To recruit the best candidate for a particular vacancy. The ‘wrong’ candidate can cost a firm money and time.

The Human Resources Department are responsible for the recruitment of staff.

This can be done in two main ways they are:

1. Internal Recruitment – Recruiting an employee from within the firm. This is normally to a senior position, where the candidate will receive promotion as a result of their new position.
2. External Recruitment – Recruiting someone who does not currently work for the firm.

Many firms, especially large firms, prefer to recruit internally. This is normally done by circulating a memo to all staff or by posting a notice on the staff notice board, outlining details of what vacancies exist within the firm.

1. It can be a less expensive way of recruiting. Money and time can be saved on the advertisement and less induction for that employee is needed, as they already know the structure of the business.
2. The company is less likely to be disrupted by someone who is used to working with the company.
3. The firm already know the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate that has been appointed.
4. If staff see that the company is keen to appoint internally, this will act as a motivator to other staff to work hard to strive for promotion. As a result companies get the best from their employees.

1. The person promoted will have to be replaced and trained.
2. An insider is less likely to criticise the existing structures of the business. This may prevent much needed change from taking place.
3. The promotion of one of the workers may upset other employees.
4. An outsider, who may be an excellent candidate, would not be considered.
5. The insider may find it hard to be the superior, or ‘boss’ of the people he/she previously worked alongside.
6. An outsider, who may be coming from other another firm, may have some excellent ideas for the business that could initiate much needed change.

External Recruitment

External recruitment is the recruiting of staff that do not currently work for the business in question. The most common ways of externally recruiting are:

Newspaper Advertisements

Newspaper adverts normally contain the following:

• Where the job is
• What the job is
• What the job entails
• How much the successful applicant will be paid
• Any ‘fringe’ benefits
• How to go about applying for the job

When placing a newspaper advertisement consideration must be taken to the type of candidate that the firm is looking to recruit. For example:

Jobs that require limited skills, such as cleaning or shop assistant will be advertised locally. Jobs that are high skilled, such as management jobs will be advertised more widely in order to attract the widest possible audience.

Training & Employment Agencies

Operated by the Department of Employment, these display job vacancies on cards in the window or on notice boards inside. Staff can arrange appointments with people who are interested in the posts.

Private Employment Agencies

A firm that is looking to appoint new staff approach private employment agencies. The agency is involved in the recruiting process and may even conduct interviews with possible candidates. The agency gets a commission related to the salary of the person they have found for the firm.

Head Hunting

This is when a firm actively seeks a particular person who is working for another business. This occurs when a business are looking to a specific person to fill a specific vacancy, usually a top position.