AN ANALYSIS OF THE RECRUITMENT
METHODOLOGY OF SALES OFFICERS IN
A PRIVATE BANK
(A CASE STUDY OF A PVT LTD YESBANK)
BY
KINSHUK DE
CONTENTS
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 AIM
1.2 BACKGROUND
1.3 INDIA‟S BANKING SCENE
1.6 EMERGENCE OF PRIVATE SECTOR BANKS
1.7 NATURE OF PROBLEM
1.8 JUSTIFICATION
1.9 ATTRITION
2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
2.1 AIM
2.2 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
2.2 RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
2.5 RECRUITMENT METHODOLOGIES
2.6 INTERNAL RECRUITMENT
2.7 EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT
3. CASE STUDY AT YESBANK
3.1 INTRODUCTION AND GROWTH IN BANKING SECTOR
3.2 YES BANK: AN OVERVIEW
3.3 YES BANK GROWTH
3.5 STRUCTURE OF YES BANK
3.6 HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT AT YES BANK
3.7 NATURE OF RECRUITMENT PROBLEM FACED AT YES BANK
3.8 RECRUITMENT PROCESS IN YES BANK
3.12 JOB DESCRIPTION
3.13 ANALYSIS OF METHODOLOGIES FOR RECRUITMENT OF
SALES OFFICERS
3.14 JOB CONSULTANTS
3.19 ONLINE APPLICATIONS
3.22 REFERRALS
3.25 CAMPUS PLACEMENTS
3.27 DIRECT ADVERTISEMENT
3.28 INTERNAL RECRUITMENT
3.29 CURRENT SCENARIO AND TREND AT DELHI/ NCR REGION
3.30 ANALYSIS FROM INTERVIEWS
3.31 SURVEY OF EMPLOYEES
3.32 EFFECTIVENESS
3.32 OVERALL EFFECTIVE RECRUITMENT STRATEGY
3.39 RECRUITMENT PLAN
3.40 LIMITATION OF THE PRESENT STUDY
4. RECOMMENDATIONS & CONCLUSION
5. ANNEXURES
1
PREFACE
Effective recruitment, selection and retention are critical to organizational
success. They enable companies to have high performing employees who are
satisfied with their jobs, thus contributing positively to the organization.
On the contrary, in-effective recruitment methodology, selection and retention
would result in mismatches which can have negative consequences for an
organization. A misfit who is not in tune with organization‟s philosophies and goals
can reduce output, productivity, customer satisfaction, relationship and over all
quality of work. Training a wrong hire can also be expensive. Effective recruitment
are therefore not only the first step towards organizational excellence, but are
important cost control mechanisms as well.
The study researches the spectrum of recruitment methodologies followed in
private sector banks towards developing an unique model, propose suggestion that
would reduce costs, time to recruit, be effective and help overall organizational (in
particular private banks) interests.
2
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Aim. To analyze the present recruitment methodology of Sales Officers in a
private sector bank and propose modifications and improvements.
1.2 Background. Recruitment is the process of identifying and attracting a
group of potential candidates from within and outside the organization for
employment. Once these candidates are identified, the process of selecting
appropriate employees for employment begins. This means collecting from various
sources, measuring and evaluating information about candidates‟ qualification for
specified positions.
India’s Banking Scene
1.3 India‟s banking sector is growing at a fast pace. India has become one of the
most preferred banking destinations in the world. The reasons are economy is
growing at a rate of 8.5%, Bank credit is growing at 30% per annum and there is an
ever-expanding middle class of between 250 and 300 million people (larger than the
population of the US) in need of financial services. All this enables double-digit
returns on most asset classes which is not so in a majority of other countries
worldwide. Foreign banks in India are also achieving a return on assets and are
keen in expanding their businesses.
3
1.4 Indian markets provide growth opportunities, which are unlikely to be matched
by the mature banking markets around the world. Some of the high growth potential
areas to be looked at are the market for consumer finance of about 2%-3% of GDP,
compared with 25% in some European markets, the real estate market in India is
growing at 30% annually and is projected to touch $50 billion by 2008, the retail
credit is expected to cross Rs 5,70,000 crore by 2010 from the current levels of Rs
2,00,000 crore and huge SME sector which contributes significantly to India‟s GDP.
Major strengths of the Indian banking industry, which have helped mark its place on
the global banking arena, are our Regulatory Systems, Economic Growth Rate,
Technological Advancement, Risk Assessment Systems and Credit Quality.
