Acquiring Human Resources

• Human Resource Planning and it's process

• Human Resources Planning also referred as Workforce Planning or Manpower Planning.

• It is the process an organization uses to analyze its workforce and determine steps it
must take to prepare for future needs.

• It involves forecasting the future composition of the workforce, conducting the gap
analysis between the current staff and the future staff, deciding how to close any gaps,
and determining how to best meet the needs through redeployment, training, recruiting,
or outsourcing.

• Human Resource Planning helps in determining the right number and skillset of the
people required in the organization.

Need for Human Resource Planning

• Every organization has to plan for human resource due to:

• The shortage of certain categories of employees and/or variety of skills despite the
problems of unemployment.

• The rapid changes in technology, marketing, management, etc., and the consequent
need for new skills and new categories of employees.

• The change in organization design and structure affecting manpower demand.

• The labor laws affecting the demand for and supply of labor.

• The involvement of lead time in manning the job with most suitable candidate.

• Objectives of Human Resource Planning

• To recruit and retain the human resource of required quantity and quality

• To foresee the employee turnover and make the arrangements for minimizing turnover
and filling up of consequent vacancies

• To meet the needs of the programs of expansion, diversification, etc.

• To assess the surplus or shortage of human resources and take measures accordingly

• To minimize imbalances caused due to non-availability of human resources of right

kind, right number in right time and right place

• To estimate the cost of human resources

• To make the best use of its human resource

• Steps in Recruitment and Selection

It starts with analysis of the job or vacancy and ends with filling the job.

Step 1: Conducting job analysis:

 • This step helps the human resources manager, hiring manager, and other members of
management in knowing

• (a) what the new employee will be required to do in the position that is currently open
for filling up (Job Description) and

• (b) what should be the qualification, skill set and qualities of the new employee
(Job/Person Specification). This has to be done in a systematic manner, which is what
the job analysis is for.

• The job description and Job Specifications are the core of a successful recruitment
process. They are the main tool used in developing assessment tests and interview
questions for the applicants.

Step 2 : Sourcing of Talent

• This is the stage where the organization will let it be known to everyone that there is an
open position, and that they are looking for someone to fill it up.

• Before advertising, however, the organization must first know where to look for potential
candidates.

• They should search out the sources where the persons that can potentially fill the job
are going to be available for recruitment. That way, they will know where to direct their
advertising efforts.

Step 3: Screening and Selection

• This is most probably the part of the recruitment process that requires the most amount
of work. This is where the applicants’ skills and personalities are going to be tested and
evaluated, to ascertain whether they are a good fit for the job and its description.

• Various psychological and intelligence tests can assess a variety of requirements with
regards to knowledge skills and attitude. Assessments are also available to measure
physical ability.

• Recruiters and agencies may use applicant tracking systems to filter candidates, along
with software tools for psychometric testing and performance-based assessment.

Step 4: Finalization of the job offer:

• The last step of the previous phase involves the selection of the best candidate out of
the pool of applicants. Finalization of Job Offer will happen in two steps, the employer
will make the offer and the candidate will select the offer.

• The employee will still have to undergo pre-employment screening, which often
includes background and reference checks.

• When all these pre-employment information have been verified, the employee will now
be introduced to the organization. However, sometimes, part of background verification
and reference checks also gets completed after the employee has joined the company.

Step 5 : Induction and Onboarding of the new employees

 • The moment that the applicant accepted the job offer, he has officially gone from being
an applicant to an employee of the organization. The induction process will now begin.

• Usually, the beginning of the induction process is marked by the signing of the
employment contract, along with a welcome package given to the new employee.

• The date for the first day that the employee will have to report for work and start working
in the company will be determined and communicated to the newly hired employee.

• Principles of Recruitment

1. Know the job and the requirements: Before recruiting, it is crucial to understand the job, its
requirements, and the skills and experience necessary to perform it effectively. This will help
recruiters to identify competent candidates who possess the right qualifications and experience
for the role.

2. Attract and source candidates: An organization needs to reach out to potential candidates
through various sources such as job portals, job fairs, social media, and employee referrals.

• 3. Evaluate candidates: Once the recruitment process begins, it is essential to evaluate

the candidates carefully. The evaluation should include a combination of interviews,
tests, and reference checks to determine the candidate’s suitability for the job.

• 4. Keep the recruitment process transparent: The recruitment process should be

transparent and fair to all candidates. Communication with candidates should be clear
and timely regarding the status of their applications.

• 5. Make an informed decision: After the evaluation, the recruitment team should make
an informed decision based on the candidate's qualifications, experience, and potential
fit within the organization.

• 6. Provide a positive candidate experience: The recruitment process should provide

candidates with a positive experience by ensuring clear communication, timely
feedback, and respectful treatment throughout the hiring process.

• Job Design Strategies

Following are the popular options to designing jobs:

1. Job enlargement:

Adding responsibilities at a similar level of skill and competence. Horizontal loading of jobs.
Increasing variety of jobs. No real control or responsibilities are added.

2. Job rotation:

Employees rotated on a systematic basis from one job to another. Tasks are still on equal
responsibilities level

3. Job enrichment:

Also known as vertical loading, add higher level responsibilities to the job. Helps employee
experience opportunities for growth, achievement and challenge.

4. Flexible job designs:

 • job designs include alternative work arrangements, flexible work hours and work from
home opportunities. These designs involve not just the way that work is performed, but
also how and when and where it is performed.

• The employees can have compressed work week, they can contribute fewer days but
longer hours per day. Since not every job need be performed during the same working
hours.

• Employees can be given Flexi-time; they are given some discretion in selecting their
work hours. But they need to work for specific core hours.

• Job Analysis

• Job Analysis is done so that the Management determines the kind of employee required
for a job and the number of people to be employed.

• The organization should also find out the right man for the right job in right time.

• The knowledge of the job is essential to perform these functions. However, the changing
nature of the business environment means that the results of job analysis may quickly
become obsolete. Hence there is need to keep the information up to date.

• Steps in Job Analysis Process

1.Collection of Background Information: Background information consists of organization

charts, and existing job descriptions.

