A) Internal Sources Of Recruitment

1. Present permanent employees

Organizations consider the candidates from this source for higher level jobs due to:

• Availability of most suitable candidates for jobs relatively or equally to the external source

• To meet the trade union demands

• To the policy of the organization to motivate the present employees.

2. Present temporary or casual or part-time employees

Organizations find this source to fill the vacancies relatively at the lower level owing to the availability of suitable candidates or trade and pressures or in order to motivate them on the present job.

3. Retrenched or retired employees

Generally, a particular organization retrenches the employees due to lay-off. The organization takes the candidates for employment from the retrenched employees due to obligation, trade union pressure and the like. Sometimes the organizations prefer to re-employ their retired employees as a token of their loyalty to the organization or to postpone some inter-personal conflicts for promotion, etc.

4. Dependents of deceased, disabled, retired and present employees

Some organizations with a view to developing the commitment and loyalty of not only the employee but also his family members and to build up image provide employment to the dependant(s) of deceased, disabled and present employees. Such organizations, find this source as an effective source of recruitment.

5. Employee referrals

Employee referrals are the candidates/applicants recommended by the current employees. Current employees recommend those candidates whose performance and behavior are known to them as well as suitable to the job and organizational needs. This source helps the organization to get high quality applicants. Organizations in the USA provide incentives to the current employees for recommending the most suitable candidates. This source reduces the cost of recruitment drastically. William Mercer suggests the following measures to increase the effectiveness of employee referrals.

• Up the ante: Provide benefits/incentives/commissions to current employees for recommending a suitable candidate as the companies pay commissions to employment agencies.

• Pay for performance: Pay the benefits to the current employee for the higher performance of newly hired employee recommended by the current employee concerned.

• Tailor the program: Educate the current employees about the type of candidates including skills, knowledge, behavior and ethical aspects that the company is looking for.

This will enable the current employees to recommend the suitable candidates.

• Increase visibility: Celebrate the successful referral programs, which would publicize the program.

• Keep the data: Keep the CV of unsuccessful candidates on file, which would be useful, when a vacancy arises suddenly.

• Rethink your taboos: Some companies do not employ the former employees, relatives and friends of current employees. Companies should discontinue this policy, as it would be difficult to get applications when labour market is tight.

• Widen the program: Companies can use former employees to recommend candidates.

• Measure results: Companies should calculate the success rate of employee referrals (i.e., percentage of number of candidates employed to number of candidates recommended) and inform the employees.

 Why do organizations prefer internal source?

Organisations prefer this source to external source to some extent for the following reasons:

• Internal recruitment can be used as a technique of motivation

• Morale of the employees can be improved

• Suitability of the internal candidates can be judged better than the external candidates as “known devils are better than unknown angels."

• Loyalty, commitment, a sense of belongingness, and security of the present employees can be enhanced.

• Employees' psychological needs can be met by providing an opportunity for advancement

• Employees economic needs for promotion, higher income can be satisfied

• Cost of selection can be minimized

• Cost of training, induction, orientation, period of adaptability to the organisation can be reduced

• Trade unions can be satisfied.

• Social responsibility towards employees may be discharged

• Stability of employment can be ensured

But organisations do not excessively rely on internal source as too much consumption of even sugar tastes bitter. The excessive dependence on this source results in in-breeding, discourages flow of new blood into the organisation, organisation would become dull and back number without innovations, new ideas, excellence and expertise. Hence, organisations depend on internal source to the extent of motivating and then depend on external sources.

B) External Sources Of Recruitment

External sources are those sources which are outside the organizational pursuits. Organisations search for the required candidates from these sources for the following reasons:

• The suitable candidates with skill, knowledge, talent etc., are generally available

• Candidates can be selected without any pre-conceived notion or reservations

• Cost of employees can be minimized because employees selected from this source are generally placed in minimum pay scale.

• Expertise, excellence and experience in other organisations can be easily brought into the organisation.

• Human resources mix can be balanced with different background, experience, skill, etc.

• Latest knowledge, skill, innovative or creative talent can also be flowed into the organisation. Long-run benefit to the organisation in the sense that qualitative human resources can be brought

1. Campus recruitment

Different types of organisations like industries, business firms, service organisations, social or religious organisations can get inexperienced candidates of different types from various educational institutions like Colleges and Universities imparting education in Science, Commerce, Arts, Engineering and Technology, Agriculture, Medicine, Management Studies, etc., and trained candidates in different disciplines like vocational, engineering, medicine from the training institutes like Vocational Training Institutes of State Governments in various trades, National Industrial Training Institutes for Engineers, etc. Most of the Universities and Institutes imparting technical education in various disciplines like engineering, technology, and management studies provide facilities for campus recruitment and selection. They maintain the bio-data and performance required of the candidates. Organisations seeking to recruit the candidates from this source can directly contact the institutes either in person or by post and stimulate the candidates to apply for jobs. Most of the organisations using this source, perform the function of selection after completing recruitment in the campus of the Institute itself with a view to minimizing time lapse and to securing the cream before it is attracted by some other organisations.

