E-recruiting
Introduction
The digital world has brought a new shift to the world of recruiting. The World Wide Web has fastened the search time, costs and offered a transparent method of information for candidates (Salmen, 2012). In the early 20,s, companies only had their career websites running as their main source of communication about their organization’s news: current open vacancies, contact details and changes in the organization. The design of Web 1.0 imposed a one-way communication style where web surfers could absorb information from the site. Those candidates that did find the vacancies on an organization’s website and had interest sent an initial e-mail with their CV and a cover letter attached to the contact person listed on the website or still through Post. Two-way communication rarely occurred as it was an uncommon strategy in recruiting (Salmen, 2012).
What is E-recruitment?
When broken down, the term “E-recruitment” is comprised of two
parts. The “E” stands for “electronic” and “recruitment”. Often, E-recruitment
is known as online recruiting, social recruiting, or Internet recruiting,
however, this thesis will refer to E-recruitment for simplicity. To add to the
previously introduced definition of recruitment, E-recruitment can only be
described as the process of any personnel advertising or attracting, selection
and application processing via the Internet, for external candidates, or
Intranet, for internal candidates. The findings from Holm’s (2012) thesis were
that there was a difference between the paper-based and the electronic-based
recruitment process. From the findings, Holm’s found that the electronic-based
recruitment process began with few electronic tools for line managers to
commence the recruitment process, e.g. line managers were putting their hiring
needs into a Word document and sending it to the responsible recruiter. The
recruiter then had to read each applicant and rate the order. In some cases,
this is handled through filter programs bringing top applicants to the
forefront(Holm A.B, 2012).
Growth of E-recruitment
The use of E-recruitment grows full tilt, though the benefits
for E-recruitment have not changed much over years; Carolien Handlogten (2009) listed
them in a case study thesis for a Dutch airline about the implementation of
E-recruitment:
- Cost savings
- Ease of use for candidates
- Larger candidate pool
- Ease of use for the organisation
- Increasing the speed to hire
- Success in finding candidates
- Keeping ahead of competitors
The positive return on investment of the benefits of
E-recruitment is proved by Jobvite’s study (2013). Jobvite has been conducting
annual surveys for the past six years to follow the patterns of recruitment in the
United States. The results from their 2013 study found that 33% of the
participants claimed the time to hire has improved, along with 43% agreed that
quantity of candidates has also improved.
Trends in e-recruitment
Almost 92% of companies in the USA started using social
networks, which includes 93%, 66%, and 54% shares of LinkedIn, Facebook, and
Twitter. There is an 85% increase since 2007 in using social sites for
recruiting activities (Salmen, 2012).
Hence, table 1.0 comparing of Generations construes why e-Recruitment has
become a phenomenon in HRM.
Table 1.0 Personal and Lifestyle Characteristics by
Generation:
|
The Veterans (1922-1945) |
Baby Boomers (1946-1964) |
Generation X (1965-1980) |
Generation Y (1981-2000) |
|
|
Work is... |
An obligation |
An exciting adventure |
- A difficult challenge - A contract |
- A means to an end - Fulfillment |
|
Communication Media |
- Rotary phones - One-on-one - Write a memo |
- Touch-tone phones - Call me anytime |
- Cell phones - Call me only at work |
- Internet - Picture phones - E-mail - Social media |
|
Leadership Style |
- Directive - Command and control |
- Consensual - Collegial |
- Everyone is the same - Challenge others - Ask why |
- *N/A |
|
Interactive Style |
Individual |
- Team player - Loves to have meetings |
Entrepreneur |
- Participative |
|
Communications |
Formal Memo |
In Person |
- Direct - Immediate |
- E-mail - Voice mail |
The above diagram illustrates, how the habits of people
changing from generation to generation. According to that, it is clear that the
era we live in is digitalized and the current generation mostly prefers
e-methods comparing with previous generations. The main mode of Recruitment is
communication. The communication today is almost influenced by the Internet and
social media. Therefore to get the best of the employees, most Organizations
switched or switching to the E-Recruitment system in recruiting.
Figure 2.0: The e-recruitment landscape
(Source: IES, 2003)
The above diagram illustrates that system checks the CVs and
shortlists eligible criteria which help Applicants to get immediate results if
basic qualifications met or not. Ex: - Basic educational qualifications, age,
and at the same time protects confidentiality, data protection hence,
encourages diversity of candidates (IES, 2003). According to figure 1.0, the
applicant is connected to a centralized system where a Line Manager is involved
in the process. In addition to this, the HR and Job Agency at the above diagram
play an important role to recruit suitable candidates within the strategic
objectives of the Organization (IES, 2003).
