How to choose a method for staff recruitment

There is no a single Head of the HR Department, who has not faced the question: "How to find the right staff, and, therefore, what methods of staff recruitment should be involved in order to find appropriate candidates for vacant positions?"

Let's try to answer on this question, substantiating the method (or methods) of staff recruitment.

As any process, which claims to achieve the required efficiency, the process of staff recruitment should have a quite clear system (or adaptability). System of process involves, first of all, the ascertainment (selection) of a crucial efficiency criterion.

As a criterion of the efficiency of any method (or combination of methods) of staff recruitment should be used the criterion of efficiency R of the search as a function of time T, required for the search, the search cost S and professional qualities Q of a chosen specialist.

R = f (T ; S ; Q)

At that, under efficiency is meant the degree of success of search and selection of the required (who meets the requirements) specialist for the period of search, not exceeding the required, and at a costs not exceeding predetermined value. Efficiency value varies from 0 to 1. Under the efficient method to be understood method (or combination of methods), which application will provide a value of R > 0,8-0,9, that is, from 10 selected specialists 8 - 9 of them will meet the requirements of an employer after 6 - 9 months of work of this specialist in the company. The period of 6-9 months is taken not accidentaly. As a rule, after a given period of time (not after 3 months of probationary period) a new employee fully adapts to the environment of the company and has his own optimal working pattern, and the employer finally forms an opinion about the professional suitability and the prospects of a new employee.

After selecting the efficiency criterion we go through the methods of staff recruitment. Currently, the most common methods of staff recruitment are following:

  • search through the mass-media communications;
  • search through friends and acquaintances;
  • search among graduates of respective universities;
  • search within own company;
  • search through state employment centers;
  • search through recruitment agencies, that provide services to employers free of charge;
  • as well as direct search (recruitment), including direct search by efforts of recruiting companies.

The dependence of the efficiency R of the search from professional qualities Q of a chosen specialist for the above mentioned methods of staff recruitment is shown on the Figure 1.

In this case, a parameter Q is the degree of conformity of competencies of a chosen specialist and required professional skills, which are needed for effective performance of the duties of the positions. The Q value varies from 0% to 100 %. If the specialist has fully relevant professional skills, required for the position, the Q value is 100 %.

Chart

These methods may be used both separately and in combination with other search methods. Each of these methods is effective and appropriate depending on:

  • time T of search;
  • cost S of search;
  • level of requirements Q to applicants.

The time expenditures, required to perform a variety of methods of search for appropriate candidates.

Time expenditures, neede for implementation of various methods of staff recruitment are given in the table ¹1.

Table ¹1

¹ ï.ï. Methods of staff recruitment Averageti me expenditures on recruitment* Total time for search
1. Search through the mass-media Publication of an announcement about staff recruitment in printed media in 5-7 days, and in the electronic media - on the day the announcement. Collection and processing of incoming applications - 5-7 days. 2-14 days
2.

Search through friends and acquaintances

Questioning of the relevant friends, acquaintances and colleges  – 3-5 days.

3-5 days
3. Search among graduates of respective universities Giving information to the designated employees of the relevant universities – 5-7 days. Collection and processing of incoming applications – 5-7 days. 10-14 days
4. Search within own company Assessment of possible candidates from the own company staff - 2-3 days. 2-3 days
5. Search through state employment centers Giving information to the designated employees of the relevant employment centers – 5-7 days. Collection and processing of incoming applications – 5-7 days. 10-14 days
6. Search through recruitment agencies, that provide services to employers free of charge. Giving information to the relevant recruitment agencies – 2-3 days. Collection and processing of incoming applications – 5-7 days. 7-10 days
7. Direct search (recruitment), including direct search by efforts of recruiting companies. Giving information to the recruiting company – 1 day. Search and selection of the appropriate candidates by efforts of recruiting company – 5-14 days. 6-15 days

*These time expenditures do not include the time period for direct interviews with selected on base of CV candidates and the time for making a decision concerning the employment of selected candidates.

As one can see from the analysis of the table, the minimum (up to 5 days) time expenditures are in the 4th and 2nd search methods. Time spent on other search methods and staff recruitment is approximately similar and usually takes 2 weeks. However, taking into consideration time necessary to conduct interviews with potential candidates, time for for making a decision concerning the employment of selected candidates, as well as the time required to discharge a new employee from a previous job - total time spent on search and recruitment services for almost all search types are quit the same and it lasts 20-30 days or more.

An exception, doubtless, is a 4th method of search - search for potential candidates within their own company. Taking into consideration the above mentioned and the fact that 4th method does not cost anything and at the same time has a good performance indicator (see Figure 1) - method 4 should be recommended as the primary and mandatory to the implementation.

