LA PRODUCTIVIDAD

Formal methods for employment from the external environment of the organi- sation do not include candidates who are in touch with the organisation. These meth- ods entail the advertisement in journals, use of employment agencies and frequently a direct search for potential candidates in schools and universities (Table 3.2).

Table 3.2: Frequency of employment methods in USA

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Clerk Production Sales Technical

expert Management

Recommendations

of employees 92 94 74 68 65

Advertisement in magazines 87 92 46 46 40 Radio and TV advertisement 68 88 75 89 82 Advertisement through

prospects brochures and leaflets 5 6 2 7 4 Agencies/employment services 12 6 43 75 57

Employment agency 63 72 34 41 27

Recruitment Agencies for (free paid by the employer)

44 (31) 11 (5) 63 (49) 71 (48) 75 (65) High schools/universities 17 9 48 74 50 Professional associations 5 19 17 52 36 Searching for candidates for a

job position 1 2 2 31 54

Trade union 1 12 0 3 0

The job advertisement increases the candidate’s interest that, after collecting the required documents, sends the job application. On the basis of recommendations the candidates are divided into two categories – those who have satisfactory references and those who are eliminated from the employment procedure. Candidates included in the list of remaining candidates are called for the interview which serves for the fill- ing of vacant job position. There are differences among organisations depending on the labour provisions but the main objective is always the same: to attract more peo- ple for a job position and subsequently select candidates in different selection phases until the required number of possible candidates is reached.

The job advertisement in a newspaper is the most common formal method of

advertisement. The aim of the advertisement is to reach as many candidates as possi- ble and to make them interested in a job in the organisation. The additions to the advertisement broaden the potential job auditorium.14 _{It is established that among}

those who seek additional clarifications in relation to the advertisement only 10 to 20% of readers are actual job seekers, while 70 to 75% are happily employed but are stim- ulated to think about the offers in the labour market. Well created and shaped adver- tisements may also motivate them to change their jobs. The remaining attention attracted by the advertisement belongs to parties and business partners of the organ- isations and other interested persons. It is not unimportant that these advertisements attract attention of those already employed in the organisation. Studies demonstrate that if an organisation stops with its regular human resources campaigning there may be fear among the employees and rumours about lay-offs. Thus, a well designed adver- tisement raises confidence of the employees in the organisation.

The main demand of the employment process is the achievement of an appro- priate response of candidates who satisfy the minimal conditions for the offered job. A good advertisement may inform candidates about the information needed for the preparation of the job application. Securing an adequate response of qualified candi- dates must be based on the advertisement that contains sufficient information about the job, qualifications, location and salary. This will prevent the job applications of unqualified and uninterested individuals. At the same time, the qualified candidates must be attracted by creating a good image of the organisation by emphasising the advantages of certain service. In order to achieve these objectives, the advertisement must not misrepresent the job and encourage unrealistic expectations of candidates but is it advisable to describe in detail the real advantages of the offered service.15

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14 The majority of organisations are advertised at the local and national levels. Job applicants are informed about the job description, salary, employment requirements and organisation. Large organisations still use the employment methods from the time of full employment and lack of staff; thus in advertisement they present everything in a rosy light since they fear an inadequate number of responses. For this purpose (especially in the civil service) some other methods are used such as realistic films with the preliminary job description, brochures, job tours to show candidates the job position (during the tours job positions are presented as well as the most desirable characteristic that a candidate for that job position should have – fast response, supervision, routine). Well written text of the advertisement and job description will prevent an inappropriate candidate from applying.

15 A hidden advertisement is also one of the forms of advertisement in which the organisation – the employer - is not revealed; only the job is identified. The potential candidates send their application to a postal address. This type of advertisement is more appropriate for commercial organisations and is used by those entities that do not want their competitors to learn that the organisation is preparing for the expansion of production or when the organisation does not want its personnel to know about the planned personnel changes or when the reputation of an employer is weak for any reason. The hidden advertisement has a very low rate of response and they are only used when there is a very good reason for that.

Candidates are by large chosen on the basis of the recommendation of employ- ees which is again cheaper. Besides, what makes this type of employment cheaper is the fact that candidates identified by persons already employed stay longer in the organisation since they are better informed about the work and actual job position. It must be very careful with this type of employment since it carries the danger of manip- ulation and informal staff management. Negative selection may be the result of the massive employment of this type.

Working by the internet is quickly spreading as a very modern method. It is a

good way for finding qualified candidates that possess good IT and technical skills. This is the cheapest way of providing candidates from all over the world. More and more organisations are persuaded that this is the best way for finding candidates. Besides, the Internet is not useful only for job seekers but also for the organisations looking for candidates since it permits the mutual exchange of information.

3.6.1. Successfulness of employment and differing quality of human

resources

When a greater number of different sources and methods of employment is applied it would be wise that the human resources unit assesses each of them sepa- rately. In this way it is established whether certain methods are better than others or their efficiency is the result of different circumstances. The most appropriate criterion of evaluation of sources and employment methods is the level of overall expenses of employment, the price per each newly employed person, applied number of proce- dures, estimation of the number of reused candidates and the estimation of the job performance and the abilities of newly employed persons.

A research on the quality of different employment sources offers very interest- ing conclusions. Certain experts argue that the best employment is through the inter- nal sources and by informal employment methods, for example, through the databas- es and contacts that enable reliability in regard to the estimation of candidates’ abili- ties. It derives that only the least wanted jobs and least desired candidates for a job are left to formal methods such as advertisement in newspapers or the mediation of an employment agency. Those arguments may be confirmed by studies that support the idea on informal methods. Their result shows that the best candidates are found through the internal human resources of the organisation. Certain studies indicate that candidates recommended by employees are employed for a second time (if they were already at some stage in the company) and also stay longer in a company than those candidates who are found through employment agencies or advertisement (Cook, 1996: 288–289).

On the basis of differences in quality of human resources methods, it is possi- ble to, during the employment process, take into account two facts that are confirmed by studies. The first fact relies on the research which argues that candidates are attracted through informal processes of employment, especially through the employ- ment of old employees or through recommendations of the organisation employees. These circumstances enable the employer and candidate to openly negotiate job con- ditions and salaries since this is already a well-known fact for the candidate. This enables a longer period of remaining in the job position after the recruitment. Another fact entails that those methods concern the different types of persons in relation to

their abilities, motivations and experiences. Namely, the advertisement in newspapers is at the disposal of everyone. However, not all candidates have the possibility and abil- ity to get acquainted with the employer and estimate the reality of his or her offer, that is their expectations. Besides, studies show that more experienced and qualified job applicants more willingly use informal connections that offer most information on the organisation and job, while younger candidates with less experience used magazines and seek assistance of employment agencies.

It is recommended that each organisation examine by itself the quality of ways of providing human resources for each individual job position since the adequacy of methods and procedures depends on very specific circumstances. On the basis of their findings, the organisation shall decide if it will apply certain employment sources only periodically or it will not use them at all.