Regulatory systems, Technological systems and Risk management systems of
Indian banks were rated better than China and Russia and at par with Japan and
Singapore. China and India are one of the fastest growing economies in the world as
evident from the graphs below:-
Real GDP Growth Rate
%
12 10.5
10 8.3
7.5
8
5.6 5.5 5.3 5.1
6 4.5 4
4
2
0
g
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4
Loan Growth
%
30 27.6
25
20
13.4
15
9.9
10 8.1 7.7 6.4 6.4 5.1
5
0
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Source: Morgan Stanley Research
1.5 Banks are also increasingly getting attracted towards cross selling mutual
funds, insurance policies, offering credit cards to suit different categories of
customers, services such as wealth management and equity trading. These are
indeed proving to be more profitable for banks than plain lending and borrowing. The
following figure indicates such opportunities.
New Business Opportunities being tapped
by Private Sector banks
Derivatives Trading
36.8%
Selling of Mutual
Wealth Managem ent Funds 73.6%
21.05%
Forex Managem ent
68.4%
Bancassurance 73.6%
5
Emergence of Private Sector Banks
1.6 The banking industry is fast becoming a buyers‟ industry with the new-
generation private sector banks giving a strong competition to the public sector
banks. Yes Bank is one such new age private sector Bank, offering high quality,
customer centric service catering to "Emerging India". Yes bank is the only
Greenfield license awarded by the RBI in the last 13 years. Yes Bank has fructified
into a "full service" commercial Bank that has steadily built Corporate and
Institutional Banking, Financial Markets, Investment Banking, Corporate Finance,
Business and Transaction Banking, Retail and Private Banking business lines
across the country, and is well equipped to offer a range of products and services to
corporate and retail customers.
Nature of the Problem
1.7 The banking sector in India is undergoing a huge demand supply mismatch of
skilled resources, especially in the sales function. Every private sector bank in the
country today employs sales personnel for customer acquisition and business
development in their respective retail unit cross-selling mutual funds, insurance
policies, credit cards to different categories of customers and services such as
wealth management and equity trading. A robust sales force consists of Relationship
Managers, Sales Managers and Sales Officers, depending on the customer segment
they focus on. On a broad base, customer segmentation in most retail banks is as
follows:-
(a) High Net-worth Individuals* - Relationship Managers
(b) Mass Affluent Customers** - Sales Managers
6
(c) Mass Banking Customers*** - Sales Officers
* Average income ≥ 15 L pa
** Average income 15 L pa
*** Average income 12
officers) Sub-Unit Month Months Months Months Months Total
RETAIL
BANKING &
WEALTH Banc-
MANAGEMENT assurance 1 3 26 22 2 54
Branch
Banking 1 2 1 4
Liabilities 1 2 6 9 18
Grand Total 2 6 34 32 2 96
Total Attrition
(%) 2% 6% 35% 33% 2%
94 out of 360 sales officers leave bank within one year
35% between 3-6 months
33% between 6-12 months
Attrition at Yes Bank, Delhi - Tenure wise Data from 360 Sales Officers
Recruitment Process in Yes bank
3.8 The sales force required for a branch to function is Tellers, Customer Sales
Managers, Customer Sales Executives, Sales Manager and a Branch Manager. The
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line managers drive the recruitment process for existing branches, whereas the HR
drives the planned recruitment for the new and upcoming branches based on
defined norms. In case of an existing branch as the need against a position arises,
the line manager requests the HR department with the qualitative requirement of the
candidate. However, for an upcoming branch a planned recruitment of the complete
team as per defined norms and size of branch is undertaken preferably on a top
down approach. The HR department tries to follow a pre-defined recruitment
methodology to short list candidates and select thereafter.
3.9 Selection of right candidate is undertaken in a hierarchical process. The
immediate Team Leader along with HR takes the first round of interviews. The next
round is undertaken by either the Sales Manager or the Branch Manager as per the
branch requirements and norms. However, for senior managerial positions, there are
a series of interviews with HR, line managers, Head of the department and upto the
level of CEO. The top management is actively involved in selection and
compensation finalization. The salary fitment is made by HR keeping the fixed cost
of the employee and various other factors into consideration. Global sourcing is
twice for senior managerial positions than for middle management positions at Yes
Bank.
3.10 Any candidate who has to be recruited is interviewed both by the line as well
as the HR. The line assesses the candidate on his current potential, skills and
knowledge. The HR on the other hand assesses the candidate on his attitude,
profile, dexterity, family background, educational parameters, compensation and
19
other YES parameters defined. The line managers look at the job fit whereas the HR
looks at the organization fit of the employee.
3.11 While setting up a new branch the first step is to get the branch manager
onboard. The branch manager is either selected within the organization or hired by
the HR department and the Regional Head. Any new branch has to have a Teller, a
Customer Sales Executive/ Manager and a Branch Manager to be fully operational.
