Meaning, Definition and Features of Recruitment

 Table of Content:

Meaning and Definition of Recruitment

Meaning of Recruitment 

Recruitment can be defined as the process of finding out prospective candidates for filling actual or projected in an organisation. Recruitment enables the organization to obtain the number and types of people required for its continuous work. 

Normally, it is an effort to gain the interest of the candidates looking for jobs, find the candidates interested in the job and create a group of potential employees, with the help of which the management can choose the suitable person for the job.

What is the meaning of recruitment?

Recruitment Meaning: The Process of Recruitment is one of the most significant aspects of operating a business successfully. The quality of the workers determines the performance of an organisation, and therefore, individuals who effectively manage all the functions of the organisation are more suitable for it. 

Even though changes can be brought in some incompetent employees by training and rigorous supervision, recruitment of capable and passionate people is undoubtedly preferred. 

By appointing the right person in the right position, a great amount of time, energy, and money can be saved. Therefore, a manager must recruit high-quality employees to fulfil organisational needs.

Recruitment practices differ from one organisation to another. Some organisations like public sector banks adopt centralised recruitment whereas others resort to recruitment. Under centralised recruitment, the human resource department at the head office performs all the necessary recruitment functions. Every operating department submits indents or requisitions for recruitment to its central office. On the other hand, each department carries out its recruitment in case of decentralised recruitment.

Centralised recruitment offers the following advantages:

(a) It refers to the administrative cost of centralizing all recruitment activities in one place.

(b) It helps in better and improved utilisation of specialists.

(c) It ensures uniformity in the selection and recruitment of all types of employees.

(d) It facilitates the interchangeability of staff between different units or zones.

(e) It relieves the line executive of the recruitment burden thereby enabling them to focus their efforts on operational activities. It tends to reduce favouritism and make the process of recruitment more scientific.

Centralised recruitment suffers from the following disadvantages:
(i) There is a delay in recruitment as operating units cannot recruit staff as and when required.

(ii) The central office may not be fully conversant with the most appropriate sources for job requirements for various units, nor may it know the most appropriate sources for obtaining the required staff.

(iii) Recruitment is not flexible in nature as the operating units lose control over the recruitment process.

Both Centralized recruitment and decentralized recruitment have their unique advantages. The decision to utilize one over the other ultimately depends on the management philosophy and needs of the particular organisation. In some cases, a hybrid approach incorporating elements of both systems may be used. Recruitment of Lower level staff is done centrally whereas top-level and middle-level executives are recruited in a decentralised manner.

Related Article:- Sources of Recruitment

Definition of Recruitment

According to Edwin B. Flippo, “Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation“.

According to Barber, “Recruitment includes those practices and activities carried out by the organisation with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees”.

According to Dale Yoder, “Recruitment is a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient working force”.

Related Article:- Process of Recruitment

Features of Recruitment 

Some significant features of recruitment are as follows:

1) Positive Function: Recruitment is considered to be a positive function as it creates a pool of qualified candidates from which the most appropriate candidates can be chosen.

2) Continuous Process: It is a managerial and ongoing process as it does not involve a single activity but a series of activities.

3) Linking Activity: It brings together the employer and the employees and hence is considered to be a linking activity.

4) Pervasive Function: Recruitment is an activity that takes place in every organisation, therefore is a pervasive function, however, its volume and nature differ according to the type and size of the organisation.

5) Two-Way Process: It is a two-way process that involves a recruiter and a recruitee. Both of them have their own choices, the recruiter can choose whom to select and the recruitee has the choice of selecting the organisation in which he wants to work. 

6) Complex Job: It is a complicated process as many factors may restrict the freedom of management during the recruitment process.

You May Also Like:-

1. Nature of Marketing

2. Workers participation in Management