Recruitment Plan for Neo Inc.

Introduction 

Neo Inc. is a multinational retailer dealing in electronics and other consumer products. Since its inception in 2000, the company has witnessed massive growth in market shares and revenue (Singh & Kamal, 2019). In a bid to continue its international presence in the retail industry, the company aims to expand to new markets. The first step will involve opening a new headquarters in Africa, Asia, and Europe, to coordinate activities across the respective continents. Therefore, the company requires various types of employees from different regions. For this recruitment, the company aims at getting employees for management and junior positions. The process will involve a seven-step exercise for the identification and selection of qualified personnel for the current positions. In the first step, interested candidates shall be requested to apply for the listed positions. In this step, the company shall advertise the available positions for the applicants (Singh & Kamal, 2019). The second step will involve sourcing and attraction of skilled candidates. The third and fourth steps will be the conversion of applicants and selection of the viable ones. The interview process will then be followed by referencing check. Finally, onboarding of the selected candidates will occur, with training and integration into their roles. 

Recruitment is an important entity in the development and maintenance of a functional team. Effective recruitment strategies reduce the wastage of both money and time by ensuring that hired employees are qualified and require little or no developmental training. After the identification of the recruitment needs through the planning process, the company must identify the viable recruitment methods that can help in filling the available positions. The recruitment sources must be effective by attracting a significant number of highly qualified and experienced candidates. Apart from encouraging qualified candidates, the sources must also discourage unqualified candidates from applying for the positions (Singh & Kamal, 2019). The main categories used for the recruitment process will be internal and external recruitments. In internal recruitment, the company will aim at using its current workforce to enhance its presence in the newly-opened zones. This form of recruitment is essential in ensuring that the company gets an experienced workforce and that it can easily adapt to the new markets. The second category of recruitment is external, whereby the company will hire employees from other companies or fresh graduates from universities and colleges. This source is crucial if the company wants to establish itself in the newly opened markets (Singh & Kamal, 2019). For instance, hiring employees from indigenous countries will be advantageous as the employees have a better understanding of the markets. Therefore, the recruitment process must consider both the internal and external categories in finding the right sources to use in this recruitment plan. 

Promotions and Transfers 

The first source of recruitment that the company should consider in its staffing process is promotions. This is an internal recruitment method that involves hiring employees by promoting them into vacant positions within the same organization. In this method, employees are upgraded based on their merit and other factors. For instance, high-performing employees can be rewarded by being given higher-level positions within an organization. Promoted employees are given more responsibilities, higher pay, and higher status within an organization (Anand et al., 2018). This method could be a crucial tool in helping the organization establish itself in the new market within the shortest period. Transfers, like promotions, involve moving employees from one department to another or from one region to another. In this case, the American-based company could transfer some of its employees to its Asian, African, and European regions. Promotions and transfers could be essential, especially in the initiation phase of the new regional headquarters. In providing transfers, the company could let the employees continue performing similar roles. Additionally, the employees can be assigned new tasks and responsibilities. In the end, the company could reap more benefits from its investment in its current employees.  

Pros 

Promotions and transfers are essential sources for recruitment for companies wishing to expand their operations. In this case, the management has a better understanding and accurate perceptions towards the applicants. For instance, in the case of the current situation, the HR manager understands all the current employees personally as they have worked together for some time (Anand et al., 2018). The HR, therefore, understands the weaknesses and strengths of the employees as well as their suitability to the job requirements. In the end, the selection is based on accurate understandings, thus no room for dishonesty. This method is also less costly as compared to other methods, as there are no costs of interviews and background checks. In essence, HR managers should only request performance appraisals of their employees to understand how they have been performing. In the end, promotions are based on past performances and conduct within the organization; hence no costs will be incurred in finding candidates to promote. The method is also essential as it helps in the recruitment of employees for entry-level vacancies.  

Another key advantage of using promotions as a source of recruitment is that applicants are more acceptable as compared to others. With a better understanding of the applicants and their performance, the hiring unit can easily select them over external candidates who could be using dishonesty information to find their way into the company. This method is also effective for positions that prove hard to recruit effective employees. For instance, in cases of areas with hardships, it could be difficult for companies to find external candidates wishing to fit into the positions (Anand et al., 2018). However, promotions work in these cases, as the employees feel motivated by being promoted. Promotions and transfers are also effective as the employees have a better understanding of the organizational culture and values. Therefore, it is easier for them to advance the organizational demands by relying on their previous knowledge from the organization. 