Training is the next most important process before a selected candidate begins to
carry out the assigned responsibilities in any branch. This is undertaken for the
Retail and Business Banking division of the bank. Often training is the main purpose
to assign the infant branch to a parent branch. The flow of the recruitment process is
as follows:-
20
Line projects need HR
for manpower Informs HR
department
R
Search for potential E
employees against job C
description R
U
I
T
M
Consultants References
E
N
T
M
E
Potential T
candidates H
identified O
D
O
L
O
Interview by line and G
HR managers Y
Candidate
selected No
Yes
A
21
A
If senior Interview by CEO
management Yes
position
No
Back papers, resume, salary slip and offer
letter of candidate sent to CEO along with
the organization chart
Offer letter signed by CEO
sent to the candidate
Employee joins and is given the
joining kit by the HR department
RECRUITMENT FLOW IN YES BANK
Job Descriptions
3.12 They are lists of the general tasks, functions and responsibilities of a position.
Typically, they also include to whom the position reports, specifications such as the
qualifications/ experience needed by the person in the job, salary range for the
22
position, etc. Job descriptions are usually developed by conducting a job analysis,
which includes examining the tasks and sequences of tasks necessary to perform
the job. The analysis looks at the areas of knowledge and skills needed by the job.
Bank keeps updating them and it is not a one-time description, but a process which
is kept up with ever-changing responsibilities and skills necessary to perform the job,
and the changing incentive plans.
3.13 Analysis of Methodologies for Recruitment of Sales Officers. While the
recruitment methodology for sourcing both sales officers and senior management
positions have been discussed in the preceding paragraphs, the prime focus the
present study and report will be sales officers. The following methods of recruitment
being followed have been analyzed:-
(a) External Recruitment
(i) Job consultants
(ii) Online applications
(iii) Referrals
(iv) Campus placements
(v) Direct Advertisement
(b) Internal Recruitment
3.14 Job Consultants. In this process, the bank ties-up with an empanelled a
list of job consultants. Whenever a position arises, the bank requisitions their
services and provides the necessary job description, experience, place of work and
compensation details. The consultants then search their database and provide a list
of potential candidates after screening. The employer should insist that entry level
23
screening against the profile provided is undertaken by the consultants. The
advantages/ disadvantages of such methodology are as follows:-
ADVANTAGES & DIS-ADVANTAGES OF JOB CONSULTANTS
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
(a) Get candidates for specific skill (a) Very expensive.
set/ profile. (b) Not suitable for mass induction.
(b) Resume are screened for (c) Dependent of credibility of
specific profile. consultants.
(c) Quick and effective way of
matching employers and potential
candidates.
3.15 The average cost for such services for sales officers in urban region is about
Rs. 10000 and Rs. 7000 in rural region per sales officer. For mid level and high level
positions, the cost of services is about 8.5% of the yearly salary of the employee. In
case the employee resigns within three months, the bank insists, the consultants
provide replacement at no extra cost and insures for the training costs. This method
of recruitment is effective but expensive, especially in case of senior level
management and is not suitable in case of mass recruitment. 45% of the positions at
Yes bank at Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) are presently being filled up
through job consultants. However, due to non-availability of suitable job consultants
in rural areas, only 30% of the positions at Yes bank outside Delhi were filled
through job consultants.
24
3.16 During the study, 25 line and HR managers that work with such job
consultants were asked for their opinion about the quality of the candidates provided
by job consultants, which resulted in an interesting finding. Majority of respondents
think that the quality of candidates provided is good (58%), 21% consider it to be
average and another 21% even think it is insufficient.
QUALITY OF CANDIDATES FROM JOB CONSULTANTS
21%
58% IN-SUFFICIENT
21% AVERAGE
GOOD
3.17 The author felt that the results concerning quality of candidates are partly due
to the way job consultants are being engaged by certain companies as part of a
“shot-gun approach", without exclusivity and sometimes as a last resort after failing
to fill the position.
3.18 Re-evaluating Job Consultants. During the case study, it was learnt
that Yes bank has an empanelled list of 32 consultants and this is being
continuously tracked & re-evaluated. The evaluation process is built on Likert scale
and has many parameters like consultant credibility, quality of candidates, core
25
competence, profile/ segment of operation, timeliness, flexibility, ability to source
candidates for difficult locations, network, ability to handle large scale recruitment
etc. This ensures that the consultants deliver consistent superior performance for
staying empanelled. Time savings, cost advantages, and better knowledge of the
market were given as the most important reasons for outsourcing the process to
recruitment agencies by HR department at Yes bank.
3.19 Online Application. Banks have online portal where they advertise all
available positions and enables candidates to post their resumes against vacancies.
The bank also advertises such positions on various job websites like naukri.com,
google jobs, Monster.com etc. The advantages/ disadvantages of such methodology
are as follows:-
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF ONLINE STSTEM
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
(d) Quick and easy way of matching (a) Lot of junk resume for jobs irrelevant
employers and potential candidates. to their specialization. Therefore requires
(e) Inexpensive. extensive screening.
