RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

1.0 INTRODUCTION

(Recruitment is Distinct from Employment and Selection)
Once the required number and kind of human resources are determined, management has to find the places where required human resources are available and also find the means of attracting them towards the

organisation before selecting suitable candidates for jobs. All this process is generally known as recruitment. Some people use the term ‘recruitment’ for employment. These two are not the same thing. Recruitment is only one of the steps in the entire employment process. Some others used the term recruitment for selection. These two terms are not one the same either. Technically speaking, the function of recruitment precedes the selection function and it includes only finding, developing the sources of prospective employees and attracting them to apply for job in an organisation; whereas selection is the process of finding out the most suitable candidate for the job out of the candidates attracted (i.e., recruited). Formal definition of recruitment will give clear cut idea about the function of recruitment.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

1. illustrate the terms recruitment and selection, and the essentials of selection procedure 
2. discuss the impact of personnel policies on recruitment 
3.  highlight the main sources of recruitment and the reasons why different people or organisations prefer different sources 
4.  explain recruitment techniques, placement and induction and types of recruitment appeal 
5.  describe organisational relationships and factors that promote the use of selection agencies/consultant as well as factors affecting selection decisions. 

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Definition of Recruitment

Recruiting refers to those sets of activities an organisation uses to attract job candidates possessing the appropriate characteristics to help the organisation reach its objectives (Glueck, 1978). According to Byars and Rues (1984), recruitment involves seeking and attracting a pool of people from which qualified candidates for job vacancies can be chosen. The basic purpose is to develop a group of potentially qualified people. These definitions can be analysed by discussing the processes of recruitment through systems approach

3.1.2 Complexity of the Function of Recruitment

Performing the function of recruitment, i.e., increasing the selection ratio is not as easy as it seems to be. This is because of the hurdles created by the internal factors and external factors which influence an organisation. The first activity of recruitment i.e., searching for prospective employees is affected by many factors like:

1. organisational policy regarding filling up of certain percentage of vacancies by internal candidates 
2. local candidates - (‘sons of the soil’ - those in the catchment area, where the organisation is located/host community) 
3.  influence of trade unions 
4.  government regulations regarding reservations of certain number of vacancies to candidates based on community/region/caste/sex
5. influence or recommendations, nepotism, etc. 

As such, management is not free to find out or develop the sources of desirable candidates; and alternatively, it has to divert its energies into developing the sources within the limits of those factors - though it cannot find suitable candidates for the jobs. The other activity of recruitment is consequently affected by the internal factors such as:

1.  working conditions 
2. promotional opportunities 
3. salary levels, type and extent of benefits
4.  other personnel policies and practices 
5.  image of the organisations 
6.  ability and skill of the management to stimulate the candidates. 

It is also affected by external factors like:

1. personnel policies and practices of various organisations regarding working conditions, salary, benefits, promotional opportunities, employee relations, etc 
2.  career opportunities in other organisations; 
3. government regulations. 

However, the degree of complexity of recruitment function can be minimised by formulating sound policies.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

1. What is recruitment? 
2. What are the sources of recruitment? Which of the sources is most appropriate in Nigeria? 

3.1.3 Recruitment Policy

Recruitment policy of any organisation is derived from the personnel policy of the organisation. In other words, the former is a part of the latter. However, recruitment policy by itself should take into consideration government’s reservation policy, policy regarding catchment area, personnel policies of other organisations regarding merit, internal sources, social responsibility in absorbing minority sections, women, etc. Recruitment policy should commit itself to the organisation’s personnel like enriching the organisation’s human resources or serving the community by absorbing the unemployed and disadvantaged people of the society, motivating employees through internal promotions, improving employee loyalty to the organisation by absorbing the retrenched or laid off employees or casual/temporary employees or dependants of present/former employees, etc. The following factors should be taken into consideration in formulating recruitment policy. They are:

1.  government policies 
2.  personnel policies of other competing organisations
3. organisation’s personnel policies 
4.  recruitment sources 
5. recruitment needs 
6.  recruitment cost 
7. selection criteria and preference, etc. 

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Suggest an ideal induction procedure for sales executives in an electrical appliance manufacturing organisation.

3.2 Impact of Personnel Policies on Recruitment

Recruitment policies are mostly drawn from personnel policies of an organisation. According to Dale Yadar and Paul D. Standohar (1984), general personnel policies provide a variety of guidelines to be spelt out in the recruitment policy. Important among them are:

1. abiding by the public policy and relevant laws on selection; 
2. providing the employees the security and continuous employment;
3. integrating organisational needs and individual needs; 
4. providing the freedom and opportunity to employees to utilise their talents, skill and knowledge to the maximum extent; 
5. treating all employees fairly and equally in all employment relationships including salary, benefits, promotions and transfers; 
6.  protecting women and minority candidates; 
7.  providing suitable jobs which can be handled easily by physically-handicapped and those employees who are partially disabled due to accidents during the course of duty; and giving due consideration to those who cannot do their present jobs due to health reasons. 

After formulation of the recruitment policies, management has to decide whether to centralise or decentralise the recruitment function.

3.3 Centralised versus Decentralised Recruitment

Recruitment practices vary from one organisation to another. Some organisations like commercial banks resort to centralised recruitment, while some organisations like the Indian Railways (for Group III and Group IV positions) resort to decentralised recruitment practices. Personnel department at the central office performs all the functions of recruitment in case of centralised recruitment and personnel departments at unit level (zonal level) performs all the functions of recruitment concerning the jobs of the respective unit or zone.

3.4 Sources of Recruitment

Sources are distinct from techniques. Where are suitable candidates available in required number? How can they be informed about the availability of jobs and about the jobs and organisation? Now we deal with the first question as the answer to it deals with the sources of recruitment, and the answer to the second question deals with the techniques of stimulating prospective candidates (or techniques of recruitment). Generally, learners of human resource management may feel that sources and techniques of recruitment are one and the same. But they are different. Sources are those where prospective employees are available like employment exchanges. While techniques have to do with stimulating prospective employees to apply for jobs; this can be through nomination by employees, advertising, promotion, etc. Now we propose to discuss about the sources of recruitment. When a person is needed to fill a vacant organisational position, this individual may come from inside or outside the company. Some companies prefer to recruit from within, since this aids employee morale, loyalty and motivation. Other companies prefer to recruit externally to prevent ‘inbreeding’ and to encourage new ways of thinking. Although recruitment policies vary significantly from company to company, some authorities feel it is a good practice to promote from within, if anyone in the company has the requisite qualifications needed to fill a vacancy (Menk, 1979).