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1 – 10 of over 3000Elena Adriana Biea, Elena Dinu, Andreea Bunica and Loredana Jerdea
Various scholars suggest that there is a lack of research on the recruitment in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and also a scarcity of theoretical basis for the…
Abstract
Purpose
Various scholars suggest that there is a lack of research on the recruitment in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and also a scarcity of theoretical basis for the recruitment procedures used by these companies. As the vast majority of studies concentrate on larger organizations, they may not accurately reflect the challenges faced by smaller-sized entities to profoundly and accurately comprehend their recruitment procedures. In addition, the use of technology in recruitment has grown in importance in today’s quickly evolving business environment, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic footprint. This study aims to examine the recruitment procedures used by SMEs and how they have been compelled to adjust to different extents to these technological improvements by the effects of the aforementioned epidemic.
Design/methodology/approach
With the aim to investigate the current recruitment practices in SMEs and the extent to which digital technologies are embraced by these companies within human resources (HR) procedures, this research relied on interviews with SMEs representatives. The qualitative methods used provided access to relevant data and insights, as they allowed close interactions with top managers and CEOs of ten companies from various sectors. Thus, the research results draw a vivid and reliable image of the procedures and practices used by small and medium-sized companies to attract, select and retain their staff.
Findings
This study’s findings are of increased interest to HR professionals, recruiters and managers in SMEs, who aim to attract and retain the best talent and optimize their recruitment strategies in a rapidly changing business environment, enabled by technological advancements. Effective HR recruitment procedures adapted to the specific needs of small and medium-sized companies can lead to several benefits for the organization, including improved employee selection, reduced turnover and increased organizational productivity.
Research limitations/implications
Although the interviews examined here encompass recruitment techniques from SMEs in a variety of industries, the results’ generalizability is limited by the sample size and geography. Furthermore, the findings’ dependability is dependent on the accuracy of the data provided by the respondents.
Practical implications
This investigation confirms some of the theoretical underpinnings which point to the lack of formalized structures and procedures in the recruitment process in SMEs, which enjoy more flexibility in managing HR processes. In addition, the results reinforce the arguments indicating an adjustment between HR strategies or policies and organizational goals in smaller enterprises which adapt faster to changes in the market. Moreover, it becomes apparent that there is a relationship between the quality of job descriptions and the successful fit in attracting the right candidates for the open positions. Furthermore, digital technologies offer opportunities for expanding the recruiters’ reach to a wider audience and also support the selection stage, thus increasing the chances of finding suitable staff. As the need to shift from traditional recruitment to e-recruitment in SMEs has been highlighted in the literature, the qualitative research revealed that this need was driven on the one hand by the COVID-19 pandemic when these companies successfully adapted and implemented new online methods of recruiting, but also by the lack of skilled labor, leading to the expansion of recruitment to other parts of the country or even to other countries.
Social implications
With regard to the proportion of men and women used in small and medium-sized companies, there is a clear need to involve and train more women in the predominantly male-dominated industrial and IT sectors. From this point of view, companies tend to devote more interest to integrating communities of women in these industries, as well as in key management positions. Another point of interest that the study highlights is the fact that SMEs have started to get creative with the benefits package they propose to candidates and focus on remote work, hybrid office–home working, or seasonal work to offer future employees a better work–life balance.
Originality/value
The added value of this investigation is filling the gaps in the current literature concerning recruitment procedures currently used by SMEs, the challenges they face and the solutions they advanced to solve them. Furthermore, SMEs often drive innovation and competition in the market and play a crucial role in the supply chain of larger companies, providing them with the goods and services they need to operate and supporting the availability and reliability of products from larger companies. They are often the driving force behind revitalizing local economies and creating new employment opportunities. Consequently, the underlying significance of this study is rooted in the need to modernize and simultaneously improve HR recruitment procedures through the integration of technology and a focus on innovation.
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This study aims to explain the relationship between employer branding, social media, online reviews and intention to apply for a job vacancy (IAJV), which organizations should…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explain the relationship between employer branding, social media, online reviews and intention to apply for a job vacancy (IAJV), which organizations should ponder upon while designing branding campaigns.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample belongs to 385 final-year management graduates and postgraduates enrolled in central universities in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The dual mediation model is tested by regression and PROCESS macro.
Findings
Out of five employer branding dimensions, three (corporate social responsibility, healthy work atmosphere and training and development) were found to be significant predictors of IAJV. On the other hand, the dimensions of compensation and benefits and work-life balance did not influence candidates’ intention to apply for a job. The findings indicate that social recruiting could act as an effective tool for leveraging an organization’s image as an employer and could communicate unique brand values to the target market. Moreover, review whether positive, negative or neutral attributes could help job seekers affirm and reaffirm employer branding attributes before applying for a job.
Originality/value
Studies in social media and employer branding areas lag far behind in practice, and the present research attempts to fill this research gap. A further contribution of this research work will be to assess the role of reviews for a meaningful analysis of potential employees’ intentions to apply in an organization.