(f) Wide publicity. (b) Not all candidates are accustomed to
looking for jobs in this manner.
(c) Publicity limited to internet users.
(d) Loss of human interaction.
26
Industry statistics reveal that 100 percent of the high tech companies in Global 500
list, and 89 percent of Fortune 500 companies, use their corporate websites for
recruitment. The past year has shown major growth in e-recruitment advertisements,
which cost 80 percent less than newspaper ads and is about 10 times cheaper than
hiring consultants. Online recruitment is of immense assistance in junior and middle-
level recruitment. Senior positions require a different strategy.
3.20 Online job advertising can however result in candidates of very different
capabilities seeking attention. Browser-based pre-screening tools with qualifying
questions derived from the job specification can save many hours of unnecessary
work for both the applicant and hirer. Such technology, though at infancy stage
presently can save hours of screening effort.
3.21 Yes bank has an online portal on which they advertise all openings and
enables the viewers to post their resumes. Candidates (internal and external) can
apply for positions as per the positions and locations advertised. This methodology
of recruitment has been found to be cost effective with vast coverage. However, line
and HR managers feel many irrelevant applications are being posted, which leads to
waste of time in screening/ interview and is at times discouraging. Based on
available statistics, 15% of the positions at Yes bank Delhi are presently being filled
through such online methodology. However, this is likely to grow substantially.
Snapshot of the Website:
27
3.22 Referral. Companies/banks runs an employee referral scheme, which
encourages employees to recommend acquaintances/ friends as candidates for
certain positions and also earn some incentives. Not many companies realize the
benefits of good referral programme. A successful referral programme reduces cost
per hire significantly and at the same time promotes ownership. The advantages/
disadvantages of such methodology are as follows:-
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF REFERRAL STSTEM
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
(a) Inexpensive compared to job (a) You may be obligated to hire in
consultants. certain cases when candidate is not
(b) Referred candidates are aware of suitable.
the culture. (b) May lead to inter-personal issues.
(c) Employees refer candidates with (c) May not always produce desired
good potential. results.
(d) Results are quick. (d) Not suitable for mass recruitment.
(e) Not sustainable in the long run.
(f) Issues arise when referred candidate
is selected and does not perform or
quits.
3.23 Yes bank runs a successful employee referral scheme, which encourages
employees to recommend friends and earn incentives. “I have happy employees,
otherwise nobody would call their friends/ relatives" says CEO, Yes Bank Ltd. Based
28
on available statistics, 6% of the positions at Yes bank Delhi are presently being
filled through referrals.
3.24 The employee is paid the referral fee after 3 months after the candidate joins.
The bank doesn‟t pay for referring any fresher or referring a candidate for a position
who would be directly reporting to the person who referred him. The compensation
for successful hire through this scheme is about 5% of annual salary. The success of
such a system is when vacancies are well advertised internally.
3.25 Campus Placement. The banks go Business schools for recruiting
sales officers for the post of Sales officers. The HR initiatives campus placements
based on long term forecast of sales officers. While recruiting from campus, the
bank screens for candidate having a good academic record, family background with
sound academic records in both Graduation and Class XII. Yes bank goes to Tier I &
II B-schools for recruiting sales officers for the post of Client Sales Partner (CSPs)
and about 15% of the positions at Yes bank Delhi are presently being filled through
such methodology. The advantages/ disadvantages of campus placement are as
follows:-
ADVANTAGES & DIS-ADVANTAGES OF CAMPUS PLACEMENT
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
(a) Inexpensive. (a) Competition is fierce. Companies/
(b) Good for mass induction at lower Banks all across India compete for
levels. similar un-experienced low cost skills.
(c) Allows hiring specific skills. (b) Linked to academic session and
29
(d) Source of talent that can be therefore useful towards long term
trained towards specific competence. manpower requirements.
(e) Provides talented youth with drive. (c) It has been observed that often good
(f) Helps banks build reputation candidates have many job offers.
during such job fair/ campus placement. Therefore, may not ultimately join.
(d) Training costs are very high for
candidates taken from campuses
3.26 Campus recruitment is a cost effective model for mass recruitment after tying
up with various B-schools. Business schools have vast resource of talented students
studying specialized courses in Banking and Insurance. However, Banks must plan
staffing and be clear about its future manpower turnover/ requirement.
3.27 Direct Advertisement. This is the age old method of bringing employers
and candidates together and is still widely used. A clear and attractive newspaper
advertisement with specific details is eye-catching and invites immediate attention.
