Introduction
There are several aspects to keep in mind throughout the hiring process. An organization wants to make sure they are recruiting the right person who will make the best fit for the organization. A company also wants to make sure that person will stick around and not increase the organizations turnover rate. Recruiters want the best and most reliable people to job their team. There are several things that an organization can do in order to make sure they hire the best and most qualified workers for the job. They can hire externally, give excellent job descriptions, and use realistic job previews during their recruiting process. All of these can help increase the efficiency of an organization through their hiring process.
External Recruiting
There are some advantages of external recruiting. The first advantage of external recruiting is bringing outside knowledge to the company. External recruits provide new ideas and perspectives for the organization. Constant internal hiring creates an inbreeding affect; they are reproducing what they already know. This does not allow the diversity of ideas that a company many need in order to be competitive in the outside world. New ideas and prespectives need to be brought into a company in order for them to be competitive with other organizations in the same industry. Furthermore, an external candidate may bring new or different insight from other industries. They can bring in new insights from different industries or larger companies that internal hires may not have (Dinnen, 2014).
One type of organization that may really be at an advantage for hiring external candidates are smaller companies who are trying or getting ready to grow. It brings outside sources with different ways of thinking to the company. Also, external hires tend to have better education and more experiences. Another advantage is that these employees may be better trained than individuals who already work for the organization. This can also help the company gain insight to better training method for their current employees. Training is an important aspect when it comes to turnover and job performance. The better an employee is trained, the better they will perform. Also, better training makes an employee more efficient at their job. They can also become more knowledgeable about different ways to conduct their job that may work better for that individual. Bringing outside sources into a company can give them better insight on training methods that may be suitable for the organization (Dinner, 2014).
However, there are some downsides that should be considered before hiring external candidates. According to a 2012 study, external hires tend to want more money than internal transfers. They expect more money because of they feel like their knowledge and insight from other organization is more valuable than internal hires. External hires are also more likely to be fired or resign than internal transfers. Furthermore, there has been evidence that external hires may be less willing to comply with company standards and rules. They may also be dissatisfied by current rules and/or procedures that the company current has. They may believe that their last company had better ways of conducting business and not comply with new standards. All of which should be considered when deciding to hire externally rather than hiring internally (Dinner, 2014).
Job Descriptions
Job descriptions have several aspects they need to fulfill in order to be affective. They need to describe what the employee should do as well as the achievements that the employer expects the employee to achieve. Job descriptions should be as descriptive as possible, giving the applicant the best picture of what the job entails and what is expected by the employer. A good job description will answer the following questions: ‘When?’, ‘Why?’, ‘Where?’, ‘How?’, ‘With who’, and ‘In what circumstances?’ (Pato, 2014, p. 69).
Mader-Clark (2013) stated there are five rules when writing a proper job description: 1) stick to the job, 2) be clear, 3) be reasonable, 4) look to the future, and 5) tell the truth (p. 93). First, everything listed in the job description must apply to the job. Once a statement is added that does not relate to the job offered, the company may be exposed to legal issues. Secondly, vague job descriptions do not assist in the hiring process. They fail to describe what the job really entails. A company needs to be clear what they are offering and what they want from an applicant. Third, the employer needs to make sure they are not asking too much of the applicant. It is easy to accidently put an unreasonable request in a job description. The employer should ask themselves whether or not a certain requirement is too much and if there are other equally acceptable way for the same thing to be accomplished. Forth, make sure the new job fits in with the companies changing needs. Lastly, it is important for the manager to not over exaggerate the job description to make the job seem more attractive to candidates. If an employer lies about the job, the employee will be disappointed in the job after they start work. This can lead to high turnover rate and legal issues. Company’s need to be honest in their job description to guarantee they are hiring the best candidate for the job. They also need to make sure the applicant is a good fit for the company (Mader-Clark, 2013, p. 94-99).
Low Turnover Rate
No organization wants high turnover rates. It is estimated that turnover rates in different industry can cost larger organizations anywhere from $42,000-$64,000 (Morgeson). These expenses come from training new employees and the error that these new employees make. Also, the longer an employee is with a company the more efficient they are with their jobs. It is in a company’s best interest to try to keep their employees around as long as possible.
Organizations with low turnover rates would prefer to use realistic job previews during recruitment. There have been several studies that have proven that realistic job previews decrease turnover rate among new employees. Realistic job previews are used early in the selection process to ensure that the right candidate is picked for the job. The propose of a realistic job preview is to ‘weed out’ applicants who do not fit into the job description. This is to insure an applicant who gets the job does not decide the position isn’t the right job for them six weeks after starting the job. Realistic job preview make sure they are hiring the best pick for job (Haden, 2012, p. 163).
Realistic job previews can be applied in several forms. They can include videos of what the job really entails, presentations, or short tests. Whatever form an organization chooses to use for their realistic job preview, it is important that it shows the accurate culture that the applicant is signing up for. It must be accurately describe the work environment in order for the realistic job preview to be affective. It also must include all aspect of the job. This is the number one reason why realistic job previews fail. The organization does not include all aspects of the job and/or organization. This does not allow for the applicant to make an educated opinion on whether or not they will be a good fit within the organization. A company must give the applicant all information about the organization and the job itself. This helps the applicant make a more informed decision on whether or not they are a good fit for the organization (Haden, 2012, p. 163-64). All of the above should be taken when it comes to recruiting. It is important for an organization to make sure they pick the best candidate for the job. It is also important for the organization to make sure the applicant believes they are a good fit for the organization.
References
Dinner, M. (2014). Internal vs external recruiting-which side are you on? Broadbean Technology. http://info.broadbean.com/blog/internal-vs-external-recruiting-which-side are-you-on
Haden, S. (2012). Realistic job previews and performance: the mediating influence of personal goals. Journal of Management Research, 12(3), 163-178.
Mader-Clark, M. (2013). The Job Description Handbook (2nd Ed.).
Morgeson, F. (2013). Recruiting to reduce turnover. NTT Data http://www.mcknights.com/guest-columns/recruiting-to-reduce-turnover-in tc/article/319739/
Pato, B. (2014). The 7 most important criterions of job descriptions. International Journal of Business Insights & Transformation, 7(1), 68-73.
