Analysis of The Development of E-recruitment - Essay Example

Analysis of The Development of E-recruitment Introduction The development of e-recruitment has changed the human resource industry. It has been able to effectively go beyond the traditional borders of recruitment and hiring. According to Featherman and Pavlou (2003), the adoption of technology in the industry can be expected to continue and expand because of the way that online technologies cater to basic recruitment and hiring needs. However, it also requires investing capital and training to be effective. Whether a company opts to outsource its e-recruitment or mange it by itself, it needs to first have the necessary technological capabilities. The standard requirements would be to have online connections, update computer hardware and software and sufficiently trained human resource staff. To be able to fully benefit from the technology, network and database systems, and media technologies that can be used for interview, high-sped connectivity to the internet is advised and technical support staff are advised (Horwitz et al, 2006). Another key issue that is being focused in e-recruitment is the issue regarding security and fraud. Among the concerns regarding security is the accesses to applicants’ information particularly contact details (E-recruitment, 2006). Though e-commerce and related online regulations have already addressed these issues, there are still some fears that information is being sold to third parties or used for other purposes either with or without the consent of e-recruiters (Nickel & Schaumburg, 2004). As e-recruitment also became more popular, recruitment frauds also became prevalent. Aside for standard anti-fraud regulation, most of the efforts to curb the activities have been initiated largely by legitimate e-recruiters (Grabner-Kräuter & Kaluscha, 2003). E-recruitment has encouraged the flexibility of labor and has encouraged work migration. It has also been able to improve data basing and management employee information to support other human resource functions (Sridhar, 2005). Another key improvement it has been able to bring to the industry is in the enhancement of communications with prospective employees and hiring agencies. It has allowed real time coordination and management of information that has been effective in shortening and improving efficiency of the whole hiring process (Liu and Wang, 2006). On the part of applicants, it has in turn allowed to more options and access to jobs and companies respectively. The utilization of online applications has also significantly cut the cost of applying for jobs and communicating with perspective companies (Yoon Kin Tong & Sivanand). Development E-recruitment developed in conjunction with the trend of outsourcing of support services as part of down-sizing efforts in the late 1980’s. However, e-recruitment has to wait a few more years before it came into the form we know today because of the lack of necessary technological capacity to support it. The first forms of e-recruitment involved either the posting of job vacancies in traditional media or coursing of applications to online addresses or by posting of jobs on online posting boards and coursing through snail mail or offices (Grabner-Kräuter & Kaluscha, 2003). The eventual popularity of e-mails, increased capacity of the internet communications and higher computing capacity are the basis of e-recruitment industry as it is known today. E-recruitment models today have to develop the “capability of HR to facilitate the system and to view the staffing process as an end-to-end process” (Kerrin & Kettley, 2006) E-commerce E-recruitment is one of the success stories of e-commerce. The first models took the form of job postings that were part packaged with traditional recruitment outsourcing services. Improvement on the internet and database capacity eventually created the next model of e-recruitment that was an independent service. This model asked for employees to become members of the service by including their information into a database wherein they could view available jobs online (New E-recruitment guide helps business expand talent pool, 2006). However, the actual business model is built on the companies that would be able to have access to the database to view the applicants and post their vacancies aside from the traditional recruitment services (E-recruitment, 2006). Eventually, additional services were also developed for both applicants and prospective employers like periodical email regarding job matches, notices for job fairs and related events and career and educational learning information. The service is usually localized but now has also become more popular also for international recruiters. In-House Recruitment As companies became more technology driven themselves, their investment in better computing and communications technology has afforded them capabilities in e-recruitment (Sridhar, 2006). The model they use is the same as that of professional e-recruiters but without the business model or motivation. The e-recruitment services are usually incorporated into company websites. Aside from recruitment purposes, the company can also use the information as a channel for public relations and a means of assessing