The history of the Recruitment Process

Recruiting began with the military and dates all the way back to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. The birth of the modern recruiting industry, however, did not take place until the 1940′s as a result of WWII. Employment agencies began to advertise for workers who were not obligated to military service in an effort to fill the void in the workplace left by those who were called to duty. The end of the war led to an influx of workers returning from the army, many with new skills that could be applied to the blossoming technology field. Headhunting companies became popular as a response to the growing workforce. Headhunting agencies worked in service of those seeking employment until the strong economy of the 1970s led to a shift from working for the employee to working for the employer. Enjoying a period of relative prosperity and growth, large corporations began outsourcing their hiring efforts to recruiting companies. Because of IRS employment taxes, recruiters only made placements for full time, executive positions.

The headhunting industry continued to operate in this way until labor laws began to change and the line between employee and independent contractors was blurred. In 1986, Congress eliminated safe harbor for certain technical workers, thus affecting the way engineers, drafters, system analysts, designers, computer programmers and other professionals in similar lines of work were classified. The Revenue Act of 1978 had previously permitted employers to appeal reclassification of an employee if the industry had categorized certain types of workers as independent contractors in the past. However, this was changed by the 1986 amendment by preventing employers from appealing reclassification if the employee had been placed by a third party agency.

In response, corporations simply began doing what the IRS had accused them of failing to accomplish in the first place. Large companies began reclassifying all their employees, shifting their status from 10-99s to W-2s. As web and technology based businesses began to blossom with the Internet boom in the 1990′s, the path had been cleared for recruiters to place programmers, system analysts, designers, drafters, computer programmers and engineers as well as senior and executive level positions for the hundred of new and thriving companies.

RECRUITMENT TYPES

Recruitment is generally done in either of 2 types

Internal Recruitment -is a recruitment which takes place within the company or organization. The resources in this type of recruitment are readily available to an organization. Internal sources primarily are of three types- Transfers, promotions and Re-employment of ex-employees. Re-employment of ex-employees is one of the internal sources of recruitment in which employees can be invited and appointed to fill vacancies in the company.

Internal recruitment may lead to increase in employee’s productivity as their motivation level increases. It also saves time, money and efforts. But a drawback of internal recruitment is that it refrain the organization from new blood. Also, not all the manpower requirements can be met through internal recruitment. Hiring from outside has to be done.

Internal sources are primarily 3

Transfers

Promotions (through Internal Job Postings) and

Re-employment of ex-employees – Re-employment of ex-employees is one of the internal sources of recruitment in which employees can be invited and appointed to fill vacancies in the company. Caution there can be situations when ex-employees provide unsolicited applications also.

External Recruitment – External sources of recruitment have to be solicited from outside the organization. External sources are external to a company. But it involves lot of time and money. The external sources of recruitment include – Employment at factory gate, advertisements, employment exchanges, employment agencies, educational institutes, labor contractors, recommendations etc.

Employment at Factory Level – This a source of external recruitment in which the applications for vacancies are presented on bulletin boards outside the Factory or at the Gate. This kind of recruitment is applicable generally where factory workers are to be appointed.

Advertisement – It is an external source which has got an important place in recruitment procedure. The biggest advantage of advertisement is that it covers a wide area of market and scattered applicants can get information from advertisements. Medium used is Newspapers and Television.

Employment Exchanges – There are certain Employment exchanges which are run by government. Most of the government undertakings and companies employ people through such exchanges. Now-a-days recruitment in government agencies has become compulsory through employment exchange.

Employment Agencies – There are certain professional organizations which look towards recruitment and employment of people, i.e. these private agencies run by private individuals supply required manpower to needy companies.

Educational Institutions – There are certain professional Institutions which serve as an external source for recruiting fresh graduates from these institutes. This kind of recruitment done through such educational institutions is called as Campus Recruitment. They have special recruitment cells which help in providing jobs to fresh candidates.

Recommendations – There are certain people who have experience in a particular area. They enjoy goodwill and a stand in the company. There are certain vacancies which are filled by recommendations of such people. The biggest drawback of this source is that the company has to rely totally on such people which can later on prove to be inefficient.

Labor Contractors – These are the specialist people who supply manpower to the Factory or Manufacturing plants. Through these contractors, workers are appointed on contract basis, i.e. for a particular time period. Under conditions when these contractors leave the organization, such people who are appointed have to also leave the company.

EMPLOYMENT SELECTION

Employee Selection is the process of putting right men on right job. It is a procedure of matching organizational requirements with the skills and qualifications of people. Effective selection can be done only when there is effective matching. By selecting best candidate for the required job, the organization will get quality performance of employees. Moreover, organization will face less of absenteeism and employee turnover problems. By selecting right candidate for the required job, organization will also save time and money. Proper screening of candidates takes place during selection procedure. All the potential candidates who apply for the given job are tested.

But selection must be differentiated from recruitment, though these are two phases of employment process. Recruitment is considered to be a positive process as it motivates more of candidates to apply for the job. It creates a pool of applicants. It is just sourcing of data. While selection is a negative process as the inappropriate candidates are rejected here. Recruitment precedes selection in staffing process. Selection involves choosing the best candidate with best abilities, skills and knowledge for the required job.

The Employee selection Process takes place in following order-

Preliminary Interviews- It is used to eliminate those candidates who do not meet the minimum eligibility criteria laid down by the organization. The skills, academic and family background, competencies and interests of the candidate are examined during preliminary interview. Preliminary interviews are less formalized and planned than the final interviews. The candidates are given a brief up about the company and the job profile; and it is also examined how much the candidate knows about the company. Preliminary interviews are also called screening interviews.

Application blanks- The candidates who clear the preliminary interview are required to fill application blank. It contains data record of the candidates such as details about age, qualifications, reason for leaving previous job, experience, etc.

Written Tests- Various written tests conducted during selection procedure are aptitude test, intelligence test, reasoning test, personality test, etc. These tests are used to objectively assess the potential candidate. They should not be biased.

Employment Interviews- It is a one to one interaction between the interviewer and the potential candidate. It is used to find whether the candidate is best suited for the required job or not. But such interviews consume time and money both. Moreover the competencies of the candidate cannot be judged. Such interviews may be biased at times. Such interviews should be conducted properly. No distractions should be there in room. There should be an honest communication between candidate and interviewer.

Medical examination- Medical tests are conducted to ensure physical fitness of the potential employee. It will decrease chances of employee absenteeism.

Appointment Letter- A reference check is made about the candidate selected and then finally he is appointed by giving a formal appointment letter.