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As Yoder et al observe recruitment policy spells out the objectives of the recruitment and provides a framework for implementations of the recruitment programme in the form of procedures. It may involve a commitment to broad principles such as filling vacancies with the best qualified individuals. The recruitment policy may embrace several issues such as the extent of promotion from within, attitudes of enterprise in recruiting old, handicapped, and minor individuals, minority group members, part-time employees and relatives of present employees. In addition, the recruitment policy may also involve the organisation system to be developed for implementing the recruitment programme and procedures to be employed. Explicitly, an organisational system is a function of the size of an enterprise. In smaller enterprises, there may be merely informal recruiting procedures and the line official may be responsible to handle this function along with their usual responsibilities. On the other hand, in larger organisations, there is usually a staff unit attached with personnel or an industrial relations department designated as employment or recruitment office. This specialisation of recruitment enables staff personnel to become highly skilled in recruitment techniques and their evaluation. However, recruitment remains the line responsibility as far as the personnel requisition forms are originated by the line personnel, who have also the final word in the acceptance or rejection of a particular applicant. Despite this, the staff personnel have adequate freedom in respect of sources of manpower to be tapped and the procedure to be followed for this purpose.

Recruitment policy covers the following areas:

• To prescribe the degree of emphasis. Inside the organisation or outside the organisation. 
• To provide the weightage that would be given to certain categories of people such as local population, physically-handicapped personnel, personnel from scheduled castes/tribes and other backward classes. 
• To prescribe whether the recruitment would be centralised or decentralised at unit levels. 
• To specify the degree of flexibility with regard to age, qualifications, compensation structure and other service conditions. 
• To prescribe the personnel who would be involved in recruitment process and the role of human resource department in this regard. 
• To specify the budget for meeting the expenditures incurred in completing the recruitment process. 

According to Yoder, “the recruitment policy is concerned with quantity and qualifications of manpower.” It establishes broad guidelines for the staffing process. Generally, the following factors are involved in a recruitment policy.

• To provide each employee with an open road and encouragement in the continuing development of his talents and skills; 
• To provide individual employees with the maximum of employment security, avoiding, frequent lay-off or lost time; 
• To avoid cliques which may develop when several members of the same household or community are employed in the organisation; 
• To carefully observe the letter and spirit of the relevant public policy on hiring and, on the whole, employment relationship; 
• To assure each employee of the organisation interest in his personal goals and employment objective; 
• To assure employees of fairness in all employment relationships, including promotions and transfers; 
• To provide employment in jobs which are engineered to meet the qualifications of handicapped workers and minority sections; and 
• To encourage one or more strong, effective, responsible trade unions among the employees.

Prerequisites of a Good Recruitment Policy: The recruitment policy of an organisation must satisfy the following conditions:

• It should be in conformity with its general personnel policies; 
• It should be flexible enough to meet the changing needs of an organisation; 
• It should be so designed as to ensure employment opportunities for its employees on a long-term basis so that the goals of the organisation should be achievable; and it should develop the potentialities of employees; 
• It should match the qualities of employees with the requirements of the work for which they are employed; and 
• It should highlight the necessity of establishing job analysis.

The factors affecting recruitment can be classified as internal and external factors.

The internal factors are:

• Wage and salary policies; 
• The age composition of existing working force; 
• Promotion and retirement policies; 
• Turnover rates; 
• The nature of operations involved the kind of personnel required; 
• The level and seasonality of operations in question; 
• Future expansion and reduction programmes; 
• Recruiting policy of the organisation; 
• Human resource planning strategy of the company; 
• Size of the organisation and the number of employees employed;
• Cost involved in recruiting employees, and finally; 
• Growth and expansion plans of the organisation.

The external factors are:

• Supply and demand of specific skills in the labour market; 
• Company’s image perception of the job seekers about the company. 
• External cultural factors: Obviously, the culture may exert considerable check on recruitment. For example, women may not be recruited in certain jobs in industry. 
• Economic factors: such as a tight or loose labour market, the reputation of the enterprise in the community as a good pay master or otherwise and such allied issues which determine the quality and quantity of manpower submitting itself for recruitment. 
• Political and legal factors also exert restraints in respect of nature and hours of work for women and children, and allied employment practices in the enterprise, reservation of Job for SC, ST and so on

There are basically two philosophies of recruitment:

• Traditional 
• Realistic 

The traditional philosophy is to get as many people as possible to apply for the job. As a result of this, a large number of job seekers apply for the job, which makes the final selection process difficult and can often result in the selection of wrong candidates. Wrong selection can, in turn, lead to employee dissatisfaction and turnover in the long run.

In realistic philosophy, the needs of the organisation are matched with the needs of the applicants, which enhance the effectiveness of the recruitment process. In realistic approach, the employees who are recruited will stay in the organisation for a longer period of time and will perform at higher level of effectiveness.

Difference between Traditional and Realistic Job Preview