Sources of Recruitment

Sources of Recruitment

There are basically two ways by which an organisation can recruit its employees namely Internal and External sources. External sources can further be classified into Direct and Indirect sources.

Internal Sources – Transfer, Upgrading, Promotion, Demotion, Recommendation by existing Employees, Job rotation, Retired employees, Dependants, Previous applicants, Acquisitions and Mergers

External Sources

i. Direct – Advertisements, Unsolicited applicants, Walk ins, Campus Recruitment, Recruitment at Factory gate, Rival firms, e Recruitment

ii. Indirect – Employee referral, Government/ Public Employment Exchanges, Employment Agencies, Employment Consultancies, Professional Associations, Deputation, Word of mouth, Labour Contractors, Job Portals, Outsourcing, Poaching

i. Internal Sources

The following are the internal sources of Recruitment

i. Transfer - The simplest way by which an employee requirement can be filled is through transfer of employee from one department with surplus staff to that of another with deficit staff.

ii. Upgrading – Performance appraisal helps in the process of moving employees from a lower position to a higher position

iii. Promotion – Based on seniority and merits of the employees they are given opportunity to move up in the organisational hierarchy

iv. Demotion – Movement of employee from a higher position to a lower position because of poor performance continuously to make him realise the significance of performance

v. Recommendation by existing Employees – A family member, relative or friend of an existing employee can be recruited and placed

vi. Job rotation – One single employee managing to learn how to perform in more than one job on rotation. This familiarises the employees with all kind of jobs performed and becomes a source.

vii. Retention – The retiring employees can be used to meet the requirement after superannuation as per management discretion

viii. Retired employees - The employees who have already retired can be called to fill the vacancy as they have the required qualification and experience

ix. Dependants – The legal heir or the dependent employee may be given a chance to replace the deceased.

x. Previous applicants – The applicants who have already applied for any job advertised in the past whose name appears in the data base but not selected at that point of time can be utilised

xi. Acquisitions and Mergers – This is another way by which the organisation acquires another business unit or merging with another establishment.

ii. External Sources

A. Direct

i. Advertisements – The employer can advertise in dailies, journals, magazines etc. about the vacancies in the organisation specifying the nature of work, nature of vacancy, qualification and experience required, salary offered, mode of applying and the time limit within which the candidate has to apply.

ii. Unsolicited applicants – These are the applications of job seekers who voluntarily apply for the vacancies not yet notified by the organisations.

iii. Walkins– Walk-in applicants with suitable qualification and requirement can be another source of requirement.

iv. Campus Recruitment – The organisations visit the educational institutions to identify and recruit suitable candidates.

v. Recruitment at Factory gate – Usually casual or temporary unskilled employees are recruited by this way. They are recruited at factory gate and paid on hourly or daily basis.

vi. Rival firms – This is also called poaching where the efficient employees of rival companies are drawn to the organisations by higher pay and benefits. For example Salesmen, Chartered Accountants, Management professionals etc.

vii. e-Recruitment – The organisations which carry out recruitment online methods is said to follow e recruitment. The advancement in technology and communication has made it possible to reach out prospective applicants globally online. It has become inevitable external source of recruitment.

B. Indirect

i. Employee referral – The existing employees of the organisation may recommend some of their relatives or known people who will be suitable for the existing vacancies. Based on the credibility of the employee the referrals will be considered.

ii. Government/Public Employment Exchanges – These are exchanges established by Government which facilitates recruitment throughout the country. It makes available the information required through the data base for the employer as well as the job seeker by bridging the gap between them.

iii. Private Employment Agencies – These are similar to Public employment exchanges except that the ownership is the hands of Private parties. It connects the job provider and the job seeker by providing the relevant and required information.

iv. Employment Consultancies – These types of firms facilitate recruitment on behalf of client companies at cost. Usually they provide data relating to executives andtop level personnel for which service theycharge consultation fees also known asRecruitment Process Outsourcing.

v. Professional Associations – Organisations seeking applicants of high calibre and repute with technical knowledge approach professional associations like Institute of Chartered Accounts, The Indian Medical Association, The Institute of Training and Development, The Institute of Engineers, All India Management Association etc. to identify the right person.

vi. Deputation – A person who is already an employee of an organisation can be deputed for a specific job for a specified period as a short term solution.

vii. Word of mouth – The information relating to job seekers is collected through people of repute who pass on the message about the vacancy to their known people.

viii. Labour Contractors – Organisations recruit unskilled and manual labourers through these contractors.

ix. Job Portals – Using internet job portals organisations can screen for the prospective candidates and fill up their vacancies.