The process of recruiting competent individuals for a job post is known as recruitment, while the process of finding and choosing the best candidate for that job is known as selection.

The actions of each employee are vital to a company’s existence and success. As a result, selecting the right candidate for the job is crucial. In the same way that a square peg does not fit in a round hole, bad hiring can have a negative influence on overall business success.

When you hire the wrong person, the consequences are often substantially worse than if you didn’t hire anyone at all! Recruitment is not only an operational activity for the organization, but it is also a part of strategic human resource management.

As a result, a thorough recruitment and selection process is necessary. Alongside this, certain essential factors also need to be worked upon in case a company has just started operating.

The appropriate approach reflects your company’s professionalism and exhibits your maturity in attracting and retaining top talent. An effective approach supports the proactive development of a talent pool(as a part of talent management in hr, hence assisting in the fulfillment of medium- and long-term corporate goals.

Recruiting involves a number of parties, including top-level employees at your company, and may be time and money intensive(focusing to hire some unique types of candidates may ease the process in some cases). As a result, it’s vital to make sure the process is well-defined and streamlined in order to meet the needs of all stakeholders.

Meaning of Recruitment:

Recruitment is the process of identifying, assessing, nominating, and employing qualified candidates to fill open jobs in a business. It is a key component of human resource management.

The process of selecting the appropriate individual for the right job at the right time is known as recruitment. The process of recruiting, selecting, and appointing suitable individuals to satisfy the organization’s resource requirements is sometimes referred to as recruitment.

Candidates can be employed either internally, i.e. from inside the organization, or outside. Furthermore, the operation must be performed on schedule and within budget.

Why Recruitment Is Important?:

One of the most important activities of the HR staff is recruitment. If the hiring procedure is effective, then: 

● Employees at the company are happier and more productive.

● The attrition rate is decreased.

● It encourages pleasant employee relationships and generates a positive working environment.

● It contributes to the overall expansion of the company and helps maintain an appropriate employee headcount.

● It identifies current and future work requirements.

● It reduces the cost of expanding the pool of available jobs.

● It adds to a higher success percentage in selecting the right candidates.

● It helps to reduce the chance of being hired on a temporary basis.

● It complies with the organization’s social and legal obligations to its employees.

Process of recruitment: 

Recruitment Process Passes through the Following Stages: 

(i) Identifying the sources from which the required employees may be sourced for recruitment. Institutions that give business administration training will be the best source for young managers.

(ii) Developing methods for attracting competent candidates. One strategy may be to use a company’s goodwill and reputation in the market. Prospects may be encouraged to apply if the company’s position as a professional employer is publicized.

(iii) Recruiting potential customers using successful tactics. Offers of competitive remuneration, adequate growth possibilities, and so on may be made.

(iv) The next phase in this process is to urge as many people as possible to apply for jobs. More candidates must be attracted in order to choose the best candidate.

Factors influencing recruitment: 

A number of factors influence this process. Some of which are: 

1. Size of the Enterprise: 

The size of the company will influence the number of staff necessary. A huge firm needs more personnel on a regular basis, whereas a small company just needs a few individuals. A huge corporation will maintain constant touch with sources of supply and will strive to recruit an increasing number of individuals in order to make the best decision possible.

It has the financial means to spend more money on recruiting talented personnel. As a result, the recruiting process will be influenced by a company’s size.

2. Employment Conditions: 

The employment market has a significant impact on the recruiting process. Although job opportunities in developing economies are limited, competent individuals are many. At the same time, due to a lack of educational and technical resources, the right individuals may be unavailable.

Choosing from a large number of people gets simpler when there are more people accessible. On the other hand, if qualified technical professionals are in short supply, finding appropriate applicants will be challenging.

3. Salary Structure and Working Conditions: 

Wages and working conditions have a substantial influence on worker availability in a company. If the compensation is higher than that of similar enterprises, the company will have no issue filling positions. For a corporation that offers low wages, labor turnover might be a problem.

Employee job satisfaction is influenced by the company’s working environment. Employees would be happier and less inclined to leave their current job if their employer offered proper working conditions such as adequate cleanliness, lighting, and ventilation.

4. Rate of Growth: 

The rate at which a company expands has an influence on the recruitment process. A developing firm will demand the employment of new employees on a regular basis.

There will also be promotions of existing staff, necessitating the filing of such vacancies. For example, a dormant business can only hire new staff once the present employee retires.

