Introduction
In human resource practice, recruitment is the process of getting the right people to fill up specific positions in an organization. Using different recruitment strategies, human resource experts are able to seek and attract individuals who are qualified and interested in advertised positions (Tong, 2009). A number of methods are used by organizations to during a recruitment exercise including the use of newspaper advertisements, engaging special recruitment firms and contacting friends. Some organizations also recruit through employee referrals.
To a large extent, recruitment is an ongoing process in most organizations and is prompted by growth and resignations. Organizations may also be required to recruit in the event that mergers take place or as a result of changes in the industry that require familiarity with new technology. In general, technological changes compel organizations to get individuals who are qualified and experienced to work with a particular technology.
Over the years, the recruitment exercise has slowly changed to include the use of technology. Organizations are today utilizing online programs and social media networks to simplify the recruitment process. This paper looks at the use of technology in recruitment and also examines the significance of technology based recruitment to the study of organizational communication.
Technology based Recruitment
During the early 1990s, the increased use of the Internet forced many organizations to online recruitment rather than conventional methods to get new employees (Tong, 2009). While some organizations have chosen to rely on their web sites to hire new staff, others have decided to specialize in providing online recruitment services to interested organizations. As noted by Pollitt (2014), social media networks such as LinkedIn enable organizations to carry out internal recruitment without incurring heavy expenses.
Rather than depend on recruitment companies to fill vacant positions, organizations can use LinkedIn to access enough details about prospective candidates before having a face to face encounter with them. The information gathered through LinkedIn may then be used during interviews. By so doing, organizations are able to lessen the amount of time it takes to recruit new staff. In addition, the overall cost of recruitment is drastically reduced. As further alleged by Pollitt (2014), technology has become an increasingly important component of every recruitment process. It helps to speed up the provision of recruitment information such as curriculum vitae and other necessary documents.
Companies that are not able to conduct their own internal recruitment using online programs can turn to e-recruitment service providers to offer such services for a fee. Although this might be expensive when compared to an organization recruiting by itself without engaging the services of a third party provider, a key value of a recruitment firm is the ability to create great relationships with the right candidates. Ostensibly, these relationships help recruitment firms to supply their clients with qualified and highly experienced personnel. By streamlining the process of uploading the required documents, the recruitment process is generally made simpler and faster.
Drawing from a study by Proctor (2010), organizations can capitalize on the expertise of recruitment firms to get the best candidates to fill up open vacancies. After receiving the relevant documents from recruitment agencies, organizations can proceed to complete the rest of the recruitment process and in some cases, either accept or reject a candidate. The use of a technology based approach also helps organizations to reduce the amount of paper used by organization during a recruitment exercise. As a consequence, more waste may be generated and this may end up degrading the environment. To conserve the environment therefore, it is critical for all those involved in recruitment to focus on the adoption and subsequent improvement of technology based recruitment.
Significance of Technology based Recruitment in Organizational Communication
The concept of technology based recruitment is very critical in the study of organizational communication for a number of reasons. First, it is through the recruitment process that an organization gets an opportunity to employ the right people for specific jobs. For this to succeed, however, it is imperative to ensure that all key stakeholders are in agreement as far as recruiting new employees is concerned. Without a doubt, this helps to reduce misunderstandings and to ensure that new employees receive a warm welcome when they finally get hired.
Secondly, organizations are often looking for ways to reduce operational costs. Consequently, the use of technology based recruitment is meant to help organizations to reduce expenses. Ability to lower costs is also linked to the fact that recruiting through technology only requires access to Internet services in order to link potential candidates and the recruitment team. As has already been explained, technology based recruitment also permits organizations to access enough details about prospective candidates using social networks such as LinkedIn.
Considering that every single organization desires to get the best talent in the job market, it is imperative to take the whole process of recruitment very seriously. Any slight mistake can lead to serious problems that may have negative consequences for organizations. For this reason, top management in every organization must make every effort to ensure that recruitment is handled with the seriousness it deserves. Obviously, there may be concerns about the effectiveness of technology based recruitment. In order to eliminate any form of suspicion and see to it that the use of technology based recruitment meets its intended objectives, it is necessary to communicate effectively. Among other things, effective communication regarding the use of technology based recruitment will help to gain the support of every person in the organization. It will also facilitate the accomplishment of set objectives.