Cons 

Promotions and transfers could be detrimental in the hiring process as they could create room for malpractices. This method could be used to advance corruption of nepotism as some managers use it to promote their friends and family members. The method could also prevent companies from hiring more skilled employees under the disguise of having a better understanding of their workforce. For instance, in the case of this company, promoting employees to work in the Asian headquarters could prevent the company from hiring other experienced employees in the new market (Anand et al., 2018). The method also brings the possibility of promoting underworking employees under the confusion of friendships. In this case, some managers may fail to understand poor performances by their employees due to their existing friendships. In the end, the company could suffer huge losses due to unproductivity resulting from poor performance. For instance, after promoting an underperforming director to the position of the regional manager, the company could underperform, thus leading to losses and closure of the market. The method is also disadvantageous as some employees could transfer their poor practices to the new positions. For instance, in this case, promoting underperforming or lazy employees could lead to the formation of lazy habits in the new headquarters. This method is also disadvantageous because it does not promote diversity. For instance, promoting American employees to work in the European market could lead to lower employee morale due to the lack of diversity and discrimination of local candidates. 

Referrals and Recommendations 

Another critical recruitment method is the use of referrals and recommendations, whereby companies hire employees based on recommendations provided by other organizations. In this case, current employees can refer their relatives or friends to fill the available places. This employee recruitment resource ensures that employees can be effective as the referred candidates have the required skills to enhance organizational success (Singh & Kamal, 2019). The referred employees could meet the expectations of the company as they are of similar qualities and personalities as the existing employees. In this case, the management assumes that their current employees have friends who bear similar qualities, thus improving the chances of success in the new endeavors.  

Pros 

Referrals are essential in ensuring organizational success as they promote the need for accuracy in job information. In essence, employees give accurate information regarding their friends by stating their weaknesses and strengths, thus enabling the management to understand who to hire. With accurate information, it is easier for human resource managers to find the best-suited employees for the available positions. Contrary to external sources whereby prospective employees can lie about their qualities to get employment, this source of recruitment provides an accurate way of finding the most qualified employees, thus increasing the chances of success for organizations (Singh & Kamal, 2019). For instance, for Neo. Inc., the company could request its employees to recommend any prospective candidates who can work in the specified regions effectively. In this case, the company will get candidates from Asian, European, and African markets easily. Referred candidates are more acceptable than those applying from external avenues. In essence, referrals imply that the suggested candidates can be trusted to advance organizational qualities. In this case, the referees can be liable for any shortcomings of their referrals, hence higher chances of better results. Referred individuals are also more likely to accept the tabled offers than those applying externally for jobs. Having been referred by their friends, the candidates are less likely to refuse offers and risk disappointing their friends. In the end, they are more likely to remain in the company for a long period. This method is also crucial in the hard-to-recruit areas as candidates are contacted because of the trust organizations have in them.  

Cons 

Despite proving to be an effective recruitment source for most companies, this method is sometimes disadvantageous. The method attracts the prospects of nepotism as employees and individuals prefer to refer their family members. For instance, a manager could refer his wife or children with the aim of helping them. In this case, the company could incur huge losses due to the recruitment of unqualified individuals (Singh & Kamal, 2019). The method could also result in poor outcomes whereby underperforming employees are hired by overlooking experienced ones. In this case, employees could refer to their friends by confusing friendship with performance. For instance, poorly performing friends could be referred to save them from joblessness, thus risking organizational stability and increasing the chances of losses. 

Advertisements 

Advertisements are also crucial employee recruitment methods that can be used in advancing organizational chances of success. Advertisements are conducted through various avenues, including social media and print media outlets. With the growing influence of digital media and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, companies can easily identify the best avenues to use to reach a wider number of available candidates for the available positions (Rodrigues & Martinez, 2020). Advertisements are best suited for jobs like clerical, managerial, and technical.  

Pros 

Advertisements are associated with various benefits for organizations. Through advertisements, companies can reach diverse candidates, thus improving their prospects of achieving success. In essence, most advertising avenues have the ability to reach wider audiences, thus ensuring that companies can get applications from diverse environments. In the end, there are higher chances of getting more skilled employees from advertising agencies as there is a widespread outreach to skilled employees. Advertisements are also effective recruitment sources as they overcome geographical barriers in employee sourcing. In essence, advertisements ensure that companies are not only constricted to their geographical locations when sourcing for employees (Rodrigues & Martinez, 2020). For instance, in the case of Neo Inc., the company can easily request for Africa, Asian, and European correspondents to apply for the available positions within their regions. In this case, the company does not have to travel to the regions to request people to apply for the jobs because they can easily find the application adverts on their media outlets. Advertisements are also crucial because they save time consumed in finding employees manually. For instance, when using methods like promotions, companies have to conduct checks on past performances. Contrarily, in this method, candidates only attach the required documents. 