Campus Recruitment Techniques

Companies realize that campus recruitment is one of the best sources for recruiting the cream of the new blood. The techniques of campus recruitment include:

• Short listing the institutes based on the quality of students intake, faculty facilities and past track record

• Selecting the recruiting team carefully

• Offering the smart pay rather than high pay package

• Presenting a clear image of the company and the corporate culture

• Present the company but do not over sell the company

• Getting in early. Make an early bird offer

• Focusing on career growth opportunities, that the company offers to the recruits

• Include young line managers and alumni of Business School (B-school), Engineering School (E-school) etc., in the recruiting team

• Build the relationships with the faculty, administrators and students to grab them before the rivals do.

2. Private employment agencies/consultants

Public employment agencies or consultants like ABC Consultants in India perform the recruitment functions on behalf of a client company by charging fee. Line managers are relieved from recruitment functions so that they can concentrate on their operational activities and recruitment functions is entrusted to a private agency or consultants. But due to limitations of high cost, ineffectiveness in performance, confidential nature of this function, managements sometimes do not depend on this source. However, these agencies function effectively in the recruitment of executives. Hence, they are also called executive search agencies. Most of the organisations depend on this source for highly specialized positions ad executive positions.

3. Public employment exchanges

The Government set-up Public Employment Exchanges in the country to provide information about vacancies to the candidates and to help the organisations in finding out suitable candidates. The Employment Exchange (Compulsory Notification or Vacancies) Act, 1959 makes it obligatory for public sector and private sector enterprises in India to fill certain types of vacancies through public employment exchanges. These industries have to depend on public employment exchanges for the specified vacancies.

4. Professional organisations

Professional organisations or associations maintain complete bio-data of their members and provide the same to various organisations on requisition. They also act as an exchange between their members and recruiting firms in exchanging information, clarifying doubts, etc. Organisations find this source more useful to recruit the experienced and professional employees like executives, managers, engineers.

5. Data banks

The management can collect the bio-data of the candidates from different Barces like Employment Exchange, Educational Training Institutes, candidates, etc., and feed them in the computer. It will become another source and the company can get the particulars as and when it needs to recruit.

6. Casual applicants

Depending upon the image of the organisation, its prompt response, participation of the organisation in the local activities, level of unemployment, candidates apply casually for jobs through mail or hand over the applications in Personnel Department. This would be a suitable source for temporary and lower level jobs.

7. Similar organisations

Generally, experienced candidates are available in organisations producing similar products or are engaged in similar business. The management can get most suitable candidates from this source. This would be the most effective source for executive positions and for newly established organisation or diversified or expanded organisations.

8. Trade unions

Generally, unemployed or underemployed persons or employees seeking change in employment put a word to the trade union leaders with a view to getting suitable employment due to latter's intimacy with management. As such the trade union leaders are aware of the availability of candidates. In view of this fact and in order to satisfy the trade union leaders, management enquires trade unions for suitable candidates. Management decides about the sources depending upon the type of candidates needed, time lapse period, etc. It has to select the recruitment technique(s) after deciding upon source.

Modern sources and techniques of recruitment

A number of modern recruitment sources and techniques are being used by the corporate sector in addition to traditional sources and techniques. These sources and techniques include walk in and consult in, head-hunting, body-shopping, business alliances, and tele-recruitment.

1. Walk-in

The busy organisations and the rapid changing companies do not find time to perform various functions of recruitment. Therefore, they advise the potential candidates to attend for an interview directly and without a prior application on a specified date, time and at a specified place. The suitable candidates from among the interviewees will be selected for appointment after screening the candidates through tests and interviews.

2. Consult-in

The busy and dynamic companies encourage the potential job seekers to approach them personally and consult them regarding the jobs. The companies select the suitable candidates from among such candidates through the selection process.

3. Head-hunting

The companies request the professional organisations to search for the best candidates particularly for the senior executive positions. The professional organisations search for the most suitable candidates and advise the company regarding the filling up of the positions. Head-hunters are also called search consultants.

4. Body shopping

Professional organisations and the hi-tech training institutes develop a pool of human resources for the possible employment. The prospective employers contact these organisations to recruit the candidates. Otherwise, the organisations themselves approach the prospective employees to place their human resources. These professional and training institutions are called body shoppers and these activities are known as body shopping. The body shopping is used mostly for computer professionals

5. Business alliances

Business alliances like acquisitions, mergers, and take-overs help in getting human resources. In addition, the companies do also have alliances in sharing their human resources on ad-hoc basis.

It does mean that, the company with surplus human resources offers the services of their employees to other needy organisations.

6. E-recruitment

The technological revolution in telecommunication helped the organizations to use internet as a source of recruitment. Organizations advertise the job vacancies through the World Wide Web (www) internet. The job seekers send their applications through e-mail or internet. Alternatively, job seekers place their CVs in the world wide web/internet, which can be drawn by the prospective employers depending upon their requirements.