What types of employee recruitment are there?
The process of recruiting employees is often a challenge both due to the need to check the competences of candidates and the costs associated with it. Its course is greatly influenced not only by the specificity of the company and the position, but also by the type of recruitment process. In this article, you will learn what types of employee recruitment are different and what are the characteristics of each of them. We also provide tips that will help reduce the costs associated with hiring new people.
Internal and external types of employee recruitment
Employee recruitment is a key process of human resources management in a company. During the recruitment process, potential candidates for the so-called vacancies are acquired and selected. There are two main types of recruitment, and these include permanent internal recruitment and external recruitment.
One of the most popular divisions in the context of recruitment is the one concerning the source of acquiring candidates. If the search for the perfect person for a given position is done by using the human resources of a given company, i.e. promotions are given to people already employed, we are talking about internal recruitment. If the search is conducted outside the organization, e.g. through employee portals or social media such as LinkedIn, we speak of external recruitment.
Low costs of internal recruitment
Internal recruitment is associated with relatively low costs, due to the lack of need to look for a person on the labor market, and the use of current employee resources. What’s more, promoting a current employee is motivating for both them and other team members. Employees, seeing that their efforts bring results, are more willing to engage in their tasks, duties and the life of the company. The downside, however, is that usually after one person is promoted, a gap is created in their current position, which sooner or later will have to be filled by external recruitment. Moving employees between positions is therefore not a perfect method to fill staff shortages.
External recruitment, i.e. a wider room for manoeuvre
External recruitment is the process of hiring employees from outside the company. This solution offers a number of benefits and opportunities that you, as an owner, director, or HR professional, can take advantage of to make your business flourish and reach its full potential.
External recruitment is associated with relatively high costs. It is necessary to devote time and resources to searching for candidates and interviewing them. Publishing a job advertisement or using the services of external recruitment companies also involves costs. However, external recruitment is irreplaceable in a situation where you are looking for “new blood” to join the team, someone with new ideas or a specialist ready to take over existing projects.
What’s more, external recruitment allows you to reach many candidates, e.g. through social media. More choice means access to a larger pool of talent who can bring refreshment to the job and even bring new insights to the company’s processes.
External recruitment also introduces diversity, which is very much needed in the team. As a result, the level of creativity among employees increases, they make better decisions, which results in more effective solving of various problems.
External methods of recruiting employees also have a positive impact on building the brand image. Employer branding depicts a company as an attractive workplace where you can develop. This is how talented people are attracted.
The most popular methods of external employee recruitment
The types of employee recruitment and the division into internal and external definitely do not exhaust the topic of recruitment. The right specialists, as well as prospective talents, can be sought on the market in various ways. There are several most popular methods of external recruitment, which can be found most often in modern companies. Some of them require more activity and are more expensive, others are rather passive, but each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Recruitment through a job advertisement
Among external types of recruitment, this method is still the most popular solution. By posting a well-prepared job advertisement on a general or industry-related recruitment portal, you can quickly gain access to an unlimited database of potential candidates who are actively looking for a new job or want to change employers. Internet portals and social media are ideal places to look for employees.
Direct search
This type of recruitment works on completely different principles, because the search takes place among passive candidates, i.e. those who, at least theoretically, are not looking for a new job at the moment. The method is particularly popular in relation to candidates for the highest specialist positions, who have impressive achievements.
Recruitment through recommendations
Some companies use another type of external recruitment based on the recommendations of existing employees. Recruitment through recommendations is largely based on mutual trust, and candidates are usually highly motivated. Very often, the so-called bonuses for referrals are also used, which, of course, motivates employees to take an active part in the recruitment process.
Networking
Participation in conferences, job fairs or webinars is an ideal opportunity to establish contacts with potential candidates. Recruitment can be carried out in various ways, and although the first contact with a new person, during such occasions, will not be an official interview, you can really get a lot out of such a conversation.
Recruitment through the “career” tab
Many companies have a special “career” tab on their website. This type of recruitment combines active and passive methods. The subpage is a suitable place to publish current advertisements regarding ongoing recruitment, but often also allows potential candidates to leave their CV for future recruitment. Thanks to this solution, candidates can learn more about the company itself and submit an application for a selected job position directly on the website.
Participation in job fairs
Another type of external recruitment is the company’s participation in job fairs. Such activity is primarily an element of empoyer branding, i.e. creating a positive image of the company as an employer, which is to result in attracting attractive candidates in the future. Job fairs are also used to identify young talents at the end of their education. At the same time, job fairs can be used to search for candidates who will take part in the current recruitment processes.
Passive candidate databases
Many companies decide to create databases in which previously sent CVs are collected, which are then used in the recruitment and selection process. The candidate database is a simple but also effective solution, because it allows you to quickly select optimal candidates for vacant positions.