2. Selection of Representative Position to be analyzed: It would be too difficult and time

consuming to analyze all the jobs. So, the job analyst has to select some of the representative
positions in order to analyze them.

3. Collection of Job Analysis Data: This step involves actually analyzing a job by collecting data
on features of the job, required employee behavior and human requirements.

4. Developing a Job Description: This step involves describing the contents of the job in terms
of functions, duties, responsibilities, operations, etc.

5. Developing a Job Specification: This step involves conversion of the Job description
statements into a job specification. Job specification describes the personal qualities, traits,
skills knowledge and background necessary for getting the job done.

6. Developing Employee Specification: This step involves conversion of specifications of

human qualities under job specification into an employee specification. Employee specification
describes physical and educational qualifications, experience, etc.

• Job Description and Job Specification

Job Analysis generates two key documents, Job description and Job Specification.

• Job Description is an important document which is descriptive in nature, it identifies the

job title and lists the responsibilities and essential functions of the job, it tells us what
should be done, why it should be done and where it should be performed.
 • Job Specification focuses on the person performing the job. It specifies the knowledge,
skills, abilities, and characteristics required to effectively perform the job. It tells us who
will be able to do the job.

• The Concept of Recruitment & its Process

• In Human Resource Management, “Recruitment and Selection” is the process of finding

and hiring the best and most qualified candidate for a job opening, in a timely and cost-
effective manner.

• Recruitment and Selection refers to the overall process of attracting, shortlisting,

selecting and appointing suitable candidates for jobs within an organization.

• Recruitment can also be defined as the “process of searching for prospective

employees and stimulating and encouraging them to apply for jobs in an organization”

• Selection involves the series of steps by which the candidates are screened for choosing
the most suitable persons for vacant posts.

• Activities involved in Recruitment

• Analyzing job requirement

• Advertising the vacancy

• Attracting candidates to apply for the job

• Managing responses and application

• Recruitment Planning

• Recruitment planning refers to the process of creating a blueprint that guides

professionals through the recruiting process, and helps them find and hire the best
talent.

• Recruitment planning addresses methods for handling each step of the hiring process,
and then goes on to outline strategies for what should happen after a candidate is hired.

Sources of Recruitment & Sourcing Strategies

• Sourcing in personnel management work refers to the identification and uncovering of

candidates through proactive recruiting techniques. Sourcing is the use of one or more
strategies to attract or identify candidates to fill job vacancies.

• It may involve internal and/or external recruitment, advertising, using appropriate

media, such as job portals, local or national newspapers, social media (such as
LinkedIn), business media, specialist recruitment media, professional publications,
window advertisements, job centers, or in a variety of ways via the internet.

• The Sources of Recruitment

Internal Recruitment:

Internal Recruitment refers to the process of a candidate being selected from the existing
workforce to take up a new job in the same organization, perhaps as a promotion, or to provide
career development opportunity, or to meet a specific or urgent organizational need.
External Recruitment:

External Recruitment in many ways is the preferred norm. Major companies have sizable
advertising and recruiting budgets, and a larger applicant pool would results in better hires.

• Internal Sourcing Methods

Hiring authorities can use the following internal recruiting methods to find a candidate within a
business.

Promotion:

• It refers to promoting or upgrading an employee who is already existed in the pay roll and
contributed for organizational performance. It is done by shifting an employee to a
higher position with high responsibilities, facilities, status and pay. Usually, many
companies fill higher job vacancies by promoting employees who are considered fit for
such positions.

Transfers:

• It is an alternative technique to promotion. Under it, employees are internally recruited

through transfer from one work place to another. It means, transfer refers to the process
of interchanging the job duties and responsibilities of employees from one place to
another or from one department to another. It involves shifting of people from one job to
another without any promotion in their position or grade.

Internal job posting:

• Internal Job posting is an open invitation to all employees in an organization to apply for
the vacant position. It provides an equal opportunity to all employees currently working
in the organization. Hiring managers can promote a position within the business to
internally recruit. They can hang notices in break rooms and on bulletin boards, and
send a memo to employees.

Temporary Employees

• Sometimes, businesses hire employees to do temporary work. Temporary employees

can be hired on full time, which is often referred to as temp to direct, or temp to hire.
Hiring a temporary employee on full time often results in more hours worked, increased
responsibilities, and higher pay. Hiring managers can test a temporary employee’s skills
before on-boarding them for full-time work.

Retired Employees

• A retired employee has experience with the business and the tasks that need to be
completed. Hiring a retired employee as a contract worker, a freelancer position or a
part time employee could be simpler than sourcing a new, outside candidate for short-
term jobs.

• External Recruitment Methods

Job Posting:
 • Job posting is an open invitation to all candidates to apply for the vacant position. Under
this, vacancy announcement is made through bulletin boards or through website.
Interested candidates then apply for the post being advertised. The job advertisement
should include a detailed description. Include the skills and qualities your client is
looking for. Jobs can be advertised on the company website itself or on Jobsites such as
Naukri/Monster/Times jobs etc. the Job sites will help get access to active candidates &
easily visible profiles.

Social Media:

• Use of social media recruiting to find outside candidates is a very popular method
nowadays. If a job seeker has never worked for the organization, there is a need to build
trust with them using interactions on social media consistently to form relationships. In
using social media, you can do the following:

• Post updates about your business.

• Attract jobseekers or show off your brand by sharing what your office culture is like.

• Engage with the online community about news topics in your industry.

• Screen job hunters by viewing their online profiles

Print Media Advertising

• One classic example of this would be the Classifieds section of the local daily or weekly
newspaper. Companies looking for people to fill up open positions make the
announcement in the newspapers, providing the qualifications and the contact details
where prospective applicants may submit their application documents.

Employment Exchanges:

• Employment exchanges in India are run by the Government. For unskilled, semi-skilled,
skilled, clerical posts etc., it is often used as a source of recruitment. In certain cases it
has been made obligatory for the business concerns to notify their vacancies to the
employment exchange. In the past, employers used to turn to these agencies only as a
last resort. The jobseekers and job-givers are brought into contact by the employment
exchanges.

