7. List and briefly explain the three phases of the employee recruitment process? Now for each of the three phases, identify and explain the “best in practice” recruitment procedures associated with each. In other words, for each of the three phases, what practices should an organization adopt in order to facilitate positive recruitment outcomes?
According to Breaugh and Starke (2000), the employee recruitment process includes the following three phases:
1. Developing recruitment objectives to generate a desired applicant pool
2. Maintaining the interest of job candidates, and
3. Influencing the job decision of candidates.
In discussing the recruitment process, Barber (1998) delineated the three above-mentioned phases (i.e., generating a pool of applicants, maintaining applicant status and interest, and influencing the candidates’ job choice decisions) as follows:
(a) Certain recruitment activities may influence the number and type of individuals who apply for a position (e.g. advertising on a Spanish-speaking radio station to attract specific job candidates),
(b) Certain activities may affect whether job applicants withdraw during the recruitment process (e.g. professional treatment during a site visit), and
(c) Certain recruitment actions may influence whether a job offer is accepted (e.g., the timeliness of a job offer).
During the first phase of the recruitment process, a fundamental question should be addressed: What type of individual does the organization want to recruit (e.g., what knowledge, skills, and abilities are important? Is a diverse applicant pool desired?)?
Some of the “best practices” employed by organizations during the First Phase (recruitment objectives and generation of an applicant pool) include:
1. Develop a sound recruitment strategy after job descriptions and objectives have been determined.
2. An organization must determine what recruitment sources to use in order to attract the candidates it is looking for.
3. Attract attention of potential job candidates
4. Provide clear and credible recruitment information to enable potential candidates to self-select of the recruitment process as early as possible.
5. Focus on post-hiring results as a measure of success of the recruitment process. Some companies may want to see how successful their process was to benefit the employee and the company. Firms can identify what worked and what needs to be modified to achieve its hiring objectives. The following are factors that can be used to measure a company’s hiring success:
a. Employee job satisfaction
b. Initial job performance. Is the employee performing the essential functions of the job? How well?
c. Ensure company’s psychological contract is met
d. Retention rate for new hires during first year
e. Job acceptance rate
In order to generate the desired applicant pool, organizations need to specify the type of job candidates they are seeking to hire. The development of a job description that clearly specifies the essential job functions and the KSAOC’s that are necessary for success on the job and within an organization is essential. The job description creation is a critical first step in the development of a sound recruitment strategy. How can an organization seek to hire good employees if they don’t know what they need from an individual?
For an organization to generate a desired pool of job candidates to choose from, it must “grab” the attention of good applicants. Common practices that attract the attention of applicants include:
· Messages of a vivid nature.
· Messages that convey unexpected information.
· Messages that are personally relevant.
· Messages that are understandable and credible.
· Messages that clarify applicants’ job expectations (specificity, accuracy and completeness).
There are recruitment sources used by organizations, such as employee referrals, newspaper ads, and direct applications that are more effective than others in attracting job candidates. However, employee referral is one of the most effective methods in creating a desirable pool of candidates. Experience suggests that prospective employees tend to obtain a more realistic picture of the job/organization via employee referral. Therefore, employee referrals tend to be a great recruitment method. Here are the reasons why:
· Relatively inexpensive --- even with a referral incentive of $1000 or so.
· Some pressure for employees to refer good candidates.
· As discussed previously, enhanced “realism” leads to better retention, job satisfaction and coping with difficult situations.
The Second Phase of the recruitment process is Maintaining the Interest of Job Applicants. The best practices mentioned in the Breaugh and Starke article and discussed in class are as follows:
1. Keep the job opening attractive to candidates
2. Provide accurate perception of what the job entails
3. Inform the candidate that they can perform the job duties
Applicants are likely to stay interested in a job opening if the job opening is attractive, the candidate feels they can perform the job, and job candidates perceive that that they are likely to receive a job offer. Thus, to maintain applicant interest, organizations can do the following:
· Communicate complete and accurate information (not again).
· Avoid delays in recruitment decisions (if possible).
· Stay in frequent contact with candidates, follow-up to check how candidates feel about the position.
· On the site visit, make the candidate feel “special” and be “professional.” The recruitment team or recruiter plays a major role on this task.
The Third Phase is Influencing the Job Candidate’s Decision. Essentially, organizations must respond to the question: What influences the likelihood a candidate will accept a job offer? Some of the “best practices” include:
1. Convey to candidate the job will be satisfying based on the best fit for the employee and organization.
2. Assign a recruiter who is knowledgeable about the position, credible and trustworthy. The prospective employee must have the trust in the company representative.
3. Provide realistic job previews. Tell the candidates the good and not-too good issues about the job and the company. Portray a clear and truthful picture. The candidate will appreciate the company and recruiter’s honesty. Plus, in the post-hire period, the newly hired employee will feel the company complied with the job contract.
