Employee attraction and retention
Modern markets are characterised by high competitive pressures and increased customer demands, these attributes are as a result of technological evolution which has drastically changed the way of doing business. The telecommunication industry is no different having increased demands for delivering efficient services to customers and the competitive demands of having adequate technological innovations to take over future markets. These needs promote heavy changes across the industry which among many other factors has affected human resource management (Huda, Haque & Khan, 2014). Today, the human resource department is seen a strategic asset that when properly utilised can increase the overall functionality of any organisations. Nevertheless, in meeting its objectives, HR is faced with many resounding challenges.
Scholars have always been in agreement on the ability of recruitment strategies in improving the overall competitiveness of an organisation. In fact, there are studies that have produced factual results of that link HR strategies with the performance and effectiveness of organisations (Hutchings, Cieri & Shea, 2011). In the telecommunication industry, these strategies are particularly important because of the diversity and versatility of the industry where technological changes frequently affect the supply and demographic of the workforce pool. Furthermore, there are the challenges that face the systemic approaches of creating a favourable workplace environment more so, if the image of an organisation is poor. Therefore, a good HR strategy will focus on the good employment practices that focus on the employees giving them good recruitment and workplace experience (Zameer, 2016).
A recruitment problem faced by most technology demanding industry’s where due to adverse technological requirements the supply of recruits is usually minimal as compared to the demand. For instance, with the recent advancements in mobile communication where the fourth generations among other intuitive technologies are on the rise have led to a drastic shortage of employees who can meet the demand. Therefore, in response, the telecommunication demand for specialists and developers has increased which has increased the competition among the organisation operating in the industry. As this demand and competition grow the qualified/potential recruits become veritable and unique commodities that request more demands in terms of wages and other privileges (Zinyemba, 2014).
Furthermore, the same recruits develop a sense of ownership where they adapt to the environment in order to maximise their resources. The adaptation results in multiple consultants whose wages out way those of full-fledged employees. This outcome forces many organisations in the telecommunication industry to share their key technical expertise which dilutes the market in terms of unique solutions affecting the overall performance of these organisations. In addition to this, these organisations implement basic and renowned business standards in an attempt to lower the functionalities of the specialised employees who are in low abundance (Pillar, 2016).
Every company will face the daunting task of developing and adopting a system that yields favourable recruiting results. This outcome is further intensified by the thousands if not millions of solutions recommended by the market on how to source solutions after identifying the problems. However, as expected, the large pool of resources comes with a majority of poor resources that degrade the overall recruiting process. For instance, job boards, social media and aggregators will have varying results based on experience and market conditions. Moreover, remember that the recruitment process has no regulations which expose it to a lot of challenges. Essentially, anybody with an internet connection and mode of communication can start a recruitment shop which generally dilutes the importance of the process with job seekers having negative experiences (Infosys, 2010).
Key challenges of recruitment processes
Now, analyse these outcomes and the continued diversity among recruiters and a hectic process is produced, where among the fragmentation issue faced, an organisation has also to contend with the differences in recruits. For instance, the millennial generations will have different motivations as compared to the older generation which necessitates a different strategy for recruiting in either demographic. On top of these challenges, organisations located in different regions have to deal with the differences in market conditions where as a result of landscape and workplace fragmentation employees will require different skills sets. This outcome requires extras HR resources which further minimises the effective solutions as a result of the multiple recruitment choices given (Doverspike, Taylor, Shultz & McKay, 2016).
As a technologically inclined industry, the telecommunication industry is continuously innovating which creates new job positions that require refined skill sets in particular fields. Now filling these new positions will always serve as a challenge more so, when you consider the rigidity of the education system which in most cases takes time before it adapts to the needs of the market. These educational setbacks lead to the conflict between the jobs/skills set wanted and the available recruits who are now referred to as half-baked professionals, i.e. they have theoretical content but minimal practical prowess. This conflict complicates the recruitment process which forces an organization to acquire candidates who they deem smart so as to orient them with the ways of the industry at the shortest periods of time (Leeflang, Verhoef, Dahlstrom & Freundt, 2014). Therefore, skill sets that would take years to acquire are hurriedly taught to individuals which eventually affects the outcome of these organisations.
Now, according to recruitment surveys conducted in 2015, 76 percent of recruiters outlined that locating candidates with the skills set they wanted was the biggest challenge they faced (Pillar, 2016). In their analysis, these recruiters outlined that this problem is caused by the diversity of the market where the skills and the matching demographic fail to align. For one, the ageing generation will have the necessary skills as a result of experience they have but will have a higher wage demand. On the other hand, the young generation lacking the skills needed will have minimal wage requirements but will have to be taught the skill set demanded. An outcome that outlines an ever ending recruitments dilemma.
Organisation in the telecommunication industry are faced with stiff competition which forces them to direct their strategies towards pleasing the customers. These objectives highly depend on the image of an organisation which among many considerations will force them to follow thorough and strenuous processes while recruiting employees. The processes are particularly common among established organisation who have the necessary resources to support these long ventures. Now, while these processes help acquire the right candidates they also frustrate recruits more so, those with the adequate skills who opt to seek other opportunities that have minimal recruitment procedures (G20, 2010). These decisions are sometimes understandable considering that some recruitment process takes months to complete with some even taking more than 3 months to give the initial feedback (Pillar, 2016).
