"Strategic recruitment The pressures of competition, cost saving, downsizing and global skill shortages have maderecruitment a top priority. The scarcity of talent means that skilled workers are especially indemand in today’s cutthroat environment. For many companies, talented people are the prime2 Recruitment The process of source of competitive advantage. Recruitment (the process of seeking and attracting a poolseeking and attracting a poolof qualifed candidates for a job vacancy) andselection (the process of choosing the candi- of qualifed applicants fromdate who best meets the selection criteria) are used today as major levers to bring about stra- which candidates for job3 tegic and cultural change. An organisation must attract qualifed candidates if it is to survivevacancies can be selected. and grow. Leading US companies such as Microsoft have created an ‘employment brand’ to conveytheir values, policies, systems and culture in order to create a differentiated image in the4 minds of potential employees and attract top talent. Marketing techniques are being appliedto persuade candidates to join an organisation and stay. Ann Sherry, Westpac’s former groupEmployment brandingexecutive for people and performance, says,employment branding ‘can create a unique prop- 5 Involves promoting anosition for potential employees, separate one company from another and attract key talent’.image of the company asProviding a workplace that encourages ethical and socially responsible behaviour, for example,a good employer to create6 is seen as a differentiator that attracts the best people. An organisation’s image or brand isa favourable impressionclearly important in infuencing applicant evaluations of the company and its employmentwith potential applicants.7 opportunities. Employment branding is nowrecognised as a competitive Management must anticipate changes in the organisation’s environment to ensure thattool in the ‘war’ for talent. people who are recruited have the unique knowledge, skills, abilities and values required by theorganisation’s strategic business objectives. Strategic recruitment does this by linking recruitingStrategic recruitment Theactivities to the organisation’s business objectives and culture (see fgure 6.1). linking of recruiting activitiesThe increasing use of teams and ongoing demands for greater fexibility and multiskillingto the organisation’shave seen a change in emphasis from the traditional approach to recruitment (attracting can- strategic businessdidates whose academic qualifcations and past employment history match the formal jobobjectives and culture. 8 requirements) to one highlighting individual attitudes, behaviour and potential. This, in turn,has led to candidate profling accentuating person-oriented (rather than job-oriented) charac- teristics. Boxhall and Purcell, for example, argue that if an organisation seeks high performanceand agility it is important to recruit for long-run trainability and adaptability rather thanspecifc job know-how (which can be acquired over time — assuming the individual has both9 the intelligence and motivation to learn). The core purpose of Nike, for example, is ‘To experience the emotion of competition, winning10 and crushing competitors’. Consequently, this creates a need to recruit people who are stimu- lated by the competitive spirit and the urge to be ferocious. Other organisations have otherobjectives and values: Investment bank UBS seeks highly intelligent, hard-working, entrepre- 11 neurial team players. Recruitment is thus a means of delivering behaviours seen as necessary to support theorganisation’s culture and strategies. The emphasis on employee competencies illustratesthis role. Organisational strategies and culture determine whether the focus is on technicalskills and formal qualifcations or on personality, the ability to ‘ft in’ and the potential for12 development. A consequence of this emphasis on employee characteristics has been an increasing use ofpsychological testing and assessment centres to assess candidates’ behavioural and attitudinalcharacteristics. In addition to being a valuable tool in employee recruitment and selection,testing has proven helpful in training and development and in reducing the chances of litigation13 arising from the hiring of incompetent, dishonest or potentially violent employees. This hasaroused some criticism because it results in the recruitment of ‘a young “green” labour force,without years of acculturalisation in traditional manufacturing methods in heavily unionised14 plants’ and marginalises unions. Storey and Townley, for example, condemn such strategiesbecause they dehumanise applicants, result in cloning and promote management control by15 producing a compliant, non-unionised workforce. Trade unions, not surprisingly, are opposed16 to the use of psychological testing. Stone, R. J. (2013). <i>Managing human resources</i>. