following merits.

It helps the organization in offering career development plans to its employees.

Internal candidates may require less orientation and training than outside ones.

Internal recruitment can act as a good motivator and morale booster if the employees see

promotion as a reward for and recognition of their hard work and efficiency.

It facilitates better utilization of skills, experience and qualifications of the existing

employees.

It is economical and less time consuming when compared with external sources.

Demerits: Although internal recruitment has a significant number of advantages, it has

demerits also. There, are;

Internal recruitment may restrict the option of recruiting a more diverse workforce,

thereby keeping a large pool of potential employees in the labour market untapped.

It may provide an organization with a better applicant but not necessarily the best

applicant as it may be hard to find the most suitable person for a job within a organization

itself.

Too much emphasis on internal recruitment may result in in-breeding, which may not be

good for the future plans and prospects of the organization.

Internal recruitment can affect the unity and integrity of the organization if the employees

perceive the selection procedure as unfair and discriminatory.

External Sources

The external sources of recruitment refer to reaching out to the external labour market to meet

the labour requirements. They are huge, diverse and important for recruitment. Following are the

external sources of recruitment.

1. Employment Exchanges:

Employment exchanges have been established by the government. They find match of

vacancies with the job aspirants who have registered with them.

2. Outsourced to Recruitment Agencies:

Transferring the whole or a few parts of the recruitment process to an external HR

consultant rendering recruitment services is called outsourcing recruitment. In recent decades,

there has been a sizeable increase in the number of private employment agencies that engage

themselves in the task of short listing and providing qualified applicants to the private



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organizations in need of them. They charge fees either from the applicant or from the

organization or from both for successful placements.

3. Advertisements:

Printed advertisements are a preferred mode of external recruitment for several reasons.

As printed advertisement reach many people in a short period of time, the vacancies can be

communicated to the potential candidate quickly. They enjoy a wider coverage and better reach.

They are cost effective when the vacancies are large in numbers. In the case if job positions that

require special skills, qualification, knowledge and experience, the advertisements may be placed

in professional or trade journals to reach the target group effectively. However, the success of an

advertisement lies on its attractiveness, comprehensive and timing.

4. Campus Recruiting:

When company representatives are sent to college campuses to recruit applicants to

create an applicants pool from graduating classes, it is called campus recruiting. This source of

recruitment is ideal for entry level managerial and professional jobs like management trainees

and technical personnel. Organizations regularly visit the campuses of premier institutions to

recruit graduates. Wipro, L & T, Infosys, TCS, HCL, HUL and Citibank are some of the

examples.

5. Walk-ins and Write-ins:

When applicants directly write to the organization or just walk in to the office to state

their interest for employment, they are called walk-ins and write-ins. Walk-ins and write-ins are

helpful in strengthening the applicants pool maintained by the organization and are suitable

method for immediate selection and placement. Many BPO companies and other IT companies

are recruiting candidates through walk-ins to meet their huge labour demands.

6. Interest Recruiting:

Interest recruiting refers to placing an advertisement on the Internet for inviting

applications from the potential applicants to fill the vacancies specified. Organizations can also

use computers to scan, digitize and process the applicants resumes automatically. Electronic CVs

are used in Internet recruiting to collect information about the candidates.

Internet recruiting has its own advantages compared to print media, it is economical and

has a longer life plan. It gets huge responses as it is relatively easy for the applicants to respond

to the advertisements on the Internet.

Large companies have their own dedicated recruitment sections on their websites to

attract the prospective candidates to apply for the job in their organizations, while others use the

services of professional job sites. In India, several job sites provide recruitment, some of them

are Naukri.com, MonsterIndia.com and Timesjobs.com.



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7. Poaching or Raiding:

It refers to attracting the employees of the rival organization with attractive offers. Organizations

may directly or indirectly contact the talented employees of their rivals and gradually persuade

these employees to join them. Normally, some sort of secrecy is maintained in these operations

till the mission is completed. These days, on-demand recruiting services (ODRS) vendors, the

professional consultants who specialize in raiding and poaching operations, offer these services

to organizations for a fee. Though considered unethical, this practice is widely prevalent in many

Indian organizations, particularly in IT companies.

Evaluation of External Sources:

Merits: The external sources of recruitment enjoy the following advantages.

