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1、Recruitment in small firms Processes, methods and problemsMarilyn Carroll, Mick Marchington, Jill EarnshawManchester School of Management, UMIST, Manchester, UK, andStephen TaylorManchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UKAbstractThe article summaries findings from recent case study research

2、into recruitment in small firms. The research aims to ascertain whether small firms follow the procedures outlined in the prescriptive literature on recruitment, and to what extent they rely on informal recruitment methods. It finds little evidence of the adoption of the recommended systematic proce

3、dures and a high use of tried and trusted'' methods including word-of-mouth recruitment and the hiring of known quantities''. The implications of this are examined. While these methods have certain advantages, they may also give rise to a number of problems. The study argues that the

4、 adoption of more formal procedures and methods could reduce staff turnover in small firms and its associated costs. However, it concludes that many small employers would remain unconvinced by the case for opening up recruitment channels, and may find their existing approaches more cost effective in

5、 the short term.Keywords Employment, Recruitment, Small firms, Staff turnoverIntroductionA considerable quantity of prescriptive literature is available to managers responsible for recruiting staff aimed at helping them to increase the chances of finding the right person for the job. Most of this ad

6、vice, however, seems to be aimed at large organisations. Assumptions are made about the degree of formality which would normally characterise the recruitment process and the extent to which employers are likely to adopt systematic and proactive searches for new recruits. In contrast, relatively litt

7、le material is available specifically for small firms. As Hendry et al. (1995, p. 14) note, training and human resource management advice to smaller firms has been monotonous in its prescription of large-scale solutions'The project on which this article is based aimed to find out how practices i

8、n small firms compare with the prescriptive .textbook'' procedures; whether these are seen by small firms as appropriate to their needs; the recruitment problems small firms face, and what strategies they have adopted to overcome them. The project also focused on the use of informal recruitm

9、ent networks. Research by Earnshaw et al. (1998) indicates that poor recruitment and selection decisions are often blamed for subsequent disciplinary problems in small firms. As a consequence, a number of these firms stated that recruitment was now being undertaken with greater care to ensure they f

10、ound the right'' person, and this included the widespread use of informal, word-of-mouth recruitment methods, and the hiring of、known quantities'While the authors concede that this is understandable from the employer's point of view, they do raise the question as to whether recruitme

11、nt through informal networks reinforces existing race, gender or disability imbalances within the workforce, and whether certain groups are being permanently excluded from employment in small firms.The recruitment processTexts on recruitment invariably recommend a systematic procedure comprising fou

12、r stages: an assessment of whether the vacancy needs to be filled, a job analysis, the production of a job description and a person specification. Torrington et al. (1991) suggest that in a small organisation it may be sufficient for one person to consider , ' the job's important aspects and

13、 the requirements of the jobholder' ' in place of the detailed job analysis/job description/person specification procedure usually recommended. Consideration is then given to whether the vacancy can be filled internally. If the vacancy is to be filled externally, the methods by which suitabl

14、e candidates are to be attracted, how they should apply, and what selection techniques are to be adopted should then be decided.The prescriptive literature usually makes the distinction between formal recruitment methods ± including press advertisements, Jobcentres and other agencies ± and

15、 more informal methods, such as recommendations from existing staff. Word-of-mouth methods are recognised as having some distinctadvantages. As well as the obvious advantages of speed and cost, not only is the new recruit a 'known quantity' he or she is likely to have been given more prior k

16、nowledge about the firm and the job, and what to expect from it (Watson, 1989). Furthermore, existing employees who have recommended people tend to、 socialise' ' the new recruit because it is in their interests to make sure that the new employee fits in. Word-of-mouth recruitment is, therefo

17、re, sometimes recommended to employers as a way of reducing staff turnover. Bonn and Forbringer (1992) report that in the hospitality industry in the USA, which is notorious for high rates of staff turnover, several large companies actively encourage 、 referrals' ' by existing employees, thr

18、ough the use of financial incentives and prizes for successful recommendations. However, informal methods have two main disadvantages: they may leave a pool of suitable recruits untapped, and may leave the firm open to accusations of indirect discrimination against disadvantaged groups.Despite the w

19、ealth of literature available on good recruitment practice, Kilibarda and Fonda (1997) found little evidence that the textbook advice is being followed, even by large employers. If this is the case in large organisations, what is the situation in small firms?Within the existing literature on employm

20、ent in small firms there has been disagreement as to the type and quality of employment opportunities offered. While the、"small is beautiful11 approach maintains that smaller firms offer a less formal, more personal, close working environment, Rainnie (1989) has questioned whether interpersonal