Cons 

Advertisements have various shortcomings that reduce their effectiveness as recruitment sources. First, they are extremely expensive because companies have to pay advertising agencies for the vacancies to be displayed and for candidates to apply. The desire to meet wider audiences also attracts more payments, thus making this technique highly expensive for some companies. Another crucial shortcoming of this method is its vulnerability to cyber-attacks. In essence, candidates’ online privacy can be easily violated when they submit their data (Rodrigues & Martinez, 2020). Consequently, this could result in legal implications from both the government. Advertisements are also vulnerable to dishonesty, as some candidates can easily submit falsified data in a bid to gain employment illegally. In the end, companies could waste time sorting the right applications from those with evil intentions. 

Employee/Recruitment Agencies 

Employee agencies can also be used in conducting recruitment for companies. This method involves the use of external professional recruitment agencies that have a pool of professionals looking for employment. In this technique, companies pay the recruitment agencies specified commissions to conduct employee hiring processes for them (Farndale et al., 2018). The agencies are operated by the public, governments, or the private sector and could be the best place to find suitable employees. Agencies provide skilled, unskilled, and semi-skilled employment to people, enabling organizations to use their services at some costs.  

Pros 

Employment agencies are crucial avenues for companies to find their employees. First, they conduct background checks and the necessary employee evaluations; hence they are the best avenue for companies to identify talents. For instance, when looking for experienced technicians, companies visit the agencies that provide all the necessary information regarding the available candidates and their past work experiences. In the end, companies can easily benefit from such agencies the right specifications for their employees. Employee agencies are also crucial because they advertise roles for companies and also negotiate salaries and other job specifications (Farndale et al., 2018). In this case, companies are saved from hiring overpriced employees because the agencies have a better understanding of the specific demands of their members. Agencies also reduce liabilities associated with hiring inexperienced or dishonest employees. In essence, companies like Neo Inc. can demand compensations from the agencies if their employees fail to perform as per their descriptions. 

Cons 

Recruitment agencies could be an avenue of corruption and other malpractices that result in poor employee outcomes and skillfulness. For instance, the agencies are business entities; hence their main objective is making profits. They can easily recommend employees based on their ability to repay for the favors (Farndale et al., 2018). In the end, companies like Neo Inc. risk getting unskilled employees. This method is also detrimental because it is costly, whereby companies have to pay specified fees to gain their services. Additionally, employees work under minimum motivation as some of their payments could be used in repaying the employment agencies.  

Recommendation 

The analysis of the various recruitment sources indicates that some methods are more suitable in finding the right employees for Neo Inc. The best recruitment source that the company should use is promotions and transfers because it has fewer cons as compared to the prospective benefits. Through this method, the company will be able to transfer its expertise and experience to the newly opened markets. In essence, the promoted and transferred employees understand the organizational culture well, hence can be role models in advancing its success. However, this technique should be supplemented with the employment agencies, which will help in filling the remaining positions in the organization. 

References 

Anand, V. et al. (2018). A study on effectiveness of recruitment organizational Support in ITES.  International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics ,  119 (7), 2755-2764. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shanthana_m/publication/327366351_A_STUDY_ON_EFFECTIVENESS_OF_RECRUITMENT_ORGANIZATIONAL_SUPPORT_IN_ITeS/links/5b8a641a92851c1e12401c2a/A-STUDY-ON-EFFECTIVENESS-OF-RECRUITMENT-ORGANIZATIONAL-SUPPORT-IN-ITeS.pdf 

Farndale, E. et al. (2018). Recruitment and selection in context. In  Handbook of research on comparative human resource management . Edward Elgar Publishing. https://www.elgaronline.com/abstract/edcoll/9781784711122/9781784711122.00014.xml 

Rodrigues, D., & Martinez, L. F. (2020). The influence of digital marketing on recruitment effectiveness: a qualitative study.  European Journal of Management Studies . https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EJMS-09-2020-002/full/html 

Singh, H., & Kamal, R. (2019). Recruitment practices in IT sector: A study of Employees perspective.  Pramana research Journal ,  9 (1), 318-323. https://www.pramanaresearch.org/gallery/prj-p457.pdf