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Pham Tien Thanh, Nguyen Thu Ha, Pham Thi Hong Ngoc and Le Thi Thuy Ha
High-quality workforce is the most important source for competitive advantage, and thus all organizations attempt to attract and recruit young talents. This study aims to examine…
Abstract
Purpose
High-quality workforce is the most important source for competitive advantage, and thus all organizations attempt to attract and recruit young talents. This study aims to examine the relationships between corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate reputation and intention to apply for a job in young individuals.
Design/methodology/approach
For empirical analysis, this study uses data collected from final-year students and fresh graduates in a developing city. This study uses structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the research model.
Findings
CSR is found to be positively and directly associated with intention to apply for a job. CSR is also positively and indirectly associated with intention to apply through the mediation of corporate reputation.
Practical implications
This study underscores the importance of CSR practices in enhancing corporate reputation and attracting talented young candidates. Accordingly, organizations can gain their competitive edge in a highly competitive environment.
Social implications
This study suggests that organizations should be more concerned about CSR practices for the sake of corporate reputation as well as community development.
Originality/value
This study is among the early attempts to examine the direct and indirect relationships between CSR, corporate reputation and intention to apply for a job in a developing city. The findings add to the growing literature suggesting that CSR may help organizations achieve competitive advantage regarding the attraction of prospective young talents.
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Srinivasan Sekar, Sriji Edakkat Subhakaran and Deeptam Chattopadhyay
The purpose of this paper is to investigate employees’ perception of their organization and to examine the impact of such perception on overall employee satisfaction using…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate employees’ perception of their organization and to examine the impact of such perception on overall employee satisfaction using qualitative and quantitative employee reviews in an online platform.
Design/methodology/approach
The employee online reviews were classified into positive and negative sentiments using sentiment analysis. Further, multiple regression was employed to examine the impact of sentiments (positive and negative) and employee ratings on pre-defined job attributes in explaining overall employee satisfaction with the organization.
Findings
The findings of the sentiment analysis shows that employee online reviews exhibit more positive sentiments than negative sentiments. Positive sentiments show a significant positive effect, and negative sentiments show a significant inverse relationship with overall employee satisfaction. Further, pre-defined job attributes are differently related to overall employee satisfaction with the organization, skill development being the strongest predictor.
Practical implications
Practitioners may customize the organization's policies and practices based on the sentiments associated with employee reviews. Organizations emphasizing employee engagement and satisfaction are suggested to include skill development as their priority.
Originality/value
Most existing work on overall employee satisfaction is primarily based on the survey questionnaire method; only recently, online employee reviews (OERs) are gaining attention. The current research uses employee online reviews to study overall employee satisfaction.
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Calvin Swords and Stan Houston
The concept of personal recovery is now a key pillar of service delivery. It aims to support individuals to flourish and establish a new identity following an acute episode or…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of personal recovery is now a key pillar of service delivery. It aims to support individuals to flourish and establish a new identity following an acute episode or diagnosis. This view of recovery is unique to each person on that journey. However, there has been a significant focus on measuring these experiences. This paper aims to explore the influence of social constructionism on the concept of recovery within an Irish context, seeking to understand the influence of language, discourse and power on service users’ experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative, interpretivist methodology was adopted for this case study design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 service users. Thematic analysis was chosen as the method of analysis.
Findings
Personalising recovery did not always lead to the removal of biological symptoms, but with the appropriate supports, individual’s recovery journey was greatly enhanced. On the contrary, personal recovery places overwhelmingly responsibility on the individual to succeed, largely driven by neoliberal discourse. This focus on individualism and the pressure to succeed was further experienced when people sought to re-integrate into society and participate in normalised social order. Ultimately, for many service users, they viewed personal recovery as an unfulfilled promise.
Research limitations/implications
It is not a representative sample of service users within an Irish context.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore influence of social constructionism on the concept of personal recovery within a mental health service context.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a facial photo of female job applicants on employment decisions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a facial photo of female job applicants on employment decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
A laboratory or “controlled” experiment was conducted to examine the impacts of job applicants’ facial photos, job applicants' professional qualifications (education level and years of work experience), raters’ gender and college student raters’ academic year on employment-related decisions in a hypothetical situation in the Chinese context. A descriptive analysis and mixed-design factorial ANOVA were conducted.
Findings
Significant main effects were found for the applicant’s photo and professional qualifications in the analysis of employment decisions. Significant interaction effects were also found in the analysis.
Originality/value
Discrimination against applicants who attached unattractive photos was more pronounced for the interview decision when the applicants had low qualifications than when they had high qualifications. Although both male and female raters’ ratings of the interview, hiring and salary decisions decreased as attractiveness decreased, it was more pronounced for male raters than female raters.
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Cevahir Uzkurt, Emre Burak Ekmekcioglu, Semih Ceyhan and Muhammed Bugrahan Hatiboglu
The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of digital technology (specifically mobile applications) use on employees' perceptions of motivation at work (MW) and job…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of digital technology (specifically mobile applications) use on employees' perceptions of motivation at work (MW) and job performance (JP).