21、 relationships are better in smaller firms. Ritchie (1993, p. 112) paints a particularly bleak picture, arguing that many small firms seem more like "personal fiefdoms, paternalistic homesteads, backstreet workshops, temporary employment stopgaps, oppressive sweatshops and generally less desira

22、ble workplaces* On the evidence of research both in the USA and the UK, Atkinson and Storey (1994, p. 11) conclude that the quality of employment in small firms is, in fact, lower than in large ones:Wages are lower, training is less frequent, and the evidence for a compensating higher level of job s

23、atisfaction is weak. Furthermore, in view of the financial weakness of many small businesses . and their relatively low levels of unionisation, effective job security for workers is likely to be lower than for workers in large firms.In addition, researchers such as Lane (1994) and Hendry et al. (199

24、5) point out that small firms are less able to sustain internal labour markets. As a consequence, they may struggle to retain key staff and are more vulnerable to changes in the external labour market. Other commentators (Ritchie, 1993; Atkinson and Storey, 1994;Thatcher, 1996) suggest that these fa

25、ctors have serious recruitment implications for small firms, since they are therefore unlikely to be able to attract as high a calibre of employee as large firms. Indeed, Atkinson andMeager (1994) argue that it is only when businesses cease to become small that recruitment problems can be resolved.

26、They also point out that for the small business, the engagement with the external labour market is different from that of a large one. It is likely to be less frequent,x "less predictable and less capable of systemisation*1 (1994, p. 39). Moreover, a single event of recinitment is likely to hav

27、e more effect because of the smaller size of the business. Indeed, as Atkinson and Meager (1994, p. 39) note, 、 xthe smaller a business is, the more critical is its engagement with the external labour market likely to be, and recruitment is likely to be the most critical aspect of it* Evidence sugge

28、sts that small firms do, in fact, find it hard to attract the calibre of staff they need. According to Atkinson and Storey (1994) small firms report labour market problems more frequently than any other, including financial problems. The most frequent complaint was with the quality of labour availab

29、le, including a lack of basic literacy skills, particularly among young people. Scott et al. (1989) also found evidence of dissatisfaction with the quality of labour available for small firms. It is perhaps not surprising that this dissatisfaction was greater in the high-technology sectors since the

30、se are more likely to experience a genuine skills gap.In the literature on small firms frequent reference is made to the widespread use of informal, word-of-mouth recruitment methods. However, Scott et al. (1989) found sectoral variations in small firms* approach to recruiting staff. While in tradit

31、ional manufacturing and service sectors there was a preference for informal methods, there was a much more widespread use of formal methods in the high-technology sectors. Atkinson and Meager (1994) found that the use of word-of-mouth recniitment methods varied according to the type of employee bein

32、g recniited; while it was the most popular method forRecruitment in small firms reciuiting managers and manual workers, more formal methods tended to be adopted for recruiting clerical and technical employees. They also found evidence of a correlation between business size and the adoption of formal

33、 recruitment procedures: 、Tor the very smallest businesses the availability of a known individual is virtually a precondition for recruitment11 (1994, p. 41). However, once a business reaches a certain size it is suggested that more formal procedures might need to be adopted in order to cope with th

34、e greater number of recnjitment events. Even so, there was evidence that these slightly larger firms still continue ± and prefer ± to use informal methods where possible, raising the question of whether managers who run small businesses ever believe that formal methods are appropriate for

35、their needs.Holliday's (1995) in-depth case study research in three small firms also found reciuitment by word-of-mouth to be the most common method. Often an initial approach would be made when it was known that a suitable employee had been made redundant by a competitor. The firms preferred to

36、 recnjit people who were already trained and experienced, and the collapse of another similar local firm would be、 "viewed with relish'1 as a provider of a ready-made pool of experienced potential reciuits (p. 146), Family members of existing employees were also recruited frequently, which

37、Holliday (1995, p. 142) believes is、"inextricably linked with the most important quality which an individual can bring to the job, which is to be able to'fit in' with the existing workforce and company culture1 The notion of、"fitting in'' is a recurring theme in the literat

38、ure on recnjitment in small firms. Curran and Stanworth (1979), Scott etal. (1989) and Kitching (1994) all suggest that the employer s judgement of a potential recnjit as a person is seen as the most important aspect of selection.Each of the case study firms in Hollidays research had a mix of、core&#

39、39;' and、 "transient*1 workers, in contrast to Atkinson's (1984)、"core/periphery*1 model of the flexible firm, which sees the core workers as specialists, or multi-skilled, while the periphery consists of semi- and unskilled workers. Hollida/s、"core/ transient*' model make

40、s the distinction between those employees who can、fit in'' either socially, or with the、"idiosyncratic working methods'' adopted by small companies and consequently stay with the firm, and those who cannot, and leave shortly after appointment (1995, p. 149).However, contrary to