Schools, Colleges and Universities:

• Direct recruitment from educational institutions for certain jobs (i.e. placement) which
require technical or professional qualification has become a common practice. A close
liaison between the company and educational institutions helps in getting suitable
candidates. The students are spotted during the course of their studies. Junior level
executives or managerial trainees may be recruited in this way.

Factory Gates:

• Certain workers present themselves at the factory gate every day for employment. This
method of recruitment is very popular in India for unskilled or semi-skilled labor. The
desirable candidates are selected by the first line supervisors. The major disadvantage
of this system is that the person selected may not be suitable for the vacancy.
Labor Unions

• In certain occupations like construction, hotels, maritime industry etc., (i.e., industries
where there is instability of employment) all recruits usually come from unions. It is
advantageous from the management point of view because it saves expenses of
recruitment. However, in other industries, unions may be asked to recommend
candidates either as a goodwill gesture or as a courtesy towards the union.

Casual Callers (Unsolicited resumes and applications)

• The casual callers, also called as unsolicited applications are the job seekers who come
to the well-renowned organizations casually and either mail or drop in their job
applications seeking the job opportunity. This could be considered as an important
source of external recruitment as the personnel department maintains the folder of
unsolicited applications and call those who fulfil the job requirements, whenever the
vacancy arises.

Walk-Ins

• This is again a direct form of recruitment wherein the prospective candidates are invited
through an advertisement to come and apply for the job vacancy. Here, the specified
date, venue, and time are mentioned, and the candidates are requested to come and
give interviews directly without submitting their applications in advance.

Headhunters (excecutive recruiter) executive search

• Headhunters are always proactive, which means they actively approach both job
seekers (active candidates) and those who are not actively looking for a new job (passive
candidates), once there is a good match. Headhunting professionals can be both
involved in the entire recruitment process or they can be limited to contacting and
screening candidates only.

• Company use this to fill executive position or head roles of the company.

Third Party Recruiters

• These include the use of private employment agencies, management consultants,

professional bodies/associations, voluntary organizations, trade unions, data banks,
and labor contractors etc., to establish contact with the job- seekers. There is an
advantage of getting talent faster, better & with a greater reach.

Job fair

• Job fairs are conducted in every part of the world by group of organizations to find right
candidate for their organization. They are conducted in order to hire either job seekers
bulk or sometimes to search for few candidates whose positions are empty for a longer
time. Generally, job fair is an event organized by a third party in a common place like a
huge auditorium or a ground to hire people for multiple organizations. The concept is job
seekers can meet multiple organization at one single place. It is a concept which is a big
time saver for both job seekers and the organization. Mostly job fairs are conducted for
middle level jobs either for freshers or for minimum two years of experience.

• The Concept of Selection & its Process

Screening and Selection generally involves following steps:

1. Preliminary screening

There is a need to preliminary screen the candidates before selection. Usually, this is
conducted by going through the submitted resumes and choosing only those that are able to
meet the minimum qualifications.

4. Final interview

• Usually depending on the number of candidates for the job, and the preference of the
hiring managers and senior management, a series of interviews may be conducted,
gradually narrowing down the list of candidates. This may go on until the company has
finally come up with a shortlist of candidates that will undergo a final interview.

• Often, the final interview requires a face-to-face meeting between the candidate and the
hiring managers, as well as other members of the organization. Top management may
even be involved during the final interview, depending on the job or position that will be
filled up.

5. Selection

• In this stage, the hiring managers, human resources representatives, and other
members of the organization who participated in the process meet together to finally
make a selection among the candidates who underwent the final interview.

• During this discussion, the matters considered are the qualifications of the candidates
who were able to reach the last stage of the screening process, the results of the
assessments and interviews that the final pool of candidates were subjected to and
ultimately the suitability of the candidate for the job.

• There will be no problem if the interview has a unanimous decision on the candidate
that the job will be offered to.

• In case of varying opinions, the majority will prevail.

• Difference between Recruitment and Selection

• Recruitment is the process of finding candidates for the vacant position and stimulating
them to apply for it. The selection means picking up the best candidate from the list of
applicants and offering them the job.

• Recruitment is a positive process as it attracts more and more job seekers to apply for
the post. Conversely, Selection is a negative process as it rejects all the unfit
candidates.

• Recruitment aims at inviting more and more candidates to apply for the vacant position.
On the contrary, selection aims at rejecting unsuitable candidates and appointing the
right candidates at the job.
 • The activity of recruitment is quite simple because in this the recruiter does not have to
pay more attention to scrutinizing the candidate, whereas selection is a complex activity
because in this the employer wants to know every minute detail about each candidate
so that he can choose the perfect match for the job which requires thorough
investigation

• Recruitment consumes less time as it only involves identifying the needs of the job and
stimulating candidates to apply for the same. Conversely, selection involves a wide
range of activities, right from shortlisting the candidates to appointing them.

• In recruitment, the firm notifies the candidates regarding vacancy through different
sources such as the internet, newspaper, magazines, etc. and distributes the form to the
candidates so that they can easily apply. As against this, in the process of selection, the
firm makes sure that candidate passes through various stages such as form submission,
written exam, interview, medical exam, etc.

• In recruitment, no contractual relation is created between the employer and employee.

Unlike selection, where both employer and employee are bound by the contract of
employment.

• Recruitment is an economical process while the selection is an expensive process.

• The success of any company depends on upon its employees. If the employee is perfect
for a job, then the whole organization will enjoy the benefits of its unbeatable success.
Recruitment and selection help in choosing the right candidate for the right post. It
helps in reducing losses of an organization.

Methods of Interview

•
I. Structured Interview:

• Structured Interviews involve use of a set of standardized and pre-determined questions

asked of all job applicants. It is useful for initial screening and comparisons.

• Structured Interviews obtains consistent information needed for selection decision

hence they are more reliable and valid than other interview formats.

• In structured interviews all the candidates are asked the same questions hence it’s easy
to compare their answers and hire the right job candidate. We can evaluate candidates
in a most objective and fair way.