They enable an organization to generate a large pool of applicants, thereby increasing its

chances of choosing suitable candidates for the positions available.

The organization can adopt a rigorous, competitive and uncompromising selection

procedure to choose the requisite type of employees from the applicant pool.

They allow an organization to bring in fresh talents, adopt innovations in practice and

modify existing work culture.

They enable an organization to exploit the labour market conditions to their advantage to

save labour cost.

Demerits: The external sources of recruitment suffer from few demerits. These are as

follows-

The existing employees might be frustrated if they do not get adequate opportunities for

promotion. This could affect their motivation, commitment to work, and productivity.

Induction and socialization may not be smooth for the new employees as they may face

resistance from the existing one.

The outside candidates may be susceptible to poaching or raiding by rival firms as they

may be less committed than the long-serving existing employees.

These sources are time consuming and expensive as compared to internal sources of

recruitment.

HRM by Pruning

Publisher – Pearson Education India

According to (Huselid 1995) interviewing is an effective tool for selection as it is done to both

obtain additional information and to clarify information gathered throughout the selection

process, interviews can be structured or not structured, although the reliability and validity have

to be checked. There are also tests that can be used during the types of test available for use as

tools for employee selection, such as obility test, personality test, honesty and integrity test.

Through such tests individuals characteristics can be identified that are related to job-to-job



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success in the organization and occupations. Honesty or integrity tests can help an organization

to screen out potentially dishonest candidates and decrease the candidate of employee theft.

Challenges in Recruitment:

The quality of employee an organization hire depends on an effective recruitment and selection

strategy. However, the process isn’t always smooth sailing. Employers face tangible problems.

Recruitment Strategy:

Before company’s compose the first job posting, a manager must determine whether

hiring employees actually is in the best interest of the company. Bringing on new

employee can be costly, when we combine costs to recruit, orient and train them.

Retention problems increasingly impact recruitment as more employees become

comfortable shifting away from security needs and toward more existing job

opportunities, turnover rates will increase.

College recruiting must be re-energized if it is to succeed:

The demand for college talent in key majors will continue to increase dramatically but

unfortunately, corporate college recruiting budgets and processes have been mostly

stagnant over the last few years, even though colleges themselves and the expectations of

their students have changed dramatically. A re-engineered college recruiting model must

move beyond a focus on career centers and increase its capabilities in the areas of global

college recruiting, recruiting students from online universities, recruiting “passive”

students, and the use of market research to completely understand the job search process

and the expectations of this new generation of graduates.

The shortage of top recruiters:

As recruiting ramps up, firms will begin to realize that there is a significant shortage of

talented and currently up-to date recruiters. After poaching from the rapidly shrinking

executive search world, leaders will begin bidding over top corporate recruiters. A lack of

quality in internal and external recruiter training capability will make the recruiter

shortage even worse.

Adaptability to globalization:

The HR professionals are expected and required to keep in tune with the changing times,

i.e. the changes taking place across the globe. HR manager should maintain the timeliness

of the process.

Lack of Motivation:



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Recruitment is considered to be a thankless job. Even if the organization is achieving

results, HR department or professionals are not thanked for recruiting the right employees

and performers.

Process Analysis:

The immediately and speed of recruitment process are the main concerns of the HR in

recruitment . the process should be flexible, adaptive and responsive to immediate

requirements. The recruitment process should be cost effective.

Conclusion:

Recruitment and selection still remains the most important aspect of human resource

development, with all others depending on the quality and expertise of the recruited employees.

The challenges of recruitment and selection continue to affect organizations. Every experienced

HR professional will occasionally come across a vacancy that is particularly difficult to fill and

there are many such problems. To deal with the problems it is necessary to avoid them in

advance.

References :

Recruitment and selection process and its current challenges, written by Abdus Sattar

Niazi.

Human resource management by Pravin Durai, Publisher – Pearson Education, India.

A critical examination of recruitment strategy in India and Nigeria. Dr. Maidoki B. Peter,

Dr. Dahida Deemua Philip, public policy and administration research ISSN 2224-5731,

ISSN 2225-0972(online), Vol. 3, No. 9, 2013.

Recruitment and Selection and Its Current Challenges

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