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com 208PART 2 Determining, attracting and selecting human resources Created from ballarat on 2017-11-09 20:15:45. Copyright © 2013. John Wiley & Sons. All rights reserved.Strategic business objectives What is to be achieved and how Human resource planning •Determine number and typeof jobs to be flled. • Match HR supply with job openings. F E Job analysis E Collect job information. D B A Job description Job speci?cation C K • Job title • Experience • Duties and responsibilities • Qualifcations • Relationships • Knowledge, skills, abilities • Knowledge • Personal qualities • Authority • Special requirements • Accountability • Special circumstances Recruitment Identify and attract a pool ofqualifed candidates. FIGURE 6.1Strategic recruitment Recruiting is also affected when organisations make fundamental strategic changes as aresult of asking questions such as: What is our core business? What business should we be in?What is it we want to achieve? Coca-Cola Amatil was originally a tobacco company, but todayits core businesses are food and beverages. Clearly, the organisation now requires people withdifferent knowledge, skills and abilities. Consequently, an organisation can destroy its uniquecompetitive advantage if it ignores its strategic mission, objectives and culture in recruitingpersonnel. In addition, it places at risk the careers of those applicants who do not match theorganisation’s strategic requirements. Attracting such candidates is simply a costly waste ofRecruitment sources Wheretime for all involved. qualifed individuals are Strategic recruitment avoids this by locating and attracting the ‘right’ potential candidates tolocated. the ‘right’ job openings within an organisation (see fgure 6.1). Such applicants form a pool fromRecruitment methods Thewhich those who most closely match the job specifcations can be offered employment. Recruit - specifc means by whichment begins with identifying HR requirements and ends with receiving applications. It involvespotential employees aredetermining where qualifed applicants can be found (recruitment sources) and choosing aattracted to an organisation. specifc means of attracting potential employees to the organisation (recruitment methods).Stone, R. J. (2013). <i>Managing human resources</i>. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com CHAPTER 6 Recruiting human resources209 Created from ballarat on 2017-11-09 20:15:45. Copyright © 2013. John Wiley & Sons. All rights reserved.It immediately precedes the selection process and involves attracting qualifed and interestedcandidates (from either inside or outside the organisation) who have the capacity to generatea sustainable competitive advantage for the organisation. Recruitment is a two-way process:information is given and received by both the applicants and the organisation. It is concernedboth with satisfying the organisation’s strategic HR requirements and with helping potentialcandidates decide whether they meet the job requirements, are interested in the position andwant to join the organisation. Unfortunately, many HR managers forget this. The organisationsthat are the most satisfying to work for are also those that have the least trouble getting good17 candidates. Successful recruiting means clearly outlining each job, which involves job analysis (seechapter 5). Products of the job analysis process are the job description (which highlights dutiesand responsibilities, relationships, required qualifcations, authority, accountability and specialcircumstances) and the job or person specifcation (which identifes the job’s human require- ments in terms of experience, qualifcations, knowledge, skills and abilities, personal qualitiesand special requirements). PRACTITIONERThe recruitment function SPEAKS Brooke Alexander is the author of ‘SuperTalent’. Widely recognised as a talent specialist,she has appeared on Channel 7, ABC Radio and a variety of lifestyle and business media.Companies hire her to help them attract, motivate and retain their best and brightest. Hercompany, the Brooke Alexander Consultancy (BAC), delivers a range of programs — fromindividual profile building to organisational talent engagement, retention and leadershipdevelopment. The role of the HR professional and the recruitment landscape has changed dramatically over thepast fve years. The rise of social media and the emergence of the individual has given high-potentialemployees the opportunity to be more demanding, more self focused and more determined tohave their professional needs met by their future employer. Without the alignment of organisationaland individual pursuit the recruitment process will fail. This is a paradigm shift for the recruitmentindustry, and many HR professionals will need to change their approach to, and understanding of,recruitment. Historically, the old psychological contract was that workers would trade their loyalty for jobsecurity. However, contracts have now changed; the new contract is ‘I will work for you and inreturn you will make me more employable for when I chose to leave and pursue other opportunities’.It is this simple fact that needs to be seriouslyaddressed and understood by HR professionals inthe recruitment phase of any business. Recruitment by defnition is the cornerstonein any organisation. Without the right peoplein the right roles the vision of the businesscannot be realised, and the mission of thebusiness will not be delivered. Yet, I see timeand time again organisations undervaluing therole of the HR department and underutilisingthe responsibility it has in driving an innovative,top talent, results-orientated organisationalworkforce and culture. Profts are built fromthe ground up, and it is the function of HR toensure that each potential candidate is aligned togrow professionally and personally through theirdesignated role and achieve the results requiredto maintain organisational profts and shareholdersatisfaction. Stone, R. J. (2013). <i>Managing human resources</i>. