Recruitment and Job Analysis

Recruitment and Job Analysis

Job analysis provides important inputs to the recruiting function in two ways. First, job analysis provides job specifications, the personal requirements deemed necessary to perform each job in an organization. This tells planners and recruiters exactly what skills, abilities, experience, and other physical characteristics will be needed for certain jobs. Second, complete and accurate job descriptions are essential for the preparation of recruiting materials, which convey information to potential applicants about the nature of the job.

A recruiting message must portray the job accurately. When the recruiting message misrepresents the true nature of a job, well-suited applicants will not apply. On the other hand, those who do apply have a false impression of what the job actually involves. This can result in employees being mismatched for the job and eventually disillusioned. Mismatches prove costly to organizations if dissatisfied workers perform poorly or decide to quit shortly after being hired. Early terminations create unexpected job vacancies and the need for further recruiting.

Recruitment and Compensation

The compensation function also provides inputs to the recruiting function. In order to attract people to various jobs, an organization must offer wages and salaries that are competitive with those of other organizations in the labor market. A labor market is the geographic area in which forces of supply and demand operate to determine the price, or "going rate," of a certain type of labor. As a rule, labor prices are lower when supply is great, and higher when supply is scarce. Wage and salary surveys provide data useful in determining competitive wage and salary levels for certain types of employees in certain labor markets.

Recruitment and Benefits

Many organizations provide attractive benefit packages to help attract job applicants. The benefit package is often included in the recruiting message. Increasingly, opportunities for career planning and development are being viewed as benefits and used to attract potential employees. While there is little research evidence regarding the usefulness of benefits in attracting job applicants, employers realize that they must offer competitive benefit packages if they are to be successful in recruiting qualified applicants.

Recruitment and Selection

The recruiting function leads directly to the selection function. The selection function chooses and hires-the best qualified applicant(s) from the group of applicants attracted to job vacancies by the recruiting function. Recruiting and selection are both parts of the employment process.