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HR Sourcing/Recruitment

What is Sourcing (in HR)?

In HR, sourcing refers to proactively identifying, contacting, and engaging qualified

candidates for a job opening rather than waiting for candidates to apply on their own. Since
sourcing falls under the umbrella of talent acquisition, General recruiters may handle
sourcing as one of their responsibilities, but some organizations use dedicated sourcers who
focus only on this task.

The primary goal of sourcing is to pull qualified candidates—especially passive candidates—

into the hiring funnel. A recruiter may use a variety of sourcing channels to accomplish this
goal, including employee referrals and social networking. More and more, sourcing is
becoming a digital activity, with talent acquisition professionals using recruiting software to
identify potential candidates.

Most organizations don’t use sourcing for every job opening. For example, if a particular
position tends to attract a large number of qualified applicants, there may be no need to
source specific candidates. However, if a position is highly specialized, requires a rare skill
set, or would attract too many unqualified applicants, an organization may opt to source some
or all of their candidates.

What Is the Difference Between Sourcing and Recruiting

Sourcing is a search for a candidate who can be targeted and convinced to apply for a current
or future open position with the company, while.

Rrecruiting involves managing relationships with candidates and guiding them through the
company’s screening process.

What Are the Types of Sourcing in HR?

There are three types of sourcing:

 1. Passive sourcing: Reaching out to desirable candidates who are not actively
looking for a new job, but who may be interested in learning about new
opportunities.
2. Active sourcing: Targeting and engaging suitable candidates who are actively
seeking employment opportunities.
3. Direct sourcing: Identifying a specific candidate for a job opportunity and
actively recruiting them without using a third-party agency or platform.

2. Selection Process in Human Resource Management

1. Preliminary Interview
Once a requirement is posted, a company may receive hundreds of thousands of applications.
In a granular pre-process, the preliminary interview is conducted to weed out all candidates
who do not meet the essential eligibility criteria – educational qualifications, required skill
sets, proven certifications, and experience. Candidates may also be assessed based on their
background and level of interest.

Some companies employ innovative techniques to bring the right candidates to the table right
from the get-go. For example, Uber deployed “Code on the road,” an in-app coding game that
took candidates straight to the next stage of the selection process if they passed the challenge!
Gamifying recruitment selection is among the latest trends in HRM.

2. Receiving Applications
Once candidates pass the preliminary interview, organizations must aim to standardize the
application process. Here, candidates must fill out a standard application form that collects
bio-data, qualification, experience, background, and educational information. The application
could gather a broader understanding of the candidate, such as hobbies and interests. A
comprehensive application form will come in handy during the final selection process when
decisions are to be made between similar candidates.

3. Screening Applications
This stage includes shortlisting potential candidates from the pool of applicants who applied.
The screening committee constitutes various team leads, department members, inter-
department associates, and coordinators who would be working closely with the selected
candidates. Screening can include multiple criteria, including educational prowess, relevancy
in terms of experience, etc. The interview details and requirements are shared with potential
candidates via a call or email.

4. Preliminary Tests
Preliminary tests are an essential part of the job selection process. They assess the aptitude,
IQ, emotional intelligence, proficiency, and personality of candidates. While some
organizations hold these tests remotely, many prefer to arrange a test venue generally within
organizational premises. Should they be held at the premises, the candidates are informed of
the itinerary.

5. Employment Interview
The selection interview is the crux of the entire process. It could be defined as an in-person
conversation that puts candidates on their feet. This step signals how well he/she fits into the
company ethos. During this stage, companies provide a detailed brief of the job profile,
including the roles and responsibilities that the candidate is expected to shoulder. Likewise,
the candidate is encouraged to share his/her concerns or queries with the employer. The
employment interview itself may be divided into several rounds, including group discussions
and other activities. In-person interviews allow employers to judge the candidate’s calibre,
personality, teamwork, and leadership skills.

6. Checking References
Although in-person interviews provide a fair idea about the candidate, contacting references
allows employers to verify their understanding. Through discussions with references who
vouch for the candidates’ professionalism and work ethics, they may discover other qualities
about him/her. For this stage of the recruitment process in HRM, organizations may reach out
to previous employers or the concerned educational institutions.

7. Medical Examination
Although not strictly followed, medical examinations are slowly becoming commonplace
among organizations today. Modern companies are viewing medical fitness (both mental and
physical) as a cost function. A healthy employee would require fewer sick leaves and handle
stress relatively quickly, allowing greater productivity in dynamic, fast-paced environments.
Some employers view this matter seriously and consider this a preliminary phase during the
screening stage.