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com 210PART 2 Determining, attracting and selecting human resources Created from ballarat on 2017-11-09 20:15:45. Copyright © 2013. John Wiley & Sons. All rights reserved.The advances in employer branding, attraction initiatives and in-house recruitment haveforced many HR professionals to rethink their recruitment strategies — from the use ofFacebook at Deloitte Digital (where they took the view that the networks of their employeeswere potentially the best talent pool available), to Cisco (utilising YouTube to harness the powerof their CSR message). These examples illustrate the power of social media to represent ‘best place to work’employer brands (in action) by addressing individual employee engagement and positiveworkplace cultures. This socially focused visual recruitment strategy generates an immediate,powerful, visceral relationship with potential candidates — a compelling lesson for all HRprofessionals. In the recruitment of high potentials, these candidates know what they can do for business.They know they have the skills, talents and expertise to bring a massive contribution to theworkplace. However, they also desire the power to contribute and the opportunity to make adifference in their role. This is a prerequisite of the best and brightest and must be acknowledgedin the recruitment process and delivered through their professional employee position. I believe the primary responsibility of the HR professional and the recruitment process itselfis to align the individual (employee) pursuit with the organisational (employer) pursuit, therebycreating success for all. Recruitment policy An organisation’s recruitment policy provides the framework for recruiting action and refectsthe organisation’s recruitment objectives and culture. It details the overriding principles to befollowed by management in general and by the HR manager in particular. Some items to beconsidered in the development of a recruitment policy include: • EEO — will EEO policies be applied only where legally required or universally (for example,even in countries which have no, or only limited, EEO requirements)? • promotion from within — will internal or external candidates be preferred? • recruiting personnel from local, interstate or international sources • permanent part-time and casual employment • hiring people with disabilities • hiring women and members of minority groups • employees taking early or normal retirement • employing gay and lesbian personnel • employing relatives and friends of existing employees • employing children domestically and internationally • employing union/non-union members • union restrictions — trade unions increasingly are trying to dictate to employers who they18 can hire and where employees can work. • the balance of the emphasis on technical skills and formal qualifcations and the emphasison the values held by the applicant • ‘banking’ of talent — will opportunistic hires be made of personnel possessing skills andknow-how in short supply (even though no current job vacancy exists)? • the selection of methods and media to recruit personnel — which positions will beadvertised? Which will be placed with executive search frms? Which will be placed on‘social networks’? • the decision about to what extent to inform applicants about the position, career opportunities,the company, its products and so on — will the information be realistic (that is, will arealistic Realistic job preview Amethod of conveying jobjob preview be provided)? Or will some subjects be glossed over? information to an applicant• the decision about how and when to inform applicants about the job, the company andin an unbiased manner,so on. including both positiveThese fundamental decisions must be articulated and checked to ensure that they areand negative factors. consistent with the organisation’s strategic and HR objectives, culture and all legal requirements. Stone, R. J. (2013). <i>Managing human resources</i>. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com CHAPTER 6 Recruiting human resources211 Created from ballarat on 2017-11-09 20:15:45. Copyright © 2013. John Wiley & Sons. All rights reserved.Recruitment activities Effective recruitment requires the HR manager to undertake the following actions: • determine and categorise the organisation’s long-range and short-range HR needs Labour market The • keep alert to changing conditions in the labour market geographical area from which• develop appropriate recruitment advertisements and literature employees are recruited• select the recruitment methods to be used for a particular job. • record the number and quality of applicants from each recruiting source 19 • follow up on applicants to evaluate the effectiveness of the recruiting effort(see fgure 6.2). Employment checklist Before beginning the hiring process, the HR manager should review and receive agreement fromall involved managers on the following issues: 1. Is there a genuine need for this job to be flled? Could the work be reallocated? Is the workreally necessary? Would the work be better outsourced? 2. Should the job be flled internally or externally? 