1. Behavioral interview:

• During Behavioral Interviews, applicants are asked to give specific examples of how they
have performed a certain task or handled a problem in the past. It helps the interviewer
discover applicant’s suitability for current jobs based on past behaviors.

2. Situational interview:

• In situational interviews, applicants are asked how they would respond to a specific job
situation related to the content of the job they are seeking.

• II. Less Structured Interview:

 • A Less structured or semi-structured interview is a type of interview in which the
interviewer asks only a few predetermined questions while the rest of the questions are
not planned in advance.

• In semi-structured interviews, some questions are predetermined and asked all

candidates, while others arise spontaneously in a free-flowing conversation.

• Less structured interviews combine both the structured and unstructured interview
styles, they can offer the best form both worlds.

1. Nondirective Interview:

• In non-directive interview, applicants are queried using questions that are developed
from the answers to previous questions. There is high possibility of not obtaining needed
information since the interviewer does not stick to a prepared list of questions and
rather has a discussion or a dialogue with the candidate to find out his suitability for the
job. Information obtained may not be job-related or it may not be comparable to the
information obtained from other applicants.

2. Stress Interviews

• During stress interviews, an interview is designed to create anxiety and put pressure on
an applicant to see how the person responds to it.

• III. Unstructured Interview

• An unstructured interview is a type of interview in which the interviewer asks questions

which are not prepared in advance. In unstructured interviews, questions arise
spontaneously in a free-flowing conversation, which means that different candidates
are asked different questions. The main advantage of an unstructured interview is their
personalized approach.

• This is especially useful when you compare candidates who are equally qualified or for
jobs where their personality and communication skills are crucial. Additionally, since
unstructured interviews allow for a free-flowing conversation, they seem much more
casual and help candidates relax and feel more comfortable during the interview.

• In unstructured interviews different candidates are asked different questions hence it’s
harder to compare their answers and evaluate candidates equally and objectively.

• Types of Interviews

In person/ One to One Interview:

• The most common and traditional form of interview. These type of interviews include
face to face conversation with the candidate and the interviewer. Though it is not as
stressful and hectic as a group interview or a panel interview, candidates are still
pressured to make a good impression to the interviewer.

• The output of the interview solely depends on the performance of the candidate.
Candidates should try to make a statement to the interviewer and make them feel why
he/she is most suitable for the position.

Telephonic Interview:
 • It is considered as the least common method of taking interviews because it defeats
the whole idea of interviews. These types of interviews are very much contradictory to
the normal style of interviews.

• Face to face meeting is not important in these type of interviews, but the interviewer
checks on the verbal abilities and soft skill abilities of the candidate. They try to check
for various verbal cues.

• Candidates should check for various changes in tones of the interviewer and try to
express enthusiasm and excitement through voice modulation.

Group or Panel Interview:

• Group or panel interviews are the most stressful type of interviews. Here, the
candidates can be asked any type of questions from a group of people.

• The candidate should try to make a steady eye contact with the person asking the
question and try to be as confident as possible while answering. Also, try to make an eye
contact with the rest of the panel when answering a question. Also do not solely fix your
gaze onto a single person, during the whole interview. This will create a bad impression
for the rest of the panelists. Also, try to ask for more time for a question, if needed.

The Video Interview:

• Video interviews are like the advanced version of interview process. They are done
through Skype, Google hangouts, face time etc.

• This video interview creates a certain level of professionalism while the interview is
going on. Video interviews makes both the parties on either side to focus. It’s quicker
and cheaper when compared to face to face interviews. Can reach to long distance
easily. Also can reject candidates in the beginning itself.

• Though there could happen few hindrances like background distraction, bad signal,
another call coming in, and the worst part is that you cannot hide it, as you can both see
each other.

• Interview Guidelines for HR Professionals

1. Establish position requirement priorities

Determine the criteria and the job requirements before conducting the interview.

List out all the requirements that apply to the job and also identify the criteria that the candidate
may meet to be eligible for the job.

2. Review job applications in advance

It is a good practice to thoroughly review a candidate's job application before the interview.

This may allow you to learn more about them and form questions accordingly.

• 3. Develop a welcoming environment

Your interview is more likely to succeed if you develop a welcoming, distraction-free

environment in which you conduct it. It can benefit you and the candidate by helping you in
staying focused on the interview. Remove the items that you may not require during the
interview. Greet the candidate with a smile as they enter the room.

• 4. Avoid asking personal or unfit questions

• It is important to understand which questions to avoid during an interview. Some

questions may be too personal or inappropriate for the candidate. This can make them
feel uncomfortable.

• Eg: About Appearance, Disability, Family status, Financial status, Gender, Race-related,
Relationships, and Religion based etc.

5. Document the interview process

Ensure to document the interview session. You can take notes during the interview. Keeping a
record of candidates' responses can help you compare them post-interview and determine
which candidate is the best match for the job.

6. Maintain neutral body language

It is important to maintain neutral body language throughout the interview. Avoid any prominent
facial expressions or sudden hand gestures that may alert the candidate. For example, if the
candidate's response is unexpected or surprising, keep your facial expressions neutral instead
of reacting to the response.

7. Refer to the candidate's resume

You can refer to the candidate's resume while asking questions during the interview. Based on
the information they have provided on their resume, you can add or remove certain questions.
This also gives you an opportunity to verify if the information the candidate has mentioned on
their document is accurate.

8. Ensure all questions are relevant to the job

• One of the most important interview guidelines to follow when developing your interview
materials is to ensure that the interview questions are relevant to the job. Be sure to
avoid asking personal or unfit questions, but also create your questions to be job-
related.

• Applicant Tracking System

• An ATS is a computer software program that manages the hiring process. It does this by
collecting and sorting thousands of resumes.

• Hiring managers can then screen candidates using the ATS, as well as track their
progress through the hiring process. By digitizing the hiring process in this way, an ATS
saves employers time and money.

• The majority of job and resume boards (LinkedIn.com, Monster.com, Hotjobs,

CareerBuilder, Indeed.com) have partnerships with ATS software providers to provide
parsing support and ease of data migration from one system to another.