8. Final Selection
The last phase of the selection process is to cross the t’s and dot the i’s; candidates who have
successfully qualified through all rounds of the recruitment and selection in HRM receive an
offer/appointment letter from the organization. More often than not, candidates receive a
temporary position with an assurance of permanency on completion of the probation period.
The appointment letter typically includes all such details, including salary and company
policies. Candidates may also be asked to sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) that
ensures the protection of company data.

3. Placement

Placement refers to the process of connecting the selected person and the employer in order
to establish an ongoing employment relationship. In this step the employee is given the
activities he/she needs to perform and is told about his/her duties. Placement is usually
followed by the orientation process.

Placement is an important HR function, and if properly handled, it does the following:

 Improves the morale of the employees
 Reduces employee turnover
 Decreases accident rates
 Enhances labour productivity
 Clarifies expectations.

4. Induction and socialization

Induction
Induction or orientation can help overcome these problems. Once an employee is selected and
placed on an appropriate job, the process of familiarizing him with the job and organization
begins. This process is called induction. Induction is “the process of receiving and welcoming
an employee when he first join a company and giving him the basic information he needs to
settle down quickly and happily and start work”. The new employee is introduced to the job
and the organization. The purpose of orientation is to make the new entrant feel at home and
develop a sense of pride in the organization and commitment to the job. The new comer is
explained his duties and responsibilities, company policies and rules, and other relevant
information to get acquainted and accommodated with the organization. “Induction is a
planned introduction of employees to their jobs, their co-worker’s and the organization”.
Socialization
It is the process of adaptation. It is the process by which new employees attempt to learn and
inculcate the norms and values of work roles in an organization. Learning and inculcating the
norms and values of work group are necessary for proper adjustment and job performance.
 Socialization is based on several assumptions
 New employee suffer from anxiety and require adjustment.
 socialization strongly affects employee programme and stability of organization.

5. Job analysis
Job analysis is the process of gathering and analyzing information about the content and the
human requirements of jobs, as well as, the context in which jobs are performed. This process
is used to determine placement of jobs. Under NU Values the decision-making in this area is
shared by units and Human Resources. Specific internal approval processes will be
determined by the unit's organizational leadership.

Job analysis defines the organization of jobs within a job family. It allows units to identify
paths of job progression for employees interested in improving their opportunities for career
advancement and increasing compensation.

A relative value is placed on the differing factors described in the Zone Placement Matrix.
All new and existing positions will be assigned to a job family and zone using the job
analysis process. This process is designed to place positions into families and zones based
upon assigned duties, qualifications and competencies as measured by the five criteria found
in the Zone Placement Matrix. Organizational unit leaders are encouraged to consult with
Human Resources for guidance at any step in the job analysis process. Both job description
and job specification are essential parts of job analysis information. Writing them clearly and
accurately helps organization and workers cope with many challenges while onboard.

Job Description
Job description includes basic job-related data that is useful to advertise a specific job and
attract a pool of talent. It includes information such as job title, job location, reporting to and
of employees, job summary, nature and objectives of a job, tasks and duties to be performed,
working conditions, machines, tools and equipments to be used by a prospective worker and
hazards involved in it.

Purpose of Job Description

 The main purpose of job description is to collect job-related data in order to

advertise for a particular job. It helps in attracting, targeting, recruiting and
selecting the right candidate for the right job.
 It is done to determine what needs to be delivered in a particular job. It clarifies
what employees are supposed to do if selected for that particular job opening.
 It gives recruiting staff a clear view what kind of candidate is required by a
particular department or division to perform a specific task or job.
 It also clarifies who will report to whom.

Job Specification

Also known as employee specifications, a job specification is a written statement of

educational qualifications, specific qualities, level of experience, physical, emotional,
technical and communication skills required to perform a job, responsibilities involved in a
job and other unusual sensory demands. It also includes general health, mental health,
intelligence, aptitude, memory, judgment, leadership skills, emotional ability, adaptability,
flexibility, values and ethics, manners and creativity, etc.

Purpose of Job Specification

 Described on the basis of job description, job specification helps candidates

analyze whether are eligible to apply for a particular job vacancy or not.
 It helps recruiting team of an organization understand what level of
qualifications, qualities and set of characteristics should be present in a
candidate to make him or her eligible for the job opening.
 Job Specification gives detailed information about any job including job
responsibilities, desired technical and physical skills, conversational ability and
much more.
  It helps in selecting the most appropriate candidate for a particular job.

Job description and job specification are two integral parts of job analysis. They define a job
fully and guide both employer and employee on how to go about the whole process of
recruitment and selection. Both data sets are extremely relevant for creating a right fit
between job and talent, evaluate performance and analyze training needs and measuring
the worth of a particular job.

