"E-Recruitment – Problems And Prospects" Prof. M.S.Rao

“The growth in the e-recruitment industry has been fuelled with the adoption of technology by prospective employers and Internet penetration. Organizations have cut costs by almost 80 percent over traditional recruitment modes by moving over to the online recruitment process.” - Dhruvakanth B Shenoy, Vice President-Marketing, Asia, Monster.com, India

Now-a-days, people often talk of e-recruitment. Does the term ‘e-recruitment’ sound strange? Does it seem like any other e-ticketing, e-voting, e-teaching and so on? Let us find out what is all about e-recruitment.

What is E-Recruitment?

E-recruitment is an online recruitment where the recruitment is done through electronic resources. It utilizes the web based tools, techniques and technologies. It is the speed that counts in these days of changing times and technologies. When employers want to fill the slots quickly, they prefer e-recruitment to traditional recruitment. E-recruitment is also known as internet recruitment. It may also be called emerging recruitment, evolving recruitment and effective recruitment.

The process of e-recruitment involves the elimination of ineligible and unsuitable candidates through automation process. There are resume scanners that filters automatically online and provides the right candidates to the employers on platter.

E-recruitment is a cost-effective online recruitment. It is useful when there is sudden shortage of skilled manpower and also if the company bags a new contract and if it wants job seekers with specific skill set, mindset and tool set then e-recruitment is the only solution. Precisely, E-recruitment is the mantra for successful recruitment in this technology world.

Prospects:

• Conventional or manual or traditional recruitment takes lot of time in recruiting the potential hires. However, the e-recruitment saves lot of time for both employers and job-seekers. E-recruitment bridges the gap between the employers and job seekers. It provides wider scope, choice and opportunities for both.
• The cost is low. There are no middlepersons involved. It saves time, money and energy.
• It provides round the clock services. It is indeed win-win for both employers and prospective employees.
• It filters ineligible and unsuitable candidates and saves time by 60 per cent of the hiring time for recruiters.
• It helps in tracking the status of the candidates at different stages while hiring.
• Conventional recruitment is tiring and time consuming.
• It is far better and faster than the conventional methods of recruitment.

Problems:

• E-recruitment is still in nascent stage and it takes time to penetrate. There is still low computer literacy. At times the employers lose the right candidates. Several people don’t provide adequate information online as they are not computer savvy.
• There is also duplication of resumes by job seekers.
• There is possibility for passive resumes being uploaded. Besides there is no much of authenticity as background checks are not involved immediately.
• There is room for impersonation in e-recruitment.

Knowledge Workers and E-recruitment:

Knowledge workers have several competitive advantages. They are aware of the latest tools and technologies. They stay ahead of others in terms of knowledge and performance. They stand out from the pack. E-recruitment is a boon for both the knowledge workers and employers. When the organization bags a special contract and if the contract demands unique skill set, mindset and tool set, e-recruitment is the only immediate option. The organization can immediately get the right talent. It can hit the bulls’ eye where it is equally beneficial to the knowledge workers as they are also on the constant look out for companies that can make use of their unique skills and abilities.


Conclusion:

“Recruiting online would ideally be more focused, fast paced, effective and give a higher RoI (Return on Investment)” - Raghuveer Sakuru, Managing Director Kenexa Technologies

The objective of any recruitment is to recruit the right candidate for the right slot. The means of recruitment is also equally important. Keeping the current trends in view, emphasizing on e-recruitment is essential and ideal for effective and efficient recruitment.

The days of manual recruitment are fading away gradually as organizations are moving to online recruitment. E-recruitment is here to stay. As change is the only thing constant in this world, there is need to change the strategies in recruitment as well for maximizing the accuracy of right person for the right slot as it minimizes employee dissatisfaction and attrition. When we look at both problems and prospects, we can comfortably conclude that prospects outweigh problems in e-recruitment. The organizations must emphasize on e-recruitment for hiring better talent and must reinvent as per the needs in the 21st century.