the industry and their position in it. In-house recruitment also affords company security of information regarding vacancies and strategic hiring agendas. Another motivation for companies to maintain their own in-house recruitment is to be able to customize information taken from applicants. Most companies maintain e-recruitment as an additional service to support more traditional recruitment options since management of information can require a great deal of resources. However, for larger companies, e-recruitment is made more feasible because of information sharing opportunities. Free Services The most recent development in e-recruitment is in its inclusion among services offered for free on the internet. In contrast with an e-recruitment service provider who may require payment to access the database or to post job vacancies and with in-house e-recruitment services that require companies to maintain the service themselves, there are now services that allow full access to both employers and applicants (Sridhar, 2006). Service can be a services provided by an online service providers like Yahoo and MSN. Another form of the service is websites that allow unrestricted posting and access to information. However, these services post the greatest risk for employment fraud and there is significantly less control. Also, information is limited to the website and may not be sufficient for the needs of employers or applicants. Database information is also limited to the capacity of the service provider. Regardless, this has become one of the more popular methods of e-recruitment today because though the services are basic, they have no significant cost. Applications E-recruitment has significantly been able to extend the capacity for human resource management. Its main strength is in the application of the information that can be gathered for all needs of human resource management (Yoon Kin Tong & Sivanand, 2005). It has also afforded greater opportunities in the global labor market. It is estimated that e-recruitment and its related services will become more popular because of its cost-effectiveness and efficiency. Resume Database The primary innovation that e-recruitment has been able to deliver is in the storage and management of resumes (New E-recruitment guide helps business expand talent pool, 2006). The management of prospective employee information has allowed recruiters to be bale to find the candidates that suit their needs the most by simply setting parameters in searching resume databases. Physical storage problems have also been alleviated. I addition, it has been able to support other human resource functions that utilize historical information on employees (Horwitz et al, 2006). The main challenge in the maintenance of resume databases is in the resources that are needed in the storage of information (Sridhar, 2006). For a resume database to be fully utilized, it must be able to cater to the specific needs of the database users. According to Kerrin and Kettley (2006), there is still a lot of potential for information from resume databases. A new development in the resume data basing is the inclusion of media information like video resumes or testaments. This development is seen as an important development not just in terms of recruitment but also in terms of developing mediums of communication. Industry Survey Many e-recruitment companies today are publishing statistical information from their databases to provide information for industries. The survey yield information trends in profession, employment and labor (Yoon Kin Tong & Sivanand, 2005). The studies have been used to establish pay standards and determine labor competitiveness. The information can also yield information regarding developing industries or professions. Information from these surveys can also be used beyond labor settings. It can determine if an industry has enough professionals to support and at the same time determine what industries are facing a professional shortage. The utilization of the information for these purposes would not be as readily available in traditional recruitment methods because of the difficulty in organization information (Sridhar, 2006). The digitalization of information is a key element why e-recruitment can provide industries information that can be used for assessment. Future Trends The future of e-recruitment will be in providing supplemental services for employers and applicants (E-recruitment, 2006). Current trends indicate that these services will be increasingly popular and will be a critical element in maintaining competitiveness in the industry. The objective is to be able to hold the audience of e-recruiters even if they are not job-hunting. E-recruitment is an industry that will utilize the most current technologies to improve and expand its features and services. The industry will also focus on stabilizing partnerships particularly in information sharing within and outside the industry (Yoon Kin Tong & Sivanand, 2005). More e-recruitment services will incorporate into their services information about continuing education and self-improvement. This is part of the effort to maintain their subscribers and for expansion. Also, it can enhance the competitiveness of applicants to improve their success rates