Philosophies of Recruitment

There are basically two philosophies of recruitment:  

• Traditional  
• Realistic 

The basic way is to encourage as many people to apply for the job as possible. As a result, a large number of people apply for the job, complicating the final selection process and usually resulting in the wrong candidates being chosen. In the long run, making the wrong decision might lead to employee dissatisfaction and attrition.

In a realistic perspective, the needs of the organization are matched with the desires of the applicants, improving the efficacy of the recruiting process. Hired individuals will stay with the company for a longer period of time and execute at a greater level of effectiveness if the plan is feasible.

Sources of Recruitment: 

There are many sources of recruiting potential employees but all of them can be grouped into two categories, namely- internal and external sources of recruitment. 

1. Internal sources of recruitment: 

Internal sources of recruiting are employees who are already on the payroll of a firm. Former employees who have returned to work for the company are also counted. Internal recruiting involves promoting, re-hiring, and relocating employees inside the company to fill openings.

Methods of Internal Sources: 

1. Transfers: 

People are relocated from their present positions to new jobs that are comparable to their current ones. As a result, there will be no change in rank, duty, or reputation. Transfers do not result in an increase in the number of individuals.

2. Promotions: 

Promotions are the advancement of persons into positions with better prestige, responsibilities, and pay. When higher-level positions become available, they might be filled from inside the company. The number of personnel in the company is unaffected by the promotion.

When a person gets promoted, he or she will quit their existing position. Employees will be encouraged to improve their work in order to be considered for promotion.

3. Present Employees: 

Concerned employees are informed about the possibility of vacant positions. Employees promote relatives or people they are familiar with. The burden of finding suitable personnel is relieved from management.

Advantages of internal sources of recruitment: 

● Selection and relocation of current workers is a simpler process.

● Managers are aware of present employees’ skills and talents.

● Internal recruitment is a strategy of boosting employee morale since it provides current employees with opportunities for employment and advancement.

● Staff loyalty is encouraged through internal recruiting.

● Existing employees are already familiar with the company’s operations and can readily move to new positions.

The internal recruiting technique, on the other hand, may have a disadvantage. It’s possible that the company’s workforce may become stagnant as a result. There will be no fresh hires or innovative ideas. Employees who are not qualified for a higher position are regularly promoted merely because they have worked for the company for a long time, rather than on the basis of their skills and qualifications.

Disadvantages of Internal Sources: 

(i) It makes it hard for capable persons from outside the organization to join it.
(ii) It’s possible that the organization doesn’t have enough competent individuals to fill all of the available positions.
(iii) This recruitment strategy is ineffective for occupations that need creativity and innovative thinking.

Characteristics of internal sources of recruitment: 

● Quick process. 

● Cheaper than the external recruitment process. 

● Works as a tool of motivation for the staff. 

● The company’s choice is limited to existing employees of the company. 

● Hiring fresh employees is a lost prospect. 

2. External sources of recruitment: 

External sources of recruitment refer to the sources that lie outside or exist external to the organization. External sources of recruitment include: 

● People join an organization, specifically through recommendations. 

● Employment agencies( e.g. glassdoor.com) or employment exchanges. 

● Advertising 

● Institutes like colleges and vocational schools (e.g. campus selection) 

● Contractors 

● Hiring unskilled labor 

● List of applications 

● Temporary workers. 

Encouraging existing employees to recommend suitable candidates can thus lead to the hiring of the right individuals for the right jobs. A higher level of teamwork and synchronization among employees would, therefore, be achieved. 

Methods of External Sources: 

1. Advertisement: 

It’s a popular way to hire professionals, clerical staff, and higher-level personnel. Newspaper and professional publication advertisements are permitted. These advertisements generate a large number of applications of various quality levels. It takes a specialized effort to create effective advertising.

A ‘blind advertisement’ may be published if a company desires to remain unknown, urging candidates to apply to Post Bag or Box Number, or any advertising agency.

2. Employment Exchanges: 

In the US, the United States Employment Service(USES) is a federal agency that manages employment exchanges. It is frequently used as a source of recruiting for unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, clerical, and other positions. In certain circumstances, it has become mandatory for businesses to post their job openings on the jobs exchange.

Previously, businesses would only utilize these services as a last resort. The employment exchanges bring job seekers and job providers together.

3. Schools, Colleges, and Universities: 

It has been standard practice to recruit directly from educational institutions for certain occupations needing technical or professional skills (i.e. placement). The recruitment of qualified employees is aided by a close interaction between the business and educational institutions. While they are studying, the students are recognized. This strategy might be used to recruit junior executives or management trainees.