The services of newspapers and employment exchange are useful. About 10% of
the positions at Yes bank Delhi are being filled through such direct advertisement
methodology. However, this is likely to grow substantially. The advantages and
disadvantages are as follows:-
30
ADVANTAGES & DIS-ADVANTAGES OF DIRECT ADVERTISEMENT
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
(a) Effective medium when job (a) Ideal for mass recruitment.
requirements and competencies are well (b) May bring many applications which
defined. may not be suitable for the position.
(b) Very good reach. Therefore, requires extensive screening.
(c) Can involve cost and results take
some time to fructify.
3.28 Internal Recruitment. As brought out earlier, it involves filling vacancies
through internal means from existing employees. If external efforts are undertaken
without considering the desires, capabilities and potential of present employees, a
bank may incur both short and long run costs. In short run, morale may de-generate,
in the long run banks with a reputation for consistent neglect of in-house talent may
find it difficult to attract new candidates available through other channels. The
advantages and dis-advantages of internal recruitment are:-
ADVANTAGES & DIS-ADVANTAGES OF INTERNAL RECRUITMENT
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
(a) Ability of candidate and (a) Assessment of candidate is based
competencies are well defined. on references, brief interview or less
(b) Internal candidate know the reliable information.
organization, its strength and weakness. (b) May be difficult to find the right
(c) Promotion builds motivation candidate suitable for the position with
31
among existing employees. ideal mix of competencies from internal
(d) Very cheap. sources.
(c) Transition activities and rapid
organizational growth often mask
managerial deficiencies. However, when
the growth rate slows down the
deficiencies become apparent and
organization find it difficult to undo the
damage. The cost of remedial action can
prove disastrous and prohibitive.
Sources of data:-
(a) Line and HR Managers.
(b) Bank records and documents.
(c) Job consultants.
(d) New employees hired through various recruitment methodology list above.
(e) Industry trends for online recruitment.
(f) Placement cells of colleges the Bank visited e.g. ICFAI, IIPM, BIMT.
(g) Internal IT Helpdesk placed at Yes bank, Chanakya Puri Branch.
(h) Questionnaire and survey of HR/Managers/ Employees.
(i) Wipro Solutions, the vendor of the application software.
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3.29 Current Scenario and Trend at Delhi/ NCR Region. The percentage of
recruitment undertaken by various methodologies at Yes bank in Delhi and NCR are
as depicted:-
Yes Bank, Delhi
15 15
10
10
6 44
Campus Job Consultant
Referral Direct Advertisement
Internal Online
Yes Bank, National Capital Region (NCR)
16 20
11
9 30
14
Campus Job Consultant
Referral Direct Advertisement
Internal Online
3.30 Analysis from Interviews. Both the document based research and
questionnaire survey methods were used. Interviews of 82 HR managers, Line
33
managers, employees and candidates were undertaken to analyze the trends in
recruitment, which according to them are effective recruitment strategies for private
sector banks. The format of questionnaire is placed at Appendix and results of
effectiveness of each recruitment strategy according to survey of HR / Line
managers are as pictorially depicted:-
Yes Bank, NCR
18 18
10
10 26
18
Campus Job Consultant
Referral Direct Advertisement
Internal Online
EFFECTIVENESS OF RECRUITMENT STRATEGY
FROM SURVEY OF HR/ LINE MANAGERS IN DELHI AND NCR
Yes Bank, National Capital Region (NCR)
20 19
12
10 25
16
Campus Job Consultant
Referral Direct Advertisement
Internal Online
34
Survey of Employees
3.31 About 82 Line/HR managers and employees were interviewed on the
effectiveness of a particular recruitment methodology and it can be seen that Job
Consultants, Online, Referrals and Campus recruitment were the most preferred.
The following data on use and effectiveness was arrived at during the survey of
employees:-
Recruitment Strategy Usefulness Priority (Data from Effectiveness
respondents)
Job Consultants 5 4.3
Online applications 4 4.25
Referrals 3 4.0
Campus Placements 3 3.9
Direct Advertisement 1 1.5
Internal Recruitment 1 3.5
Survey Questionnaire placed at Appendix (78 Line/HR Managers and employees interviewed)
Mark scale 1(Not effective), 3 (Moderately effective), 5(Very effective)
Effectiveness was measured by the following:-
(a) Cost per hire = Recruiting costs/ No of positions
(b) Time to fill vacancy
(c) Staffing Efficiency ratio = Total recruiting costs/ Total compensation
(d) Hire Quality
(e) Hiring Manager Satisfaction
35
3.32 Overall Effective Recruitment Strategy (Data Arrived at from Bank
Records). Banks need to continuously re-assess and estimate recruitment
strategies and its effectiveness. Analysis of available data, surveys and costs
involved at Yes Bank were undertaken to arrive at an effective recruitment strategy
for the role of a Sales officer. Following was concluded:-
Recruitment Applicability Priority Other Cost Overall
Strategy Factors Effectiveness Effectiveness
Job Consultants 5 4 3 4
Online applications 4 3.5 5 4.2
Referrals 3 4 4 3.2
Campus 3 3.8 5 3.8
Placements
Direct 1 1 3 2
Advertisement
Internal 1 2 5 3
Recruitment
Mark scale 1(lo), 5(hi) for Priority
Mark scale 1(lo), 5(hi) for Cost, Cost Effectiveness 1(lo), 5(hi), Overall Effectiveness 1(lo), 5(hi)
Evaluation of Effectiveness of Methodologies for Recruitment of Sales Officers
3.32 HR and Line managers in private sector banks need to think and act
strategically to ensure availability of sales officers with right skills. This involves
adopting the correct methodology for recruitment, selection and appointment with
speed and transparency at lowest cost.
