WGU - INTRO TO HRM - RECRUITING QUALIFIED APPLICANTS

LAWS IMPACTING RECRUITING PROCESS:

1.) CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 (especially Title VII)= *Most comprehensive. Makes it unlawful for an employer to refuse to hire any individual because of that person's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Title VII also makes it illegal to discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment based upon those same characteristics. Civil Rights Acts of 1866, 1870, and 1871: These acts prohibit employers from discriminating against minorities. 2.) FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938(FLSA): Restricts child labor and provides for a minimum wage and overtime pay for employees. 3.) EQUAL PAY ACT OF 1963(EPA): Requires that employers provide equal pay for men and women who do similar work. 4.) AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1967 (ADEA): Protects those 40 and older from age discrimination throughout the recruitment process. 5.) PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION ACT OF 1978: Recognizes pregnancy as a temporary disability. Prohibits applicants from being discriminated against in the recruitment process because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. 6.) IMMIGRATION REFORM & CONTROL ACT OF 1986 (IRCA): Makes it illegal to hire/recruit illegal immigrants knowingly. Employers may hire only persons who may legally work in the U.S., i.e., citizens and nationals of the U.S. and aliens authorized to work in the U.S. 7.) AMERICANS W/DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990(ADA): Prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. 8.) GENETIC INFORMATION NONDISCRIMINATION ACT OF 2008 (GINA): Prohibits the use of genetic information in employment decisions and restricts employers from requesting, requiring, or purchasing genetic information. *The main impact of these laws is to ensure that the recruiting process is objective and relevant to the job requirements and the company's business necessities. Items such as job analyses, job descriptions, and advertisements create proof of a company's due diligence to avoid discrimination.

SPECIFIC PURPOSES OF RECRUITMENT:

1.) DETERMINE the present/future recruitment needs of organization in conjunction w/HRP & job analysis activity. 2.) INCREASE the pool of qualified job applicants at a minimum cost to the organization. 3.) INCREASE the success rate of the selection process by reducing # of underqualified/overqualified job applicants. 4.) REDUCE the probability that job applicants, once recruited/selected, will leave organization after only a short time. 5.) MEET organization's responsibility for employment equity & other legal/social obligations regarding the composition of its workforce. 6.) INCREASE organizational & individual effectiveness in both short/long terms. 7.) EVALUATE effectiveness of various techniques & locations of recruiting for all types of job applicants. *Recruiting concerns both acquiring an initial pool of potentially qualified job applicants & getting job applicants to stay once selected. Effective recruiting should also lead to higher quality of work life (QWL).

BEST PRACTICES IN RECRUITING:

1.) FORWARD THINKING: One of the most cost-effective ways that an HR professional can strategically aid the organization is to continually look into the future to identify the types of employees the organization will need. 2.) CONSIDER SOCIETAL NEEDS: defined by various federal and state regulations, and these needs are served by doing what is best for the community and its various stakeholders. 3.) ATTRACT TOP TALENT THROUGH BENEFITS: provide child-care facilities, reducing job/gender-role stereotyping, and providing other conditions that support a high quality of work life (QWL). 4.) RECRUIT INTERNALLY: employees who are already trained and have a proven track record tend to be the most cost-effective to recruit. Pressures from a depressed economy and globalization have furthered this trend. 5.) EMBRACE DIVERSITY: provides various viewpoints and encourage creativity and innovation in today's competitive work environment.

3 PLANNING COMPONENTS OF RECRUITING PROGRAMS USED TO IDENTIFY ORGANIZATIONS HR NEEDS:

1.) STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLANNING: determines the organization's goals, future products and services, growth rate, location, legal environment, and structure. 2.) JOB/ROLE PLANNING: specifies what needs to be done at all levels of the organization in order to meet the firm's strategic initiatives. 3.) HR PLANNING: determines what types of jobs the organization needs to fill, and thus, the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed in job applicants.