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from 4,089 employees working in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) registered to Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization (SMEDO) in Turkey. The relationships were assessed through structural equation modeling with bootstrap estimation.
Findings
The results support the proposed framework illustrating the positive effect of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of mobile applications on employees' perceived JP. Findings indicate that MW has exhibited a mediating effect between both PU and JP and PEOU and JP.
Originality/value
This article discusses the accelerating role of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on SMEs' technology acceptance and the acceptance's positive impact on employees' motivation and performance. This article adds to the literature on SMEs by enabling researchers and practitioners to understand the issues in digital technologies acceptance by SME employees and contributes towards enriching the knowledge on technology acceptance perceptions' role in SMEs coping strategies during the COVID-19.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, transitory unemployment insurance (UI) policies substantially increased unemployment benefits (UBs) and the number of eligible groups in Russia. The…
Abstract
Purpose
During the COVID-19 pandemic, transitory unemployment insurance (UI) policies substantially increased unemployment benefits (UBs) and the number of eligible groups in Russia. The procedure for registering as unemployed was moved to an online platform. The present paper aims to distinguish the effect of anti-COVID-19 restrictions on unemployment from that of the transitory unemployment insurance policies.
Design/methodology/approach
Using 553,627 approved claims for unemployment benefits from the Russian Public Employment Service (PES) administrative records (June 2019–December 2020), monthly data on the number of individuals registered as unemployed are aggregated in a pseudo panel. A double-difference approach is employed to identify the effects of the social interaction intensity and teleworkability (TW) of the latest occupation on unemployment. The first is associated with a direct effect of anti-COVID-19 restrictions and the latter with the simplified application procedure.
Findings
The face-to-face (F2F) intensity of the latest occupation did not lead to any increase in the number of unemployed persons as could be expected in response to anti-COVID-19 restrictions. Job TW had two opposite effects on unemployment: it decreased individuals' risk of job loss and increased their likelihood of claiming unemployment benefits. Surprisingly, however, in line with the typical response of the Russian labour market to downturns, the latter dominated. The largest response was found among men and individuals with primary education.
Originality/value
This study is the first to attempt to distinguish the effect of anti-COVID-19 restrictions from that of the transitory UI policies on unemployment in Russia.
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Marcus Bowles, Benjamin Brooks, Steven Curnin and Helen Anderson
The value of transverse skills, including human capabilities, has been acknowledged for a significant period of time by major organisations such as UNESCO and the World Economic…
Abstract
Purpose
The value of transverse skills, including human capabilities, has been acknowledged for a significant period of time by major organisations such as UNESCO and the World Economic Forum. This paper reports on the application of microcredentials linked to the Human Capability Framework in a major telecommunications organisation that has a vision to establish a baseline to develop the levels of capability for both individual employees and the entire workforce. In this case study, capability is evidenced through learning and applied performance specified in a microcredential that carries a credit-entry score into higher education qualifications. The value of the microcredentials lies not in recognising learning outcomes; rather, it lies in an individual's ability to validate their full potential, open sustainable employment opportunities and prepare for emergent new roles.
Design/methodology/approach
This commentary offers a case study of how a major Australian telecommunications organisation implemented microcredentials that are aligned to the Human Capability Framework Standards reference model.
Findings
The approach in this case study demonstrates how a company that confidently invests in non-traditional learning approaches that increase the value of human capital can tangibly grow the capacity of the workforce to deliver not only its strategy but also its cultural values.
Originality/value
The multi-award-winning model described in this case study is novel and clearly informs current research and thinking addressing this topic.
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Martyn Quigley, Charlotte Smith, Eloise Stocker and Alexander Bradley
The purpose of the current study was to examine university students' knowledge, confidence and experience of popular graduate employer selection tests.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the current study was to examine university students' knowledge, confidence and experience of popular graduate employer selection tests.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional self-report survey was administered to gather a sufficient number of quantitative responses from undergraduate students. A total of 241 students completed the survey with most of them being psychology students from Swansea University. Four key variables were examined: (1) students' experience, (2) confidence and (3) knowledge of selection tests and (4) their desire for more information about selection tests as part of their degree. An audit of selection tests used by the Times Top 100 graduate employers was also conducted.
Findings
Students tended to misjudge how often selection tests were used by employers, and generally lacked experience with these tests. Students' confidence in completing each test varied as a function of the selection test; however, prior experience with these tests positively predicted confidence. Additionally, over 70% of students reported a desire for further information about selection tests as part of their degree.
Practical implications
These novel findings suggest that students could benefit from further information about selection tests as part of their degree programme which would be of benefit to both students and universities.
Originality/value
These findings are, to the authors knowledge, the first to explicitly assess second- and third-year undergraduate students' knowledge, experience and confidence with popular graduate employer selection tests and demonstrate that students would like more information about these tests on their programme.
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