What is Recruitment?

Recruitment is a process of identifying, screening, shortlisting and hiring potential resource for filling up the vacant positions in an organization. It is a core function of Human Resource Management.

Recruitment is the process of choosing the right person for the right position and at the right time. Recruitment also refers to the process of attracting, selecting, and appointing potential candidates to meet the organization’s resource requirements.The hiring of the candidates can be done internally i.e., within the organization, or from external sources. And the process should be performed within a time constraint and it should be cost effective.

Importance of Recruitment

Recruitment is one of the most fundamental activities of the HR team. If the recruitment process is efficient, then

• The organization gets happier and more productive employees
• Attrition rate reduces.
• It builds a good workplace environment with good employee relationships.
• It results in overall growth of the organization.

Here is a list that shows the purpose and importance of Recruitment in an organization −

• It determines the current and future job requirement.
• It increases the pool of job at the minimal cost.
• It helps in increasing the success rate of selecting the right candidates.
• It helps in reducing the probability of short term employments.
• It meets the organization’s social and legal obligations with regards to the work force.
• It helps in identifying the job applicants and selecting the appropriate resources.
• It helps in increasing organizational effectives for a short and long term.
• It helps in evaluating the effectiveness of the various recruitment techniques.
• It attracts and encourages the applicants to apply for the vacancies in an organization.
• It determines the present futures requirements of the organization and plan according.
• It links the potential employees with the employers.
• It helps in increasing the success ratio of the selection process of prospective candidates.
• It helps in creating a talent pool of prospective candidates, which enables in selecting the right candidates for the right job as per the organizational needs.

Factors Affecting Recruitment

Recruitment is an important function of the Human Resource Management in an organization, and it is governed by a mixture of various factors. Proactive HR Professionals should understand these factors influencing the recruitment and take necessary actions for the betterment of the organization.

When the market condition changes, the organization also needs to monitor these changes and discover how it affects the resources and analyze these functions for making recruitment an effective process.

We have Internal Factors as well as External Factors that influence the recruitment process. In this chapter, we will be discussing these factors in detail.

Internal Factors

Organizations have control over the internal factors that affect their recruitment functions. The internal factors are −

• Size of organization
• Recruiting policy
• Image of organization
• Image of job

Size of Organization

The size of the organization is one of the most important factors affecting the recruitment process. To expand the business, recruitment planning is mandatory for hiring more resources, which will be handling the future operations.

Recruiting Policy

Recruitment policy of an organization, i.e., hiring from internal or external sources of organization is also a factor, which affects the recruitment process. It specifies the objectives of the recruitment and provides a framework for the implementation of recruitment programs.

Image of Organization

Organizations having a good positive image in the market can easily attract competent resources. Maintaining good public relations, providing public services, etc., definitely helps an organization in enhancing its reputation in the market, and thereby attract the best possible resources.

Image of Job

Just like the image of organization, the image of a job plays a critical role in recruitment. Jobs having a positive image in terms of better remuneration, promotions, recognition, good work environment with career development opportunities are considered to be the characteristics to attract qualified candidates.

External Factors

External factors are those that cannot be controlled by an organization. The external factors that affect the recruitment process include the following −

• Demographic factors − Demographic factors are related to the attributes of potential employees such as their age, religion, literacy level, gender, occupation, economic status, etc.
• Labor market − Labor market controls the demand and supply of labor. For example, if the supply of people having a specific skill is less than the demand, then the hiring will need more efforts. On the other hand, if the demand is less than the supply, the hiring will be relative easier.
• Unemployment rate − If the unemployment rate is high in a specific area, hiring of resources will be simple and easier, as the number of applicants is very high. In contrast, if the unemployment rate is low, then recruiting tends to be very difficult due to less number of resources.
• Labor laws − Labor laws reflect the social and political environment of a market, which are created by the central and state governments. These laws dictate the compensation, working environment, safety and health regulations, etc., for different types of employments. As the government changes, the laws too change.
• Legal considerations − Job reservations for different castes such as STs, SCs, OBCs are best examples of legal considerations. These considerations, passed by government, will have a positive or negative impact on the recruitment policies of the organizations.
• Competitors − When organizations in the same industry are competing for the best qualified resources, there is a need to analyze the competition and offer the resources packages that are best in terms of industry standards.