The Need for Recruitment (AQA GCSE Business)

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An Introduction to Recruitment

  • Recruitment is the process of attracting and identifying potential job candidates who are suitable for a particular role

    • The goal of recruitment is to create a pool of qualified candidates who can be considered for a vacant role

Diagram: Reasons why Vacancies Arise

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Vacancies can arise for reasons including business growth, employees leaving and reorganisation

Why do vacancies arise?

  • Businesses need to recruit workers for a range of reasons

    • Staff are often needed when a business is first established to support the entrepreneur during its launch and early stages of growth

    • Growing businesses may need more staff to allow them to increase output or diversify into new markets

    • When workers leave, a business usually wants to replace them to avoid disruption to operations

  • The specific details of the recruitment process may vary slightly between businesses due to different factors, including:

    • The urgency of the role needing to be filled

    • The budget involved in advertising the vacancy

    • The nature of the role and the skills required, e.g. some roles require very specific skill assessments

    • Preferences of management, e.g. preference of using CV's rather than application forms

    • The time available for the process to be completed

      • E.g. Google's recruitment process usually takes 6–8 weeks

Internal & External Recruitment

  • Businesses often use a combination of internal and external recruitment methods, depending on the nature of the job and the availability of suitable candidates

Internal recruitment

  • Internal recruitment is the appointment of a suitable candidate who already works for the business

    • Advertisements for internal candidates are shared in business newsletters, staff noticeboards or through internal email/intranets

      • E.g. A new project management role within the organisation may be advertised in the weekly staff newsletter 

    • Line managers may be asked to recommend suitable candidates following appraisals

  • Recruiting internally has a range of advantages and disadvantages

Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal Recruitment

Advantages

Disadvantages

  • Internal candidates are already familiar with business culture and processes

    • Can adapt to the role quickly

    • Little need for induction training

  • Can lead to conflict or resentment

    • May affect motivation and working relationships between successful/rejected internal candidates

  • Business has a good understanding of the candidate's strengths, weaknesses, skills & aptitudes

    • Less risky than employing an external candidate whose abilities are less well-known

  • A further vacancy is created when an employee is promoted/redeployed

    • External recruitment may be necessary to fill vacated job roles

  • Opportunities to progress can be motivating for existing employees

    • Improves loyalty & commitment

  • A limited number of suitable applicants may be available internally

  • It is cheaper and quicker to promote or redeploy existing staff rather than recruit externally

  • Missed opportunity to inject new ideas, experience or skills into the business

External recruitment

  • External recruitment is where a new employee is appointed from outside the business

    • External candidates can be targeted with advertisements in newspapers, industry magazines, specialist recruitment websites or employment agencies

    • Existing employees may be asked to nominate people they know for roles, sometimes receiving a reward if their nominee is successfully recruited

    • Businesses can use social media platforms to advertise cost-effectively e.g. LinkedIn

    • A headhunting agency can be used to make approaches to highly-qualified specialists in a particular industry/with desired skills, experience or knowledge

      • A significant fee is payable once a candidate is appointed

    • Businesses can attend careers fairs, hosted by universities or industry bodies, to promote available opportunities

      • These events attract significant numbers of highly-qualified, interested candidates

  • External recruitment overcomes some of the disadvantages of internal recruitment 

    • New skills, experiences and ideas are introduced to the business

  • However, it is often more expensive than internal recruitment

    • Advertising in the mass media is particularly expensive and it can be difficult to target the desired audience

  • There is also a greater degree of uncertainty as external candidates are unknown to the business

Benefits of an Effective Recruitment Process

  • Businesses that establish effective recruitment processes experience a range of benefits

Diagram: Benefits of Effective Recruitment

Effective recruitment can attract top talent, lower staff turnover and improve a businesses reputation

Effective recruitment can attract top talent, lower staff turnover and improve a businesses reputation, as well as reduce costs and business risks

The benefits

Attracting top talent

  • An effective recruitment process helps a company attract and identify the best candidates for vacancies

  • Individuals with the right skills and experience can improve business productivity and performance

    • E.g. Netflix targets engineers with at least three years' experience as opposed to fresh graduates, and interviews focus on their knowledge of programming and technology

Reducing staff turnover

  • Businesses that recruit well tend to retain staff, which reduces staff turnover

  • Long-serving staff are likely to deliver high-quality customer service

  • High staff turnover can be costly for businesses due to the expense of advertising vacancies and training new employees

Enhancing employer brand

  • Applicants who have had a positive experience during the recruitment process may pass on their impressions to others

  • This can make the business attractive to future candidates, giving it an advantage over rivals in the competition for top talent

Diversity and inclusion

  • Effective recruitment processes identify and attract applicants from a range of backgrounds and with varied experience

  • This better representation of the company's customer base can lead to improved decision-making and relevant innovation

    • E.g. Slack has eliminated all recruitment processes that could exclude certain groups, and allows applicants to apply on-site as opposed to at home, where there may be distractions

Cost savings

  • An effective recruitment process can save time and resources, reducing the need for short-term, expensive solutions to fill workplace gaps

    • E.g. Employment agencies charge a premium to make employees available at short notice to short-staffed businesses

  • Suitably skilled employees are likely to produce high quality output and reduce wastage, reducing costs

Reducing risks

  • An effective recruitment process helps businesses comply with relevant employment laws

  • This reduces the risk of legal action and the need to pay compensation for discrimination

Examiner Tip

Candidates commonly confuse staff turnover and staff retention. Staff turnover refers to the proportion of staff leaving a business during a given time period, whereas staff retention refers to the proportion of staff remaining with a business during a given time period.

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