How should you begin the recruiting process?

Legal requirements

Both federal and state laws have long influenced the employment process. The impact of governmental regulation has greatly intensified with the growth of anti-discrimination legislation. Recruiters need to be aware not only of the general antidiscrimination laws, but also the requirements of any court-ordered affirmative action program and the special rules that apply to government contractors. Discrimination laws as they apply to recruiting and hiring are thoroughly explained at ¶72,220 .

Discrimination. Most employers are covered by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, color and national origin. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employment discrimination based on disability. Age bias is also outlawed. For government contractors, handicapped persons and veterans are added to the list. State laws may add arrest record, marital status, sexual orientation and other categories. Some of the ways these general requirements affect the recruiting process include:

Job descriptions and employment advertisements. Job descriptions and advertisements should make no reference to sex, age, race, national origin, marital status, religion or other legally protected categories unless there is a legitimate work-related reason for them to do so.

Interviews. Recruitment interviews must avoid direct questions about race, sex and other legally protected characteristics, as well as indirect questions that could reveal such information about an applicant. Asking an applicant if she is a U.S. citizen, for example, could lead to charges of national origin bias. Employers should check to see that the people doing the recruiting are aware of the law and are not, however unconsciously, exuding negative feelings toward any protected group.

Recruiting sources and methods. Recruiting should be planned so that it uses sources and methods likely to reach a diverse audience, including minorities and women. Use of methods that produce only a narrow selection of applicants - relying heavily on the referrals from a white, male workforce, for instance - is likely to be found discriminatory.

Recordkeeping. Documentation of the recruiting process is critical. Each employer should keep lists of any recruiting firms, employment agencies and other resources it has used, the type of advertisements it has placed and where it placed them, as well as records of job descriptions and employment projections. Statistics on the number of applicants by category (sex, race, etc.) should be kept, along with the reasons applicants were rejected.

Union membership. Another form of discrimination that is outlawed by the federal government is bias based on a job applicant's union membership or lack of it. Employers who use union hiring halls for employee referrals must be careful to avoid granting favorable status to union members.

Child labor. An employer's ability to recruit at high schools and other sources may be affected by child labor laws. Both federal and state child labor rules restrict employment in two ways. First, they set minimum age requirements for jobs that are deemed potentially hazardous or too physically demanding. Secondly, they regulate the time of day and the number of hours during which minors may work. However, these hour restrictions may be relaxed somewhat when school is not in session.

Union involvement

If an employer's workforce is represented by a union, this will affect its ability to recruit. Employment policies that become part of the negotiated collective bargaining agreement may place some constraints on the development of recruiting policies. Union contracts have their most substantial impact on recruitment with respect to internal staffing. Contracts usually establish seniority rights for employees that will limit an employer's choice in making promotions and transfers.

Labor market impact

One force outside the control of any individual organization that nonetheless directly affects the organization's ability to recruit applicants is the condition of the economy. Generally, when the unemployment rate starts to rise, recruitment gets easier-there are lots of well-qualified applicants. When the rate falls sharply, good candidates may be hard to locate.

No matter what the state of the general economy, recruiting for a particular position may or may not be difficult depending on the demand for that particular skill in the marketplace. And often employment rates vary from one part of the country to another, making recruitment a matter of choosing the right place to look. Availability of local sources for a particular type of skill is often a major factor in deciding the company location or relocation.

Resources. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) collects information and publishes numerous reports on the employment situation, breaking the job rates down by types of job, types of industry and sections of the country. State employment bureaus, Chambers of Commerce and industry groups can provide much information about the local job scene. Local conditions, as a rule, are more important than national trends, unless the company needs a large number of applicants with specific skills that don't exist locally.

Employer culture

Employers find that offering both an appealing work environment and an attractive benefit package are essential to attracting and retaining the right employees. Employers also want programs that help workers balance professional and personal responsibilities, because this struggle affects organizational achievement.