• How Applicant Tracking Systems work?

• A job requisition enters into the ATS. This requisition includes information about the
position, such as the job title, desired skills, and required experience.

• The ATS then uses this information to create a profile for the ideal candidate.

• As applicants submit their resumes, the ATS parses, sorts, and ranks them based on
how well they match the profile.

• Hiring managers then quickly identify the most qualified candidates and move them
forward in the hiring process.

• Benefits of ATS

• Reduces time spent with administrative tasks.

• Provides Better and Faster CV Screening.

• Improves the Quality of Hire.

• Speeds up the Recruitment Cycle.

• Boosts Employer Brand.

• Enhances Candidate Experience.

• Easy job posting.

• Background Investigation

• Background checks are often requested by employers on job candidates for

employment screening and selection, especially on candidates seeking a position that
requires high security or a position of trust, such as in a school, courthouse, hospital,
financial institution, airport, and government.

• Results of a background check typically include past employment verification, credit

history, and criminal history.

• The objective of background checks is to ensure the safety and security of the
employees in the organization.

• These checks are often used by employers as a means of judging a job candidate's past
mistakes, character, and fitness, and to identify potential hiring risks for safety and
security reasons.

• Background checks are also used to thoroughly investigate potential government

employees in order to be given a security clearance.

• Employers have an obligation to make sure their work environment is safe for all
employees and helps prevent other employment problems in the workplace.

• What to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer?

• Before you accept a job offer, carefully evaluate the entire compensation package,
including salary benefits and perks.

• Consider whether you can negotiate salary or make a counteroffer if the salary isn’t
what you expected.
• If you’re not sure about an offer, it’s acceptable to ask for extra time to decide.

• When you make a decision, formally notify the employer that you are accepting or
declining the position.

• Offer Acceptance/Rejection/Decline

• In most cases, you can decline a job offer after you have accepted it.

• If you've signed an employment agreement, check the legal implications before you
withdraw your acceptance.

• If you can, it's better to have a conversation in person or on the phone to explain why you
have decided not to take the job. Follow up with written confirmation of your withdrawal.

• Regardless of why you have changed your mind, express your gratitude and let the
company know that you appreciate the offer.

• How to politely decline a Job Offer after acceptance

• Offer Letter and Employment Contract

• An offer letter is a document provided by an employer to a prospective employee,

officially extending a job offer. It outlines the basic terms and conditions of employment
and serves as a formal communication of intent to hire.

• Offer letters typically include details such as the job title, start date, compensation, and
other pertinent information related to the employment offer.

• An employment contract, on the other hand, is a legally binding agreement between an

employer and an employee. It provides a more comprehensive and detailed outline of
the terms and conditions of employment.

• Employment contracts go beyond the initial job offer and cover aspects such as job
duties, expectations, benefits, termination clauses, and more.

• Offer letters generally have a lower level of legal status compared to employment
contracts. While an offer letter is a formal job offer, it is usually considered as an
invitation to enter into a contract rather than a binding agreement.

• On the other hand, employment contracts are legally binding documents that establish
the rights and obligations of both parties and are enforceable by law.

• Onboarding and Induction

• Onboarding is the process by which companies welcome and integrate their new hires
into the workplace.

• The onboarding process extends far beyond the first few days of employment and, in
fact, only ends when the employee is fully adapted to the team and the role to which
they have been assigned.

• Induction is the process of training an employee on their first day or first few days. An
induction is predominantly task-focused, and typically includes:

• Paperwork finalization.
 • Assignment of access keys, workspaces, devices, software logins, and uniforms.

• Office, grounds, and/or worksite tour.

• Emergency evacuation procedures.

• Safety training and compliance training.

• Equipment training.

• Why an effective recruitment and selection process is important?

• Effective recruitment means more than hiring the right person for the job.

• A fast and efficient recruitment process can reduce costs, enhance a company’s
reputation both from a market and candidate perspective and ensure that the very best
talent is identified, engaged and brought into the business.

• Benefits of effective Recruitment

• Attract the right talent

• Improve retention

• Increase productivity

• Save time and money

• Reduce legal risk

• Contribute to team diversity

• What is a 360 Recruitment?

• A 360 recruitment process is a hiring strategy that takes care of every minuscule factor
in a hiring process, maximising the output in each stage.

• It’s usually used by recruitment agencies that deal with bulk hiring for similar candidate
profiles.

• 360 recruiting covers end-to-end hiring processes and gives you complete control over
each sub-process.

• You’ll be able to source the right fit while reducing the costs of hiring.

• What Makes A Good 360 Recruiter?

A good 360 Recruiter:

• Knows their clients and candidates inside out.

• Is well-organised and manages time efficiently.

• Prioritises skills over any other attributes.

• Has people skills and knows how to connect with candidates at every recruitment stage.

• Factors affecting Recruitment and Selection

• Job Market Conditions

During times of economic growth and low unemployment rates, job seekers have more
opportunities, making it challenging for employers to attract top talent.

• Organization's Reputation

Job seekers are more likely to apply for positions in organizations known for their positive work
culture, employee satisfaction, and opportunities for growth.

• Recruitment Channels

The channels used for recruitment, such as job portals, social media, career websites,
employee referrals, and recruitment agencies, significantly impact the quality and quantity of
applicants.

• Selection Process

A streamlined and well-structured selection process ensures that qualified candidates progress
smoothly through the stages, reducing the risk of losing the potential hires.

• Salary and Benefits

Job seekers often consider the compensation offered, including base salary, bonuses,
healthcare, retirement plans, and other perks, when evaluating job opportunities.

• Technology and Automation

Applicant tracking systems, AI-driven candidate screening, assessments, and video interviews
are some examples of technology that can expedite hiring processes.

• IT/Technical Recruitment & Non Technical Recruitment

• IT recruitment is a strategic endeavour that is solely focused on identifying individuals

equipped with technical skills, skilled enough to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of
technology.

• Whether they are software developers, cybersecurity experts, data analysts, cloud
architects, etc.

