Nitty-gritty of Net recruitment
THE ONGOING developments in the field of Internet technology have turned organisations into tech-savvy entities. As a result, the recruitment process these days is mostly carried out online. In comparison to traditional processes, online recruitment is speedy, flexible and cost-effective. The Internet has become an invaluable tool for hiring people because it enables companies to cast their net far and wide and also ensures a quick response.
A study by an online search firm claims that companies take one-third lesser time for online recruiting than traditional methods.
Companies generally put up their recruitment ads on their own websites. This works well for larger and well-known organisations. But, smaller companies may not attract the right kind of candidates on their sites. So, advertising on jobsites is a better option for them.
Unlike the print media, the Net assures a global reach and longer visibility. It can also provide more information about the company, the job requirements and the work responsibilities to prospective applicants.
This also works to the advantage of companies because they can specify details of their requirements in a cost-effective way. They cannot afford to pack in so much information in a print ad. Net advertising also offers the advantages of a shorter recruitment cycle and lower costs per hire.
Other advantages include a faster response from job seekers. Prospective employees will send their résumés electronically and not by conventional mail. Moreover, the Internet can be accessed anytime and anywhere.
But, using the Net as a recruiting tool has certain drawbacks as well. The major drawback is that not every web-savvy job seeker may look at the web for work, or a potential candidate may not be Net-savvy. Further, an application that matches the company's requirement may be hard to find. Sometimes, even if the response is good, most of them may not fit the bill. So, there is a need for extensive screening before the interview process.
The increasing use of the Net for recruitment also raises some ethical issues. The practice of sharing résumés among recruiting companies has become common. This amounts to breach of the candidate's trust in the company. Misuse of such information can sometimes spoil a candidate's career.
The effect can be disastrous if the candidate's current employer comes across the résumé or if the information, especially of female candidates, falls into the wrong hands. Legal issues like who owns the résumés posted on the Net or have the rights to retain or sell them have still not been addressed.
Another disadvantage is the quality vs. quantity issue in e-recruitment. Many job sites have such a large number of résumés that companies find it difficult to sift through them. Since the Net has global reach, a job posting receives responses from across the globe. For companies that hire only at the local level, such response is of no use.
While the web may be a good means for candidates to post their résumés, fill out online application forms and to even give successful e-mail interviews, it does not assure immediate confirmation of a job.
Most companies still rely on the conventional method of holding personal interviews before deciding on recruiting a candidate.
Given the pros and cons of searching on the web for potential employees, companies should adopt a multi-pronged recruitment approach. Besides using the Internet, they would do well to use other recruitment methods like taking the services of placement agencies, placing advertisements in the print media or even tapping the word-of-mouth means to find the right candidate.
HEMA GOPALKRISHNAN
faqs@cnkonline.com
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