4. Recommendation of Existing Employees: 

The organization’s present personnel is familiar with the candidate, and she comes highly recommended. As a result, a number of companies encourage current workers to help them find applications from people they know. In some cases, awards may be awarded if the company chooses applicants suggested by them. Employee morale will deteriorate if partiality results from suggestions.

6. Casual Callers: 

Personnel who drop in on the job on a whim may also be considered for the available post. It is the most cost-effective recruitment method. In industrialized countries, this type of recruiting is extremely common.

7. Central Application File: 

It is possible to keep a record of past applicants who were not picked. To keep the file active, applications in the files must be validated at regular intervals.

8. Labour Unions: 

All recruits in certain professions, including construction, hotels, the maritime industry, and others (i.e., industries with job instability), come from unions. It is advantageous to management since it reduces recruitment expenses. In other cases, however, unions may be invited to propose people as a show of goodwill or as a favor to the union.

9. Labour Contractors: 

In the brick kiln business, this kind of recruitment is still utilized to hire unskilled and semi-skilled workers. The contractors keep in touch with the workers and transfer them to where they are required. They are compensated on the basis of the number of individuals they furnish.

10. Former Employees: 

Employees who have been laid off or who have left the factory on their own may be rehired if they are interested in working for the company (provided their record is good).

11. Other Sources: 

Aside from these key sources of external recruiting, there are undoubtedly more sources that organizations use from time to time. These include specific lectures presented by recruiters in various universities, albeit these talks do not appear to be directly related to recruiting.

Then there are video clips that are delivered to various companies and organizations to demonstrate the company’s history and progress. These videos tell the tale of the firm to a wide range of viewers, generating interest in them. Various companies organize trade exhibitions that draw a large number of prospective workers.

Many times, adverts are placed for a certain type of workforce (say, married women) who worked previously to their marriage. These females might also serve as a valuable supply of labor. Similarly, there is a labor market comprised of physically challenged individuals. Visits to other firms can also aid in the discovery of fresh sources of recruiting.

Merits of External Sources: 

1. Availability of Suitable Persons: 

Internal sources may or may not be able to give suitable candidates on a consistent basis. The management has a wide choice of possibilities from outside sources. There might be a large number of applicants interested in working for the company. In terms of skill, training, and education, they will also be suitable.

2. Brings New Ideas: 

New ideas will help the selection of people from outside sources. People having previous experience in different sectors will be able to provide new perspectives and answers. This will aid the company’s ability to compete.

3. Economical: 

Because new workers are already trained and experienced, this kind of recruiting can save money because the jobs do not require substantial training.

Demerits of External Sources: 

1. Demoralisation: 

Current workers feel disheartened when new persons from outside the company join the organization since these responsibilities should have gone to them. The hearts of the elderly may be fluttering. Some employees may even leave the organization in search of better possibilities elsewhere.

2. Lack of Co-Operation: 

Existing workers may refuse to work with new employees if they consider their rights have been violated. When higher-level positions are filled by outside sources, the situation will get even worse.

3. Expensive: 

Recruiting from outside sources is an expensive process. It all starts with high-priced media advertisements, followed by written exams and interviews. Regardless, if suitable applicants are not available, the process will have to be repeated from the beginning.

4. Problem of Maladjustment: 

It’s probable that the new recruits struggled to adjust to their new environment. Because of their temperament, they may be unable to adjust to the new individuals. Individuals may opt to leave or management may be obliged to replace them in such cases. These factors have a detrimental influence on the way the company runs.

Methods of Recruitment: 

Recruitment methods are the means employed by a company to reach out to potential job applicants. To put it another way, they are techniques for contacting potential applicants. It’s important to remember that recruiting strategies differ from recruiting sources. The fundamental difference between the two is that the former is a method of communicating with potential applications, whilst the latter is a website where potential employees may be found. Dunn and Stephen have broadly classified methods of recruitment into three categories: 

1. Direct Method 

2. Indirect Method 

3. Third Party Method. 

1. Direct Method: 

Using this method, representatives from the organization are sent to potential candidates in educational and training institutions. They establish contact with those who are looking for work. These representatives work with the placement cells at the institution. This is how most people studying business, engineering, medicine, and other fields are recruited. Some businesses contact teachers directly to learn more about students who have succeeded academically. Sending recruiters to conferences and seminars, setting up booths at fairs, and deploying a mobile office to the desired places are some more tactics for making direct contact with job seekers.