Lack of technology professionals
This challenge causes some of these organisations to loss competent professionals who seek positions in other organisations that have shorter recruitment processes or have an assurance of job positions during the recruitment process. In response some organisation will try to compress the recruitment process however, this may lead to other unfavourable outcomes where recruiters either acquire candidates with the wrong skills sets or they end up compromising the image of the organisation (Klosters, 2014).
A recruitment strategy is meant to support an organisation in the recruitment process and not substitute the existing functional structures. In essence, it’s not advisable to replace the entire HR department because of the poor results seen in the previous engagement process, instead, the goal should be to attract job seekers while facilitating the needs of the recruiting team (Mueller, 2010). Therefore, creating awareness and increasing the overall returns of the recruitments process are the two major objectives of the proposed strategy in this instance. Moreover, the strategies suggested reflect the outlined challenges which are caused by both internal and external factors as seen above.
A recruitments strategy should be policy driven where measures that assess accountability, responsibilities and results are implemented. For this to happen, experienced professionals who have the capacity to drive the recruitment strategy are needed. These professional have loads of experience to source hard to find recruits who have the necessary skills but have minimal patients for the long recruitments processes. Furthermore, remember unlike the host organisation that deals with telecommunication systems, these organisation (recruitment agencies) specialise in the roles of recruiting professional in particular fields. Therefore, when faced with the said challenges, they will outline them as learning experiences and will execute their duties to please their clients while maintaining their professional image (Richardson, 2014). Nevertheless, in choosing the recruitment agency a proactive recruiter should be sort after as they prevail in all market conditions i.e. regardless of candidates available.
Lack of the necessary skill set is attributed to the curriculums taught in academic institutions. By partnering with the renowned institutions the telecommunication industry can help these organisations develop custom curriculums for the students in preparation for the industry. In essences, this outlook will increase the favourable skills for the industry which will force candidates to specialise in particular fields further diversifying the industry. This diversification will increase the performance of the field which will increase the overall rate of innovation (David, 2016).
Diversification and adaptability are the order of the day, similar to the technological innovation seen in the industry, telecommunication industries should adjust their recruitment channels to increase their scope for desired candidates. This outcome can be met using verifiable recruitment portals linked with social media sites as compared to recruitment e-mails that tend raise suspicions among recruits. Moreover, these organisations should partner with the academic institutions to source the top students who are easily trained for new roles (Saylor, 2013).
Although a slow and strenuous process, having an elaborate recruitment process enhances an organisation’s control over the job market. Moreover, the process can be customised to fit the needs of the organisation without emulating those seen in other organisations. In the end, competent candidates are obtained which helps improve the overall performance and image of the organisation as recruits are assured of favourable outcomes at the end including good experiences.
Market fragmentation
Conclusion and recommendation
Recruitment like any other aspect of an organization should serve as an assets that contributes to the overall operations and functionalities. Today, as seen in this report the HR forms a crucial part of an organization’s success unlike in the past where it was characterised by simple office administration roles. Now, its operations has a more crucial role when one considers the telecommunication industry, a technology based industry/field. Whereas, multiple organizations in the field will use technology to boost their candidates’ recruitment and selection process, the cautionary tale should lie in the strategy used. Yes, multiple job posting will be availed over social media among other avenues however, the outcome of these posting depends on the ability to highlight the competent candidates.
Therefore, a recruitment agency will help focus the needs of the organization to the desired professionals. Furthermore, this operation will be simplified by the partnership created by the industry which will produce more professionals with the basic skills necessary for the field. In addition to this, the streamlined recruitment channel will help narrow down on the competency of the selected candidates. Remember, the suitability of employment depends on a wide range of requirements, from technical skills to interpersonal skills. Through these rigorous processes, these skills can be well highlighted and identified leading to a successful recruitment process.
References:
David. J. (2016). Recruitment, selection and retention strategies. One Caribbean. Retrieved 22 May, 2017, from: https://www.onecaribbean.org/content/files/RecruitmentstrategiesJeniferDavid.pdf
Doverspike. D, Taylor. M, Shultz. K & McKay. (2016). Responding to the Challenge of
a Changing Workforce: Recruiting Non-traditional Demographic Groups. Retrieved 22 May, 2017, from: https://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/UN/UNPAN021816.pdf
G20. (2010). A skilled workforce for strong, sustainable and balanced growth. International labour office, Geneva. Retrieved 22 May, 2017, from: https://www.oecd.org/g20/summits/toronto/G20-Skills-Strategy.pdf.
Hutchings. K, Cieri. H & Shea. T. (2011). Employee Attraction and Retention in the Australian Resources Sector. Journal of Industrial Relations. Retrieved 22 May, 2017, from: https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/41303/71077_1.pdf?sequence=1
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Zameer. H. (2016). Issues and Problems faced by organizations in recruitment; A case of telecom sector in Pakistan. Academia. Retrieved 22 May, 2017, from: https://www.academia.edu/1616534/Issues_and_Problems_faced_by_organizations_in_recruitment_A_case_of_telecom_sector_in_Pakistan
Zinyemba. A. (2014). The Challenges of Recruitment and Selection of Employees in Zimbabwean Companies. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR). Retrieved 22 May, 2017, from: https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v3i1/MDIwMTM2NTI=.pdf
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