Recruitment and Retention of Employees

Human resource is an essential part of any organization or business since it handles all issues relating to employee well-being and welfare. Without a proper human resource management framework, an organization is relatively unable to support excellent working professionals. Human resource management is a management function in an organization that deals with procurement, progress and maintenance of a well-skilled labor force in order to realize the objectives of the organization in an effective way. Human resource management is simply the administration of personnel in an organization.

Human resource management, which is denoted as HRM, is normally characterized by challenges in employing and retaining the right personnel. Human resource professionals are faced with the need to establish proper measures to ensure that the workers they are recruiting are qualified for the job (Dessler, 2005). They also have to put in place initiatives that guarantee proper working conditions, employee satisfaction, and good remuneration so as to retain the workers. As a result, human resource professionals have to devise a suitable method for recruitment and retention.

EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT METHODS
As part of developing a suitable framework for employee recruitment, an organization/business can utilize various recruitment approaches including…
Through Employees Referrals
This is the most commonly used method that involves using word of mouth to advertise for job positions. The increased use of this employee recruitment strategy is attributable to the fact that it’s quite cost effective. It is an internal recruitment strategy since it is highly likely that current employees know someone who is qualified for the job from their social networking. The existing employees treasure their status and are likely to refer employees whom they trust and believe can be great workers. They are most definitely going to give the right information to the potential candidates on whether the job is fit for them or not. These employees are likely to nurture and guide the candidates they referred. Employee referrals mostly bring in the applicants who may not be looking for the job, but they have the necessary skills required for the job (Evans, 2002). Employees recruited through referrals are more qualified, and tend to stay longer in the job.
Internal Recruitment
This involves promoting current employees, especially for the top or managerial positions or transfers. Transfers are used to fill in short term positions. They can also be on-the job-training where the employees are taught new skills that befit the vacant position. Recruitment is through internal memos or notice board posts.
Through Advertisements
This can be done through advertisements in newspapers, magazines, journals, social media, or through advertising agencies. There are many job seekers out there who may not be aware of the company. Advertising through newspapers or journals enables many job seekers to apply. This method reaches wider geographical areas. Recruitment agencies also cover a bigger market and have the best candidates. Recruitment agencies help save time since employee recruitment process is a hectic and involves cataloging tons of applications, interviewing, and screening the candidates. Recruitment agencies ensure that they vet candidates well before referring them to the employer (Dessler, 2005).
EMPLOYEES RETENTION METHODS
After getting qualified employees, human resource is tasked with the challenge of retaining the employees. There are various employee retention techniques that can be employed by an organization or business including…

Exhibit Administration Accountability and Personal Growth

The organization should develop an environment where employees build their career through providing personal development and growth opportunities. According to Evans (2002), most employees leave their work due to lack of growth and challenges. Employees’ personal ambitions and goals should be acknowledged. An organization should incorporate on-the-job training, mentoring programs and proper career paths. The organization’s employees should be guaranteed a reasonable and equal foundation on opportunities to reach their full potential. Top management should hold the manager liable if an employee leaves work due to lack of equal career development and personal growth opportunities.

Attractive Compensation, Recognition, Promotions, Benefits and Rewards

Employees are more likely to stay when they feel their efforts are acknowledged because recognition also increases productivity. Recognize the workers through meeting, or emails in the company. A company should always share with employees on how their efforts add to its success and reward them for contributing towards that success. Employees can also be retained through providing them with bonuses. The company should share the bonuses or benefits with the employees because of their stellar performances. The other way of retaining employees is through providing attractive/competitive compensation and benefits. Some of these benefits include life insurance, gym memberships, retirement plans, medical plans, leave or sick days, and maternal and paternal leave options.

Hiring Right People and Having Proper Work Plans

The other important way for retaining employees is hiring people with the right skills and having proper work plans. Pynes (2013) claims that if employees feel that their skills do not fit their job, they tend to get disgruntled and dissatisfied. In such cases, they are likely to look for other opportunities where they feel their skills are perfectly utilized. When recruiting, employers should provide clear job specifications and requirements. Proper and flexible work plans should be put in place (Evans, 2002). This enables the employees to manage non-work associated responsibilities. Through this, employees can deal with homed related stress and maintain a proper work balance.

Work arrangements where employees can work in lesser days, but the same amount of hours could be ideal. Employees can organize themselves so that they can work, for maybe 3 days a week instead of 5 or 6 days. With the extra time, they can commit to their personal engagements instead of requesting for days off (Dessler, 2005). Job sharing could also be put in place where employees are sharing the same job; part time employees can work harmoniously while making their own arrangements as long as the job is done. An organization/business can also consider telecommuting work arrangements where staff can work from a preferred place for a set period if they do not need to be physically in the office.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, employee recruitment and retention is a relatively complex and hectic process that requires human resource management to develop a suitable framework for personnel management. As evident in this discussion, human resource professionals experience tremendous challenges in employee recruitment and retention because of the complexity and multi-faceted nature of this process. Some of the employee recruitment efforts that they can utilize include employee referrals, internal recruitment, and advertisements. In contrast, employee retention methods include career development and personal growth opportunities, attractive compensation and benefits programs, and hiring the right people and having proper work plans. These strategies can help the human resource to recruit and retain highly-qualified employees.




Yours Truly,



[Your Name]



Annotated Bibliography
Swanson, R. A., & Holton, E. F. (2009). Foundations of Human Resource Development. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Retrieved from EBSCOHost.
This book provides information on different views on training and growth. It discusses the importance of development and training and how that area helps a business be more effective. The book also talks about different strategies that could be used in training existing employees to make sure the business is attaining the best results. Richard A. Swanson is a Distinguished Research Professor of Human Resource Development and holds the Sam Lindsey Chair at the University of Texas in Tyler, TX. The information in this book will allow me to develop my project portfolio because it outlines some of the area that will be addressed to help a company recruit, train and retain employees.
Taylor, J. C., & Stern, G. M. (2009). The Trouble with HR: An Insider's Guide to Finding and Keeping the Best People. New York: AMACOM. Retrieved from EBSCOHost.
This book offers an innovative new approach to appealing and keeping the finest and brightest employees. Giving you real-world approaches for recognizing and gauging prospective employees and identify who would likely be managers themselves. It also addresses fitting employee skills to the job and developing a plan to tutor them and preserve their happiness with reward systems. The book also addresses the up-to-date thinking in employee relations, benefits, compensation, training, and improvement practices. The information in the book will be crucial in my project portfolio since it addresses recruiting, training, and retaining employees.


References
Arthur, D. (2001). The employee recruitment and retention handbook. New York, NY: AMACOM.
Dessler, G. (2005). Human resource management. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Evans, A. (2002). Staff recruitment and retention: Strategies for effective action. London: Spiro.
Lussier, P. R. N. (2015). Human Resource Management: Functions, applications, and skill development. New York, NY: Sage Publications, Inc.
Nkomo, S. M., Fottler, M. D., & McAfee, R. B. (2011). Human resource management applications. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Pynes, J. (2013). Human resources management for public and nonprofit organizations: A strategic approach (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.