- Hammill, G. (2005), Mixing and Managing Four Generations of Employees, FDU Magazine Online, viewed 10 August 2019, <http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/magazine/05ws/generations.htm>
- Holm, A.B. (2012). E-recruitment: Towards an Ubiquitous Recruitment Process and Candidate Relationship Management. German Journal of Human Resource Management: Zeitschrift für Personalforschung, 26(3), pp.241–259. doi:10.1177/239700221202600303.
- IES (2003), cited in Report summary: e-Recruitment: Is it Delivering?, viewed 31 August 2019, <https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/report-summaries/report-summary-e-recruitment-it-delivering>
- Jobvite. (2013). Social Recruiting Survey Results 2013. San Mateo: Jobvite.
- Rath, B. and Salmen, S.
(2012). Recruiting im Social Web : Talentmanagement 2.0 - So begeistern
Sie Netzwerker für Ihr Mitmach-Unternehmen!. Göttingen: Businessvillage.
Tong & Sivanand [2005], emphasize that e-recruitment is the tool and technique of effective and efficient utilization of IT to fetch efficiency, speed and perfection on the recruitment process.
ReplyDeleteTong & Sivanand (2005) further elaborates that, E-recruitment is a sub-system of overall electronization of digitalization of recruiting competent candidates using web based technologies by an organization. Therefore, e-recruitment can be well defined as the adoption and integration of IT and Web to recruit competent job candidates that can largely replace the manual recruitment functions.
DeleteE- Recruitment since its inception has turn out to be successful but it has faced quite a number of challenges hurdles in the path of success. Some fails to provide correct information online as they are not computer savvy. They tend to commit mistakes like filling their name wrongly, their native place wrongly, their qualifications etc. online resumes easily gets duplicated and hence chances of neglecting the real candidates instead of duplicate increases. As resumes are uploaded online so there is no surety of authenticity and correctness of information provided by personnels. Some challenges are the quality and the quantity of candidates through the web tools. Many organizations have reported getting large number of applicants from unqualified people. In case of absence of internet connection candidates cannot check any portal or site (Bhupendra Swati, 2015, Cited in Okolie 2017).
ReplyDeleteAgree with your comment, some pitfalls of e-recruitment are rise of competition, attraction of bad candidates, technical issues. Hiya Khanna (2021), states that E recruitment is a process that is here to stay. Due to the rapid advancement of technology and evolving digital tools, this process is the future of recruiting in the corporate world.
DeleteOne of the vital factors in the process of hiring people is the e-recruitment market. The function of the conventional recruiter has been fundamentally altered by the internet. An iLogos survey in 2002 found that 91 percent of the global 500 companies were using their corporate websites for recruiting as compared to 60 percent and 29 percent in 1999 and 1998 respectively. E-recruitment generally has less expensive costs and a shorter recruiting cycle (Dhamija, 2012).
ReplyDeleteThe widespread use of internet today has meant that advertising for candidates has become cheaper while at the same time appealing to the wider audience. This is the secret of e-recruitment gaining popularity in a short time span (Kumar, 2019).
Delete“Getting job applicants through the Internet for employment, the so-called e-recruitment" is dynamic developing group of recruitment methods (Listwan 2010). The current extent of e-recruitment is estimated differently depending on the industry, country, the type of position for which they are being recruited and the type of Organization. Data on the growth of e-recruitment suggests that 3/4 of all large organizations – according to research in the United States in 2010 – (Stone et al. 2013), all state governments (Selden, Orenstein 2011) and 2/3 of companies in Europe use recruitment portals (Zając 2012).
ReplyDeleteAgree with you Reshan, Zenith (2012) states that Screening could be done within minutes, and the potential shortlisted candidates can be contacted immediately by sending a mass mail. Candidates ate shortlisted based on knowledge, skills, location preference, salary expectations and their availability and further, move on to the
Deleteinterview stage.
