Indian Institute of Management

Ahmedabad

IIMA/P&IR0198(G)TEC

Human Resource Management (G):

Recruitment
Recruitment is the process of generating a pool of candidates for a particular job. A good
recruitment process will ensure attracting candidates from desired sources at low cost to the
organization. The sources for recruitment could be internal, external or both.
Strategic Decision: Levels of entry to induct people from outside in the organization. There
are two broad options.
Entry at few levels: (management trainees, executive trainees, supervisors grade1, skilled
workers at selected points).
Entry at most levels.
Entry at few levels: High reliance on recruiting people at few entry points in the
organization has the following implications:
People grow from within
Gives rise to strong organizational culture as inflow of people at different organizational
levels is restricted.
Organizations have to spend heavily on training so that inductees can be prepared for
higher responsibilities
Scope of creativity in such organization is restricted owing to restricted inflow of ideas at
different level
Recruiting through campus is an important source of recruitment.
Useful under following conditions:
Stable or predictable environment conditions
Focus on cost and quantity
Formalized processes as in old organizations
Giving relatively higher autonomy to people to take decisions
Recruitment at Many Levels: As against few entry points in the organizations, it may be
appropriate for some organizations to recruit people at many levels as and when required
from various sources. This recruitment policy has the following implications:
Employees may resent as it is a potential threat to their career growth.
It may lead to a weak culture as people with different cultural backgrounds enter the
organization at different levels.

Written by Professor Sunil Kumar Maheshwari, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad for
classroom discussion.
2006 by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

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IIMAP&IR0198(G)TEC

It enhances the scope of creativity as new and fresh ideas keep flowing in the
organization.
Organizations are required to spend less on training as the compulsion to prepare
people for higher positions is relatively lower.
Useful under following conditions:
Unstable environment conditions
Focus on innovation
Initial or growth phase of organizations
Other control techniques are in place like direct supervision in the initial phase of the
organization.
Process of Recruitment: Recruitment consists of following steps:
Defining the requirement
Identifying sources
Attracting candidates
Defining the Requirement: Workforce plans have to be made to identify people
requirements. Requirements can emerge from: change in the domain of activities,
retirement, resignation, replacement, and death. Requirement of people should clearly
explain levels and type of employees to be inducted.
Type of employee to be inducted: Type of employee would mean level of different skills,
knowledge, education, and experience, and behavioural traits. These factors can be
identified only after preparing a detailed note on job analysis, consisting of job description
and job specifications. Ideally, job descriptions, job specifications, and employee
characteristics are prepared by the indenting departments. Various types of standard
forms/booklets are used by the personnel department to guide it at the time of indenting.
Job Description: The main points to be included in job descriptions are:
Title of the job
Location of the job
Grade of the job
Grade of the person whom to report
Grade of person who to report
Span of control
Purpose of job
List of important tasks to be carried by the job holder
Special conditions like: travelling, transfers, hardships, long working hours, night duties,
etc.
Job Specification: Job specification flows from job description and provides specific
information on skill, knowledge, behaviour, experience, etc. Typically job specification
consists of:
Experience (field and longevity)
Education
Personality characteristics

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IIMAP&IR0198(G)TEC

Creativity
Skills like using computers, oral and written communication, analytical ability, etc.
Ability to work in groups
General mental ability
Customer orientation
Most MNCs are reported to be giving high consideration for factors such as technical skills
for the job, learning ability, ability to work in groups, and customer orientation while
selecting junior managers.
It is useful to design standard application form for various group of employees based on job
specifications. This ensures availability of information on all relevant dimension and
comparison of candidates while sifting the applications.
Attracting Candidates: Attracting candidates for the job is the primary objective of the
recruitment process. It can be accomplished by identifying and using the most appropriate
source of recruitment. However, it is important to understand the factors that attract
candidates for any job. Some of those factors are: reputation of the organization, pay and
benefits, working conditions, employment security, career growth opportunities, and
location. The selling point for any source of recruitment needs to be matched with those of
the competitors. For example, it becomes important to offer competitive pay and creating a
good image of the company through pre-placement presentations, brochures, and visits of
managers for campus recruitment.
Sources of Recruitment: There are different sources of recruitment. It is important to
understand the level of competition, benefits, and important factors to attract candidates
from different sources. Some of the sources are:
Advertisements
Employment agencies
Campuses
References
Retired employees
In the initial phase of the company when there are requirements at different levels, it is
important for an organization to release an advertisement or go to employment agencies.
References are more informal means of recruiting. Where creation of strong culture is
important, recruitment through references and campus are the preferred modes.
Employment agencies and references lead to poaching people from competing
organizations. From cost point of view, campus and references are the cheapest ways of
recruiting.