Module 2 : Recruitment and Selection
Manpower of appropriate quality is the key to success for most IT companies. Recruitment of staff is the activity that accounted for the maximum time spent by HR staff. The large IT companies had a separate Sourcing department either as a part of or independent of HR. Line managers were closely involved in selection of staff and in many cases infact played the major role, with HR being more of a coordinator.
We have surveyed the preferences for various methods of recruitment as well as the selection methods used. We did not observe much difference in practices between companies of varying sizes. However the smaller companies did use recruitment consultants and informal sources more whereas the larger companies preferred to advertise themselves or use employee referrals. The standards of selection was also an important area that companies focused on.
Campus recruitment
IT companies focused on recruitments at the entry level and hence campus recruitment was a major source. The importance of building relationships with campuses and building an image with students to enable attracting appropriate talent was a major area that companies spent time and money. Several companies had made donations to colleges, deputed staff to teach or conduct seminars or sponsored projects through the year to build relationships with the student community. In some cases this has also enabled companies to identify suitable candidates before placement time.
The number of campuses that companies visited depended on the number sought to be hired. The large companies that recruited over 200 students each year visited a large number of campuses. However even these companies typically focused on 10 to 15 colleges though they visited in some cases up to 25
colleges. We found several smaller recruiters also visiting as large a number of campuses due to the need to build a brand equity and due to the lack of adequate students in the better known colleges. Many regular recruiters however kept visiting newer institutes to assess the standard to plan for future requirements.
Written technical tests were the most common selection method at the campus. These tests have become more sophisticated in terms of administration so that individually different test papers are now given by some companies, by using a databank of questions, to get over security aspects in administration. Most tests at this level are aptitude tests rather than specific language or technical tests.
Companies have reported a varied level of acceptance of offers at campuses. However since most companies selected the campuses to recruit from, the ratio of candidates passing tests and being selected was fairly high (above 60%). However the final acceptance did not reflect the same ratio. These ratios were understandably much higher than for advertised positions.
Other Recruitments
70% of recruitment of employees were for entry level positions, but another 15 to 20% were for employees under 5 years experience. Many companies experienced shortage of project managers and skills in specific areas especially the newer areas such as e commerce, Java langauge or specific domain areas. For these levels the most preferred method of recruitment remained advertisements
Recruitment of marketing and business development staff is seen as the new challenge. Most companies find that they have to have a network overseas to enable hiring of such staff.
Written tests are usually not administered to employees with over three years experience barring a few companies who do administer such tests depending on positions up to the project leader level. Most companies feel that experienced employees are not willing to take written tests.
Personal interviews are the other major selection tool used. Due to the large numbers involved, interviews are not in all cases as rigorous especially for junior positions. The focus is often in ensuring that there are no grounds for rejection if the technical standards have been met. Referencing is also done to a limited extent and mainly for senior managers.