3.33 Initial consideration should be given to a bank‟s employees, especially for
filling vacancies up to mid level positions. External recruitment should be resorted to
36
after potential of present employees have been exhausted. This will ensure morale
of employees does not de-generate. Additionally, larger organizations might be more
likely to have well defined succession. However, the need for specific skill set for a
specialized position cannot be ignored and therefore under such circumstances
external recruitment should be undertaken. Such preferential decisions should be
undertaken by the management, line managers and HR keeping organization goals
into consideration.
3.34 Recruitment using job consultants though very effective for managerial
positions can be expensive. Executive search firms tend to match candidates to jobs
faster that most organizations internally can, on their own, primarily due to larger
database, wider access and core competence. Networking strategy is used by the
recruitment consultants widely.
3.35 Campus recruitment is a very effective recruitment strategy, especially for
mass recruitment and candidate can be thereafter be trained. However, during
interview of such student candidates, it emerged that organization and its career
opportunities are prime motivation factor for students to seek employment with any
particular organization. Two major advantage of this strategy is cost and
convenience. However, such recruitment is limited to selected period of the year and
requires prior planning of sales force needed by the organization.
3.36 It has been observed from the data, online recruitment methodology is very
effective. However, the rise of more and more online job portals coupled with the
tightness of the market has also had a negative influence on recruitment. Many
banks thought that advertising in online job portals could reduce their dependency
37
on job consultants and lower recruitment costs. However, large no of job portals
have fragmented the demand and supply side market. It has therefore become
necessary to advertise and search in more and more job portals, which is proving to
be time-consuming, costly for banks and also becoming ineffective.
3.37 The success of the recruitment process is not only determined by the
methodology that are used for search and selection, but also by the way these
methodologies are used. One also needs to take into account the following:-
(a) What are the no of positions available?
(b) What role does the recruited position play and its importance?
(c) Can the role be re-organized for better organization effectiveness?
(d) Can internal candidate be trained for the position and what are the
costs, time involved?
(e) How long do you expect the new candidate to remain in the role and
stay in the bank?
(f) What are the organization retention strategies?
(g) What is your plan for the recruitment process and monitoring?
3.38 Recruitment strategy can be targeted or broad-based. Targeted recruitment is
specific, focused and addressed to the section where one believes to find the right
candidate for the particular position. Broad-based recruitment can be effective for
positions that easily filled with minimal training. Organizations and Banks also have
to work towards building a brand value which impacts employee positively. As
Hertzberg work suggests that the line managers play a pivotal role both as „hygiene‟
and „motivation‟ factor that impact on both employee‟s attraction and retention.
38
Image and a reality of ethical and trustworthy operations in the organization is a
major attraction to both potential candidate and those already employed.
3.39 Recruitment Plan. Based on the recruitment methodology arrived or the
organization wishes to adopt, a recruitment plan should be devised. The present
study after taking all available data and inputs came up with a Recruitment Plan
template. This template in placed at Annexure. The following are the salient points
towards a successful recruitment plan:-
(a) Recruiting the right person starts with a detailed job description and
personal specification. It also involves following a recruitment process that
produces a suitable candidate at a minimum cost to the bank.
(b) The more complex the job, the more complex the recruitment process
needs would be. However, as a minimum, the interview process should
include at least two level interviews, a psychometric assessment and a
thorough reference check.
(c) Advertisements through various recruitment methodologies should be
clear, to the point indicating job description.
(d) Interviews should be highly structured and based on proven
methodologies. They should reveal levels of competency in key areas,
appropriateness of experience, personality strengths and weaknesses and
integrity.
(e) Carefully selected psychometric assessments are valuable tools in the
selection process, but not to the exclusion of a structured interview.
Individuals should be selected on the basis of past performance, competence
and personality.
