Impact Of Information Technology On Recruitment Policies

Use theoretical concepts, and academic / industry sources, to critically assess how Information Technology and the Internet have revolutionised methods of recruiting new employees from the external labour market. Ensure you critically comment on the effectiveness of internet recruiting to target the labour market accurately. 

How Information Technology is Changing the Business World

As opined by Hunter et al. (2017), the technological advancement of the 21^st century has drastically changed the manner in which the business organizations of the contemporary times conduct their business. Ladkin and Buhalis (2016) are of the viewpoint that the impact of information technology is not only witnessed in the innovative kind of products or services which are being offered by the different organizations to the customers but at the same time in the kind of strategies which are being adopted by them. In this regard, it needs to be said that the contemporary organizations are taking the help of strategies which are totally different from the ones used by the organizations a few years back.

As argued by Jeske and Shultz (2016), one of the most important effects of information technology within the spectrum of the business world is perhaps witnessed in the kind of Human Resource Management (HRM) strategies and policies used by the HRM teams of the different organizations. It is pertinent to note that unlike the earlier time, the organizations have totally digitalized the HRM practices and internet is being extensively used by different organizations for completion of different roles that are a part of the repertoire of the HR professionals (Greiner 2015). More importantly, e-recruitment or online recruitment is one of the major trends, which is being witnessed within the cannon of the contemporary business world (Slavi?, Bjeki? and Berber 2017). This essay will discuss the manner in which the information technology has affected the recruitment policies followed by the contemporary organizations.

I personally believe that the HRM forms an integral part of the different organizations of the world because of the plethora of activities that they are required to perform within the framework of the diverse organizations. For example, they are required to not only select thee different individuals as well as recruit them so as to get the work of the organization completed in an effective manner (Moghaddam, Rezaei and Amin 2015). In addition to this, the HR professionals are also required to offer the right kind of training to these individuals so that they are being able to complete the jobs or tasks for the completion of which they have been recruited and also perform as per the expectations of the organization. Furthermore, they are also required to conduct induction wherein they provide detailed information to these individuals regarding the organization, the kind of work that they are required to perform, compensation, benefits and perks that employees are entitled to and other aspects of their job (Bhoganadam and Rao 2014).

The Role of HRM in Contemporary Organizations

Chiang and Suen (2015) are of the viewpoint that the HR professionals are also required to design the job roles of the employees in an effective manner so as to enhance their performance. Furthermore, in the majority of the organizations it is seen that the HR professionals in collaboration with the management teams of the organization are also required to conduct performance reviews and give appraisal to the employees on the basis of this factor. As opined by Armstrong, Landers and Collmus (2016), one of the major job roles of the HR professionals in the contemporary business enterprises is to strategically align the individual goals and objectives of the different employees with the overall goals and objectives of the entire organization itself. However, I personally believe that the most important job role that the HR professionals perform within the contemporary organizations is to recruit the individuals from the external labor markets so as to provide the organizations with adequate number of workforce who can get the work of the organization done in a much effective manner.      

Hoek, O'Kane and McCracken (2016) have stated that the emergence of different kinds of technologies had positively impacted the HRM policies as well as strategies and also the methods followed by them for the transaction of their job roles. For example, one of the major problems that the different organizations have faced since the traditional times is related to their inadequacy to get the right kind or the number of employees who would complete the work of the organization. According to Melanthiou, Pavlou and Constantinou (2015), this is important since the employees perform the majority of the work within the framework of an organization and because of this can be said to form the backbone of the organizations. I personally believe that the employees help the organizations to manufacture the surplus services or products and thereby directly help them to earn extra amount of profit. Furthermore, I am also of the viewpoint that they also help in a substantial manner in the effective implementation of different kind of strategies that are likely to improve the prospects of an organization. However, the shortage of labor that these organizations face adversely affects their business prospects.

The HR professionals in order to meet the labor shortage are increasingly resorting to the use of online or e-recruitment policy. Online or e-recruitment refers to the use of internet resources for the purpose of recruitment of the candidates which are required to do the work within the organization (Liu, Poto?nik and Anderson 2016). For example, in the earlier times it was seen that the HR professionals use to place advertisements in the newspapers regarding the job vacancies and the candidates would respond on the basis of these advertisements. Furthermore, once the candidates have contacted the HR professionals of the organizations then they were required to undergo various rounds of interview to get selected for the job. The major drawback of this process was the fact that this was not only a long draw out process but at the same time the organizations incurred a huge capital for same (Gupta 2016). However, the method of e-recruitment has solved this problem in a significant manner since the cost incurred by the organizations is very less in comparison to the traditional methods (Jepsen and Grob 2015). For example, it is seen that the organizations just need to place an advertisement over the online websites and the candidates can email their resumes to the HR professionals. The HR professionals can select the candidates on the basis of these resumes can select the right kind of candidates for the job positions that they are looking for. I am of the viewpoint that the online websites like LinkedIn, Monster.com and others have much simplified the recruitment job role of the contemporary HR professionals (Choi et al. 2017).