41、the more usual view of small firms being unable to provide opportunities for career progression, she found that internal promotion was common in the case study firms, not only because of cost, but for two further reasons. First Job descriptions were vague, the jobs themselves changed and developed o

42、ver time, tasks were added and, to some extent, employees、"created their own jobs* * (Holliday, 1995, p. 143). It would, therefore, be difficult for an、"outsider * to understand the range of tasks that an individual would undertake. Second, an internal promotee is already、 "encultured

43、'1 into the organization.Despite the widespread use of word-of-mouth recnjitment methods, research indicates that small firms may well be unaware of the possibility of indirect discrimination. Scott et al. report that the Sex Discrimination Act was of no concern for any of their case study firms

44、 and there was 、 "almost total ignorance since no firm reported having ever come into contact with it'' (1989, p. 88). In one survey conducted by Lane (1994) in small and medium sized enterprises, 67 per cent of respondents said that equal opportunities issues aiose either rarely or nev

45、er in their own companies.The majority of firms surveyed by Scott et al. (1989) did not think their recruitment system was adequate, and half believed it was a major problem. Those using formal methods were less satisfied with recruitment procedures than those using informal methods. The authors sug

46、gest that the dissatisfaction stemmed from an unrealistic expectation of the caliber of recruits available in the local labour market, rather than with their own procedures.The research and sampleOur research adopted a case study approach. It was decided to limit the case studies to five sectors in

47、order to ascertain whether industry-specific factors influenced the procedures adopted. We aimed to select a cross-section of industries covering service, manufacturing and transport, involving different types of occupation from manual to professional. We also wanted to include some sectors where oc

48、cupations tend to be gender segregated, as well as some which are known to have recmitment problems and/or high levels of staff turnover. The project was funded by the European Regional Development Fund, which imposed limitations on the sectors which could be studied, as well as restricting the geog

49、raphical area to Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire. The sectors chosen were hotels and catering, road haulage, nursing/residential homes, printing and solicitors1 firms. A total of 40 firms were involved, eight in each of the five sectors.Before carrying out the research an advisory group

50、comprising representatives of employers* organizations and an independent consultant was formed. The group was very helpful in providing background information on the industries concerned, identifying issues which might be explored, and gaining access to suitable firms. Access to 13 of the case stud

51、y firms was gained with the help of advisory group members. A further nine were suggested by firms which had already taken part in the research. The source of the remaining 18 was through personal contacts, either direct or indirect, of members of the research team. While it is recognized that these

52、 methods of selecting the case study firms could lead to an element of bias in the sample, they did prove to be extremely successful. Only two of the firms which were contacted declined to participate, and in both cases the reason given was lack of time.The case studies were carried out over a five-

53、month period during the spring and summer of 1998, and consisted of semi-structured interviews with the business owner, partner, director or other manager responsible for the recruitment of staff. The interview covered the following areas: general information about the business, the composition of t

54、he labour force, human resource management practices in general, and the recnjitment process in particular, awareness of the legal issues associated with recruitment, recruitment problems and any steps taken to overcome them.The size of the firms ranged from 7 to 207 employees. Of the firms, 13 had

55、more than one establishment, and individual establishment sizes ranged from 2 to 130 employees. A breakdown of the sample in terms of sector and total number of employees is shown in Table I.The case study organizations in the hotels and catering sector comprised a diverse range of bars, pubs, resta

56、urants, a club and a country house hotel. Three were smalL independent chains with a number of outlets. The majority of the employees were bar staff, waiting staff, kitchen staff or cleaners. Many worked part-time, and a large number were students.Most of the road haulage companies were well-establi

57、shed family firms. The majority of employees were drivers, but companies also employed mechanics, warehouse staff, general maintenance yard staff, transport managers, traffic operators, clerical/adniinistrative staff and cleaners. Nearly all the staff worked full-time.The case study homes comprised

58、a sample of eight nursing or dual-registered (nursing and residential) homes, all relatively new businesses between 7 and 14 years old. Most of the home owners had an NHS background, many were qualified nurses and one was a retired GP. The homes were heavily regulated and subject to regular inspecti

59、ons by the District Health Authorities, Social Services Departments and the Registered Nursing Homes Association. Most of the homes* employees,. nurses, care assistants and domestic staff, were women and many worked part-time.The printing industry in the UK is characterised by a large number of very

60、 small firms, and the case study organisations reflected this with six having less than 25 employees. The industry has undergone major changes in recent years as trade union influence has declined and computers have revolutionised production. Jobs in the industry fall into three main categories: pre-press, printing and finishing. Work is heavily segregated along gender lin