Recruitment Process

Recruitment is a process of finding and attracting the potential resources for filling up the vacant positions in an organization. It sources the candidates with the abilities and attitude, which are required for achieving the objectives of an organization.

Recruitment process is a process of identifying the jobs vacancy, analyzing the job requirements, reviewing applications, screening, shortlisting and selecting the right candidate.

To increase the efficiency of hiring, it is recommended that the HR team of an organization follows the five best practices (as shown in the following image). These five practices ensure successful recruitment without any interruptions. In addition, these practices also ensure consistency and compliance in the recruitment process.

Recruitment process is the first step in creating a powerful resource base. The process undergoes a systematic procedure starting from sourcing the resources to arranging and conducting interviews and finally selecting the right candidates.

Recruitment Planning

Recruitment planning is the first step of the recruitment process, where the vacant positions are analyzed and described. It includes job specifications and its nature, experience, qualifications and skills required for the job, etc.

A structured recruitment plan is mandatory to attract potential candidates from a pool of candidates. The potential candidates should be qualified, experienced with a capability to take the responsibilities required to achieve the objectives of the organization.

Identifying Vacancy

The first and foremost process of recruitment plan is identifying the vacancy. This process begins with receiving the requisition for recruitments from different department of the organization to the HR Department, which contains −

• Number of posts to be filled
• Number of positions
• Duties and responsibilities to be performed
• Qualification and experience required

When a vacancy is identified, it the responsibility of the sourcing manager to ascertain whether the position is required or not, permanent or temporary, full-time or part-time, etc. These parameters should be evaluated before commencing recruitment. Proper identifying, planning and evaluating leads to hiring of the right resource for the team and the organization.

Job Analysis

Job analysis is a process of identifying, analyzing, and determining the duties, responsibilities, skills, abilities, and work environment of a specific job. These factors help in identifying what a job demands and what an employee must possess in performing a job productively.

Job analysis helps in understanding what tasks are important and how to perform them. Its purpose is to establish and document the job relatedness of employment procedures such as selection, training, compensation, and performance appraisal.

The following steps are important in analyzing a job −

• Recording and collecting job information
• Accuracy in checking the job information
• Generating job description based on the information
• Determining the skills, knowledge and skills, which are required for the job

The immediate products of job analysis are job descriptions and job specifications.

Job Description

Job description is an important document, which is descriptive in nature and contains the final statement of the job analysis. This description is very important for a successful recruitment process.

Job description provides information about the scope of job roles, responsibilities and the positioning of the job in the organization. And this data gives the employer and the organization a clear idea of what an employee must do to meet the requirement of his job responsibilities.

Job description is generated for fulfilling the following processes −

• Classification and ranking of jobs
• Placing and orientation of new resources
• Promotions and transfers
• Describing the career path
• Future development of work standards

A job description provides information on the following elements −

• Job Title / Job Identification / Organization Position
• Job Location
• Summary of Job
• Job Duties
• Machines, Materials and Equipment
• Process of Supervision
• Working Conditions
• Health Hazards

Job Specification

Job specification focuses on the specifications of the candidate, whom the HR team is going to hire. The first step in job specification is preparing the list of all jobs in the organization and its locations. The second step is to generate the information of each job.

This information about each job in an organization is as follows −

• Physical specifications
• Mental specifications
• Physical features
• Emotional specifications
• Behavioral specifications

A job specification document provides information on the following elements −

• Qualification
• Experiences
• Training and development
• Skills requirements
• Work responsibilities
• Emotional characteristics
• Planning of career

Job Evaluation

Job evaluation is a comparative process of analyzing, assessing, and determining the relative value/worth of a job in relation to the other jobs in an organization.

The main objective of job evaluation is to analyze and determine which job commands how much pay. There are several methods such as job grading, job classifications, job ranking, etc., which are involved in job evaluation. Job evaluation forms the basis for salary and wage negotiations.