Technology based recruitment also affords organizations flexibility and an opportunity to recruit individuals who may be located in different continents. This opens up a channel for organizations to benefit by recruiting a diverse team of individuals who may end up bringing different skills to the organization. A diverse workforce also allows organizations to build useful skills for operating in foreign markets.
There are some shortcomings that are associated with the use of technology based recruitment. Using technology to recruit employees, for example, denies recruiters the opportunity to physically interact with the candidates in order to determine whether they should be given time to prove their abilities. Despite these shortcomings, the use of a technology based approach to recruitment comes with numerous benefits for organizations. It must thus be supported by all stakeholders in an organization.
Personal Observations
Through experience, I believe that technology based recruitment simplifies the recruitment process. In my opinion, using a technology based approach to recruit employees encourages job seekers to submit their applications. The traditional approach for job search involved the use of pen and paper and compelled job seekers to spend on the purchase of writing materials so as to complete an application before sending it. In addition, an applicant would be required to spend more money to post the application documents to the advertiser. Although some organizations are still encouraging this, it is slowly fading away. It is presumed that with time, almost every organization in both the public and private sector will turn to the use of online facilities to recruit.
The continued use of traditional methods of responding to job advertisements requires the applicant to write and post the application to the advertiser. Considering that one single application is usually accompanied with other documents such as curriculum vitae, certificates and other relevant testimonials, so much paper is passed around. Unless an organization has a structured way of waste disposal, the huge amounts of paper used my end polluting the environment. Most applicants will thus be happy to submit their job applications through technology based approach. Furthermore, the traditional approach to making applications is costly and the applicant is forced to spend heavily in order to submit his or her applications to be considered.
The use of technology based recruitment also helps to save the time of applicants. As long as the technology is working perfectly, very little time is spent to compose and submit an application including all the accompanying documents. Moreover, documents such as curriculum vitae, certificates and any other relevant attachments can be saved and may be reused at a later time. In essence, this further helps to simplify the application process. Another important quality of technology based recruitment that I find to be very useful is flexibility. Unlike the traditional approach, using technology makes it possible for individuals to apply for advertised jobs at anytime and regardless of where they are. As a result, a person can apply for an international job without much struggle. In the traditional approach, applicants were limited to applying for job opportunities locally.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that the use technology to carry out the recruitment process is not entirely new, it is a concept that has developed over the years. As has been explained in this paper, there are different approaches that have been used by organizations recruitment talented employees. Effective communication is, however, very critical in ensuring that technology based recruitment succeeds in helping an organization to lessen the amount of time spent to recruit new employees and to cut down on the expenses that used during the recruitment process.
For most job seekers, time and speed is of essence and the use of a technology based platform to submit an application makes it possible to get things done faster. Technology based recruitment also provides both organizations and job seekers with a flexible operating environment. Organizations can benefit from the use of a diverse workforce and penetrating a foreign market is also simplified.
As has been explained, the use of technology based recruitment by organizations also helps to conserve the environment. Applicants get to submit their applications online and organizations do not have to print them out in order for interview purposes. By so doing, the amount of paper through around is reduced and efforts to protect the environment are reinforced. Despite a few shortcomings that are associated with the use of a technology based recruitment strategy, the strategy presents numerous opportunities that organizations can take advantage of. Among other benefits, the use of technology to recruit employees permits organizations to lessen the recruitment time and to cut down on the cost of recruitment.
References
Pollitt, D. (2014). Software Helps Consultants to Spend More Time with Clients. Human Resource Management International Digest, 22(2), 8 – 10. Web.
Proctor, L. (2010). Technology Transforms Retailer’s Recruitment. Strategic HR Review, 9(6), 22 – 26. Web.
Tong, D. Y. K. (2009). A Study of E-Recruitment Technology Adoption in Malaysia. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 109(2), 281 – 300. Web.