with companies (New E-recruitment guide helps business expand talent pool, 2006). This is the area of development were collaboration will be most observed. In most cases, e-recruitment firms will generally function only as endorsers but as the industry for developmental activities channeled through it grows, it can be expected that many e-recruitment firms will expand to this service on their own eventually. Another key service that e-recruitment firms will offer more significantly in the future will be in career management. It will involve components of continued learning and professional development options (Sridhar, 2006). The service will be presented similar to head hunting services for companies but instead offer it as a parallel service for applicants. This service reflects personalization of services that is programmed to provide individualized services for subscribers. However, this services id dependent on the information capacity of e-recruitment services. Conclusion However, there are still great challenges for the industry. E-recruitment as a whole will be a competition of services and additional features. It must be able to answer both the demand for information as well as provide opportunity for individuality. As more free services become available, e-recruitment companies must be able to provide companies more comprehensive services. As Kerrin and Kettley (2006) have pointed out, “the key message for recruiters is to acknowledge that the adoption of e-recruitment is about more than just technology. It is about the recruitment system being able to attract the right candidate, the selection process being based on sound and credible criteria, and the tracking process being able to integrate with existing systems”. E-recruitment has been able to revolutionize the concept of hiring and employment. It has been able to utilize technology to its advantage to develop not only recruitment services but a number of related human resource management functions as well (Yoon Kin Tong & Sivanand, 2005). It will continue to be a popular method of hiring because of its cost-effectiveness and its reach. The opportunities that can be derived from e-recruitment are not limited to its function. It has also been able to yield information on the state of industries as well as the key areas of future development. It has allowed for insights into job preferences, industry standards of wage and employment and the adaptation of technology in business and of individuals. There is initiative for e-recruitment to become more sensitive to cultural and social issues. This will be essential as e-recruitment becomes even more globalized and accessible to more people including those who may be physically challenged (Horwitz et al, 2006). In conclusion, though it has had considerable success, e-recruitment still has a long way to go. It has to be bale maintain its sensitivity to trends in employments as well as society to be able to create the services that will cater to its target markets. E-recruitment will be adapted by more and more companies as technology makes it easier to do independently. For it to be able to continue as an enterprise, it has to be able not only to provide cost-effective services but also to set the services needed by both applicants and employers. References E-recruitment (2006). [Online]. Available from [Accessed December 15 2006]. Hoffman, Donna L., Novak, Thomas P. and Peralta, Marcos (1999). Building consumer trust online. Communications of the ACM Volume 42 Issue 4. New York, NY: ACM Press. pp. 80 - 85 Horwitz, Frank M., Heng, Chan Teng, Quazi, Hesan A., Nonkwelo, Carol, Roditi, Denise, Eck, Paul van (2006). Human resource strategies for managing knowledge workers: an Afro-Asian comparative analysis. International Journal of Human Resource Management, Volume 17, Number 5, May 2006. pp. 775-811 Nickel , Jennifer and Schaumburg, Heike (2004). Electronic privacy, trust and self-disclosure in e-recruitment. CHI '04 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems, April 24-29, 2004, Vienna, Austria Kerrin, M and Kettley, P. (2006). E-Recruitment: Is it Delivering? Institute for Employment Studies Report 402. Available from [Accessed December 15 2006]. Liu, Chung-Chu and Wang, Hung-Jen (2006). Developing measures of digital capital and virtual value chain construction in job search. International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development Volume 4 Number 1. pp. 66 - 81 Featherman , Mauricio S. and Pavlou, Paul A. (2003). Predicting e-services adoption: a perceived risk facets perspective, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies Volume 59 Number.4. pp. 451-474. New E-recruitment guide helps business expand talent pool (2006). [Online]. Available from [Accessed December 15 2006]. Grabner-Kräuter, Sonja and Kaluscha, Ewald A. (2003). Empirical research in on-line trust: a review and critical assessment. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Volume 58 Number 6. pp.783-812 Sridhar, Bindu (2005). E-Recruitment, The Right Way. [Online]. Available from [Accessed December 15 2006]. Yoon Kin Tong, David and Sivanand, C.N (2005). E-recruitment service providers review: International and Malaysian. Employee Relations Volume 27 Number 1, 2005. pp. 103-117 Read More