Factors Affecting Recruitment
Recruitment is an important function of the Human Resource Management in an organization, and it is governed by a mixture of various factors. Proactive HR Professionals should understand these factors influencing the recruitment and take necessary actions for the betterment of the organization.
When the market condition changes, the organization also needs to monitor these changes and discover how it affects the resources and analyze these functions for making recruitment an effective process.
We have Internal Factors as well as External Factors that influence the recruitment process. In this chapter, we will be discussing these factors in detail.
Internal Factors
Organizations have control over the internal factors that affect their recruitment functions. The internal factors are −
- Size of organization
- Recruiting policy
- Image of organization
- Image of job
Size of Organization
The size of the organization is one of the most important factors affecting the recruitment process. To expand the business, recruitment planning is mandatory for hiring more resources, which will be handling the future operations.
Recruiting Policy
Recruitment policy of an organization, i.e., hiring from internal or external sources of organization is also a factor, which affects the recruitment process. It specifies the objectives of the recruitment and provides a framework for the implementation of recruitment programs.
Image of Organization
Organizations having a good positive image in the market can easily attract competent resources. Maintaining good public relations, providing public services, etc., definitely helps an organization in enhancing its reputation in the market, and thereby attract the best possible resources.
Image of Job
Just like the image of organization, the image of a job plays a critical role in recruitment. Jobs having a positive image in terms of better remuneration, promotions, recognition, good work environment with career development opportunities are considered to be the characteristics to attract qualified candidates.
External Factors
External factors are those that cannot be controlled by an organization. The external factors that affect the recruitment process include the following −
Demographic factors − Demographic factors are related to the attributes of potential employees such as their age, religion, literacy level, gender, occupation, economic status, etc.
Labor market − Labor market controls the demand and supply of labor. For example, if the supply of people having a specific skill is less than the demand, then the hiring will need more efforts. On the other hand, if the demand is less than the supply, the hiring will be relative easier.
Unemployment rate − If the unemployment rate is high in a specific area, hiring of resources will be simple and easier, as the number of applicants is very high. In contrast, if the unemployment rate is low, then recruiting tends to be very difficult due to less number of resources.
Labor laws − Labor laws reflect the social and political environment of a market, which are created by the central and state governments. These laws dictate the compensation, working environment, safety and health regulations, etc., for different types of employments. As the government changes, the laws too change.
Legal considerations − Job reservations for different castes such as STs, SCs, OBCs are best examples of legal considerations. These considerations, passed by government, will have a positive or negative impact on the recruitment policies of the organizations.
Competitors − When organizations in the same industry are competing for the best qualified resources, there is a need to analyze the competition and offer the resources packages that are best in terms of industry standards.