3. What is the budget for flling the position? Which departments will be charged therecruitment costs? 4. What are the duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, qualifcations, experience,knowledge, skills, abilities and personal qualities required? (An agreed job description andjob specifcation are essential.) 5. What is the job size? What is the job title? 6. What pay and fringe benefts will the position attract? What are the conditions ofemployment? Which department/s will the payroll costs be charged to? 7. How will candidates be recruited: Job posting? Newspaper advertisement? Executive searchconsultant? Personnel agency? 8. What advertisement copy/layout/style will be used? Will the advertisement be preparedin-house or by an advertising agency? Who will approve the fnal version? Who will beresponsible for placing the advertisement? Which newspapers, magazines and othercommunication media will be used to relay the advertisement to potential applicants? 9. Who will be involved in the recruitment and selection process? Who will conduct theinterviews? Who will make the hire/reject decisions? Will psychological tests be used? Will amedical examination be required? 10. Who will handle the induction? Who will be responsible for placing the new hire on thepayroll? 11. Who will give the job instructions? Who will arrange for any special training required? 12. Who will review the new hire’s performance during the probation period? Who will beFIGURE 6.2involved in the decision to confrm or terminate employment? Who will make the decision? Employment checklist Recruitment is a form of economic competition. Organisations compete with each other toidentify, attract and employ qualifed human resources. The proposition that ‘people make thedifference’ means that recruitment is a key marketing tool for organisations seeking a competi - tive edge. The way in which the recruitment process is handled affects the organisation’s imageas an employer and, in turn, its ability to attract qualifed people. Given that there is often pressure to promote both the job and the organisation in themost favourable light, the HR manager must ensure that applicants do not receive misleadingor inaccurate information. Failure in this task can create unrealistic expectations amongcandidates. In turn, this may produce job dissatisfaction, lower commitment and higher20 turnover. Unfortunately, although research indicates that truthfulness is a key characteristic preferredby many applicants, recruiters still give general, glowing descriptions of the company rather21 than a balanced or honest presentation. But to be effective, recruitment must satisfy theneeds of the candidate as well as the needs of the organisation. This is best done honestly,Stone, R. J. (2013). <i>Managing human resources</i>. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com 212PART 2 Determining, attracting and selecting human resources Created from ballarat on 2017-11-09 20:15:45. Copyright © 2013. John Wiley & Sons. All rights reserved.or the HR manager risks both the integrity of the organisation and their own status as aHR professional. Numerous research studies show that realistic job previews bring about success22 in improving retention, job satisfaction and performance. RESEARCH Corporate image, candidate attraction and FLASH web recruitment Traditional recruiting sources are being replaced (or augmented with) web-based recruiting. Keyattributes of corporate web sites include navigability, aesthetic features (colour, pictures, animationetc.) and employment information (job vacancies, career opportunities, company background,organization culture etc.). A website’s aesthetic features and employment information are positivelyassociated with the attractiveness of the organisation (both of which need to be consistent withthe culture and image of the organisation). Organisations should audit applicant reactions to theirweb page (especially perceptions and attitudes towards the organisation). HR managers need tobe aware of the positive relationship between organisational image and organisational attractionin motivating job applicants to pursue a position and viewing the organisation as a desirable placeto work. Source: Adapted by the author from Lyons, B.D. and Marler, J.H. (2011) Journal of Managerial Psychology, 26(1), pp. 58–76. Recruitment methods Internal or external recruitment? When a job vacancy exists, the frst replacement source to consider is within the organisation.Organisations such as BHP Billiton, Cathay Pacifc, IBM, Lend Lease and Procter and Gamblehave a policy of flling vacancies through internal transfer andpromotion. One early study Promotion Movement intoa position with a higherfound that almost 80 per cent of organisations flled more than half of their supervisory and23 job classifcation involvingmanagerial vacancies via internal promotion. But such results are no longer so common.more responsibility, higherDownsizings, fnancial costs and the increased legal requirements associated with main- status and increased pay. taining a full-time workforce have motivated employers to make greater use of independentcontractors, temporary workers and executive leasing. As a result, despite the claimed advan- tages of internal promotion — improved morale, reduced orientation and training requirementsand so on — many organisations now prefer to recruit from outside