¶ … Human Resources Management (HRM) functions. Your Best practice used by companies to recruit university / college students As the society evolved, the role of the human resources has also undergone a series of changes. At the commencement of the Industrial Revolution, the workforce was perceived as the force operating the machineries, making no claims, working in difficult and unsanitary conditions and for miserable pay. With the aid of unions and legislations, the workforce has transformed into a force which adds value to the entity and supports it in reaching its overall objectives.

The modern day employee is more than ever valued and cherished within the organizational climate. While this is true in most sectors, it is mostly obvious within the services industry, where there are no material products to offer, and the employees are the ones who generate customer satisfaction.

BWKN Consulting is a financial consulting firm which offers its services to both individual and well as organizational customers. It provides support on financial management, savings, investments, budgetary controls, internal audits as well as other issues related to financials -- as these arise in the individual context of each customer. BWKN Consulting takes great pride in its flexibility, personalization and high quality services.

In order for the company to sustain these competitive advantages, it requires a highly trained and skilled staff. One particular means of ensuring this type of staffs is that of hiring students or young graduates and forming them into the organizational culture. Students are on the other hand satisfied as they are given the ability to supplement their class learning and to gain experience in the field (Hilt and Lipschultz, 1996).

The recruiting of students at BWKN Consulting is a rather novel activity and the human resources department is still struggling to find the most adequate way of attracting the desired students. The common means used in this direction is that of advertising the positions in the local media, generally the newspapers. Specifically, the human resources department will create an advertisement in which it states the availability of entry level positions for students. Additionally, the advertisement will strive to allure students in a dynamic workplace in which they can further develop as future financial analysts and consultants.

The recruiting of candidates through the media is a long tested method which enjoys a series of benefits. At a generic level, the costs associated with this type of recruitment can easily be managed and controlled by the economic agent. Additionally, the method is simplistic and does not involve major efforts or risks. Probably the most important benefit of job advertising is that it is conducted in a safe environment and it is easy accessible by both employer as well as candidate (Pissarides, 1984).

A late development in media recruitment is constituted by the expansion of the virtual media. Specifically, as the presence of the internet in most human sites increases and as the social networking websites become more popular, recruiting in the virtual community becomes more and more common. Several issues are raised regarding internet recruiting, such as security of data, confidentiality, controls and so on. Nevertheless, it is expected that this type of recruiting would be increasing in the future. Internet recruiting was initially present in North America, but it has increased its popularity in Europe and also the Asia-Pacific region (Bartram, 2002).

In the particular case of university recruiting however, it reveals a series of limitations. For instance:

It does not customize the recruiting method to the unique needs and features of university students

It only manages to reach a limited number of prospective candidates

It does not integrate the educational and personal features required in any interaction with students. In other words, it does not establish a relationship between recruiting and socialization (Doverspike, Taylor, Shultz and McKay, 2000)

It does not identify the necessary candidates, but it merely places the advertisement and hopes the students will find it

It does not sufficiently inform about the employer, nor does it motivate the prospective candidates, as a good recruiting effort ought to do (Allen, Van Scotter...

In a context in which the world is changing, it is important for human resource departments across the globe to develop new means of attracting employees. And this need is impending as a result of the changes which impact the modern day society, such as incremental organizational expenses, globalization or the aging and retirement of the baby boomers. All these features -- alongside with several others -- indicate the need for innovative recruiting methods (Girovasi, 2007).
In order to best attract students, it is recommended that BWKN Consulting developed and implemented a new means of university recruitment. This is virtually based on the formation of a communications team within the company. The team would be formed from at least one human resources specialist, and a financial consultant. They would work together to develop an attractive presentation, which they would then present in front of the students, in campuses.

The BWKN Consulting human resources specialist would beforehand research the universities in the area and identify those which specialize in financial courses. He would then approach the school administrations and discuss the possibility of holding presentations on campuses. As the agreement is reached, the presentation would be promoted through two main channels:

Advertisements through fliers and the campus media -- such as the campus newsletter or the campus radio station, and Information given by teachers in class.

The actual presentation would consist of two stages. At a first stage, the human resources specialist at BWKN Consulting would introduce the audience to the firm and would raise their interest in the organization. They would then generically present the opportunity of working for the firm, which generates several benefits for the students. Emphasis would be placed on the ability to become part of a dynamic and highly qualified team, to gain expertise in the field and to further develop the practical and theoretical knowledge.

As the interest and motivation are generated, the BWKN Consulting human resources specialist would introduce the financial specialist, who would offer technical information on the program. Information offered at this stage includes minimum requirements from the candidates, working hours and main responsibilities. The tone of the speakers would be a positive and motivational one. The students would be stimulated to sign up for an interview with the company.

This particular recruitment method reveals a series of benefits which make it more suitable than recruitment through the media. Particularly:

It targets the specifically desired palette of prospective candidates

It provides more information on the company, its offers and demands

It directly interacts with the prospective candidates, raising as such their attractiveness towards the firm (Turban and Dougherty, 1992)

It is more effective in sending the right message to the proper audience (Taylor and Bergmann, 2006).

Aside from the benefits directly linked to human resources, the approach of students in university campuses generates yet another overall organizational advantage. Specifically, by directly addressing students, BWKN Consulting creates the image of an economic agent interested in the development of the community in which it operates. This subsequently materializes in enhanced organizational reputation and as such an increased demand for the organizational products and services.

One should nevertheless remember that this recruitment method is a rather novel one and it has yet to be perfected. Additional attention is required in order to avoid prospective downsides, such as:

An unsustainable resource consumption

The inability to motivate and attract students

Reduced company attractiveness due to a poor construction of the campaign; Sara Rynes (1989) for instance found that there was a negative relationship between the age of the recruiter and the company attractiveness on campus.

This basically means that organizations have to develop their own approaches to university recruitment in…