The Need for Recruitment (AQA GCSE Business)

An Introduction to Recruitment

• Recruitment is the process of attracting and identifying potential job candidates who are suitable for a particular role

  • The goal of recruitment is to create a pool of qualified candidates who can be considered for a vacant role

Diagram: Reasons why Vacancies Arise

Vacancies can arise for reasons including business growth, employees leaving and reorganisation

Why do vacancies arise?

• Businesses need to recruit workers for a range of reasons

  • Staff are often needed when a business is first established to support the entrepreneur during its launch and early stages of growth

  • Growing businesses may need more staff to allow them to increase output or diversify into new markets

  • When workers leave, a business usually wants to replace them to avoid disruption to operations

• The specific details of the recruitment process may vary slightly between businesses due to different factors, including:

  • The urgency of the role needing to be filled

  • The budget involved in advertising the vacancy

  • The nature of the role and the skills required, e.g. some roles require very specific skill assessments

  • Preferences of management, e.g. preference of using CV's rather than application forms

  • The time available for the process to be completed

    • E.g. Google's recruitment process usually takes 6–8 weeks

Internal & External Recruitment

• Businesses often use a combination of internal and external recruitment methods, depending on the nature of the job and the availability of suitable candidates

Internal recruitment

• Internal recruitment is the appointment of a suitable candidate who already works for the business

  • Advertisements for internal candidates are shared in business newsletters, staff noticeboards or through internal email/intranets

    • E.g. A new project management role within the organisation may be advertised in the weekly staff newsletter 

  • Line managers may be asked to recommend suitable candidates following appraisals

• Recruiting internally has a range of advantages and disadvantages

Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal Recruitment

External recruitment

• External recruitment is where a new employee is appointed from outside the business

  • External candidates can be targeted with advertisements in newspapers, industry magazines, specialist recruitment websites or employment agencies

  • Existing employees may be asked to nominate people they know for roles, sometimes receiving a reward if their nominee is successfully recruited

  • Businesses can use social media platforms to advertise cost-effectively e.g. LinkedIn

  • A headhunting agency can be used to make approaches to highly-qualified specialists in a particular industry/with desired skills, experience or knowledge

    • A significant fee is payable once a candidate is appointed

  • Businesses can attend careers fairs, hosted by universities or industry bodies, to promote available opportunities

    • These events attract significant numbers of highly-qualified, interested candidates

• External recruitment overcomes some of the disadvantages of internal recruitment 

  • New skills, experiences and ideas are introduced to the business

• However, it is often more expensive than internal recruitment

  • Advertising in the mass media is particularly expensive and it can be difficult to target the desired audience

• There is also a greater degree of uncertainty as external candidates are unknown to the business

Benefits of an Effective Recruitment Process

• Businesses that establish effective recruitment processes experience a range of benefits

Diagram: Benefits of Effective Recruitment

Effective recruitment can attract top talent, lower staff turnover and improve a businesses reputation, as well as reduce costs and business risks

The benefits

Attracting top talent

• An effective recruitment process helps a company attract and identify the best candidates for vacancies

• Individuals with the right skills and experience can improve business productivity and performance

  • E.g. Netflix targets engineers with at least three years' experience as opposed to fresh graduates, and interviews focus on their knowledge of programming and technology

Reducing staff turnover

• Businesses that recruit well tend to retain staff, which reduces staff turnover

• Long-serving staff are likely to deliver high-quality customer service

• High staff turnover can be costly for businesses due to the expense of advertising vacancies and training new employees

Enhancing employer brand

• Applicants who have had a positive experience during the recruitment process may pass on their impressions to others

• This can make the business attractive to future candidates, giving it an advantage over rivals in the competition for top talent

Diversity and inclusion

• Effective recruitment processes identify and attract applicants from a range of backgrounds and with varied experience

• This better representation of the company's customer base can lead to improved decision-making and relevant innovation

  • E.g. Slack has eliminated all recruitment processes that could exclude certain groups, and allows applicants to apply on-site as opposed to at home, where there may be distractions

Cost savings

• An effective recruitment process can save time and resources, reducing the need for short-term, expensive solutions to fill workplace gaps

  • E.g. Employment agencies charge a premium to make employees available at short notice to short-staffed businesses

• Suitably skilled employees are likely to produce high quality output and reduce wastage, reducing costs

Reducing risks

• An effective recruitment process helps businesses comply with relevant employment laws

• This reduces the risk of legal action and the need to pay compensation for discrimination