2. Indirect Methods: 

Indirect methods include advertisements in newspapers, on the radio and television, in professional journals, technical magazines, etc. This method is useful when: 

(i) Organization does not find suitable candidates to be promoted to fill up the higher posts (ii) When the organization wants to reach out to a vast territory, and 

(iii) When an organization wants to fill up scientific, professional, and technical posts. The experience suggests that the higher the position to be filled up in the organization, or the skill sought by the more sophisticated one, the more widely dispersed advertisement is likely to be used to reach many suitable candidates. 

Sometimes, many organizations go for what is referred to as a blind advertisement in which only Box No. is given and the identity of the organization is not disclosed. However, organizations with regional or national repute do not usually use blind advertisements for obvious reasons. While placing an advertisement to reach the potential candidates, the following three points need to be borne in mind: 

1. First, to visualize the type of applicant one is trying to recruit. 

2. Second, to write out a list of the advantages the job will offer 

3. Third, to decide where to run the advertisement, i.e., a newspaper with local, state, nation-wide and international reach or circulation. 

3. Third Party Methods: 

Private employment agencies, management consultants, professional bodies/associations, employee referrals/recommendations, voluntary groups, trade unions, data banks, labor contractors, and so on are all used to establish contact with job seekers. The question now is which method will be used to recruit new employees for the company. The answer is that it will be determined by the company’s ideology, labor supply, government legislation, and agreements with labor groups. Regardless, the most effective method of recruitment is to look within the company first.

Selection: 

The process of selecting the best candidate for a vacant employment position in a company is known as selection. In other terms, selection may be defined as the process of interviewing applicants and analyzing their qualifications for a certain job and then selecting the best candidate for the job. The selection of the correct applicant for a vacant post will be an advantage to the company, assisting it in meeting its goals.

Meaning of Selection:

Procedure for Selection: 

The following are the necessary steps generally involved in the selection procedure: 

1. Preliminary Interview: 

Following the receipt and assessment of application forms, it is the first part of the selection process. The preliminary interview is intended to select people who are disqualified for work for a variety of reasons, including age, citizenship, status, disqualifying physical disabilities, and inexperience or lack of training. It also assesses if the labor, hours, pay, and other working conditions are suitable. If the candidate appears to have a chance of being selected, he is given a blank application to fill out.

2. Application Blank: 

In order to preserve a written record of the information, successful applicants in preliminary interviews are handed a blank application. Family history, date and place of birth, age, sex, marital status, educational qualifications, employment experience, expected salary and allowances, and extra-curricular activities are all collected in this application.

3. Employment Tests: 

The personnel department can advise and assist in the selection of relevant examinations for a certain role.

There are two types of employment tests: 

(a) Trade Test: 

Professionals who require technical skills must take a trade exam to assess their suitability for the job. It’s done under the watchful eye of a qualified supervisor.

(b) Psychological Tests: 

It’s a systematic and impartial assessment of a group of people’s conduct. The basic purpose of psychological testing is to provide a method for objectively examining a representative sample of mental performance in order to predict how a person would act in certain scenarios.

The types of  psychological tests are given below: 

(i) Aptitude Test: 

These exams are used to assess applicants’ aptitude and ability to master the skills necessary for a certain profession. It’s better suited to clerical and trade jobs.

(ii) Intelligent Test: 

To determine a person’s mental alertness and capacity to comprehend and put the pieces of a novel or abstract event together.

(iii) Interest Test: 

To identify an applicant’s preferences for several vocations, but not their abilities.

(iv) Knowledge Test: 

To determine the applicant’s level of expertise and understanding in certain fields such as engineering, accounting, and so on.

(v) Projective Test: 

Which employs the projective approach, in which the applicant projects his personality into free reactions to confusing imagery presented to him.

(vi) Personality Test: 

Its purpose is to determine a person’s emotional equilibrium, maturity, and temperamental characteristics. It may employ experimental methods such as the rating or question-and-answer technique.

(vii) Judgement Test: 

For assessing a person’s ability to use their knowledge wisely when addressing an issue.

(viii) Dexterity Test: 

To assess a person’s ability to use his fingers and hands in industrial settings.

4. Employment Interview: 

One of the most common methods of selection is an interview. One or more people interview almost every manager recruited or promoted by a business. An interview is a method of selection that allows the employer to see and evaluate the whole “personality” of the applicant, which is not included on the application form. It also provides information about the blank application. It also elucidates the motivation, personality, and general attitude of the candidate. As a result, better-informed selection judgments are made.

5. Reference Check: 

This phase involves checking the candidate’s references and, if he is new out of college, seeking feedback from his past employers or professors. This should be done prior to the complete interview in order to gain a deeper understanding of the candidate, particularly in terms of traits that are not listed on application forms. Leadership traits, the capacity to act assertively and forcefully, the ability to communicate effectively, and attitude toward subordinates and superiors are among these characteristics.