• While recruiting for IT roles, the evaluation of candidates’ is mostly based on their
proficiency in programming languages, system administration, network management,
and other intricate facets of the digital realm.

• Non-IT recruitment casts a broader net, encompassing roles that span diverse sectors
like healthcare, finance, education, marketing, and more.

• Unlike the IT recruitment where a certain level technical knowledge is required of the
candidates, non-IT recruitment is not so pressing about technicality and mostly
prioritizes industry-specific qualifications and competencies.

• In Non-IT recruitment, candidates, whether they are doctors, marketers, teachers,

hospitality staff, are required to have expertise tailored to their respective domains.

• Talent Acquistion (TA)

• Talent acquisition is the process of identifying, attracting, selecting, and retaining highly
qualified people.
 • It involves a key part of the employee journey and is arguably one of the most important
drivers of organizational success.

• The core of talent acquisition is to attract employees to an organization and hire the
ones that fit with the organization and role.

• Difference between Recruitment & TA

• Recruitment is a subset of Talent Acquisition.

• Recruitment is linear, Talent Acquisition is an ongoing cycle.

• Recruitment is limited to CV, Talent Acquisition looks beyond a resume.

• Recruitment finds employees, Talent Acquisition finds niche specialists.

• Recruitment fills immediate requirements, Talent Acquisition forms long-term bonds.

• Van Maanen and Schein model (1979)

John Van Maanen and Edgar H. Schein have identified at least six major tactical dimensions that
characterize and represent all of the ways in which organizations may differ in their approaches
to socialization.

Collective versus Individual socialization:

• Collective socialization refers to the process of taking a group of recruits who are facing
a given boundary passage and putting them through the same set of experiences
together. Eg: basic training for a military organization, education in graduate schools.

• Socialization in the Individual mode allows newcomers to accumulate unique

experiences separate from other newcomers. Eg: Internships, "on-the-job" training, etc.

Formal vs. Informal socialization

• Formal socialization refers to those tactics in which newcomers are more or less
segregated from others and trained on the job. These processes can be witnessed with
such socialization programs as police academies, internships, and apprenticeships.

• Informal socialization processes, on the other hand, involve little separation between
newcomers and the existing employees. Informal tactics provides a non-interventional
environment for recruits to learn their new roles via trial and error. Examples of informal
socialization include on-the-job training assignments, apprenticeship programs with no
clearly defined role.

Sequential vs. Random socialization:

• Sequential socialization refers to the degree to which an organization or occupation

specifies discrete and identifiable steps for the newcomers to know what phases they
need to go through.

• Random socialization occurs when the sequences of steps leading to the targeted role
are unknown, and the entire progression is quite ambiguous.

Fixed vs. Variable socialization:

 • This dimension refers to the extent to which the steps have a timetable developed by
the organization and communicated to the recruit in order to convey when the
socialization process is complete. Fixed socialization provides a recruit with the exact
knowledge of the time it will take complete a given passage.

• Variable socialization processes gives a newcomer no specific timetable, but a few

clues as to when to expect a given boundary passage.

Serial vs. Disjunctive socialization:

• A serial socialization process refers to experienced members of the organization

grooming the newcomers who are about to occupy similar positions within the
organization. These experience members essentially serve as role models for the
inexperienced newcomers. Eg: a rookie police officer getting assigned patrol duties with
an experienced veteran who has been in law enforcement for a lengthy period of time.

• Disjunctive socialization, in contrast, refers to when newcomers are not following the
guidelines of their predecessors, and there are no role models to inform new recruits on
how to fulfil their duties.

Investiture vs. Divestiture socialization:

• Investiture socialization processes sanction and document for newcomers the viability
and efficacy of the personal characteristics that they bring to the organization. It prefers
that the recruit remains the exact way that he or she naturally behaves.

• Divestiture socialization, on the other hand, is a process that organizations use to reject
and remove the certain personal characteristics of a recruit. Many occupations and
organizations require newcomers to sever previous ties, and forget old habits in order to
create a new self-image based upon new assumptions.

• Jones’ Model (1986)

• Building upon the work of Van Maanen and Schein, Jones (1986) proposed that the
previous six dimensions could be reduced to two categories: institutionalized and
individualized socialization.

• Companies that use institutionalized socialization tactics implement structured step-

by-step programs, enter into an orchestrated orientation as a group, and receive help
from an assigned role model or mentor. Eg: Military, and incoming freshmen at
universities, who may attend orientation weekends before beginning classes.

• On the opposite end of the spectrum, other organizations use individualized

socialization tactics in which the new employee immediately starts working on his or her
new position and figures out company norms, values, and expectations along the way.

• In this orientation system, individuals must play a more proactive role in seeking out
information and initiating work relationships.

Employee Adjustment
 • In order to increase the success of an onboarding program, it is important for an
organization to monitor how well their new hires are adjusting to their new roles,
responsibilities, peers, supervisors, and the organization at large.

• Researchers have noted that role clarity, self efficacy, social acceptance, and
knowledge of organizational culture are particularly good indicators of well-adjusted
new employees.

Role Clarity

• Role clarity describes a new employee's understanding of his or her job responsibilities
and organizational role. One of the goals of an onboarding process is to aid newcomers
in reducing ambiguity and uncertainty so that it is easier for them to get their jobs done
correctly and efficiently.

• Self Efficacy

• Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in his or her capacity to execute behaviors

necessary to produce specific performance attainments.

• It is the degree to which new employees feel capable of successfully completing their
assigned job tasks and fulfilling their responsibilities.

• Self-efficacy reflects confidence in the ability to exert control over one's own motivation,
behavior, and social environment.

• Researchers have found that job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover
are all correlated with feelings of self-efficacy.

• Social Acceptance

• Social acceptance gives new employees the support needed to be successful.

• While role clarity and self-efficacy are important to a newcomer's ability to meet the
requirements of a job, the feeling of "fitting in" can do a lot for one's perception of the
work environment and has been demonstrated to increase commitment to an
organization and decrease turnover.