4. Provide a compensation and benefits package commensurate to the position. Compensation establishment and negotiation is one of the most difficult tasks in the hiring process. It is essential the recruiter has the ability to balance the desires of the employee (pay expectations) and the ability of the company to pay the appropriate compensation based on previous job compensation studies and data. Other company benefits, such as health insurance, educational incentives, vacation and time off, play an important role for an employee to accept a job offer.
5. Balancing work & family issues. Many employees are now considering companies that are more flexible with their family needs. The “best” companies to work for offer incentives and flexible work schedules to allow their employees to take care of their loved ones, while still being productive. For example, a candidate may potentially select a company if it offers the option to work from home or provide day-care when needed.
8. Developing recruitment objectives should be the first phase of any organizations recruitment process. Though organizations should establish specific objectives to achieve its particular needs, in more general terms, most organizations want to attract the “best and the brightest”, enhance the likelihood that a candidate will accept a job
offer and positively influence subsequent employee job satisfaction and retention rates. Which facets of the recruitment process are likely to influence these objectives? You may list and explain. (Wow! There is much to be discussed here)
In other words, what factors of the recruitment process (a) influence how on organization attracts the “best and brightest” job candidates, (b) enhance a candidate’s decision to accept a job offer and (c) obtain positive results in job satisfaction and retention rates?
Factors that influence how organizations attract the best candidates include:
1. Determine type of applicant the organization wants to recruit (e.g., what knowledge, skills and abilities should candidates possess that are important for the organization? Is a diverse applicant pool desired? Will the pool of candidates fit the cultural aspects of the organization?). This factor is essential in the development of the job description.
2. Where should the organization recruit (e.g., colleges or state employment agencies, or should the company look in the Internet? The target market of employees must be delineated to determine where to look for the potential candidates.
3. What recruitment sources should the organization use to reach the desired applicant population (e.g., the Web, job fairs or employee referrals)?
4. When should the employer start recruiting (e.g., at the start or the end of college student’s year)?
5. Provide clear and credible information on the job position, employment and company to potential applicants. Candidates will need to determine whether the organization is able to live up to the psychological contract that has been established. Organizations should not provide misleading and inaccurate information. This would result in a number of applicants that may not satisfy the job description needs.
6. Accurate applicant’s job expectations and self-insight: knowledge, skills, abilities and needs. An organization should be concerned on whether job applicants have an accurate perception of what the job entails and whether the potential employees have insight into their capabilities and desires (e.g., what they want from a position and an employer). Having realistic jobs expectations should influence employees’ perceptions on whether they feel capable of performing the job.
Some aspects that enhance the likelihood a candidate will accept a job offer include the following:
1. The attractiveness of a job opening plays a major role on whether a candidate accepts a job offer. For example, opportunities for advancement, job security, employment autonomy, family-friendly workplaces, and so forth.
2. Applicants’ perception of themselves as likely to receive a job offers as they move through the recruitment process.
3. Convey to candidate the job will be satisfying based on the best fit for the employee and organization.
4. Assign a recruiter who is knowledgeable about the position, credible and trustworthy. The prospective employee must have the trust in the company representative.
5. Provide realistic job previews (RJPs). Tell the candidates the good and not-too good issues about the job and the company. Portray a clear and truthful picture. The candidate will appreciate the company and recruiter’s honesty. Plus, in the post-hire period, the newly hired employee will feel the company complied with the job contract.
6. Provide clear and trustful job compensation, benefits and incentives package. Organizations must stand and deliver on what was promise in the compensation language as shown on the job description and employee contract. Budget issues, salary step increases or lack thereof, may challenge a recruiter in negotiating the best salary for the best candidate. A disappointing potential employee may not accept a job offer after receiving the bad news that he/she may not receive a salary increase because of the organization’s financial troubles.
Factors that positively influence subsequent employee job satisfaction and retention rates during the recruitment process include:
1. Realistic job expectations should influence new employees’ perception of psychological contract compliance. If the employer has been honest with the candidate during the recruitment process, the person should feel the organization will most likely live up to its employment contract and the candidate will most likely want to work for the company. Also, when employees are satisfied with their jobs, they are less likely to quit their jobs during the initial employment period. Hence, increasing the employee retention rate.
2. Accuracy of applicants’ job expectations and their degree of self-insight are two major factors. Applicants who have an accurate perception of a job situation and self-insight should, if hired, find their jobs satisfying (otherwise, they would be unlikely to accept a job offer). Accurate job information has positively affected first-year retention rates. Having made an informed job choice, new employees will feel obligated to remain in the job for at least a few months.
3. Self-selection also favorably influences the initial performance of new hires. When employees perform well, it is most likely they will continue working for the company.