PART TWO
Challenges
and
Misunderstandings
Chapter 7
ORGANIZATIONAL
CHALLENGES
Realistic Recruitment
(pp. 123-137)
OVERVIEW
– When Applicants and Organizations
Misrepresent Themselves
– The Costs of Traditional Recruitment
• Human Factor
• Financial Factor
– Addressing the Problem: Realistic
Recruitment
• How RJPs Work
• The Medium of the RJP
• Time of Administration of the RJP
– Realistic Recruitment and the
Communicative Organization
Realistic Recruitment
• Why is understanding the process of
how organizational members are
recruited and selected (or not selected)
important?
• How does communication during the
recruitment process affect individual and
organizational outcomes?
• How do applicants intentionally mislead
employers?
• How do employers intentionally mislead
applicants?
Realistic Recruitment
Exchanging realistic, truthful
information during the
recruitment and selection
process will benefit both the
individual and the
organization, affecting job
satisfaction, organizational
commitment, job performance,
and turnover.
Applicant Misrepresentations
• Misrepresent Qualifications
– “stretch the truth” on application and resume
– Overstating qualifications
– Providing altered or nonexistent academic
credentials
– Including phony references
– Misreporting previous work history
– Exaggerations and Lies
• Misrepresent Cultural Preferences
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Unmet needs and desires
Unmet expectations
Dissatisfaction
Involuntary Turnover
• Figure 7.1 and 7.2 (p. 125)
Employer Misrepresentations
• Traditional Recruitment
– Positive characteristics are communicated to
outsiders
– Advertised features are distorted to make
them even more positive
– Any information (regarding details of the job
or aspects of the organizational culture) that
might seem unattractive to a potential
employee is not communicated
– Figure 7.3 (p. 127)
• Inflated Expectations
– Low Performance ---> Involuntary Turnover
– Low Commitment ---> Voluntary Turnover
Costs of Traditional Recruiting
• The Human Factor
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–
–
–
–
Low Satisfaction
Low Commitment
Low Performance
Increased Turnover
Impact on self-esteem and self-efficacy
• Kreps’ Ethical Principles
– Organization members should not
intentionally deceive on another
– Organization members’ communication
should not purposely harm any other
organization member or members of the
organization’s relevant environment
– Organization members should be treated
justly
Costs of Traditional Recruiting
• The Financial Factor
– Employment Management Association (EMA)
– Exempt from overtime
• COST-PER-HIRE = $6,359.00
– Nonexempt
• COST-PER-HIRE = $3,310.00
– INTERNAL COSTS
• Employment/Recruiting salaries and benefits
• Staff travel, lodging, entertainment, admin
– EXTERNAL COSTS
• Travel, lodging, entertainment for recruiters
– COMPANY VISIT EXPENSES
• Candidate travel, lodging, meals, interview workday
expenses
– DIRECT FEES
• Advertising, job fairs, search fees, referrals, college
recruiting
– SUPPLEMENTAL DATA
• Acceptance rates, time-to-start, turnover, relocation
Realistic Recruitment
• Weitz (1956)
• John Wanous (1992)
– Organizational Entry: Recruitment, Selection,
Orientation, and Socialization of Newcomers
– REALISTIC RECRUITMENT
– “presents outsiders with ALL PERTINENT
information WITHOUT DISTORTION”
• Realistic Job Preview (RJP)
– An accurate (both positive and negative) view
of the relevant aspects of the job and the
organization
• RJP Chain of Events (Figure 7.4, p. 130)
How RJPs Work
• “Self Selection” Theory
– Provide opportunity for applicant to self-select out
of the recruitment process
– Mismatch of Needs or Abilities
• “Vaccination” Theory
– Provide opportunity for applicants to develop
coping mechanisms for negative aspects of
organizational life
• Jean Phillips (1998)
– RJPs do NOT significantly reduce the number of
applicants
– Vaccination Theory is most viable explanation
• Why shouldn’t we discredit the “Self-Selection”
Theory?
• Constructing and Implementing RJPs -- Two
Important Issues
– Medium of Communication
– Time of Administration
The Medium of the RJP
• Constructed AFTER thorough analysis of
job and organization is performed
• Specifics of Job
–
–
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–
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Working conditions
Hours
Advancement Opportunities
Managerial Style
Job Freedom
Pay and Benefits
Organizational Values
• Data Collection
– Observation of work procedures
– Survey of workers, managers, and customers
– Interviews with members at all organizational
levels
The Medium of the RJP
• VIDEO (strongest relationship w/performance)
– Organizational Orientation
– Job Orientation
– Training Video
• WRITTEN (least effective)
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Job Advertisement
Aptitude Test
Informational Pamphlet
Handbook
Training Manual
• VERBAL (positive relationship w/satisfaction)
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Conversations with Insiders
Employment interview
On-site visit
Pre-hire orientation
Post-hire orientation
Time Administration of the RJP
• When applicant first makes contact about the job
opening
– Debate about expending time & resources
• After the job offer has been made but before the
job is accepted
– BEST TIME (Phillips, 1998)
– Strongest relationships with job performance
• After the newcomer starts the job
– NOT an RJP
– Realistic SOCIALIZATION
Realistic Recruitment & CO
•
•
Traditional Recruitment practices contribute to unmet
expectations, dissatisfaction, and turnover
Realistic Recruitment attempts to ANTICIPATE and
ADDRESS misunderstandings before they occur
– Treats recruits in a more ethical manner
– Match expectations with reality
– Results in satisfaction, performance, and job retention
•
LACK of Information or MISLEADING Information leads
to Misunderstandings
– CONFLICT IN VALUES
– LACK OF INFORMATION
•
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PLANNING
– Construct Strategy
– Move from traditional to realistic recruitment
– Move from PROBLEM to SOLUTION
•
Verbal RJPs presented by a credible source have the
strongest relationship to relevant outcomes
– Psychological Immediacy
– Exchange assessment
SUMMARY
• Recruitment is a vital component of
organizational behavior
• Information exchanged (or not
exchanged) during the process can
affect important factors
• More beneficial to engage in realistic,
honest communication
• Potential benefits
–
–
–
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Met expectations
Increased job satisfaction
Increased performance
Reduced Turnover
• Exaggerating important information has
substantial financial and human costs
BOTTOM LINE
The communicative
organization urges
thoughtful and ethical
behavior--realistic
recruitment practices
meet these criteria.