their existing pool ofemployees. Promotion from within is not without its disadvantages. Employees who apply for jobs and Promotion from within Policythat gives preference toare rejected can become discontented; the pool of candidates may be restricted; creativity canexisting employees whenbe stifed as a result of inbreeding; and management’s time involvement and expense may beflling a job vacancy. excessive (see fgure 6.3). Levi Strauss management recognised that it had a major problem24 because of inbreeding and now mandates that one-third of all vacancies be flled by outsiders.Some experts recommend a target of 80 per cent of middle and senior management appoint - 25 ments come from within and 20 per cent be recruited externally. Nevertheless, the advantage of internal recruitment is that management’s perceptions ofan employee are likely to be more accurate, thus providing a better prediction of successthan information gained about external candidates. Human resources constitute an enormousinvestment for most organisations, and it makes economic sense to try to improve the returnon this investment by making full use of the abilities of existing employees. This is especially so in the case of high-performing employees who provide the organ - isation with a competitive advantage. Their superior contribution towards the achievementof the organisation’s strategic objectives should be refected not only in their remuner- ation but also in the number and variety of opportunities to advance their career within theorganisation. Stone, R. J. (2013). <i>Managing human resources</i>. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com CHAPTER 6 Recruiting human resources213 Created from ballarat on 2017-11-09 20:15:45. Copyright © 2013. John Wiley & Sons. All rights reserved.RECRUITMENT Internal sources Advantages Disadvantages • Organisation has more knowledge of the • Employees may be promoted beyond candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. their level of competence. • Candidate already knows the organisation. • Employee infghting for promotions• Employee morale and motivation are can affect morale. enhanced. • Inbreeding can stife creativity and • Organisation’s return on investment ininnovation. training and development is increased. • System can become bureaucratic. • Can generate a succession of promotions. • Excellent training and development • Organisation needs to hire only programs are necessary. entry-level candidates. RECRUITMENT External sources Advantages Disadvantages • The pool of talent is bigger. • Attracting and selecting a new employee is• New insights, skills and know-how can bemore diffcult. introduced into the organisation. • New employee adjustment and orientation• It is often cheaper and easier to hiretakes longer. employees from outside the organisation. • Morale may suffer among existing• Outside employees are not members ofemployees who have been passed over. existing cliques. • An employee may be selected whoseFIGURE 6.3performance is below the standard requiredRecruitment (internal or whose personality does not match withversus external sources) the organisation’s culture. Internal recruitment methods Different organisations use various methods to locate qualifed internal candidates and toinform their existing employees about job vacancies. These methods include computerisedrecord systems and job posting. Computerised record systems Computers have enabled the creation of databanks that contain the personal details, qualif- cations and work history of each employee. Such information can also be specially presented inthe form of skills inventories and replacement charts. These permit the HR manager to quicklylocate potential candidates within the organisation’s workforce. However, because it can bediffcult for an HR manager to know if an employee is genuinely interested in a vacancy, jobposting is often used. Job posting Advertisingof job openings to currentemployees via bulletin Job posting boards, newsletters, personalThe purpose ofjob posting is to inform employees about job vacancies. The organisation mayletters or computeriseddo this via bulletin boards, newsletters, personal letters, or by computerised posting programs,posting programs. which allow employees to match a job vacancy with their skills, qualifcations and experience.Stone, R. J. (2013). <i>Managing human resources</i>. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com 214PART 2 Determining, attracting and selecting human resources Created from ballarat on 2017-11-09 20:15:45. Copyright © 2013. John Wiley & Sons. All rights reserved.Some multinationals operate global electronic job posting systems that bring a vacancy tothe notice of all employees irrespective of location. Successful job posting programs have thefollowing characteristics: 1. Jobs are posted in prominent places or advertised so interested employees are likely to seethem. 2. All permanent promotions and transfer opportunities are posted. 3. Job openings are posted before external recruiting begins. 4. A job specifcation is included with the listing so employees can judge whether theypossess the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities, formal qualifcations and personalrequirements. 