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Recruiting the workforce of tomorrow According to the 1999 U.S. Department of Labor report, futurework: trends and challenges for work in the 21st century, “We are living in a new economy—powered by technology, fueled by information, and driven by knowledge.” In an era of
increasing global competition and scarce qualified human capital
resources, it is critical that hiring supervisors develop a recruitment
plan to meet their future needs. But
who are the workers of the future? Applicant pool We do know that the
workforce of tomorrow will be multi-generational (Baby Boomers, Generation
X, and Net-Gen) and more diverse. The
Baby Boom generation—which has been a major force in the labor market
for the past 20 years—has now reached its prime working years and makes
up about 47 percent of the workforce according to the Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Shortly,
this group will be reaching the traditional retirement age of 65.
Their retirements will dramatically affect the workforce of the
future. The retirement of
Baby Boomers, coupled with the slow population growth, will result in a
shrinking workforce. Despite
the recession and the effects of September 11 on the economy, 22 million
new jobs will be created by 2010. At
current labor force participation patterns, a shortage of qualified
workers is predicted for an extended period of time.
Employers will need to search globally for qualified applicants to
fill their vacancies. More
diversity in the workplace will bring many benefits, opportunities, and
challenges. To comply with
equal opportunity laws, hiring supervisors will need to be innovative in
their recruiting efforts. Along with a labor
shortage, there is also a shortage of talent.
Where strength and manual dexterity used to be enough to ensure
employment, jobs now and in the future will require more verbal,
mathematical, and interpersonal skills.
Emerging technologies, globalization, and the information
revolution are also increasing the demand for high-tech skills. Based on
the Department of Labor’s occupational employment projections, the jobs of the future will require greater education and training.
Developing a
recruiting strategy With the
anticipated shortfall of qualified workers, the measures we take today to
plan for our staffing needs will greatly assist us in meeting and
measuring organizational goals. Acquiring and
retaining quality talent is the key to any organization's success.
A well thought-out and implemented recruiting strategy will help to
ensure that the right employees are in place when needed. The objective of
a recruiting strategy is to attract a pool of qualified applicants. How do you develop
a comprehensive recruiting strategy?
First, you must determine what type of applicant you need to
recruit. You may want to develop a qualifications profile by looking at
what makes a person a good candidate for your vacancy.
Go beyond essential
job functions and consider the background and inherent characteristics
that are likely to equip a person best to perform the job. As part of developing your plan, you may wish to look at
existing and past employees who have performed best in the job and
determine what was responsible for their success.
Be very careful
that your profile does not include--either directly or indirectly--any
characteristics that might be viewed as discriminatory.
Purdue University is committed to equal employment opportunity for
all, regardless of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or
ancestry, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, disability,
or status as a disabled or Vietnam-era veteran as stated in Executive
Memorandum No. D-1 (revised December 31, 2002). You
may want to consider the composition of your current workforce and look
for any skill gaps that exist between your present organization and the
future “model.” Basically,
you’ll want to determine where the organization is now, versus where the
organization wants to be in the future.
Reaching
qualified applicants Recruiting
can be expensive, so you’ll need to consider your budget. Ask your employment recruiter for his or her advice. The University’s
official employment process requires all staff positions to be posted on
Purdue’s
Employment Web site. Job posting provides current employees the
opportunity to respond to the position announcement, allowing all
qualified employees to compete for the position.
The purpose of
external recruitment is to promote public visibility and to lawfully
solicit qualified applicants. Advertising
only in the traditional publications will often result in a homogeneous
pool of applicants. To
enlarge the pool of candidates, a hiring supervisor must consider
advertising in a variety of publications and contacting a range of
professional organizations. Doing
this will not only assist in enlarging the pool of candidates, but will
also convey the commitment of the department and the institution to
recruit women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities. As a supervisor you
need to craft an advertisement that will say what needs to be said in a
creative way. You need to
develop an ad that makes applicants want to go through the effort of
applying when they already have a job. Ads
should not contain jargon, abbreviations, or acronyms.
Remember to include the following in your ads:
You may also want
to include reasons that someone should apply.
This information can refer to the community, employee benefits,
and/or work environment. Example:
“As one of the leading public universities in the nation, Purdue
University is a comprehensive educational and research institution with
its main campus in West Lafayette, Indiana and three regional campuses.” All advertisements
for employment must include a statement that Purdue is an Equal
Opportunity Employer. Employment
recommends that you include the following statement,
“Purdue University is an equal opportunity/equal
access/affirmative action employer fully committed to achieving a diverse
workforce.” Advertising
sources A variety of
advertising sources is available for you to consider. Print advertising Running ads in
newspapers and periodicals will continue to be an important way to reach
candidates. Decide which
types of ads and which types of media (newspapers, professional journals,
etc.) will give you the desired results.
Many newspapers are also running their print ads on the internet.
Internet The internet is a
recruitment source that is getting a great deal of attention and increased
use. Using the internet is
faster and cheaper than many traditional methods.
Jobs also remain posted for periods of 30, 60, or more days and are
available 24 hours a day. College recruitment/job fairs/career days Educational
institutions are a source of applicants with formal education, but usually
minimal full-time work experience. The
job fair enables large numbers of candidates to talk to a variety of
potential employers. Purdue
University Human Resource Services regularly participates in various
professional and collegiate
recruiting
events throughout the year. Specialty sourcing - minority, female, veteran, disabled Special efforts may
be required to ensure that qualified applicants from specific groups are
represented in the applicant pool. You may wish to consider colleges and
universities with a traditional minority enrollment. Professional organizations can be a source of targeted
candidates, and many internet sites are devoted to diversity.
Hiring supervisors interested in expanding their pool of viable job
applicants to include people with disabilities should explore
non-traditional sources for applicants. Try the Employer’s Resources section at http://www.disabilityinfo.gov/
or at http://careeronestop.org/. To enlarge the pool of candidates, you may also wish to review our extensive list of specialty journals and consider advertising the position in some of them. Legal
consideration To prevent
liability from arising from recruiting efforts, it is imperative that you
ensure all your processes and documents are legally compliant.
Think ahead and document your plan, highlighting your good-faith
efforts to comply with all employment laws.
As previously stated, language used in advertisements for
applicants must be strictly job related.
Do not specify that an applicant must be a certain gender, within
an age range that excludes people 40 years old and older, or of a certain
height or weight. These requirements
describe some of the “protected classes,” those people who are
protected from discrimination by federal law: Title VII, Executive Order
11246, the Veterans Re-employment Act, the Vietnam Era Veterans
Readjustment Assistance Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
In summary, with
careful thought, analysis, and planning you can develop and implement a
strategy that works for you. Remember
the focus of any recruiting strategy is not merely attracting applicants,
but attracting and hiring qualified applicants.
It is the quality of applicants that is important, not the
quantity. - Pam Nesbitt |
