Recruitment Planning Paper Example

Introduction

Most organizations face the challenge of attracting a motivated workforce that is able to perform tasks that will accomplish the company goals and objectives. This challenge is greatly enhanced when there is a high employee turnover and the firm needs to replace the vacancies within a short time period. Recruitment planning is an effective strategy that companies in such situations can use. It is a prearranged strategy that outlines the methods that an organization should implement during employee recruitment processes to attract and employ the desirable calibre of workers (Barber p 15).

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Recruitment planning entails issues such as preparing a job description, choosing the target audience, communicating the vacant position to prospective candidates, and attracting workers with the right 'fit' that the firm desires. It is imperative that organizations develop an effective recruitment plan so that they acquire employees with the right competencies, skills, and experience required to fill in the vacant position. Moreover, recruitment plans help companies to recruit the best employees in a cost effective and timely manner.

Factors to Consider When Developing Recruitment Plans

There are various factors that the management should consider when developing and implementing recruitment plans. The first factor is the previous hiring processes within the organization. The human resource department should consider lessons it has learned after analyzing the previous hiring strategies that the company has used in the past. It should assess whether the plans that have been applied reached the desired goal of attracting and hiring competent employees. The management should also analyze whether the firm was able to attract a high number of applicants and whether the job position was communicated well. Moreover, the organization should evaluate how past employees have performed during the probation period once they were hired. These questions are essential since they help companies to evaluate whether past strategies were successful, and whether they should be replicated or changed, to improve the effectiveness of the recruitment process.

The second factor to consider is the company culture and its needs. It is imperative that the management analyzes the company's vision and mission so that it can formulate appropriate goals for the recruitment process. Moreover, the human resource managers should evaluate the company's brand and recruit employees who exemplify the image that is desirable. They should also seek to recruit employees who identify with the organizational culture and values since it will enable the workers to fit into the organization's processes with minimal disruption.

Another important aspect of the firm's needs that employers should consider is the skills gap analysis. It entails performing a methodological assessment to identify the weaknesses and strengths of the current workforce, and the skills that the company should improve during a new recruitment process. Firms may choose to recruit entry-level employees, interns, part-time or full-time employees to fill in the gaps that have been identified.

The third factor that the managers should consider when developing recruitment plans is the job description. For company to attract effective employees, they should create effective job descriptions which encompass the skills that the applicants should have, as well as their responsibilities. Moreover, some roles change with time, and the organization should consult the existing employees and supervisors to acquire an accurate picture of how to develop the job description. For instance, if the company seeks to recruit software developers, it should liaise with workers who undertake similar job descriptions within the firm to understand how their roles have changed with time, and find out if there are added responsibilities that they have embraced in the course of their career. The organization should use a tonal voice that represents the brand when writing a job description. In addition, companies should link their careers page to their main website so that prospective applicants can analyze the company's culture and historical origins before applying for a new job.

Benefits of Recruitment Planning

There are several benefits of recruitment planning and the first is that it helps organizations to attract employees with the right skills, knowledge, competencies, and ability which suit the vacant position. Through creating and implementing an effective recruitment plan, the organization increases its chances to recruit employees who will fit into the organization and perform their roles effectively so that the company can attain its long term goals (Johnason 22-24). Recruitment planning enables firms to reflect on hiring mistakes that have been made in the past, and to make changes that will improve the current plan. Moreover, through writing an good job description and targeting the appropriate audience through proper communication, the organization will increase its chances of recruiting strong and motivated employees.

Another benefit of recruitment planning is it reduces costs and save time when recruiting employees. Proper plans seek to identify potential vacancies before they occur so that the management has adequate time to make decisions and allocate resources towards seeking replacement workers (Collins & Jian p 685-686). Moreover, planning increases the efficiency of the process and prevents wastage of resources when advertising for, and hiring new employees. Recruitment planning therefore improves the success of the hiring process and mitigates costs and the time resource when undertaking employee hiring processes.