The other methods of search (all or selected) can be made simultaneously, not leading to an increase in the total time of search and selection of potential candidates, but, doubtless, leads to an increase in the total search efficiency.

Financial expenses,required to perform a variety of methods of search for appropriate candidates

There is almost no direct financial expences for implementation of methods 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Indirect financial expences (such as the financial equivalent of time expenditures of employees appointed for the analysis of questionnaires and interviews with potential candidates, as well as other indirect costs) are usually estimated at about 50-150 $ US for search of one specialist per one vacant position.

The direct financial expences for implementation of one method are relatively low and, as a rule, made not more than 20-100 $ US per a one announcement about employment in printed medias. The most expensive (about 800 $ US) is the method 7 associated with the involvement of the recruiting company.

Based on the foregoing, the lowest financial expences (direct and indirect) the employer bears in the implementation of staff recruitment methods 1-6, that fact, from this point of view, distinguishes these methods as methods of choice. However, such a direct calculation is not always correct. In staff recruitment the right issue is not only the evaluation of the financial expences, made for the implementation of appropriate methods, but it is highly important (and it is not always taken into account by the employer) to evaluate the additional financial return (or additional financial savings) to the company as a result of work, made by the new employed specialist.

Might be offered the following algorithm of selection of method (combination of methods) for staff recruitment, which takes into consideration the financial aspects:

  1. Ascertainment of direct and indirect financial expences S1 for the implementation of appropriate staff recruitment method.
  2. Ascertainment of the financial return (or financial savings) S2 to the company in general with the arrival of a new specialist to the company. Obviously the higher the level of professionalism of chosen candidate is, the higher the value S2. In turn, the efficiency of search for professionals depends on the search method.
  3. Ascertainment for each method (or a combination of methods ) of the values ​​S = S2-S1.
  4. Selection of that method (or a combination of methods) for staff recruitment for which the value of S is the highest.

Selecting of the search method, depending on the requirements to the professional qualities of candidates

Selecting one of the above methods (or a combination of methods) for staff recruitment, depending on the requirementsQ to a specialist is appropriate to make, by dividing these requirements into two main groups:

  1. You need a specialist, who meets the appropriate moral and psychological requirements, but without confirmed (or little) professional experience in this area. The company is aware of the need to train such specialist for a certain time - the time of entry into the profession (from 1 month to 1 year depending on specialization of the company and the new employee).
  2. You need a specialist, who meets the appropriate moral and psychological requirements with mandatory successful professional experience in this area. The company does not assume spending a lot of time for training a specialist. The time time of entry into the profession for such specialist is usually limited to a term of not more than 2 to 8 weeks.

Of course, groups of requirements can be different. However, usually, those groups of requirements are formed in the region, described in the points 1 and 2.

If the company put forward demands as defined in group 1, then as effective, and, therefore, appropriate, should be considered methods 1 - 6. By doing so, should be applied not any ome method, but the combination of all these methods. Using only one from these methods cannot ensure the achievement of efficiency on the level 0.8 - 0.9. In this case, during the search and selection of a specialist for one vacancy, one should be focused on getting more than 50 CV (questionnaires) from the potential candidates. A smaller number of potential candidates for the vacant position, as a rule, does not achieve the desired efficiency of search. According to the obtained personal data, usually invited for an interview to the company 10 - 15 % (5 - 8 people) best applicants, of which later the choice will be made.

If the company put forward demands as defined in group 2, then as effective, and, therefore, appropriate, should should be considered the combination of all seven methods of recruitment. And in this case the implementation of all methods can be delegated to the recruiting company. The main focus in the search for highly qualified professionals should be gradually made on methods 4, 2 (including taking into account the staff and colleagues recommendations), 6, 1 and 7.

In this case, the direct search algorithm 7 (recruitment) may include the following:

  1. Define a list of all companies that have the professionals, which are potentially interesting to you with experience in the market segment of your interest. As a rule, we are talking about companies that are your colleagues on that market segment, where you offer your goods, products or services.
  2. Conduct negotiations (consultations) with all the above mentioned professionals in order to determine their recommendations about specialists, who are potentially interested in proposals from your company.
  3. Further everithing is very easy - you choose the best of all those who are potentially interested in proposals from your company, and invite them under the terms and conditions, that are mutually acceptable.

The above-described 7th method (in combination with other methods) allows you to choose the best from all (namely from all) possible, with strict compliance with ethic of all the parties involved. The company, which provides direct search, receives additional benefits - an information about the real employees market (namely working) of highly skilled specialists, as well as the an information about the levels of salaries and forms of employees performance stimulation, accepted in the other companies.