6. Medical Examination: 

A broad and thorough medical evaluation is required. The findings should be meticulously recorded in order to provide a thorough medical history, as well as the breadth of present physical capacities and the nature of any limitations. To put it another way, this will guarantee that the applicant is physically healthy and capable of carrying out his duties.

7. On the Job Test: 

The Departmental Head usually administers this exam to measure the candidates’ efficiency on a certain task, machine, or piece of equipment. This exam demonstrates the practical worth of a person on the job.

8. Orientation or Induction of Employees: 

The company is orientated or introduced to the new employee. It might take the shape of a socialization process in which the employee becomes acquainted with and friendly with the company’s surroundings. He is informed of the business’s key rules, regulations, and unique aspects.

9. Final Selection:  

If a candidate successfully completes all of the obstacles or tests listed above, he will be declared selected. He will be given an appointment letter explaining the conditions of his appointment, as well as the remuneration rate and position he has selected. It is the people manager’s primary obligation to introduce him to the company and his role when he initially joins.

10. Intimation to Salary Department: 

Following the final selection of applicants, the department of salary is notified of the candidate’s details so that a salary arrangement may be established.

Selection Decision Outcomes:

Consider for a moment that any choice can result in one of four consequences. Two of these possibilities, as shown in the picture below, would represent accurate judgments, while the other two would indicate mistakes.

Correct judgments are those in which an application was expected to be successful and later proven to be successful on the job or those in which an applicant was expected to be unsuccessful but would have done well if hired. We were successful in accepting in the first circumstance, and we were successful in refusing in the second. As a result, the purpose of selection activities is to create the “correct decisions” illustrated in the image below.

When we make mistakes, such as rejecting people who would later do well on the job (reject errors) or accepting people who would later perform poorly on the job (accept errors), problems occur (accept errors). Unfortunately, these problems are not minor. Rejecting errors in the past meant raising the price of conducting selection procedures. Acceptable mistakes, on the other hand, have highly obvious consequences to the firm, such as the cost of educating the employee, the expenses created (or revenues lost) as a result of the person’s ineptitude, the cost of severance, and the costs of additional recruitment and selection screening.

The basic purpose of any selection activity is to decrease the risk of making reject or accept mistakes while increasing the likelihood of making accurate judgments.

In summary, selection has two goals: 

(1) predicting which job candidates would be successful if employed, and 

(2) informing and selling the candidate on the job and the business. 

Unfortunately, these two objectives do not have to be mutually incompatible. Putting a job seeker through hours of paperwork, tests, and interviews do not usually endear the company to the candidate. These are sometimes time-consuming and strenuous tasks. However, if the selection process places too much focus on public relations, the information needed to make informed selection decisions may be compromised. As a result, a manager’s selection challenge is to strike a balance between the need to attract candidates and the want to acquire valuable selection data.

Importance of Selection: 

Selection is one of the most important of all functions in the management of personnel. The importance of selection may be judged from the following facts: 

1. Procurement of Suitable Candidate is Possible: 

Only the most qualified candidates for the job are chosen from among the many applicants for employment. As a result, selection is a process in which only the most attractive individuals are recruited and others are passed over.

2. Good Selection Reduces the Cost of Training and Development: 

Because the competent staff has a greater grasping capacity, proper candidate selection lowers training costs. They have a greater understanding of the work’s technique. As a result, the business may create customized training programs for different people based on their particular peculiarities, significantly decreasing training time and expense.

3. Proper Selection Resolves Personnel Problems: 

Employee difficulties in the organization are reduced when the management works to reduce unethical practices during job interviews and by implementing proper personnel selection. Many challenges in the workplace, such as labor turnover, absenteeism, and boredom, should not be experienced to their full extent. Workers will be completely happy with their work, which will improve labor relations.

Key Takeaways:

Difference between Recruitment and Selection. 

The major differences between Recruitment and Selection are as follows −

Basis	Recruitment	Selection
Meaning	It is an activity of establishing contact between employers and applicants.	It is a process of picking up more competent and suitable employees.
Objective	It encourages a large number of candidates for a job.	It attempts at rejecting unsuitable candidates.
Process	It is a simple process.	It is a complicated process.
Hurdles	The candidates do not have to cross many hurdles.	Many hurdles have to be crossed.
Approach	It is a positive approach	It is a negative approach.
Sequence	It proceeds with selection.	It follows recruitment.
Economy	It is an economical method.	It is an expensive method.
Time Consuming	Less time is required.	More time is required.