RECRUITING:

A set of activities and processes used to obtain sufficient numbers of highly qualified people so that the organization can select the most appropriate people to fill its job needs. Recruiting must be concerned with not only the needs of the organization, but also with meeting the needs of job candidates. Recruitment not only attracts individuals to the organization but also increases the chance of retaining them once they are hired. Important because the success of an organization's hiring program depends on it. Recruiting a large pool of potentially qualified applicants helps an organization select those who will perform well; important fulfillment of its equal employment opportunity commitments. Recruiting is a key activity in an organization's program to manage its human resources. After HR needs have been established and job requirements have been identified through job analysis, a recruitment program can be established to produce a pool of potentially qualified job applicants. These applicants can be obtained from internal or external sources.

JOB ANALYSIS:

Essential for identifying the necessary KSAs & individual preferences, interests, and personality traits for each job within the organization. It is very difficult/impossible to do effective recruiting unless the job qualifications are well-defined. No internal or external recruiting effort should begin until there is a clear and concise statement of the education, skills, and experience requirements, as well as the salary range, for the job. Job analysis may be completed through observation, interview questionnaires, and research. 2 PRIMARY OUTCOMES FROM JOB ANALYSIS: 1.) JOB DESCRIPTION: A statement of job responsibilities, tasks, and working conditions which are the specific things that an employee must do in the position. Job analysis forms the basis for the job description and can be useful during discussions about reasonable accommodations. 2.) JOB SPECIFICATION: indicates which kind of people a business seeks using summary of work requirements (knowledge, skills, aptitudes, attitudes). KNOWLEDGE: a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. SKILLS: proficiencies developed through training or experience. ABILITIES: qualities that enable a person to perform a particular task; abilities are more stable and enduring than skills.

EXTERNAL SOURCES/METHODS FOR RECRUITING:

Organizations that are growing rapidly or that have a large demand for high-talent people in professional, skilled, and managerial positions may need to recruit from the outside. ADVANTAGES=bringing in people with new ideas and perspectives; If internal candidates require substantial training to fulfill a position, external can be less expensive if already-trained professional and skilled employees are available; Can also supply temporary employees who provide the organization with much more flexibility than permanent employees. 1.) COMPANY WEBSITES: *Most common source of external recruiting. Interested candidates can check the company website and apply for positions as they become available. To increase the likelihood that the potential applicants will access the website, companies may advertise the job opening in trade journals, on industry listservs, in technical/university papers/ media, and at industry conferences. Many organizations will also allow updates via email, that will inform individuals when a new position is posted. 2.) WALK-INS: Individuals become applicants by walking into an organization's employment office. This method, like employee referrals, is relatively informal and inexpensive and is almost as effective as employee referrals for retaining applicants once hired. Unlike referrals, however, non-referred applicants may know less about the specific jobs available and usually come without the implicit recommendation of a current employee. Since current employees may be reluctant to recommend unsatisfactory applicants, the walk-in approach may be disadvantageous in comparison to referrals. *Typically not used by managerial, professional, and sales applicants; Tends to be a passive source of applicants thus may not provide specific types of applicants needed to fulfill affirmative action and equal employment considerations. 3.) EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES: Historically a popular source of employment. Private employment agencies tend to serve two groups of applicants: Professional and managerial workers; Skilled workers. 4.)TEMPORARY HELP AGENCIES: provide applicants for part-time positions. The use of temporary help agencies is growing as skilled and semi-skilled individuals find it preferable to work less than a forty-hour week and want a flexible schedule. 5.) TRADE ASSOCIATIONS: Some industries, such as the construction industry, skilled workers are recruited through the local labor organization; Provide newsletters and other communication channels in which to advertise job openings; Provide "job fairs." While job fairs provide limited interview time and thus serve only as an initial step in the recruitment process, they are an efficient recruiting source for both employers and individuals. 6.) TECHNICAL & EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: High schools, vocational-technical schools, colleges and universities are important sources of recruits for "most" organizations. If an organization is recruiting for plant/service, clerical, and other jobs with shorter vocational preparation time, high schools or vocational schools would be more effective sources. 7.) EMPLOYMENT WEBSITES: Help match job applicants with potential employers. Such websites are popular in North America as well as in Asia, Europe, and South America. Advantages: exposure to a large number of individuals, meeting EEO, and lowering the cost per applicant. Disadvantage: lacks a targeted focus and may generate large number of responses that must be screened. 8.) RADIO & TELEVISION: When looking for applicants of all types these options may provide organizations with the ability to attract certain types of job applicants (with certain skills) that the company may otherwise have difficulty attracting. May be reluctant to use these media because they fear: 1) it is too expensive, 2) it will make the company look desperate, 3) the company may recruit an pool of candidates that may/may not be qualified for the job. 9.) NEWSPAPERS & TRADE JOURNALS: Before the Internet, newspapers were the most common method of external recruiting. Companies within certain industries still use newspapers as the most common way of attracting job candidates. Newspapers can reach a large number of potential applicants at a relatively low cost per hire. Newspaper ads may be used to recruit all types of positions, from the most unskilled to the most highly skilled workforce. Trade journals enable organizations to aim at a much more specific group of potential applicants. Ads in trade journals are typically more creative and professional than ads in newspapers. 10.) ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS: Firms engage in mergers and acquisitions for a number of strategic reasons, including the desire for additional market share and revenue growth, capitalizing on another firm's technologies, as well as sharing and reducing production capabilities. A common result is an oversupply of employees. Because the new organization may have a large number of highly qualified employees who are not needed in the firm, the new organization can reduce layoffs and increase productivity by using these employees to fill new jobs that may result from the merger/acquisition. In contrast to other external methods, acquisitions and mergers enable the organization to obtain a large pool of highly qualified individuals quickly, thus potentially facilitating its strategic plans. An organization may be able to pursue a strategic business plan, such as having a sudden abundance of talent enter a new product line, that would be impossible using other recruiting methods. M & A's require the displacement of excess employees and the integration of a large number of employees into a new organization rather quickly. Recruiting via acquisitions and mergers needs to be closely tied to HR planning and selection.

