Recruitment Strategies Quiz

Section 5: Recruitment

• Recruitment is the process of getting people to apply for jobs at an organization.
• It begins after staffing table development and a identified labor shortage.
• It ends when a suitable number of applicants have applied for a position.
• Selection is the next step in the process after recruitment.
• Job applicants submit application forms and/or resumes.

What is Recruitment?

• Recruitment is the process of attracting and selecting potential employees for a specific job opening within an organization.
• The process begins after planning and identifying a labor shortage, and a staffing table is developed.
• The process ends when a sufficient number of qualified applicants have applied for the job.
• Selection of the candidates is the next step after recruitment.

Ad 1 of 3

• Image of McDonald's employee in a fast food restaurant setting.

Ad 2 of 3

• Image of McDonald's employee holding a company identification card.

Ad 3 of 3

• Image of two McDonald's employees working in a soda fountain area.

Questions

• What is it like working at McDonald's?
• Who is McDonald's targeting?
• How is McDonald's communicating its message?

Employer Branding

• Employer branding is the image an organization projects as an employer.
• It has three steps:
  • Define the target audience.
  • Develop the employee value proposition (employer promise).
  • Communicate the value proposition.

Internal Versus External Recruitment

• Internal recruitment: Recruiting from inside the organization (existing employees).
• External recruitment: Recruiting from outside the organization (new hires).

Pros of Internal Recruitment

• Reduces time and money spent on recruiting (no advertisement or agencies).
• Reduces onboarding time and money.
• Increases existing employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
• High performing employees are motivated to stay and get promoted.
• Provides more accurate applicant information.

Cons of Internal Recruitment

• Fewer innovative ideas (limited outside exposure).
• Potential for supervisory/subordinate conflict with former coworkers.
• Creates unhealthy competition among employees.
• Creates a new job opening.
• Smaller and less diverse pool of potential employees.

Pros of External Recruitment

• More innovative ideas (wide exposure).
• Less conflict potential between supervisor/subordinate/coworkers (unrelated individuals).
• No competition among the current employees.
• No need to fill a new job opening.
• Larger, more diverse pool of potential employees.

Cons of External Recruitment

• More time and money spent on recruiting (agencies and advertisements).
• More time and expensive onboarding.
• Decreases employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment among existing pool of employees.
• Reduces attraction of the organization to potential employees.
• Less accurate applicant information.

Recruitment Methods

• Advertisements
• Open houses
• Educational institutions
• Employee referrals
• Former employees
• Employment agencies
• Online recruiting
• Career fairs

Advertisements

• Organizations recruit by publishing ads.
• Recruitment ads should follow the AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action).
• Attention: Attract attention to the job (make the ad attention-grabbing).
• Interest: Create interest in the job.
• Desire: Create desire for the job.
• Action: Enable applicants to take action.

Advertisements - Attention

• Ad design is important, use visuals (photos, artwork).
• Fancy borders and typefaces should be used.

Advertisements - Interest

• Job content is key (new product research, high-tech equipment).
• Salary and benefits are strong motivators.
• Advancement opportunities, industry-leading developments, desired geographic locations are also attractive factors.

Advertisements - Desire

• Increase applicant desire to accept a job opportunity.
• Focus should be on how growth, job satisfaction, and personal value will benefit the applicants.
• Consider and target specific needs of the applicant (family, health insurance, telecommuting, daycare assistance, tuition refunds, and graduate schools nearby)

Advertisements - Action

• Make the action of application as easy as possible.
• Provide contact information. (company name, contact person, phone number, email address).
• Include information for immediate applicants (phone number and person to call at the specific time).
• Provide further details on how to apply for the job (e.g. fax, send details).
• Provide directions to the office.

Advertisements - Want ad/Blind ad

• Want ad: Includes information about the organization (company, email).
• Blind ad: Excludes information to maintain company secrecy.
• Used when an organization does not want to reveal it's recruitment information to others (recruiting for a job without the current employee knowing that he/she will be replaced).

Open House

• Inviting potential applicants to the organization's premises.
• Inexpensive way to recruit.
• Recruiting over a short period (e.g. one day).
• Smaller applicant pool. This is because only those available at that time and those close enough would come.
• Effective for new organizations or branches.

Educational Institutions

• Recruiting through educational institutions.
• Placement offices/departments are used.
• Inexpensive, especially for jobs requiring training but less practical experiences.

Employee Referrals

• Recruiting by having current employees refer applicants.
• Bonuses are often offered to motivate referrals.
• Applicants usually need to be hired and employed for a minimum period to qualify for the bonus.

Former Employees

• Recruits people who have worked or retired from the organization.
• Also called boomerangs or rehires.
• Smaller applicant pool.
• Less time and money spent on onboarding.

Employment Agencies

• Recruiting done via a third party organization that specializes in recruitment.
• Recruiting short term employees or part-time employees.
• Temporary help agencies charge a flat fee per hire.
• Private employment agencies recruit manager and lower-level employees. These agencies charge a flat fee.
• Executive search firms recruit above-managerial level employees (e.g. VP or CEO). They charge a small percentage.

Online Recruiting

• Recruiting via online platforms.
• Internet job boards (e.g., Monster, Indeed, Workopolis).
• Organizational websites (careers section).
• Social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn).
• Large applicant pool.
• Inexpensive.
• Can lead to too many applicants.

Career Fairs

• An event where organizations in the same industry recruit.
• Organizations typically rent a booth.
• Recruiting done over a short period (one day).
• Smaller applicant pool.
• Exposure to competitors and scrutiny during comparison.

Recruiter Behaviors

• A meta-analysis demonstrated these behaviors impact job seeker intentions, job choice, and attraction to the organization.
• Personable, competent, informative, and trustworthy.

Realistic Job Preview (RJP)

• Educating candidates about the positive and negative aspects of a job.
• A more realistic approach than the seduction method, only presenting positive aspects.
• Improves job performance, reduced stress and quitting intentions.

Realistic Job Preview (RJP) Outcomes

• Decreases expected job satisfaction of potential applicants.
• Increases job performance after hiring.
• Decreases number of applicants.
• Decreases thoughts of quitting and actual quitting.

Realistic Job Preview (RJP) Continued

• Empirical data supports effective RJPs.

Expectations Lowering Procedure (ELP)

• Educates applicants that expectations may not be met.
• It is a general process, not specific to a single role or organization.
• Requires less time and money to develop than RJPs.

Expectations Lowering Procedure (ELP) Continued

• It's more effective than not using an RJP or ELP and less effective than using an RJP.

Selection:

• Selecting the best candidate for a job and ensuring the candidate accepts the offer.
• Screening: Initial filtering to check if applicants meet basic criteria.
• Testing: Evaluating skills and knowledge
• Interviewing: Assessment of communication and problem-solving ability.
• Reference checking: Verifying qualifications.
• Offer and Acceptance: Final step, the applicant accepts or declines.