Recruitment of External Candidates as a Function of Human Resources Management in the Company

SUMMARY:

Modern business policy is based upon successful management of resources, especially human resources. Employment and recruitment are becoming human resource basic functions. Companies and organizations must consider again their own business policy and goals, in order to define and realize optimal business policy, particularly human resources recruitment. Recruitment of internal candidates is almost a rule for solving the problem of shortage in certain profile of employees. Yet, mostly, in the situation of insufficient human resources, we focus our attention to external candidates, through cooperation with media, educational institutions, agencies and other communication approaches. Media have emphasized role. Advertising on the Internet, newspapers and TV depends on many variables. Besides cost aspect there is significance in communication aspect, an rising attention onto target group from which we plan to recruit our candidates. Therefore, media role is growing in importance, not only in sales, public relations or promotion, but also in employment, actually, in recruitment of human resources from external sources. Choice of an appropriate media and an adequate message in advertising are becoming more important for the communication effects of employment process, as well as advertising itself. In the Internet domination era and development of new communication approches (social networks and Internet forums), individuals and organizations are focusing their attention to this media and its potential. Growing number of opportunities and target markets' new value system are recognizable through growing number of Internet sites, portals, but also in the Internet browser influence (Google, Yahoo, Bing…). Campaigns for recruitment of new employees through open employment tender invitations on Internet sites of all sorts of companies and organizations are part of this new approach to human resources. Systematic approach, opennes to new opportunities and media, development and focus onto new potentials and resources are part of postulates for business survival.

Keywords: human resources, business policy, employment, recruitment, external resources, advertising, media, Internet

Introduction

This scientific work was written with the goal of better introduction to situation of recruitment of employees in companies and organizations, as a part of contemporary human resource management and development. Suggested model should become basis for further building of other models. There were different documentary, business and scientific materials, data from Croatian and international companies used for building of this model.

Also, there is a case study of recruitment of quality control engineers, 1994 in the company “Kraš” d.d. from Zagreb. In the meantime, it has passed 15 years. Part of experts employed remain on the jobs they applied for, some of them left the job and employed in other companies and organizations, some of them were promoted, became managers, as a part of process of job scheduling, promotion and recruitment of human resources from internal resources. Yet, more detailed data upon candidates careers and moving in Kraš, that show successful policy of human resources, unfortunately, wasn’t again available, since it became a business secret. ISO and other standards, as well as policy of more rigid protection of every data, particularly on critical resources as human resources are, imposed data dosage and corporate communications lack of openness towards science and scientific works in this area. Author would like to express gratitude to Kraš management and human resources department for the data from the history of business policy and policy of human resources. The beginning of new millenium was taggered with dramatic changes in every area of life – economy, politics, culture. Changes influenced the companies and individuals. Their role is ever and systematic changing. People are key for the problem of changes and their consequences.

1.1. New corporate goals

Business conditions are changing and represent problems in the life of companies and individuals, that influenced on restructuring of economy and society in general. Companies and individuals are facing internal changes, particularly ones in organizational culture and value systems, and that leads to additional efforts in accomodation to new conditions.

Accommodation to new circumstances is not enough – cooperation is a must, influencing the environment and ourselves, in order to reach targeted results. Human resources management and development, successful human resource policy are becoming strategic goal of each company. Top-grade employees are foundation of success for every modern organization.

New environment suggests definition of goals for new company, business and development, human resource policy as a part of strategy, and recruitment as one of the key business functions in organization. Consequently, defining the goals must be harmonized to human resource policy. Goals of new company are:

1. Fulfilment of customers’ needs,
2. Productivity and profit, and
3. Employees contentment.^[1]

1.2. Human resource functions

Human resource management and development represent the system of presumptions and activities, that enables business functions of company, or functioning the whole system. They are mentioned as following:^[2]