INTERNAL SOURCES/METHODS FOR RECRUITING:

Present employees, friends of employees, former employees, and former applicants. 1.) PROMOTION: Advantages to internal sources= Management often asserts that internal employees are more qualified and are better prepared for the responsibilities of the job because they are familiar with the people, procedures, policies, and special characteristics of the organization; employees are likely to feel more secure and loyal to an organization when it gives them opportunities for advancement; can be much less expensive than outside promotion, both in terms of time and money. Disadvantages to a promotion-within policy= may exclude capable employees and could potentially result in favoritism, infighting, and a lack of varying perspective and experiences; must identify, select, and pressure candidates to accept promotions. During times of rapid organizational growth, almost any employee may be promoted, regardless of qualifications. Rapid growth may also temporarily obscure managerial deficiencies, and when growth slows down, the company may be faced with an oversupply of managers. 2.) TRANSFERS: transferring current employees between departments within the organization (typically without promotion). One of the major issues in promoting or transferring candidates from within is whether seniority, or performance and merit, should be used as the criterion. Unions seem to prefer promotion and transfer based on seniority. On the other hand, organizations prefer promotion based on ability and potential. A potential disadvantage of a transfer is that in filling one position, the company is opening up another. 3.) JOB ROTATION: Whereas transfers are usually permanent, job rotations are usually temporary. Job rotation has been used effectively to expose management trainees to various aspects of organizational life. It has also been used to relieve job burnout for employees in high-stress occupations. Job rotation is also an important element of career management and planning. 4.) JOB POSTINGS: extends an open invitation to all employees, through prominent display of notice, to apply for a job vacancy. Postings are usually found on the company website but they can also be found on bulletin boards, in company newsletters, circulated in employee lounges, in email notifications, and announced at staff meetings. Generally, all openings except for management positions are posted. Sometimes specific salary information is posted, but job grade and pay range are more typically included. Job posting is beneficial for organizations because it improves morale, provides employees with the opportunity for job variety, facilitates a better matching of employee skills and needs, and fills positions at a low cost. ADVANTAGES=Opportunity for employee growth and development; Equal opportunity for advancement of all employees; Greater openness in the organizational climate by making opportunities known to all employees; Staff awareness regarding salary grades, job descriptions, and general promotion and transfer procedures; Company goals and objectives while allowing each individual the opportunity to self-select the best possible "fit" in the organization. DISADVANTAGES OF JOB POSTINGS=The process of filling vacancies may be lengthened; Morale of unsuccessful candidates may suffer if feedback is not timely or carefully handled; Choices can be more difficult for the selecting manager if two or three almost equally qualified candidates are encountered; Information about the posted jobs, such as salary or position grade, may trigger objections from employees who perceive inequities with their position evaluations or salaries; Supervisory-subordinate relationships may be jeopardized by subordinates who frequently attempt to bid out of their work units. 5.) EMPLOYEE REFERRAL PROGRAMS(ERP's): Essentially word-of-mouth advertisements that generally involve rewarding employees for referring skilled job applicants to an organization, proven to be a low cost-per-hire way of recruiting applicants, even though in many cases the applicants come from outside the organization. The underlying assumption is that the current employee knows the company and its culture, and has a good understanding about what the job really involves. Thus, current employees can give a "realistic job preview" of what the job entails--including providing the potential applicant with both positive and negative information about the actual job. Employees are likely to refer those employees that they feel would be a good fit with the organization. MAJOR CONCERN= the potential for discrimination: individuals may be likely to refer those who are of the same race or sex. While this may not necessarily preclude fulfilling affirmative action program obligations, there are potential legal problems. In addition, cliques and nepotism may develop, creating a negative work environment.

