A closed internal recruitment system is defined as a structured system in the Human Resource Department of an organisation where by employees are not made aware of job vacancies. 2 Usually, in such system, the only persons who are aware of promotions or transfer opportunities are those who oversee placement in the HR department, line managers with vacancies and contacted employees. The Jamaica Public Service Limited (JPS) Human Resource Department could be considered very efficient and effective, if they utilized a closed internal recruitment system, based on the operations of the organisation.
The organisation depends heavily on experts and specialists, because of the services they offer. This method will create some form of cost saving opportunity for JPS, whereas the method is considered to be relatively inexpensive compared to other internal methods of recruitment, also this method creates a quicker response to fulfill the vacancies which would ultimately enhance the firm’s efficiency as they are the sole provider for electricity in the country, therefore the HR department has a critical role to play in order to choose the most suitable candidate which will definitely have an impact on the organisation’s image.
The closed internal recruitment system can be very efficient. However in order for this system to work effectively there are a few steps to follow. Files for the potential candidates should be pooled in the HR employees’ database, where they can be accurately matched with a job that matches their knowledge, skill, attitudes and other attributes (KSAO’s). The steps which are critical in the closed internal recruitment system are as follows: 1.
) Mangers notify the Human Resource Department of the vacancies which exist within their respective departments. At this stage managers should do a requisition and sign it for the HR department to begin the process of recruitment. 2. ) The Human Resource Manager then searches the respective candidates’ files. In the case of the target position (Operations Manager) the HR department will have an idea of the employees’ files that should be reviewed. 3.
) The Human Resource Department provides a short list of candidates to the departmental managers. At this stage the files are reviewed and the qualified persons for the job are recommended. 4. ) Finally the departmental manager interviews the candidates and then selects the most suitable candidate(s). The advantages of a closed internal recruitment system are that it is relatively inexpensive in terms of searching cost for candidates when compared to other internal recruitment or external methods.
Secondly, using closed internal recruitment system facilitates a quicker response to fulfill a vacancy, the HR department usually has a skills inventory for candidates within the organization, therefore it is easy for them to analyse the KSAO’s required for the position and select the best candidate. Thirdly, the method will ultimately require fewer candidates to be interviewed using the closed internal recruitment system because they are usually unaware of the promotions or vacancies that exist within the firm.
Fourthly, based on the critical review of the KSAO’s of the potential candidates, the HR department will eventually select those candidates with whom their KSAO’s match the designated position. On the other hand, the disadvantages of a closed internal recruitment system is that the system may lead to an increase in labor migration, which could possibly cause problems for the firm , where by experts or specialists may leave a difficult or core functional area of the firm’s operation. JPS must ensure that the internal labour market can satisfy the individual need.
The new vacancy that will now be available is also a key functional area of the organisation’s operations and will need to be filled as soon as possible after the employee in the current position leaves. An individual or employee will have to be selected to act in the position until it is filled. Secondly, employees may feel discriminated against because of the fact that they think not all employees were given a fair opportunity and therefore the selection method may be questionable in regards to bias.
There are two other internal recruitment methods that an organisation can use Open or Targeted in order to recruit candidates internally. Open Internal Recruitment System An Open internal recruitment system tends to differ from the closed internal recruitment system, because in this system the employees are aware of the job vacancies. Usually this is accomplished by a job posting and bidding system. This method generally gives employees a chance to measure qualification against those required for advancement.
It also reduces the possibility of supervisors selecting only favorite employees for a promotion or transfer. This method should be considered for filling the new position that will now arise as a result of the promotion of an individual to the position of Operations Manager. Sources of Applicants In internal recruiting, applicants may be sourced through Job posting which may be defined as a means of publicizing an open job to employees3 in this case the position of Shift Charge Supervisor or Operations Engineer which will need to be filled after the target position Operations Manager is filled.
In job posting, the job’s attributes, such as qualifications, supervisory relationships, work schedule and pay rate should be listed. There are disadvantages associated with job posting. The first is called a “bagged” job where employees believe that an applicant was selected before the job was posted4. Job openings can be made known to employees by using the intranet where the applicants chosen will be sent an individual e-mail of the vacancy and if interested persons will reply by sending their application letter and ri?? sumi?? to the HR department.
The intranet is a much quicker way to source applicants in a quicker time span. Another method to source applicants is through skills inventory which is the method used to fill the position of Operations Manager. The KSAO’s that are used in making advancement decisions are stored in a skills inventory. The inventory consists of manual files or computer files for each employee. Skills inventory also has several problems. One such problem is the very careful and tedious record keeping required to keep the files up to date and useful.
Maintenance of these files is critical as qualified candidates may be bypassed if current files are not maintained. Managers are often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of files, and as a result, may be resistant to using a skills inventory. A final problem that must be confronted in maintaining a skills inventory is that the files must be user friendly, therefore, files must be of the same standard and employees should be able to understand the files which must be accepted by the system users.
JPS should maintain their records of applicants so as to make the process of accepting eligible applicants easier. When and if applicants are accepted, supervisors should retain their files to maintain a record of the progress of current employees and also to observe the areas in which they need improvement. Once the candidates have been chosen for the position of Operations Manager, they are personally notified by the department manager.
