Economic sciences / 10. Economy of enterprises

 

Postgraduate student, Kotlyarevskaya Kseniya

Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics, Ukraine

 

 

Modern technologies in the recruitment of staff

 

The use of modern technologies in the search and selection of staff is not enough popular for Ukrainian recruiters. Nevertheless, they have already taken quite a serious place along with other daily used tools.

The quality of staff has become a major factor in determining the economic situation in the Ukrainian enterprises. Careful selection guarantees the quality of human resources, which largely determines the feasibility and effectiveness of future use. The work of any organization is inextricably linked with the need of staffing. In this case, one of the central problems is the selection of personnel. The selection of new employees is not only intended to provide the normal functioning, but also lays the foundation for the future success of the company.

         Luxoft Personnel Consultant Elvira Puntusova notes that the recent recruiters actively use modern technology to find candidates who can significantly reduce the search time. This trend is particularly visible in the IT-sphere. However, she stressed that "cloud" server and automation system of recruiting the staff are not as popular among recruiters, but otherwise the use of social media (both professional: LinkedIn, Xing, MyCircle, etc., and general: VKontakte, Facebook, Classmates, Twitter) and chats (e.g., Skype) is a huge advantage when searching for candidates. She added that, on the one hand, due to these resources almost any candidate can be found, knowing only his e-mail with the name and surname, on the other hand, social networks – this is an excellent site for the vacancies in the relevant groups [1].

One of the drawbacks of online recruitment of overuse is the lack of personal contact with potential candidates for the job, but since the Internet significantly reduces the time of search and selection of personnel for service personnel, an additional opportunity to significantly expand and strengthen relationships with potential candidates for the job, which is especially important when it comes to the need to hire unique professionals.

Selecting the most productive recruitment source becomes all the more challenging during a tumultuous economic market. When unemployment rates rapidly peak and dip, employers are left to wonder how and where to find employees. Sources that worked well one day may yield disappointing results the next. As a result, an increasing number of companies are turning to sources once typically referred to as “quirky” or “unusual,” but now considered “creative.” These include billboard advertising, banners, movie ads, and bumper stickers. To select the most effective recruitment source for a given opening, weigh their respective benefits and drawbacks. The pros and cons of more than two dozen traditional and creative recruitment sources are identified in Table1. You do not have to limit yourself to only one source. Many companies use a wide variety of recruitment sources [2, p. 61].

 

                            Table 1

Traditional and creative recruitment sources and their primary advantages

and disadvantages [2, p.62-63]

Recruitment Source

Advantages

Disadvantages

Advertising

Reaches a wide audience

Can solicit via blind ads

Can cross reference titles

Costly

Banners and Signs

Cost-effective

Require busy locations

Billboards

Eye-catching

Visually creative

Limited information

Easily missed

Bumper Stickers

Eye-catching

May not be taken seriously


Continued table 1

Campus Recruiting

Opportunity to select top

students

Opportunity to groom future management

Costly

Difficult to evaluate potential

 

Company-Sponsored Social  Event

Cost-effective

Attendees may resent “sales pitch”

Contingent Workers (temps

and consultants)

 

Readily available

Flexibility

Portability

Costly

Two-tier labor force (core staff  and contingent workers)

Customers and Clients

Applicants are personally

recommended

Strained relations with customers and clients

Direct Mail

Personalized

Selective

Time-consuming

Mail may not be opened

Electronic Recruitment

Cost-effective Speed

Reduction in paperwork

Scope

Large numbers of unqualified applicants

Employee Referrals

Inexpensive Expeditious

Related bonus boosts morale

Systemic discrimination if used exclusively

Employment Agencies

Access to large labor pool

Fill positions quickly

Costly

Unqualified applicants

Government Agencies

Cost-effective

Large numbers of applicants

Help with affirmative action

Unqualified applicants

 

HR Files

Cost-effective

Good public relations

Outdated records

Job Fairs

Large numbers of applicants

Opportunity to network

Costly

Time consuming


 

Newspaper Inserts

Easily removed

Easily lost

Easily overlooked

On-Site Recruitment (airports,

fast-food chains, etc)

Wide audience

Saves time

Good public relations

Not taken seriously

Unqualified applicants

Outplacement Firms

Large numbers of applicants

Incomplete picture of intangibles

Radio and Television

Wide audience

Reach prospects not actively

looking for a job

Costly

 

 

There is no single preferred way to recruit qualified employees. Each approach

is different, and each one is structured to ensure that these companies find employees who will fit well in their organization and provide them with the skills and talents they require to remain successful.

Spending a great deal of money does not ensure a high number of qualified candidates; in fact, some of the most effective recruitment sources are costeffective, cost very little, or cost nothing at all. If your recruitment budget is tight, consider using billboard ads, bumper stickers, clients and customers, direct mail, electronic recruiting, employee referrals, government agencies, HR files, job posting, military, on-site recruitment, professional associations, voice ads, or walk-ins.

Employers tend to cast a wide recruiting net for positions that are hard to fill; that is, positions that require a specific set of skills and knowledge that only a limited number of candidates are likely to possess.

The advantage of seeking only internal candidates is that the process is likely to be quicker, cheaper and more reliable.  You know your own people better that you know outsiders. Vacancies can also be tied in with staff development schemes. Sourcing recruits from outside the organization means you can introduce new blood. Although it is more costly and lengthy, you have a wider choice of applicants and can avoid “clubbability” [3, p. 29].

When an organization recruits externally, it opens the organization up to a larger pool of applicants, which increases its chance of finding the right person for the job. Bringing in fresh talent from the outside can help motivate the current employees to produce and achieve more in hopes of obtaining the next promotional opportunity. But it can take longer and cost more than hiring from within the organization. It can also damage employee morale because current employees may feel this lessens their chances for promotion. When employee morale decreases, productivity can also decrease [4].

The main objective of the recruitment of staff to work is to meet the demand for workers in qualitative and quantitative terms. The objective of recruitment is a process that includes a general analysis of staffing needs; precise definition of who needs the organization; identifying sources of supply of the candidate and the choice of methods of selection. Thus, recruitment is a complex system of relationships between employers and job seekers.

 

References:

1.     Modern technology is becoming popular for the recruitment of staff // Access mode: http://ubr.ua/labor-market/life-at-work/sovremennye-tehnologii-stanoviatsia-vse-populiarnee-pri-naime-personala-211228.

2.     Diane Arthur.  Fundamentals of human resources management  / Fourth edition / American Management Association International, New York, NY., 2004. – 277p.

3.     Eric Garner. Recruitment and selection. Hiring the people you want. / 2012. – 52p.

  1. External Recruitment: Advantages, Disadvantages & Methods / Chapter 2, lesson 20. – Access mode: http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/external-recruitment-advantages-disadvantages-methods.html.