ASSESSMENT OF RECRUITING METHODS:

THE BEST & MOST EFFECTIVE METHOD VARIES across occupations and industries. Private employment agencies might be most effective for applicants in sales, professional, and technical and management positions; walk-ins may be most effective for office/clerical and plant/service applicants. To determine which recruiting method is most effective, organizations should continually evaluate the effectiveness of their recruitment efforts. -COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS=determine the cost involved in using a specific method of recruiting and then compare the cost to the benefits derived. -COMPARING the number of potentially qualified applicants hired by each method for each occupational group. The methods that result in the hiring of the most qualified applicants in each group may be determined the most effective, even if they are not the least expensive. *In highly competitive markets and for highly skilled individuals enhance recruitment through enticements such as relocation assistance, career development programs, or child-care services. These are added benefits that many companies use to increase the applicant pool and increase the probability that, once hired, the applicant-employee will stay with the firm.

CONVEYING JOB & ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION:

The traditional approach to recruiting involves matching the job applicant's KSA's with the demands of the job. Effective recruiting strives to not only match individuals with jobs, but to ensure long-term retention. This can be done by: 1.) DEVOTING ATTENTION TO THE JOB INTERVIEW: Vital aspect of the recruitment process. Provides the applicant with a realistic job preview. Chances of a person accepting a job offer increase when interviewers show interest and concern for the applicant. Providing realistic information about the job can actually increase the number of eventual recruits; those who receive realistic job information are less likely to quit. When job applicants pass an initial screening, they should be given the opportunity to interview with a potential supervisor -this is the person who often makes the final hiring decision. 2.) JOB-MATCHING PROGRAM: systematic effort to identify people's KSA's and match them to job openings. Increasing pressure on organizations to maintain effective recruitment, selection, and placement of new and current employees may make an automated job-matching system worthwhile. MAJOR COMPONENTS TO JOB MATCHING= 1.) JOB PROFILES: detailed job descriptions as well as job specifications. 2.) CANDIDATE PROFILES: candidate's experience or skills related to specific jobs. These jobs are the same ones described in the job profiles. The candidate profile also lists the candidate's job preferences and interests. With these profiles the organization can identify many more potentially qualified job applicants for specific jobs. 3.) CAREFULLY TIMING RECRUITING PROCEDURES: enhance chances of obtaining high-potential candidates by engaging in the recruitment process early. Many technology and accounting firms actively begin recruiting students for summer internship or cooperative education programs by their junior year of college. Progressive organizations often bypass semester schedules and invite high-potential candidates to corporate headquarters for interviews. Many of these firms offer jobs before the academic year ends. 4.) DEVELOPING POLICIES REGARDING JOB OFFER ACCEPTANCES: influence job applicants' selection decisions through the amount of time they allow individuals to ponder their offer. Giving unlimited time result in delays by the job seekers. The lack of a deadline places the organization at a distinct disadvantage as the organization is prevented from extending an offer to a second-choice candidate until a decision is made by the preferred candidate.