Cooperation with universities
Many companies also use cooperation with universities to build future staff and identify talents entering the labor market. Candidates for individual positions can start working with the employer even before completing their education, for example as part of apprenticeships and internships, which benefits both parties. Then, the most talented take up positions in the company starting their careers, and the advantage of such a solution is the shortened time of introducing a new employee to the specifics of the organization and responsibilities.
Cooperation with the Labour Office
Currently, this method is used rather by companies looking for employees for lower-level positions. This is due to the fact that specialists relatively rarely look for employment through this institution.
External recruitment as part of outsourcing
For blue-collar or lower-level employees, instead of using recruiters, it’s better to outsource the entire hiring and offer process. Temporary work, due to its characteristics, usually does not have to be provided by people with specific competences, so it is much easier and faster to find employees for it. In the case of hiring seasonal workers, outsourcing recruitment may also be a better solution. Especially when it comes to recruiting IT staff.
Narrow and broad types of employee recruitment
Recruitment processes can also be divided according to who can provide given services to the employer. If the group of people who can take up employment is small, we speak of narrow recruitment. In the case of searching for candidates for positions that do not require specific qualifications or competences, we speak of broad recruitment.
Narrow recruitment requires a much longer search and more resources. If the employer wants people with specific qualifications to receive an offer, they should use a professional recruitment company. Such recruitment focuses on specific competences, requires the use of specialized channels (specialized job portals, industry forums), covers a smaller number of candidates, but also offers high quality candidates.
The greater the requirements, min. regarding education and experience, the greater the chance that it will be necessary to actively search for an employee (i.e. to contact people who meet certain conditions on their own), e.g. through contact via LinkedIn.
Broad recruitment has a wider reach and allows you to use multiple recruitment channels. Extensive recruitment attracts a large group of employees from different backgrounds and with different skills, which does not exclude the possibility that there are no talented people in this group. A higher number of candidates means a better chance of finding a well-qualified person.
Explicit and implicit types of employee recruitment
A popular division is also the one taking into account how the employer’s offer is displayed. If it is distributed using popular portals (including those where foreign employees are recruited) or on the company’s website, we speak of open recruitment. However, if the whole process takes place “quietly” only by e-mail or phone contact with interesting candidates, and the offer has not been publicly published at all (or without indicating what place of work it concerns), we speak of classified recruitment.
Open and classified recruitment – advantages of both solutions
Both models have their advantages and disadvantages. Open recruitment is less expensive, but less suitable candidates respond to it, so the whole search process can get messy. This is due to the fact that a wide range is used here. On the other hand, open recruitment builds trust among candidates, who see that the company is open and does not hide its activities. Open recruitment attracts many candidates, which, as in previous cases, gives you the opportunity to hire someone really talented.
Classified recruitment is often more expensive, but the probability of quickly hiring the perfect candidate in their case is much higher. Conducting classified recruitment can be particularly problematic, especially if you don’t have an internal HR department or head-hunters. It requires a lot of experience, so in such a situation it is best to trust an experienced external company, e.g. the LeasingTeam employment agency, which will find and present you with the most advantageous candidates for the position your company is looking for.
Alternatives to Recruiting Employees
When discussing the types of recruitment, it is worth mentioning the alternatives to looking for new permanent employees. Recruitment and subsequent selection of candidates are not always the optimal solution, especially when the demand for employees is potentially temporary. How can a company solve the problem of labor shortages without conducting traditional recruitment?
Overtime
In some companies, employees are willing to accept overtime in exchange for additional pay that is higher than the standard wage. In the short and medium term, this solution may be more cost-effective than individual types of recruitment, as it leads to savings. The company does not have to bear the costs of recruiting new employees, training or onboarding them. In the long run, overtime may not be enough due to the potential for employee fatigue and higher salaries.
Civil law contracts
New employees who are unlikely to be associated with the company for a longer period of time can be employed for a certain period of time under civil law contracts. This is associated with slightly lower costs, but also with fewer obligations of the employer towards the employee employed under a contract of mandate or a contract for specific work.
Employee leasing
Employee leasing is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to individual types of recruitment. In this case, the employees are not employed on a permanent basis, but provided by a specialized employment agency in which they remain employed. From the employer’s point of view, this is a significant cost saving and a very flexible solution. Employee leasing, contrary to appearances, applies not only to temporary work and lower positions, but also to specialists, a good example of which is the IT industry.
Recruitment of employees is a key process in human resource management. It is divided into external and internal recruitment. Each option offers a different use case that can be used to meet the needs of your business. This process can also be classified into narrow (focusing on specific competences) and broad (with a wider scope of search), as well as open (cheaper, trust-building) and implicit (more expensive, but with a greater chance of finding the perfect candidate quickly).
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