Definition

Recruitment is defined as, process to discover the source of manpower to meet the requirement of staffing scheduled and to employ effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate number to facilitate effective selection of an efficient workforce.

Edwin B Flippo defined recruitment as,"the process of searching for prospective employee and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization."

5.2 Nature

Recruitment involves the following features: 1. Recruitment is first step of appointment. 2. It is a continuous process.

3. It is a process of identifying sources of human force, attracting and motivating them to apply for the jobs in organisations.

4. It is development man power or to be works at last stage. 5. It is a positive process.

Notes

_{5.3 Purpose}

1. Finding out and developing the source here required number and kind of employees are/ will be available.

2. Developing suitable techniques to attract the desirable candidate. 3. Employing the technique to attract the employees.

4 Stimulating as many candidate as possible and asking them to apply for jobs irrespective of number of candidate required in order to increase the selection ratio (i.e., number of application per one job vacancy) due to lower yield ratio.

5.3.1 Role Profiles for Recruitment Purposes

Role profiles, define the overall purpose of the role, its reporting relationships and key result areas. They may also include the list of competencies required. They may be technical (skills and knowledge required to do a specific job) and behavioural competencies attached to the role. The profile also includes the terms and conditions (pay, benefits, hours of work, mobility, traveling, transfers, training, development and career opportunities). Recruitment role provides the basis for person specification.

5.3.2 Person Specifications

A person specification also known as recruitment, job or personnel specification is the essential element on which the selection procedure is based. It is the sum total of education, training, experience, qualification a person has to perform the job assigned to him.

When the job requirement have been specified, they should be categories under suitable heads. The basic categories include qualification, technical and behavioural competencies (as given in the figure below for the HR Officer).

Table 5.1: Person Specification for HR Officer 1. Technical Competencies:

 Essential - job analysis

- inputting data to computers - carrying out complex paper work - interviewing techniques  Desirable

- conducting training sessions - job evaluation

- counseling techniques 2. Behavioural competencies:

 Communication skills, both written and oral  Focus on achieving results

 Able to handle change and adaptable  Interpersonal skills to achieve desired results  Creativity and innovation in problem solving  Emotional stability

 Empathy 3. Qualification/Experience

 Postgraduate in Human Resource Management with 5 years of relevant experience

Notes There are also number of traditional schemes. The most popular include seven-point plan

developed by Alec Rodgers in 1952 and five-point grading system developed by Munro Fraser in 1954. These give certain headings under which attributes of an ideal candidate can be classified.

Seven Point Plan

1. Physical make up: Health, physique, appearance, bearing and speech 2. Attainments: Education, qualifications, experience

3. General intelligence: Fundamental intellectual capacity

4. Special aptitudes: Mechanical, manual dexterity, facility in use of words or figures 5. Interest: Social, intellectual, physically active, constructional

6. Disposition: Acceptability, influence over others, steadiness, dependability, self-reliance 7. Circumstances: Domestic circumstances, occupations of family.

Five-fold Grading System

1. Impact on others: Physical make-up, appearance, speech and manner

2. Acquired knowledge or qualification: Education, vocational training, work experience 3. Innate abilities: Natural quickness of comprehension and aptitude for learning

4. Motivation: The kind of goals set by the individual, his or her consistency and determination in following them up, and success in achieving them

5. Adjustment: Emotional stability, ability to stand up stress and ability to get on with people.

The choice of the system depends on the individual requirement. The seven-point plan has longer pedigree whereas the five-point system is simpler to understand and use. Both provide framework for interviewing, but larger organizations are using the competency-based approach.

NotesCompetency based Approach

A competence based approach means that the competencies defined for a role are generally used as the framework for selection process. According to Taylor (2002); "A competency based approach is person-based rather than job-based. The essential point in this approach is that there is analysis of people and not of job.

According to Roberts (1997), “The benefits of taking competencies approach is that people can identify and isolate the key characteristics which would be used as the basis for selection, and that those characteristics will be described in terms which both can understand and agree………The competencies therefore become a fundamental part of the selection process.”

A competencies based approach can help to identify the selection technique, such as assessment center or psychological testing which are likely to give better result in the selection procedure. It also provides valuable information for the structured interview, where the sequences of the question can be generated in such an order so as to maximize the test of competency from the interviewee.

Notes _{The advantages of competency based approach according to Tim Payne (1998);}

1. Improve accuracy in assessing people's suitability and potential for different jobs. 2. Brings about a closer match between person's skill, interest and demand for the job. 3. The help interviewers on making judgment on characteristics which are not required

by the job.

4. They can be used structure the range of assessment techniques such as assessment centers, simulation techniques, behavioural anchored techniques.

Principles of Competency based Approach 1. Competencies need to be relevant to the job.

2. The recruitment process must be related to the competencies (i.e. advertisement, short-listing and interview process).

3. Careful consideration needs to be given to the planning of questions and scoring process, to ensure that all candidates are given the opportunity to demonstrate their competencies.

4. Hypothetical questions must be avoided.

5. Interviewing should require the candidate to evidence their possession of the competencies by giving an example of how they used their experience to deal with a issue.

5.3.3 Attracting Candidates

Attracting candidates is primarily a matter of identifying, evaluating and using the most appropriate sources of applicants. However, where suitable sources of recruitment are not there, then the analysis of factors contributing to the recruitment in an organization need to be analysed.

Factors

S. No. Internal Factors S. No. External Factors