Recruitment Strategy

Recruitment strategy is the second step of the recruitment process, where a strategy is prepared for hiring the resources. After completing the preparation of job descriptions and job specifications, the next step is to decide which strategy to adopt for recruiting the potential candidates for the organization.

While preparing a recruitment strategy, the HR team considers the following points −

• Make or buy employees
• Types of recruitment
• Geographical area
• Recruitment sources

The development of a recruitment strategy is a long process, but having a right strategy is mandatory to attract the right candidates. The steps involved in developing a recruitment strategy include −

• Setting up a board team
• Analyzing HR strategy
• Collection of available data
• Analyzing the collected data
• Setting the recruitment strategy

Searching the Right Candidates

Searching is the process of recruitment where the resources are sourced depending upon the requirement of the job. After the recruitment strategy is done, the searching of candidates will be initialized. This process consists of two steps −

• Source activation − Once the line manager verifies and permits the existence of the vacancy, the search for candidates starts.

• Selling − Here, the organization selects the media through which the communication of vacancies reaches the prospective candidates.

Searching involves attracting the job seekers to the vacancies. The sources are broadly divided into two categories: Internal Sources and External Sources.

Internal Sources

Internal sources of recruitment refer to hiring employees within the organization through −

• Promotions
• Transfers
• Former Employees
• Internal Advertisements (Job Posting)
• Employee Referrals
• Previous Applicants

External Sources

External sources of recruitment refer to hiring employees outside the organization through −

• Direct Recruitment
• Employment Exchanges
• Employment Agencies
• Advertisements
• Professional Associations
• Campus Recruitment
• Word of Mouth

Screening / Shortlisting

Screening starts after completion of the process of sourcing the candidates. Screening is the process of filtering the applications of the candidates for further selection process.

Screening is an integral part of recruitment process that helps in removing unqualified or irrelevant candidates, which were received through sourcing. The screening process of recruitment consists of three steps −

Reviewing of Resumes and Cover Letters

Reviewing is the first step of screening candidates. In this process, the resumes of the candidates are reviewed and checked for the candidates’ education, work experience, and overall background matching the requirement of the job

While reviewing the resumes, an HR executive must keep the following points in mind, to ensure better screening of the potential candidates −

• Reason for change of job
• Longevity with each organization
• Long gaps in employment
• Job-hopping
• Lack of career progression

Conducting Telephonic or Video Interview

Conducting telephonic or video interviews is the second step of screening candidates. In this process, after the resumes are screened, the candidates are contacted through phone or video by the hiring manager. This screening process has two outcomes −

• It helps in verifying the candidates, whether they are active and available.

• It also helps in giving a quick insight about the candidate’s attitude, ability to answer interview questions, and communication skills.

Identifying the top candidates

Identifying the top candidates is the final step of screening the resumes/candidates. In this process, the cream/top layer of resumes are shortlisted, which makes it easy for the hiring manager to take a decision. This process has the following three outcomes −

• Shortlisting 5 to 10 resumes for review by the hiring managers
• Providing insights and recommendations to the hiring manager
• Helps the hiring managers to take a decision in hiring the right candidate

Evaluation and Control

Evaluation and control is the last stage in the process of recruitment. In this process, the effectiveness and the validity of the process and methods are assessed. Recruitment is a costly process, hence it is important that the performance of the recruitment process is thoroughly evaluated.

The costs incurred in the recruitment process are to be evaluated and controlled effectively. These include the following −

• Salaries to the Recruiters

• Advertisements cost and other costs incurred in recruitment methods, i.e., agency fees.

• Administrative expenses and Recruitment overheads

• Overtime and Outstanding costs, while the vacancies remain unfilled

• Cost incurred in recruiting suitable candidates for the final selection process

• Time spent by the Management and the Professionals in preparing job description, job specifications, and conducting interviews.

Finally, the question that is to be asked is, whether the recruitment methods used are valid or not? And whether the recruitment process itself is effective or not? Statistical information on the costs incurred for the process of recruitment should be effective.