The third benefit of recruitment planning is that it enhances the organization's ability to employ motivated workers who will identify with the broader organizational culture and possess personal values that are consistent with the company's principles (Johnason 22-24). Employing this calibre of employees will increase their motivation and loyalty levels while reducing costly disruptions, such as additional training and organizational conflict. Once the company hires a motivated workforce, its productivity and profits will increase, and the firm will attain its long term goals and objectives.

Steps to Follow in Implementing Recruitment Plans

There are five major steps that are followed when implementing recruitment plans. The first step is identifying the job opening and it entails planning in advance for job positions that are likely to be vacant in future (O'Sullivan p 28). Once an organization identifies potential vacancies, it is able to plan and start the recruitment process to ensure that the management fills in the position in a timely manner.

Most companies underestimate the length of time that they need when recruiting employees. The reality is that it takes months to undertake the hiring process. For instance, the advertising and screening process may take six weeks, and once the organization settles on a candidate, he/she also needs time to issue a notice to his/her present employer, informing him/her of the intention to resign. This means that even if the recruitment process is smooth, it is likely that the position will remain vacant for a considerable period of time.

To reduce the transition period between an employee's resignation and recruiting a replacement, organizations should plan in advance for job openings (Collins & Jian p 685). Moreover, companies should have short and long term plans that address issues such as the estimated budget for the recruitment process, the expected staff turnover in coming months, and the possibility of existing contracts that may require recruiting additional employees.

The second step is identifying how to fill the opening. It entails making strategic decisions on the best way of recruiting replacement employees. One of the key questions that the human resource should ask is whether the organization needs to find a new employee to fill the gap (O'Sullivan p 29). Sometimes organizations do not need to hire new workers since the existing ones can take up additional responsibilities and receive higher compensation. Moreover, companies may also decide to scrap the job position altogether or redesign the job. If the organization makes the decision to replace the employee, then it must make a decision on whether to use internal or external recruitment methods, or use an external firm to find a competent candidate through outsourcing.

The third step is identifying the target population. It involves determining the type of employees who are best suited to fill the position. The organization should focus on specific job requirements and whether or not to seek a specific segment within the population that applies for the job. Some of the issues that the organization should consider when identifying the target population include the reporting relationships, job duties, competencies it needs, salary range, knowledge, experience, educational level, and abilities (O'Sullivan p 32).

If the organization decides to apply internal requirement, it should consider whether to advertise the position to all employees, or to select a few employees and groom them. Organizations that opt to recruit externally also face challenges in determining selection issues such as whether to seek applicants from certain educational institutions with strong programs within the field that is vacant, or whether to conduct an open selection process for all candidates who are qualified. Moreover, some firms may opt to 'poach' workers from other organizations, and this strategy raises some ethical issues.

The fourth step is notifying the prospective candidates and this occurs after the company has selected the target population. The organization may use a variety of methods to communicate the job vacancy. One of the strategies it can use is the low-involvement strategy and it entails the use of advertisements or corporate sponsorships that market the company's products to create a positive perception of the organization (Ulrich p 66). Using this strategy encourages applicants to develop a positive perception of the organization, and to apply in large numbers. The second is the high-involvement strategy which applies employee endorsements or recruitment advertisements when prospective employees hold discussions with the current workers regarding their experiences at the company.

Moreover, there are diverse communication tools that can be used to advertise the job vacancy and some of these are trade magazines, television and radio ads, current employee referrals, and internet job sites among others. The company should choose the most effective medium based on the target audience, cost of recruitment method, positions to be filled, and economic conditions (Collins & Jian p 670). If many positions are to be filled, then the organization should choose a medium that reaches many people, such as radio and newspaper advertisements. Additionally, the population's characteristics guide the communication process and employers should use the media that the target audience usually access.

Finally, the last step is meeting the candidates, and the most qualified people are selected for assessment procedures, including interviews. The firm has an opportunity to assess the qualifications of the interviewees while the potential employees have a chance of learning about the employment. It is imperative that the management provides candidates with adequate information on the organization so that they make an informed decision when accepting or rejecting the employment opportunity. It also helps the candidates to know what to expect in the long run, as far as job satisfaction is concerned.

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