Progressive personnel policies are a starting point for creating a public perception that a company is a good place to work. Companies report that, due in part to their reputations as being among Fortune Magazine's most admired companies, applications for positions constantly are submitted without solicitation. Significant recruiting value can result from being considered an employer of choice. A company that understands the critical contribution people make to the bottom line and establishes an atmosphere and culture that allows people to make their greatest possible contribution will often find recruiting easier. Employees also value a clear sense of organizational purpose to a great extent, so much so that it influences their choice of an employer. Among other factors that relate to communication, culture, and environment, employees also said comfortable workspaces and a no-layoff policy would affect employer choice.

Following are some of the policy areas that can impact recruiting practices and, in addition, can affect an organization's status as an employer of choice:

• EEO. Affirmative action programs may require hiring of minorities or development of minorities to fill certain positions. Federal contractors must meet hiring guidelines.

• Compensation. Management may want to position its pay ranges to attract the top performers from other companies or may decide to set salaries at the median for the market, depending upon its strategy.

• Succession planning. The need for depth at certain positions may mandate recruiting in different ways.

• Labor relations. A management commitment to stay union-free may affect hiring practices or the areas from which the company recruits.

• Skills requirements. Are training programs in place to teach employees needed workplace skills or specific job skills, or must management recruit workers who are already capable of performing job tasks?

• Diverse workforce. Different recruiting methods may be needed to attract women, older workers, and minorities that make up an increasingly larger part of the available labor force.

• Company culture. Does the corporate culture require a specific personality type? Are there barriers to recruiting that originate in the public perception of the company?

• Headcount and staffing policies. Whether the company uses job rotation and promotion from within or hiring from outside to fill job vacancies can determine the frequency and type of recruitment for certain job titles.

• Recruiting targets. Is there a commitment to recruit from specific colleges or schools? Is there a commitment to hire from minority colleges? Does management prefer to hire new graduates or experienced professionals?

• Benefits package. Does the benefits package offer a variety of benefits that appeal to all segments of the workforce? Is the package competitive? Are benefits discussed early in the recruiting process? Employees have indicated that 401(k) retirement or savings plans, along with pension plans and medical insurance, would significantly influence their choice of an employer.

• Align recruiting with marketing. Effective hiring creates a competitive advantage. Not only do your actions in the interviewing and hiring process affect the image that others have of your employer, they impact your organization's sales, productivity, costs, customer satisfaction levels and overall ability to compete. Treat all applicants as potential customers. Obviously, you want to project a positive image of your organization, so that well-qualified job candidates will want to work for you-but it goes beyond that. At some point now or in the future, a job applicant, or a friend or relative of an applicant, may be a potential consumer of your organization's products or services. Even when the economy is tight and the company is not doing much hiring, keep the lines of communication to recruiting sources open and treat any applicants with courtesy and understanding. When the economic upswing comes, the company's ability to attract applicants may well depend on how it has treated the community during hard times.

Changing nature of work and the workforce

Because the economy has moved away from heavy industry and manufacturing and towards the information and service industries, human resources needs have changed. Part of the change in the workforce itself comes from a new emphasis on work-life balance that may be the primary factor in determining where and what kind of employment a person will seek. Employers are finding more and more that people are seeking and choosing work and work schedules that fit their personal and family needs.

The continuing rise in the number of employees, male and female, who must accommodate raising a family, taking care of the elderly, and having a career, has, among other factors, forced some employers to take a hard look at the old concepts of permanent full-time work on a rigid schedule. As a result of these changes, human resources professionals are being challenged to find new and innovative ways to look at jobs and employees in order to meet employers' needs in today's competitive world economy. Many employers are using flexible work schedules, telecommuting, and other variations on the traditional workweek.

<p>How should you approach the recruiting process? While each organization is different, reflecting its unique needs, every organization shares certain factors tha</p>

How should you begin the recruiting process?

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