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(f) Always recruit the right person for the job. Recruitment should be seen
as a 'rejection process' as much as a 'selection process'. One shouldn‟t be
tempted to pick 'the best of from a bad lot‟
(g) Screen likely candidates with a simple telephone interview before
deciding who to invite for the face-to-face interview.
(h) When one actually meets the candidates, let them tell about their
background and achievements. The details about the job, the compensation,
the company, etc should follow.
(i) Identify what initial training will be required and how much will be
needed to invest in the candidate and whether he or she is worth that
investment.
(j) Never over sell the job. Honesty about the role should be the best
policy.
(k) Background & reference checks are very vital. During interview of new
sales officers at Yes Bank, it was found that around 40% of new employees
never had references taken up. Background checks should be as thorough,
as possible and should include employment history and character references.
3.40 Limitation of the Present Study. Some of the most used methods are
not the ones found to be most effective under all circumstances and scenarios. Most
banks do not have a clearly defined recruitment strategy, but use a shot-gun
approach to find candidates for their vacancies. This study has not considered
regional areas factors, Gender of candidates, age, discriminations etc in a detailed
manner. However, this is not to say that there isn‟t a problem in this area or
methodologies for recruitment will not be different. As seen in tables above, the
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response varied between segments analyzed. Some discrepancy were noticed
which can have generalization error.
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4
RECOMMENDATION & CONCLUSION
Recommendation
4.1 Recruiting can no longer be confined to the traditional ways. With the war of
talent intensifying, employers are broadening their reach though innovative
channels. Static recruitment no longer suffices in today‟s context of cost
effectiveness and efficiency. HR professional have a big responsibility to hire a best
candidate from the available sources discussed above. At the same time, one has to
be cost conscious. No process is complete without an evaluation of its success. All
executives interviewed accentuated the importance of employer branding in
attracting highly suitable candidates. Job consultants, online applications and
Campus placements emerged the most effective external recruitment methodology
used. Most showcase organizations and private sector banks today have started
using technology to screen resumes, filter applicants and build database for future
use. Based on all available data, an optimum, cost effective, diverse and scalable
recruitment strategy or methodology for recruitment of sales officers was arrived at
by the author targeting each methodology. Private sector banks should aim to
achieve the model by reengineering processes, maximizing use of technology to
reduce costs and exploit each source effectively.
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Proposed Recruitment Methodology
5 20
20
15 20
10 10
Campus Job Consultant
Referral Direct Advertisement
Internal Online
Others
Conclusion
4.2 This report has investigated the various methodologies for recruitment and
the need was therefore to arrive at a recruitment strategy for the private sector
banks. As brought out earlier, the success of the recruitment strategy is not only
determined by the methodology that are used for search and selection, but also by
the way these methodologies are used and implemented. The processes should
ensure that there is no "shot-gun approach” as a last resort after failing to fill the
position. Outsourcing of the recruitment process to an agency versus doing this work
in-house as a core HR responsibility is part of the strategic choice companies should
consider in determining a clear and effective HR recruitment strategy. Trying to do
both adds costs as HR resources go up and the required time to fill vacancies often
increases leading to less efficiency in finding and selecting candidates for open
positions. Employers have to use all available information and techniques available
to them including the more traditional tools of common sense and good judgment
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when making the right hiring choices for available vacancies. The following are to be
considered additionally:-
(a) Ensure you look internally prior to adopting any external recruitment
strategies.
(b) Have a clear understanding of the current marketplace including
salary, skills shortages reasons for candidates to join the bank.
(c) Map a consistent recruitment / hiring process for each new recruit.
(d) Create a consistent job profile for each requirement.
(e) Ensure feedback is offered. Feedback forms should be completed for
each candidate interviewed.
(f) Ensure relevant management information is collated and presented to
hiring managers from suppliers.
(g) Have a clear understanding of the best methods of attracting
employees, devise an attraction strategy.
(h) Review all testing and assessment products and processes.
(i) Once you have successfully recruited staff, make sure you keep them
by introducing attractive retention measures and developing innovative and
creative training programme to keep them motivated and engaged.
(j) Hold focus group meetings of employees.
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5
ANNEXURES
LIST OF ANNEXES
I APPROVED PROJECT SYNOPSIS
II QUESTIONNAIRE FOR INTERNAL/ EXTERNAL EMPLOYEES AND
CANDIDATES
III QUESTIONNAIRE – ATTRACTION (NEW EMPLOYEES)
IV QUESTIONNAIRE FOR HR MANAGRS AND LINE MANAGERS
V PROPOSED RECRUITMENT PLAN FOR PVT LTD YES BANK
VI SAMPLE QUESTION FOR INTERVIEW
VII LIST OF CANDIDATES INTERVIEWED/ PARTICIPATED IN SURVEY
VIII FEEDBACK FORM
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NAME KINSHUK DE
DATE OF JOINING
ANNEXURE – II
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR INTERNAL/ EXTERNAL EMPLOYEES AND CANDIDATES
Please rate these points on a scale of 1 to 5 as per the following:
1 - Completely Disagree (Lo)
2 - Mostly Disagree
3 - Neutral
4 - Mostly Agree
5 - Completely Agree (Hi)
