Recruitment : Notes, Common Exam Questions and Answers Guide, Online Quizzes and Activities for Business Studies Grade 12 Revision Studies, from Human Resources Function section. Recruitment is the process of identifying and attracting potential candidates for employment within an organization. There are two main types of recruitment: internal and external.
Recruitment Business Studies Grade 12
- Internal recruitment involves promoting or hiring candidates who are already employed within the organization, while
- external recruitment involves attracting candidates who are not currently employed by the organization.
Internal Recruitment
This involves identifying and promoting or hiring candidates who are already employed within the organization. Internal recruitment can be done through various methods, such as job postings, employee referrals, and succession planning.
Examples of internal recruitment include:
- Promoting a high-performing employee to a higher-level position within the organization.
- Transferring an employee from one department to another to fill a vacant position.
- Hiring a temporary employee as a full-time employee after they have demonstrated their skills and value to the organization.
- Offering an employee a lateral move to a different department or location to broaden their skills and experience.
Benefits of internal recruitment include increased employee retention and engagement, cost savings on recruitment and training, and a shorter hiring process.
Internal Job Advertisement Platforms Examples
Internal job advertising platforms are a great way to promote job vacancies to current employees within an organization. Here are some examples of internal job advertising platforms:
- Intranet: An intranet is a private network that is only accessible to employees within an organization. Many organizations use their intranet to advertise job vacancies internally. This platform allows employees to easily access job postings and apply for positions within the organization.
- Internal Job Boards: Internal job boards are job listing platforms that are only accessible to employees within an organization. These boards can be set up through an organization’s intranet or through a dedicated internal job board software. Employees can view job postings, apply for positions, and receive updates on their application status.
- Company Newsletter: Many organizations send out regular newsletters to employees that include information on company news and events. These newsletters can also include job postings for current employees to apply for. This platform can help to promote job vacancies and encourage employees to apply for internal opportunities.
- Employee Referral Programs: Employee referral programs are incentive programs that encourage current employees to refer qualified candidates for job vacancies within the organization. These programs can be promoted through an internal job board or through company newsletters, and can provide rewards such as bonuses or recognition for successful referrals.
- Internal Talent Marketplace: An internal talent marketplace is a platform that allows employees to express their interest in new opportunities within the organization. This platform can match employees with new job opportunities that align with their skills, experience, and career aspirations.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal Recruitment
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Cost-effective | Limited pool of candidates |
| – Lower hiring costs | – Fewer fresh ideas |
| – Faster recruitment process | – Limited diversity |
| Familiarity with company culture | Risk of inbreeding |
| – Shared values and expectations | – Reinforcing company weaknesses |
| – Easier onboarding | – Resistance to change |
| Employee motivation | Possible conflict and resentment |
| – Career advancement opportunities | – Internal competition |
| – Enhanced job satisfaction | – Lower morale |
| Retention of knowledge | Time-consuming for internal hires |
| – Preserve company knowledge | – Balancing new and old responsibilities |
| – Reduce training time | – Increased workload |
External Recruitment
This involves attracting and hiring candidates who are not currently employed within the organization. External recruitment can be done through various methods, such as job postings, social media, recruitment agencies, and career fairs.
Examples of external recruitment
- Advertising a job vacancy on the organization’s website or job board.
- Utilizing social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook to promote job vacancies and attract potential candidates.
- Partnering with a recruitment agency to identify and screen candidates for the organization.
- Attending career fairs to promote the organization and job vacancies to potential candidates.
- Radio advertisements.
- Newspaper advertisements.
- Head hunting
Benefits of external recruitment include a wider pool of candidates, increased diversity, fresh perspectives and new skills, and the opportunity to fill skill gaps within the organization.
Advantages and Disadvantages of External Recruitment
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Wider Talent Pool | Higher Costs |
| Access to a larger and diverse set | Can be expensive due to advertising, |
| of candidates. | agency fees, and time-consuming |
| recruitment processes. | |
| Fresh Perspectives | Longer Onboarding Process |
| New hires bring fresh ideas, | External recruits may require |
| innovative approaches, and diverse | additional time for orientation, |
| skills. | training, and integration into the |
| company culture. | |
| Specialized Skills | Possible Internal Conflicts |
| Access to candidates with specific | Existing employees may feel |
| expertise or experience, increasing | overlooked or demotivated by the |
| company competitiveness. | hiring of external candidates. |
| Reduced Bias | Risk of Mis-hires |
| External recruitment minimizes | Hiring externally can lead to |
| favoritism and internal politics, | candidates not fitting the company |
| promoting fair hiring practices. | culture, resulting in a higher |
| turnover rate. | |
| Healthy Competition | Loss of Company Knowledge |
| Encourages employees to improve | Promoting internal candidates can |
| performance and skill development. | help retain valuable institutional |
| knowledge; external recruitment may | |
| lead to its loss. |
Internal and external recruitment are two important methods for identifying and attracting potential candidates for employment within an organization. While internal recruitment can promote employee retention and engagement, external recruitment can attract a wider pool of candidates with fresh perspectives and new skills.
Recruitment Procedure
- The human resource manager (HRM) should prepare the job description to identify recruitment needs.
- HRM should indicate the job specification/description/key performance areas to attract suitable candidates.
- Prepare a job analysis that includes job specifications/job descriptions.
- A decision on whether to recruit internally should be made to identify suitable candidates from within the business.
- If internal recruitment is unsuccessful, external recruitment should be considered.
- If external recruitment is done, the relevant recruitment source should be selected, e.g., recruitment agencies, tertiary institutions, and newspapers.
- The advertisement should be prepared with the relevant information, e.g., the name of the company, contact details, contact person, etc.
- Place the advertisement in the selected media that will ensure that the best candidates apply.
Importance of Job Description in the Recruitment Process
Job descriptions play an important role in the recruitment process for several reasons. Here are some key reasons why job descriptions are important:
- Attracting the Right Candidates: Job descriptions help attract the right candidates by clearly outlining the qualifications, skills, and experience required for the job. By providing a clear and detailed job description, employers can attract candidates who are a good fit for the role and the organization.
- Screening Candidates: Job descriptions also help in screening candidates by enabling employers to compare the qualifications and skills of each candidate with the requirements of the job. This helps employers to select the most suitable candidates for the job and shortlist them for the interview process.
- Setting Expectations: Job descriptions help to set clear expectations for the job role, including the responsibilities, duties, and tasks that are required. This helps new employees to understand their role and responsibilities from the beginning, which can improve job satisfaction and productivity.
- Establishing Performance Standards: Job descriptions also help to establish performance standards and goals for the job role. This helps employees to understand what is expected of them and how their performance will be evaluated.
- Legal Compliance: Job descriptions are important for legal compliance, as they ensure that the job role is aligned with relevant labor laws and regulations. Employers can use job descriptions to ensure that the job role is compliant with equal employment opportunity laws, anti-discrimination laws, and other legal requirements.
Job descriptions are critical to the recruitment process as they help attract the right candidates, screen candidates, set expectations, establish performance standards, and ensure legal compliance. By providing a clear and detailed job description, employers can improve the effectiveness of their recruitment process and ensure that new employees are a good fit for the organization.