E- Recruitment since its inception has turn out to be successful but it has faced quite a number of challenges hurdles in the path of success. Some fails to provide correct information online as they are not computer savvy. They tend to commit mistakes like filling their name wrongly, their native place wrongly, their qualifications etc. online resumes easily gets duplicated and hence chances of neglecting the real candidates instead of duplicate increases. As resumes are uploaded online so there is no surety of authenticity and correctness of information provided by personnel. Some challenges are the quality and the quantity of candidates through the web tools. Many organizations have reported getting large number of applicants from unqualified people. In case of absence of internet connection candidates cannot check any portal or site (Bhupendra Swati, 2015).
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThere are pro's & con's of e-recruitment. Some Pro's are Wider scope, time saving, Advertising benefits, Keywords make search easier & etc. M.S Rao (2018) mentions “the e- Recruitment saves lot of time for both employers and job seekers. It provides wider scope, choice and opportunities for both
Deletecompany and applicants”.
i do agree Online recruitment is one of the fastest growing areas in contemporary recruitment (Listwan 2010).Its use is increasing and meeting with ever fewer barriers related to Internet access among potential employers and employees (Jacek woźniak).
ReplyDeleteE-Recruitment is the process of personnel recruitment using electronic resources, in particular the internet. Companies and recruitment agents have moved much of their recruitment process online so as to improve the speed by which candidates can be matched with live vacancies (Rudman, 2010)
DeleteHi Isham,
ReplyDeleteAs you have mentioned e-recruitment is not only because technology. E-recruitment process can attract the right candidates. The selection process should be developed accurately. E-recruitment opens the door for behavioral and cultural changes. HR system needs to be developed with a recruitment process end to end like a supply chain management process (Kerrin and Kettley, 2003)
Agree with you Dulshan, E-Recruitment has evolved, companies have realized the importance of ATS in recruitment & selection.
DeleteA survey conducted by Williams (2009) on E-recruitment showed dwindling recruitment spends focused on web-based recruitment at the expense of traditional
ReplyDeletemethods. The author also reported that online methods proved far more popular, as two-thirds (66 per cent) of the HR professionals surveyed said that the jobs section of their own company's website was used as a recruitment tool for most jobs.
Rudman (2010) and Härtel & Fujimoto (2010) explains By 2005, expenditure on Internet-based recruiting will be $ 7 billion - Forrester Research Institute. 96% of all companies will use the Internet for their recruitment needs. In the U.S., some companies‟ claim 30% of new hires are from the Internet and 77% of Internet use the Net to do so. A recent survey conducted by Employment Management Association, U.S.A, the cost-per-hire of print Ads was estimated at $3295 and Online Ads, a mere $ 377. There are over 16 million resumes floating online.
DeleteAccording to Owoseni, et al. (2017), The e-recruitment system has been studied and found weak as it is less flexible to the job applicants. It employs the use of online application forms that do not always capture details of job applicants abilities. The flexibility of the system has to do with how the system represents and represents the values of the applicants.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few Applicant Tracking Systems like Recruit CRM which can be automated. This means you have to set up a few things like email templates, create a jobs page, and start using it (n.d, 2022)
DeleteInteresting article. However i would like to draw your attention to the importance of e-recruitment. With the globalization the competition has increased substantially. Hence the emergence of e-recruitment in every part of the world can be seen (Marr, 2017). I would say out of all the methods and ways e-recruitment will supersede and establish as the standard for recruitment with in this decade.
ReplyDeleteAlmost 92% of companies in the USA started using social networks, which includes 93%, 66%, and 54% shares of LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. There is an 85% increase since 2007 in using social sites for recruiting activities (Salmen, 2012).
DeleteWell written article , Recruitment is a topic where recent days most organizations research rapidly. To complete the recruitment process organization must carefully looking to the objectives of recruitment. Taggart and Chen,(2003).
ReplyDeleteAgree Noel, E-recruitment is a process of recruiting candidates for filling vacant position in the companies through the use of internet. E-recruitment is an integration and use of internet technology to improve competence of recruitment process. Furthermore, better and faster recruiting can constitute a competitive advantage against enterprises from the same market. However, web-based recruitment is now sufficiently widespread to represent a disadvantage for companies that delayed its integration in their own corporate information systems and strategies
Delete(Anand & Chitra, 2016).
An international compendium of modern trends and practices say that the importance of using technology in the recruitment and selection process for updating the organizational resources (Hays, 2004)
ReplyDeleteE-recruitment is a hiring process that utilizes a variety of electronic means and technologies with the primary purpose of identifying, attracting, and selecting potential employees (Lee, 2011).
Delete