• If an employee feels well received by his or her peers, a personal investment in the
organization develops, and leaving becomes less likely.

• Executive Onboarding

• Executive onboarding is the application of general onboarding principles to helping new

executives become productive members of an organization.

• Practically, executive onboarding involves acquiring, accommodating, assimilating and

accelerating new executives.

• Proponents emphasize the importance of making the most of the "honeymoon" stage of
a hire, a period which has been described by various sources as either the first 90 to 100
days or the first full year.

Purple Squirrel
 • Purple squirrel is a term used by employment recruiters to describe a job candidate with
precisely the right education, set of experience, and range of qualifications that
perfectly fits a job's requirements.

• The implication is that over-specification of the requirements makes a perfect candidate

as hard to find as a purple squirrel.

• While in theory, this prized "purple squirrel" could immediately handle all the expansive
variety of responsibilities of a job description with no training, and would allow
businesses to function with fewer workers, it is commonly asserted that the efforts
seeking them are often wasted.

• Being more open to candidates who may not have all the skills, or retraining existing
employees, are sensible alternatives to an over-long search.

Online Vetting

• Online vetting, also known as cyber-vetting is increasingly being used by potential

employers and other acquaintances to vet people's online presence or "internet
reputation" on social network services such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and
LinkedIn.

• Employers may check profiles, posts, and photographs for indications that the
candidate is unsuitable.

• Many young people are posting content online without thinking about the electronic
footprint they leave behind.

• Job applicants have been refused due to criticizing previous employers and discussing
company information online, as well as for posting provocative and inappropriate
photographs, drinking or drug use, poor communication skills, making discriminatory
comments, and lying about qualifications.

• Legal experts have warned human resources departments about vetting prospective
employees online, due to the possibility of discrimination and the unreliability of this
information.

• Looking at information on someone's social networking profiles may not be illegal, but
processing and storing the information or using it to make discriminatory decisions
could be an illegal activity.

• Personnel psychologists work in a variety of settings, including education, business,

community, and agency environments.

• Many personnel psychologists serve as human resources specialists, helping

organizations with staffing, training, and employee development and management in
areas such as strategic planning, quality management, and adjustments to organization
changes.

• Personnel psychologists apply psychological theories and principles to organizations.

This field focuses on increasing workplace productivity and related issues such as the
physical and mental well being of employees.
• Recruiting the best talent goes far beyond picking the best resume, or selecting the best
interviewee.

• It is the role of industrial-organizational psychologists to help understand the

psychology of recruitment and guide procedures to get the right person in a company.

• An industrial-organizational psychologist (I-O psychologist) is a professional who

applies psychology to the workplace.

• An I-O psychologist wants to make sure that the workplace is the best it can be. We can
find I-O psychologists in consulting firms, leadership groups, and even within
companies and universities.

• Candidate Submittal

• Candidate Submittal is an alternative recruitment process offered by companies

whereby the candidate submittal agency provides coaching for the job seeker with
respect to his or her job application.

• The job seeker usually sources their own prospective job opportunity, before applying for
it through the candidate submittal agency, which is usually run by exrecruitment
professionals or other industry veterans.

• The candidate submittal service will often vet, edit or enhance the job seekers
application before passing it on to the employer.

• The service will then act on behalf of the job seeker in the negotiations and would also
may help prepare the job seeker for an interview process or other pre-interview
engagement.

• They would also provide any relevant feedback to the job seeker with regards to his or
her application.

• Candidate Submittal agencies aim to re-cast the role of a recruiter into more of a
background setting. Using a candidate submittal service, the client will receive feedback
and advice with regards to their application. They will not however be interviewed or
matched to a position by the candidate submittal agency.

• Dismissal & Termination

• Dismissal: An employer dismisses the services of this employee due to their behavior,
performance or other personal factors.

• Termination: An employer no longer requires an employee’s services for the tasks and
duties at hand. There is no correlation or causal link between the termination and the
performance or behavior of the employee as termination is mainly due to organizational
and economic factors of the company.

• Dismissal involves loss of employment arising from disciplinary action. At the same
time, termination allows the employer to terminate the contract of employment without
invoking disciplinary action.

• Termination means removal of employees from the services it can be voluntary or from
the side of employer such as lay off , retrenchment. Dismissal is the act done by
 employer which results into termination dismissal usually occurs when there is wrongful
act done from the side of employees.

• Discriminatory and Retaliatory Termination

• In some cases, the firing of an employee is a discriminatory act.

• They may include

• Physical or mental disability, age, race, religion, gender, HIV status or sexual
orientation.

• Retaliation

• Breach of contractual obligations

• Employment policy

• Other unjust firings may result from a workplace manager or supervisor wanting to
retaliate against an employee. Often, this is because the worker reported wrongdoing
(often, but not always sexual harassment or other misconduct) on the part of the
supervisor. Such terminations are often illegal.

• Another Eg: if a place of employment has a rule that prohibits personal phone calls,
receiving or making personal calls can be the grounds for termination even though it
may be a common practice within the organization.

• Blacklisting

• Blacklisting’ refers to the practice of denying service or access to an individual or a

group. It can be either a precaution or a reaction to some malicious activity by the
aforementioned individual or group.

• In the context of HR, blacking mostly happens in the form of denying employment to
people who have engaged in illegal activities in the past or have been affiliated with
political parties with a strong agenda or even whistle-blowing.

• Alternatives to hiring Permanent Employess

• The Alternatives to Recruitment are the temporary ways of hiring people for the job
position with a view to saving cost incurred in recruiting process and meet the short-
term demand for increased work volume.

• The recruitment is the costly process which includes the salaries of recruiters, cost
incurred in advertisements, time spent by the management, cost of hiring new recruits,
etc.

Overtime:

• In case the demand for a product peaks due to the temporary market fluctuations, then
a firm asks its employees to work extra despite recruiting new hands.

• The overtime benefits both the employee and the employer as the former fetches extra
income for the additional piece of work while the latter saves cost incurred in recruiting
new persons.
Temporary Employment:

• The temporary employees are those who are hired for a specific time period until the
task gets accomplished.

