Methods of Recruitment

Methods of Recruitment Definition

In a company, we cannot overlook the importance of employees. They directly affect a company's success and should be considered its most significant asset. The employees play various roles within a company, from devising strategies to performance evaluation; they do it all. Therefore, recruiting the right people is integral to a company's success. The question is: how can a company ensure that it recruits the right people? Well, the methods of recruitment used by a company determine the success of its recruitment strategy.

There are various methods of recruitment. A company's human resources (HR) department is tasked with recruiting the right people for the right roles. Its role is to hire and nurture employees to contribute to the company's success. Usually, the company identifies the areas where it requires skilled human resources. It opts for a method of recruitment that would fulfill its recruitment objectives.

Fig. 1 - Effective recruitment essential to a business's success

Methods of Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment and selection of employees is a complex task requiring proper planning and execution. It is about adding the right people to the workforce who will contribute to a company's success. These employees play a major role in achieving an organization's overall business goals. To get it right, the HR department needs to use the right recruitment and selection methods.

The success of adding new people to the workforce depends on both recruitment and selection. The recruitment process helps the HR department create a strong pool of candidates. It gives an organization more options to pick the best possible people in the next phase. During the selection process, the HR department puts the shortlisted candidates through competency tests, interviews, etc.

When the recruitment and selection process is effective, it could provide many benefits to the company. A skillful workforce enables a business to achieve its targets and increase productivity.

Methods of Recruitment Internal and External

The HR department uses internal communication channels for job postings in internal recruitment. These postings can only be viewed by the existing employees. The purpose of internal recruitment is to recruit employees that are already familiar with the company values, culture, and work ethics. The recruiters either promote employees to senior roles or transfer them to different departments.

In external recruitment, the HR department recruits people from outside the company. It advertises jobs on external platforms such as newspapers and the internet. External recruitment aims to add more skillful people and new talent to the workforce. These people could bring fresh ideas to the table and inspire the company to improve its operations and performance. The need for external recruitment arises when a company wants to expand its operations to new markets.

Methods of Selection

The method of selection depends on the company's recruitment objectives. It is the final stage where the competencies of shortlisted candidates are tested. The HR department could opt for the most common selection method, i.e., interviews. The panelists ask the candidates to answer questions about their competencies and job role. The assessment center is another method used in selection. The candidates are asked to complete some tasks related to the job description. It gives the recruiters a comprehensive view of a candidate's competency.

Methods of Recruitment in HRM

The methods of recruitment in human resource management (HRM) comprise systematic steps to recruit the right employees. It provides a framework to assess the company's needs in terms of workforce and to create the best pool of candidates for selection. The following points cover each step of the methods of recruitment in HRM.

Identify the need – The first step is to identify the need for recruitment. It answers the question: why does the company need to recruit employees? The reasons could be expanding business operations, entering new potential markets, or a new job role in the company.

Analyze the job – In job analysis, the HR department specifies the job description, the credentials, and the competencies of the applicants. It provides a direction to the recruitment process. Through job analysis, the recruiter can determine the tasks required for the job.

Post the job – In this step, the recruiter posts the job offer on different recruitment platforms. These platforms can be internal or external. It includes the job description and the core competencies the company is looking for.

Make the pool of candidates – When the applicants apply for the posted jobs, the recruiters gather all the information and make a pool of candidates. This pool is used in the next phase, i.e., selection.

Different Methods of the Recruitment Process

In the planning stage of recruitment, the HR department sets the goals and objectives, and the methods of recruitment are based on them. They determine the type of recruitment that would satisfy the requirements. The recruitment could be internal or external. Here are some of the standard methods of the recruitment process.

• Promotions – This is an internal type of recruitment in which high-performing employees are promoted to senior positions. The HR department shortlists a few employees for the job and screens them to find the best candidate. The promoted employee usually gets additional responsibilities, an improved salary, and fringe benefits.

• Networking events – This is an event for networking and recruitment. It is an external method of recruitment where the recruiter gets information about potential candidates through referrals from other industry actors. This recruitment method is ideal for finding experts within the industry.

• Job postings – This is a popular method of recruitment, and organizations could use it for internal and external recruitment. The company posts jobs on internal or external job-searching platforms. The applicants pass through multiple stages of assessment before getting the job.

Traditional Methods of Recruitment

The recruitment process has become heavily reliant on information technology and data. However, the traditional recruitment method continues to help companies attract and hire talent.

Newspaper ads – Recruiters posts job ads in the newspapers. Interested people apply for the jobs and go through the recruitment process.

Employment agencies – Companies contact employment agencies for recruitment. These agencies have extensive databases of interested candidates. They also help the recruiters in screening the candidates.

Job boards – The recruiters place the job boards in the lobby of a company or university. Interested people can search for jobs on these boards and read details about them.

Fig. 2 - Employment agency helps recruiters in applicants' screening

Methods of Recruitment: Direct Recruitment

In the direct recruitment method, recruiters establish direct contact with the potential candidates. They collaborate with educational and training institutions to reach the candidates. These institutions provide information about candidates and help recruiters in the screening process.

The direct method of recruitment provides transparency and clarity to recruiters and potential employees. It creates a direct link between them without any third-party involvement.