The Use of E-Recruitment Practices

I believe that the concept of professional networking is one of the most important ones which had significantly changed the recruitment process used by the contemporary HR professionals. For example, unlike the earlier times wherein the individuals have to manually look for jobs in the present times it is seen that they can effectively connect as well as build social networking (Choi et al. 2017). This as a matter of fact has even made the job role of the HR professionals more easier since the HRs no longer have to manually place the advertisements related to jobs and go through the plethora of resumes that were sent to them by the candidates (Warmerdam, Lewis and Banks 2015). On the other hand, these days because of the emergence of these job or professional networking websites the HR professionals can connect with different kinds of individuals whose profiles matches with the kind of work that is being done in the organization for which they work. Thus, if there is a job vacancy then they can simply contact them and schedule the interview rather than going through the elaborate process which was being followed in the earlier times. In addition to this, it is seen that there are various organizations which are taking the help of online assessment tests and video call interviews to not only save time but at the same time the cost that the organizations need to spend on the recruitment process (Jeske and Axtell 2016). Thus, it can be said that the use of these online or e-recruitment practices has not only simplified the recruitment policies followed by the contemporary organizations but at the same time offers various kinds of benefits to them as well.   

As opined by Nikolaou (2014), the effectiveness as well as the efficiency of the online or e-recruitment method used by the different contemporary organizations becomes evident in the large number of organizations which are taking the help of these methods. For example, it is seen that organizations like Telstra, Microsoft, Apple and others are increasingly taking the help of online recruitment practices because of the benefits that they offer to the organizations (Ladkin and Buhalis 2016). For example, it is seen that the organization Telstra has evolved its own brand of online recruitment policy wherein the candidates are required to undergo an initial round of assessment test wherein their core competencies are checked by the concerned organization (Hunter et al. 2017). Furthermore, if the candidates pass this test then they have to undergo video interview and on the basis of their performance in this video interview they are selected to work for the organization. The organization Microsoft has also evolved a similar kind of recruitment process wherein the employees are required to an initial test and on the basis of this test and the preceding video call interviews they are selected (Slavi?, Bjeki? and Berber 2017). More importantly, it is seen that unlike the earlier times wherein the individuals had to manually search for different kinds of jobs the present day job seekers just need to place an advertisement regarding themselves and the kind of job that they are looking for along with their resume in order to get jobs (Choi et al. 2017). The HR professionals look up these online job seeking advertisements placed by the candidates and match the resumes uploaded by the candidates with the kind of candidates that they are looking and if the profile matches they are given interview calls. Thus, it can be said that the impact of information technology as well as the internet has not improved the recruitment policy used by the HR professionals but at the same time has made it much easier as well.    

Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Recruitment

Hunter et al. (2017) are of the viewpoint that there are various advantages as well as disadvantages of the current online or e-recruitment policy used by the HR professionals of the contemporary organizations. I personally believe that the emergence of different kinds of technologies like internet and others and their extensive use by the HR professionals for the recruitment process has made the process a very cost effective one. For example, in the earlier times it was seen that the organizations used to incur a substantial amount of capital because of the various kinds of job advertisements that they needed to place in the local newspapers and other places. In addition to this, the manual method of interview which was used for the selection as well as the recruitment of the employees used to take not only a substantial amount of time of the HR professionals and the organizations but also resources as well (Chiang and Suen 2015). In this regard, it needs to be said that the organizations needed interview rooms, papers and other kinds of resources for the conduct of such interview along with the human resources. However, the use of e-recruitment policy and video interviews has solved this problem and made the process more cost effective. I personally believe that through the process of professional networking the HR professionals can select the right kind of candidates who can perform the job roles in a much better manner. For example, the online job networking sites enables the HR professionals to connect with the individuals from their own professional backgrounds and this helps them to get the right kind of candidates.

The benefits offered by the process of online recruitment notwithstanding there are various disadvantages of the same as well. I personally believe that one of the major disadvantages of the process under discussion here is the fact that this is a very long drawn out process and the organizations had to wait for a very long period of time to get the employees. In this regard, it needs to be said that the HR professionals first had to conduct online tests and then video interviews for the selection of the right kind of candidates. Thus, it can be said that if there is an urgent requirement of a particular candidate then this is not a very suitable method for recruitment. More importantly, in order to take video interviews the HR professionals had to make various kinds of preparations like make appointments with the candidates, the management team of the organization who would take the final round of interview and others (Armstrong, Landers and Collmus 2016). This requires an extra amount of effort on the part of HR professionals and also the candidates since the HR professionals needs to work in an effective coordinated manner with both the candidates and also the higher management team of the organizations.

There are various strategies or measures that the HR professionals can use to improve the current online recruitment policy that they are following. For example, shortening the entire selection and recruitment process is one such possible option. It is seen that the candidates need to undergo various rounds of interview before they are they are finally selected (Hoek, O'Kane and McCracken 2016). The HR professionals instead of taking so many rounds of interview can only a few wherein all the members of recruitment team would be present. This is not only likely to reduce the effort that is required on the part of the HR professionals but would at the same time reduce the time period that such a process often requires (Melanthiou, Pavlou and Constantinou 2015). In addition to this, improving the coordination process between the candidates and the recruitment would also help the HR professionals in a substantial manner. Use of better technological resources is another possible option that the HR professionals can take the help of for the improvement of the existing recruitment process used by them.

To conclude, information technology as well as internet has changed the very nature of the business world and its effect is manifested in the various processes used by the modern organizations. For example, it is seen that the HRM teams of various organizations are taking the help of information technology and internet for the recruitment of new candidates. The use of these technologies has positively impacted the recruitment policy used by the contemporary HR professionals. For example, it is seen that these modern forms of recruitment helps the HR professionals to overcome the limitations of the traditional process of recruitment used by the HR professional. Furthermore, there are various benefits that the use of these online recruitment and other recruitment policies used by the contemporary HR professionals offers them. In this regard, it needs to be said that these methods are cost effective and also less time consuming and often helps the organizations to get the right of candidates.

References

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