Employee Leasing:

• The Employee leasing is also called as “staff outsourcing” wherein the permanent
employees of other firms are hired due to their specialization in a certain field on a lease
basis to meet the short term requirements of the client company. Here the individuals
work for the leasing firm.

Subcontracting:

• The subcontracting is a business practice wherein a certain portion of the work is

delegated to other specialized agencies to meet a surge in the demand for goods and
services.

• Employee Attrition

• Employee attrition is defined as the natural process by which employees leave the
workforce – for example, through resignation for personal reasons or retirement – and
are not immediately replaced.

• Attrition can occur throughout an entire company or just in certain departments or

divisions. This typically happens when automation or new technologies replace
employees.

• Employee attrition is measured by calculating the attrition rate.

• The attrition rate is a measure of the rate at which employees leave an organization
without being immediately replaced over a specific period of time. It is usually
expressed as a percentage.

• Attrition rate is an important HR metric that provides organizations with insight into their
workforce’s stability and satisfaction. It also reflects the effectiveness of retention
strategies, highlighting potential areas for improvement in workforce planning,
employee management, and engagement.

• Employee Retention & Strategies

• Employee retention strategy is a plan organizations create and use to reduce employee
turnover, prevent attrition, increase retention, and foster employee engagement.

• While some turnover is inevitable, building a retention strategy to prevent as much

voluntary turnover as possible can save an organization time and money.

• After all, it’s much easier and much less expensive to train and develop your current
employees than it is to continually hire new people.

• Role of HR in Retention

One of the primary responsibilities of an HR officer is to improve employee retention rates. Here
are some ways how you can do so:

1) Have a Great Onboarding Process

2) Provide Training Opportunities

3) Communicate With Your Employees Regularly

4) Offer Work-Life Balance

5) Provide Feedback on Performance

6) Make Sure Employees Receive Proper Compensation

7) Give Recognition

8) Build Good Company Culture

➢ You should also ensure that your organization has a clear mission statement and vision.
This helps everyone know what they are working toward and how they fit into the bigger
picture. Team members should also be treated fairly and given opportunities to
succeed. When you build a strong culture, employees are less likely to leave the
company since they have a sense of belonging.

• Diversity and Inclusion

• Many major corporations recognize the need for diversity in hiring to compete
successfully in a global economy. Employing people from a wide range of backgrounds,
ages and life experiences can add significant value to organizations.

• Open and inclusive recruitment processes mean that employers have a greater choice
of talent from which to choose from.

• It is proven that diverse workforces lead to better staff retention rates, a great
understanding of different markets and a more creative mix of people.

• Hiring More Women

• Hiring Professionals with a disability

• LGBT Hiring

(Lesbian,Gay,Bisexual,andTransgender - An umbrella term that is often used to refer to the

community as a whole)

• Returning Mothers

• Disabled candidates

• Employee Engagement

• There's a wide range of employee engagement activities that can foster a positive work
environment. These include workplace parties, learning lunches, employee games or
competitions, special themed days, training programs, recognition programs, and
sporting events.

• The activities that increase an employee's enthusiasm for their work, commitment to
the organization, and motivation to help the organization achieve success. When
employees are engaged, they perform well, feel a sense of purpose in their work, and are
less likely to leave.
 • 5C's of Employee Engagement

To foster employee engagement, many experts suggest following the 5 Cs strategy: Care,
Connect, Coach, Contribute, and Congratulate.

• Care:

Caring for your employees is the first and fundamental step in engaging them. According to
Gallup, a staggering 48% of employees are actively disengaged when they don’t feel cared for by
their employers.

• Coach:

Coaching plays a significant role in helping employees reach their full potential. McKinsey
highlights that coaching can be a powerful tool for retaining and developing talent.

• Connect:

The second C, Connect, emphasizes the importance of building strong relationships within the
workplace. According to Gallup, employees who have a best friend at work are seven times
more likely to be engaged.

• Contribute:

Employees want to feel that their work is meaningful and contributes to a larger purpose.
Gartner states that employees are increasingly seeking personal value and meaning in their
work.

• Congratulate:

Recognizing and appreciating employees’ efforts is vital to maintaining high levels of

engagement. By creating a culture of recognition and celebrating achievements, employers can
motivate their workforce and make employees feel valued.

• Salary Negotiation

• Salary negotiation is a process where one party (usually the employee) negotiates the
amount of their pay, income, earnings, commission, salary, wages, wage remuneration,
annual review, or salary raise with another party (usually a representative of the
employer, such as their manager).

• Salary negotiation is done ahead of issuing an offer letter.

• This is the heart of recruitment and selection process, wherein the actual worth of a
right candidate will be evaluated.

• The remuneration offered should be balanced, acceptable and agreed by both the
parties – the employer and the employee.

• Exit Interview

• An exit interview is a discussion that allows a departing employee and their organization
to exchange information, usually on that employee’s last day of work.

• Typically the exit interview is an opportunity for the employee to explain their reasons for
leaving and provide feedback about their experience working for the organization.
 • This exchange could happen in a face-to-face interview between the employee and a
manager or HR, or it could simply be a survey which the employee fills out and turns in.

• What Questions Should I Ask In an Exit Interview?

• Why are you leaving the company?

• What does the new company/position offer that we don’t?

• What could we have done to retain you?

• Would you ever consider returning to our company?

• Were you comfortable talking with your manager about any concerns you had?

• What could your manager have done better?

• What was the best part of your job? The worst?

• How can we improve our training and development program?

• How would you describe (and how do you feel about) our company culture?

• Did you feel valued here?

• How can we improve employee morale?

• SAMPLE JOB DESCRIPTION (HR RECRUITER)

Job Description:

• Understanding the hiring requirements and prepare the Job Descriptions.

• Post vacancies in different job portals.

• Attracting candidates through various channels like social media and

professional networks.

• Reviewing resumes and screening candidates.

• Scheduling interviews by coordinating with candidates and hiring team.

• Negotiating job offers and compensation packages with candidates.

• Coordinate for training and on boarding.

• Get updated about hiring trends and best HR practices.