6. Approaches to job design

There are four approaches to job design:

Approach # 1. Job Enrichment:
It is an approach to job design that is based on the assumption that in order to motivate
personnel, the job itself must provide opportunities for achievement, recognition,
responsibility, advancement and growth. It gives employees more opportunities for autonomy
and feedback. It also gives them more responsibilities that require decision making, such as
scheduling work, determining quality, etc.
According to Herzberg, an enriched job has eight characteristics.
These features are:
(a) Direct feedback – The evaluation of performance system or immediate feedback to the
employees.
(b) New learning – A feeling of growing intellectual among employees.
(c) Client relationship – An employee who serves a client or customer directly has an
enriched job.
(d) Scheduling own work – Employees who perform creative work are given the
opportunity to schedule their own work.
(e) Unique experience – An enriched job provides unique experience or quality.

Approach # 2. Job Enlargement:

It involves adding more tasks to a job or assignment of varied tasks or duties of the jobs of
employees at the same level. According to Herzberg, “job enlargement is simply adding a
zero to zero. Zero meaning that one set of boring tasks is simply added to another set of
boring tasks. A recent study found that by expanding the scope of job, workers found benefits
such as mere satisfaction, reduce boredom, monotony and increased motivation.”
Enlargement is done only on the horizontal level i.e. the jobs remains the same, but of larger
scale than before. According to George Strauss and L.R. Sayles, “Job enlargement implies
that instead of assigning one man to each job, a group of men can be assigned to a group of
jobs and then allowed to decide for themselves how to organize the work. Such change,
permit mere social contact and greater control over the work process.”
Approach # 3. Job Simplification or Work Simplification:
Under this method, the complete job is simplified by breaking down into small sub-parts.
Then, each part of the job is assigned to a worker who does the same task over and over
again. This is done so that employees who gain proficiency in doing the repetitive task
require less training. This will lower down training costs and in turn increases productivity
and profit. Time and motion study are generally used for job simplification. However,
company may not always be benefited from this technique, as it increases absenteeism and
boredom due to repetitive nature of job.
Approach # 4. Job Rotation:
This is one of the methods to reduce boredom which implies moving of employees from one
job to another within a working group so that there is some variety and relief from boredom
of monotonous jobs. Herzberg characterized this approach as merely substituting “one zero
for another zero”.
It is horizontal or lateral transfer, where employees are shifted to another activity to meet the
needs of work scheduling. It not only reduces boredom and monotony of job but also
increases employee’s skills and knowledge. This method improves the self-image and
personal worth of the employee. However, employees who look for more challenging job
become frustrated.

7. Performance management
Performance Management is a continuous and systematic approach that ensures the
achievement of organizational business goals by streamlining employee performance and
efforts to match the set goals efficiently. Performance Management builds a communication
system between a Manager and an employee that occurs throughout the year, in support of
accomplishing the strategic objectives of the organization.
Types of Performance Management in HRM

The types of performance are determined based on the vertices included in the performance
appraisal or review system. It can range from the self-assessment of the employee to the
review from different members of the organization such as managers, peers as well
sometimes extend to check the review of customers and investors.
A. General Appraisal- In this type of performance management there is continuous
communication between the manager and employee regarding the performance
throughout the year. They communicate about the pre-set goals, the objectives, the
performance feedback, and set the new goals.

B. 360-Degree Appraisal- In 360-degree appraisal the feedback about the

performance and behavior of the employee is provided by peers and the manager
of the employees.

C. Technological Performance Appraisal- This appraisal is totally based on the

technical knowledge of the employee. The technical expertise and capabilities of
the employee are throughput and identified by the manager.

D. Employee Self-Assessment- The employee compares their own performance with

the standard performance expected from them. The manager has discussions with
employees about their performance achievements or failure.

E. Manager Performance Appraisal- This system is designed for the appraisal of

the manager. Here the feedback from the team members and client is collected to
evaluate the performance of the manager.

F. Project Evaluation Review- This is considered the best way to identify the
performance of an employee at work. After completion of each project, the
performance of the employee is evaluated, and based on the review another project
is assigned to the employee.

G. Sales Performance Appraisal- A specific monthly or yearly sale target is

assigned to the employee at the beginning of the year. At the end of the financial
year, the salesperson is judged on the set target and the sales result of the
employee. In this system, it is important to set a realistic sales target for the
employee.
The objectives of the performance management system are as follows:
o It enables the employee to achieve the work performance of set standards
o It helps to identify the skills and knowledge required to perform a job efficiently.
o It is a very important factor to motivate employees and boost employee empowerment
o It provides a communication channel between the team and supervisor. It makes the
goal-setting process more transparent.
o It identifies the issues which leads the low performance and also resolve the issues by
providing suggestion about development interventions.
o It provides data for several important decisions such as promotions, strategic
planning, succession planning, and performance-based compensation.