5. The position’s eligibility rules and the criteria for selection are clear. An applicant shouldknow, for example, whether the decision will be based on seniority (that is, length ofservice with the employer), performance or a combination of both, and whether they mustfulfl minimum length-of-service requirements in the present job before applying for apromotion/transfer. 6. Once the decision is made, all applicants are informed about the decision and unsuccessful26 candidates are counselled as appropriate. External recruitment methods HR departments can use various approaches to locate and attract external candidates, oftenlooking to more than one source. Government employment agencies, private employment agen- cies, recruiting consultants, executive search frms, educational institutions and professionalorganisations are popular sources, as are advertisements, employee referrals, social networksand unsolicited applications. To choose an approach, the HR manager must know which recruitment channel is likely tobe most successful in targeting a particular labour group. An electrician, a computer specialistand a general manager will each have their own preferred recruitment channels (for example,employment agency and newspaper advertisement, the internet and an executive search frm,respectively). Research on recruiting channels is mixed. Decker and Cornelius suggest that employee refer- rals are best, while newspaper advertisements and employment agencies are among the worst.Similarly, Kirnan, Farley and Geisinger found in favour of informal recruiting channels. Incontrast, a study by Swaroff, Barclay and Bass found no relationship between recruitment27 channel and job tenure or employee productivity. The message is that each organisationshould conduct its own audit of recruitment channels in terms of cost, candidate quality andultimate performance. The state of the economy can also infuence the value of a particular recruiting method. Highunemployment usually means that unsolicited applications are more frequent and of betterquality than they are when the labour market is tight. A situation of full employment is likelyto force the HR manager to use several recruiting methods simultaneously to generate even afew qualifed candidates. Some novel recruitment methods are shown in fgure 6.4. Innovative recruiting •\t The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) runs a strategy competition, which involves more than50 teams from Australia and New Zealand competing for a $6000 prize, to identify potentialemployees. It also offers a $10 000 scholarship pr ogram. •\t ANZ operates an employee referral program where staff can earn up to $2000 for a successfulappointment. •\t UK law frm Baker & McKenzie gives employees who successfully refer legal staff £5000. FIGURE 6.4continued » Innovative recruiting programs Stone, R. J. (2013). <i>Managing human resources</i>. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com CHAPTER 6 Recruiting human resources215 Created from ballarat on 2017-11-09 20:15:45. Copyright © 2013. John Wiley & Sons. All rights reserved.•\t To attract a broader mix of talent, investment bank UBS invites approximately 50 topstudents from state schools in rural areas to spend a week in Sydney at a ‘Finance Academy’. •\t Y or Z.com offers a recruitment service where companies advertising on its web site give afnancial reward to anyone who successfully recommends a candidate for a job. •\t At www.linkme.com.au companies apply to hire workers instead of advertising. Candidatesadvertise what they want and wait to see which employers respond. •\t Alumni programs allow frms to actively keep in touch with former employees via conferences,social gatherings and the internet — and then re-hire them or use their networks to identifypotential candidates. •\t UK professional services frm PricewaterhouseCoopers provides structured fxed-term workexperience placements (internships) to university students. In 2008 it made job offers to morethan 90 per cent of its interns. •\t ANZ uses ‘speed dating’ to recruit graduates (candidates are interviewed in a single day andline managers make a decision on the spot) and ‘vacationer’ programs, which identify the topundergraduate talent during holiday work schemes. •\t Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) employs an online cryptographicpuzzle (www.canyoucrackit.co.uk) to identify potential UK spies and fast-track theirrecruitment. •\t NAB advertises special seminars aimed at telling women about banking as a career. •\t Adelaide’s Kojo Productions produces DVDs tailored to particular audiences using a mixof narration, interviews, re-enactments, animations, support material and graphics toprovide potential employees with information on the company, its history and what type ofFIGURE 6.428 employee they want. (continued) International recruitment A current recruitment trend has seen governments and private companies increasingly look tooverseas labour markets as a source of people. International recruitment is prevalent within the Australian public sector. The NSW govern- ment, for example, has targeted China, Canada, Ireland, India, the United Kingdom and theUnited States for employees in fnance, pharmaceuticals, information technology and biotech - nology. Pressure is also building from China, India and Pacifc Island countries for Australia to29 offer work to their nationals. Many employers remain reluctant to hire foreign employees because of concerns regardingthe costs, administrative burden and time taken to process and bring personnel to Australia.Lack of English language capabilities and trade union opposition further add to employer reluc - 30 tance. For example, Australia’s biggest transport company, Toll Holdings, stimulated a violentreaction from the Transport Workers Union (TWU) to its proposal to import truck drivers fromoverseas. The TWU’s national president angrily stated: ‘We are totally opposed to this sugges- tion. We are not going to stand back and watch them give away our jobs.’ Trade unions seeimported labour as threatening their members’ pay and conditions, smacking of labour exploit- 31 ation and as an employer attack on union power. Employers seeking overseas staff use a range of methods including direct advertising,employee referrals and employment agencies. The use of private overseas employmentagencies(especially in China, Indonesia and the Philippines), however, is not without risk. DOCTOR Dear Dr HR HR My company has recently opened a new sales offce in Singapore. What can I do to establish ourreputation as an employer of choice? Stone, R. J. (2013). <i>Managing human resources</i>. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com 216PART 2 Determining, attracting and selecting human resources Created from ballarat on 2017-11-09 20:15:45. Copyright © 2013. John Wiley & Sons. All rights reserved.Advertising Although online recruiting is changing the way HR managers approach recruiting, advertisingin local, state and national newspapers is still used by many organisations. To be effective, an employment advertisement must have attention-grabbing headlinesand applicant-friendly copy, and must specify the personal qualities, formal qualifcationsand knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for success. Moreover, the advertisement mustenhance the image of the organisation as a good place to work (see fgure 6.5). Recent research,for example, shows that the use of photographs of people (and especially those of existing32 employees) promotes liking and trust of the organisation. The AIDA technique AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. It gives information, creates interest andstimulates replies. 1. Attention. An eye-catching, descriptive title is the key to getting attention. The title of theadvertisement need not be the actual job title (which may not have a particularly appealingsound), but it should highlight the attractive features of the job. If needed, subtitles or thefrst sentence of the copy immediately following the heading can be used to expand onthis theme. Attention is also gained in the frst paragraph, which should be stimulating andcontain much of the information about the job. 2. Interest. This will include some, but not all, of the critical points of interest such as job detail,reporting relationships and qualifcations. The details should be contained in one or twoparagraphs in an easy-to-read, logical style. 3. Desire. Having caught the attention of the reader and created interest, you want to makea special, individual and direct appeal to this prospective candidate. You do this by offeringsuch incentives as higher status, better remuneration, more security, realistic promotionalprospects, greater professionalism and more progressive employee policies. Apart from thesalary, your appeal will be an emotive one. 4. Action. Finally, you call for action. This must be more than just giving your address orFIGURE 6.5 telephone number. Ask the candidate to write, invite him or her to telephone, ensurehim or her of complete confdentiality. Give your name so the candidate may contact youHow to create advertisementsthat enhance the imagedirect. of the organisation as aSource: Parkes, W. (1995) Recruiting in Australia, Sydney: Reed Books, pp. 34–5. good place to work Unfortunately, much recruitment advertising is organisation-centred, unattractive andboring to read. A survey by the Newspaper Advertising Bureau of Australia found a markeddiscrepancy, particularly with ‘professional’ recruitment, between what job applicants want to33 know and what organisations want to include in the advertisement. Contrary to popular opinion, studies show that prospective applicants are less concernedwith the remuneration package than with what they would be doing, what type of industrythey would be working in, and the experience, personal characteristics and qualifcations34 required. Research has also shown that when employers limit job-related content to promote35 their corporate image, the employment advertisement is less effective. Mathews andRedman, as a result, recommend that less money be spent on creative visuals and more onresearch to identify the critical personal attributes required for success in the company (see36 fgure 6.6). Other discrepancies exist regarding the placement of advertisements. The Newspaper Adver- tising Bureau of Australia survey revealed that professional applicants were less infuenced byadvertisements placed in the news section. In contrast, an earlier study found that advertise- 37 ments placed in the news section attracted more applicants. Stone, R. J. (2013). <i>Managing human resources</i>. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com CHAPTER 6 Recruiting human resources217 Created from ballarat on 2017-11-09 20:15:45. Copyright © 2013. John Wiley & Sons. All rights reserved."