1. On a scale of 1 to 5 how do you feel about joining, working for us and why?
46
2. Can you rate in order of merit the following methodologies of recruitment that you
believe is cost effective and can easily reach out to you easily:-
Job consultants
Online applications
Referrals
Campus placements
Direct Advertisement
3. What according to you (on a scale of 1 to 5) are the primary causes for high attrition
in the banking industry?
Salary
Low Tolerance
Better prospects elsewhere
Market Liberalization
Poor Processes
Company Brand
Job Content
Poor Growth
Poor Incentives
Job Security
Rewards elsewhere
HR/ Other Policies
Management
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NAME KINSHUK DE
DATE OF JOINING
ANNEXURE – IV
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR HR MANAGRS AND LINE MANAGERS
Please rate these points on a scale of 1 to 5 as per the following:
1 - Completely Disagree (Lo)
2 - Mostly Disagree
3 - Neutral
4 - Mostly Agree
5 - Completely Agree (Hi)
1. Which of the two main recruitment methodologies, Internal Recruitment or External
Recruitment according to you should be resorted to and why (Please elaborate) ?
2. Can you rate in order of merit the following external recruitment methodologies that you
believe are cost effective and can easily reach out to best candidates in Delhi and NCR:-
DELHI NCR
Job consultants Job consultants
Online applications Online applications
Referrals Referrals
Campus placements Campus placements
Direct Advertisement Direct Advertisement
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3. What according to you on a scale of 1 to 5 are the primary causes for high attrition in the
banking industry?
Salary
Low Tolerance
Better prospects elsewhere
Market Liberalization
Poor Processes
Company Brand
Job Content
Poor Growth
Poor Incentives
Job Security
Rewards elsewhere
HR/ Other Policies
Management
4. Which of the following could further improve recruitment in your organization (Rate 1 to 5)?
Planned Hires
Coordinated, sharing of business information
Economy to scale/cost reduction
Formalized agreements regarding business terms
Improved relationship with Job consultants and Line/ HR managers
Detailed job specifications
Consistent screening methods and approach
Structured recruitment processes
Effective recruitment methodology
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NAME Kinshuk De
DATE OF JOINING
ANNEXURE – III
QUESTIONNAIRE – ATTRACTION (NEW EMPLOYEES)
Please rate these points on a scale of 1 to 5 as per the following:
1 - Completely Disagree (Lo)
2 - Mostly Disagree
3 - Neutral
4 - Mostly Agree
5 - Completely Agree (Hi)
I like to work on the permanent roles of the company
I am more concerned about my designation rather than the job content
I value incentives more than my fixed salary
I value growth potential more than the salary in the organization
I value rewards and recognition more than my salary
I value the brand of my company more than the job content
I value HR policies more than my salary / job content
I value regular interaction & appreciation from the top management more than any reward
I value job security more than my salary in the organization
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ANNEXURE – V
PROPOSED RECRUITMENT PLAN FOR PVT LTD YES BANK
1. Date:
Section 1: Position Data
2. Working Title
3. Title Code and Payroll Title
4. Grade
5. Salary Range
6. Department
7. Hiring Authority (name & phone)
8. Recruitment Contact (name & phone):
9. Appointment Type:
10. Final Filing Date
11. Estimated Hire Date:
12. Is this a new position?
13. No of Positions
13. Full/ Part Time?
14. Attachments
15. Job Description (Enclose attachments if required).
Section 2: Recruitment Plan
16. Selection Criteria
17. Scope of Search (Nationwide/ Regional)
18. Recruitment Strategy
(a) Job consultants
(b) Online applications
(c) Referrals
(d) Campus placements
(e) Direct Advertisement
(f) Internal
19. Selection Members:
20. Source of funds for recruitment with estimates:
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ANNEXURE VIII
FEEDBACK FORM
Kinshuk De
kinshuk.de@gmail.com
Fax : +91-9810775595
CASE – RECRUITMENT METHODOLOGY
We value your feedback. Please take some time to fill this feedback form and fax it.
1. How useful is this case study in providing you with some suggested
approaches to deal with HR recruitment issues?
Very useful Useful Moderately useful Not useful
2. How do you rate the case study?
Very Good Good Neutral Poor
3. Would you consider implementing the strategies/ approaches in the case
study?
Yes No
Other Comments:
________________________________________________________________
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Particulars of respondent
Name Designation
Organization
Address
Email
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