1. PLANNING means – human resource plan, employmewnt needs, evidences, analytical evaluation of job positions, and design of job positions;
2. RECRUITMENT consists of – advertising job positions, questioning and “head hunting“;
3. SELECTION features – psychological tests, interviews, recruitment for education and reading;
4. PLACEMENT – placement to working positions, ostavljanje na radna mjesta, „promotions at job position“ and „negative moves“;
5. INTRODUCTION TO EMPLOYMENT usually consists of: job orientation, courses and education for new employees, tečajeva i školovanja novog osoblja, dossier prosecution, and professional orientation;
6. SALARIES AND BENEFITS includes – salaries, Collective agreements, cooperation with trade union, distribution, employees’ personal insurance, leaves and vacations, benefits, health insurance, and financial support for transportation and meals;
7. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT consists: career continuity, business management development, working motivation, productivity, identification of talents for leaders;
8. HUMAN RELATIONS features – job satisfaction, quality of working life, complaints and appeals, relocations and terminations, promotions, legal protection of employees;
9. EDUCATION – education plan, education help, procurement nabava teaching accessories, management education, controls on educational activity;
10. PROMOTIONS – development of system of promotions, promotions, selection of managers;
11. EFFICIENCY EVALUATION – system of evaluation, rating for salaries defining, productivity control;
12. RETIREMENT PREPARATIONS consists – veterans’ club, retirees as potential advisers;
13. INFORMING includes – informations upon organization, company, public relations, library and literature.
14. This process have not classical ending, “it comes back to the beginning”, as every cyclic process. At the end of one cyclus, there start the new one and regenerates the companies’ life.

Diagram No. 1. shows basic activities of human resources management.

Diagram 1

illustration not visible in this excerpt

In this system of activities recruitment of employees has special position, because it is oriented towards strategic resource – people. Process of recruitment is starting with recruitment of candidates from internal sources. Yet, lack of an appropriate profiles of employees leads us to recruitment from external sources. That implicits media advertising, cooperation with Employment institute, educational institutions and private agencies, recruitment of candidates on professional meetings, symposiums, etc.

1.3. Literature on recruitment of candidates

Sveto Marušić wrote about methods in recruitment and selection of candidates in the book „Upravljanje i razvoj ljudskih potencijala“.^[3] At first author elaborates working positions analysis, and recruitment is divided in chapters on recruitment, preselection and selection. Recruitment is divided into two parts, one for internal and one for external candidates.

Wayne Cascio^[4] dedicates special chapters in his book to recruitment and selection. Recruitment is distributed to internal and external, with taking out the advantages and disadvantages of each, and then he describes the most significant methods. Gary Dessler^[5] puts close interconnection of human resources and recruitment, and give examples of questionaires he used. Process of selection itself is similar to the one at Cascio, but mostly retaining on psychological tests and interview, as the most usual methods for candidates selection.

Robert Kreitner^[6] connects “recruitment” with selection and discuss on advantages of internal and external candidates. Shultz and Shultz in „ Psychology and Industry today “^[7] are discussing on legislation that ensures equal opportunities in employment, working positions analysis and selection. Torrington and Hall^[8] are dwscribing recruitment and selection in four chapters of their book. They started with preparation of documentation, than covering the advertising, newspapers, radio, TV – recruitment, and in the chapter Selection they covered processes of preselection and selection.

George Thomason^[9] has separated processes of recruitment and selection into three activities:

- identification (working position analysis, job requests),
- recruitment (as higher number of candidates for the purpose of quality, skills, etc.), and
- selection (planning, interview, tests, „assessment center“, procedures evaluation).

German experts have accepted a lot from american experiences in human resources management and development. A complex of selection of people for the corporate needs Maria Zeller denominates as recruitment of potentials.^[10] It is divided into three phases:

1) Informing (human resources plan, job market analysis and preparation of instruments),
2) Action (advertisments, documentation review, tests, employment contracts, etc.), and
3) Control phase (reasons for deviations, control of instruments).

[...]

^[1] Sveto Marušić. Upravljanje i razvoj ljudskih potencijala (2006.), Zagreb, Adeco, str. 62 - 63

^[2] Sveto Marušić. r. cit.

^[3] Sveto Marušić. op. cit.

^[4] Wayne F. Cascio W. F. Managing Human Resources (2002) NY USA, Mc Graw-Hill

^[5] Gary Dessler. Personnel Management (2004) UK, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall

^[6] Robert Kreitner. Management. (1989), USA, Boston. Houghton Mifflin

^[7] Duane Shultz, Sydney Shultz. Psychology and Industry Today, (1982), USA, NY. Macmillan

^[8] Derek Torrington, Laura Hall. Personnel Management – A New Approach (1992), UK, London, Prentice Hall International

^[9] George Thomason. A Textbook of Human resource management. (1990), UK, London, Wimbledon, Institute of Personnel Management

^[10] Maria Zeller. Human Resource Management. (1993), Germany, Munich, Management Akademie