Definition of Recruitment and process?

Recruitment forms a step in the process that continues with selection and ceases with the placement of the candidate. It is the next step in the procurement function, the first being manpower planning. Recruiting makes it possible to acquire the number and types of people necessary to ensure the continued operation of the organization. Recruiting is the discovery of potential applicants for actual or anticipated organizational vacancies.

According to Edwin B. Flippo, “Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization.”

According to Lord, “Recruitment is a form of competition. Just as corporations compete to develop, manufacture, and market the best product or service, they must also compete to identify, attract and hire the most qualified people. Recruitment is a business, and it is a big business.”

In the words of Dale Yoder, “ Recruiting is a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting that  manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient working force.”

Recruitment to Human Resource Acquisition Process

Figure 4.1: Recruitment to Human Resource Acquisition Process

According to  Werther and  Davis, “Recruitment is the process of finding and attracting capable applicants for employment. The process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their applications are submitted. The result is a pool of applicants from which new employees are selected.”

Dales S. Beach writes, “Recruitment is the development and maintenance of adequate manpower resources. It involves the creation of a pool of available labor upon whom the organization can depend when it needs additional employees.”

Thus, the recruitment process is concerned with the identification of possible sources of human resource supply and tapping those sources. In the total process of acquiring and placing human resources in the organization, recruitment falls in between different sub-processes as shown in Figure 4.2.

According to Scott, Clothier, and Spriegel the need for recruitment arises out of the following situations: 

• Vacancies are created due to expansion, diversification, and growth of the business.

•        An increase in the competitive advantage of certain concerns, enabling them to get more of the available business than formerly.

•        An increase in business arising from an upswing during the recovery period of a business cycle.

•        Vacancies created due to transfer, promotion, retirement, termination, permanent disability, or death.

•        The normal population growth, requires increased goods and services to meet the needs of the people.

•        A rising standard of living, which requires more of the same goods and services as well as the creation of new wants to be satisfied.

Process of Recruitment

The recruitment process passes through the following stages:

•        Recruitment process begins when the personnel department receives requisitions for recruitment from any department of the company, The personnel requisitions contain details about the position to be filled, number of persons to be recruited, the duties to be performed, qualifications expected from the candidates, terms, and conditions of employment and the time by which the persons should be available for appointment, etc.

•        Locating and developing the sources of the required number and type of employees.

•        Identifying the prospective employees with required characteristics.

•        Developing the techniques to attract the desired candidates. The goodwill of an organization in the market may be one technique. The publicity about the company being a good employer may also help in stimulating candidates to apply. There may be others with attractive salaries, proper facilities for development, etc.

•        Evaluating the effectiveness of the recruitment process.

According to Famularo, the personnel recruitment process involves five elements, viz., a recruitment policy, a recruitment organization, a forecast of manpower, the development of sources of recruitment, different techniques used for utilizing these sources, and a method of assessing the recruitment program. The explanation of these is described below:

1. Recruitment Policy: It specifies the objectives of recruitment and provides a framework for the implementation of the recruitment program. It also involves the employer’s commitment to some principles as to finding and employing the best-qualified persons for each job, retaining the most promising of those hired, etc. It should be based on the goals, needs, and environment of the organization.

Figure 4.2: Place of Recruitment in the Selection System

2.            Recruitment Organisation: The recruitment may be centralized like public sector banks or decentralized. Both practices have their own merits. The choice between the two will depend on the managerial philosophy and the particular needs of the organization.

3.            Sources of Recruitment: Various sources of recruitment may be classified as internal and external. These have their own merits and demerits.

4.            Methods of Recruitment: Recruitment techniques are the means to make contact with potential candidates, provide the necessary information, and encourage them to apply for jobs.

5.            Evaluation of Recruitment Programme: The recruitment process must be evaluated periodically. The criteria for evaluation may consist of cost per applicant, the hiring ratio, performance appraisal, tenure of stay, etc. After evaluation, necessary improvements should be made to the recruitment program.