How to find staff

A company’s employees are one of its main assets. Here is an overview of different recruitment methods.

External recruitment of staff is playing an increasingly large and costly role for companies. But it does present significant advantages: people from outside the company contribute new ideas and new potential. However, integrating new employees can present some difficulties and entail lengthy training periods.

To find applicants, there are several options:

Method	Advantages	Disadvantages
Internet search	Shorter training period Stable salary level Employee motivation Familiar environment	Few comparisons possible No advertising effect outside the company Internal misunderstandings No new ideas from outside the company
Advertisements	Big PR effect	Expensive
Media mix (more than one medium)	Broad distribution Wider choice	Large-scale selection
Consultant	Saves time thanks to external pre-selection	Expensive
Targeted discussion	Advantageous Clear profile requirements	Restricted choice Not available immediately
Direct contact (headhunting)	Saves time thanks to external pre-selection Applicants’ qualities are known	Expensive Does not have a very good reputation
Maintaining relations (schools, career adviser, etc.)	Good for company image	Not suitable if positions need filling immediately Expensive
PR activities	Good for company image	Not suitable if positions need filling immediately Expensive
Internet	Broad distribution	Often not very transparent
Regional work placement offices (RWPO)	Required profiles are known Free	Quality of applicant is not always guaranteed Pressure from consultants

Source: Marc A. Hermann / Clarisse Pifko, Staff Management

Personnel management consultant

If the company is looking for highly qualified staff or an executive, collaborating with a personnel management consultant can prove helpful. This consultant handles the majority of the recruitment process: organization of advertisements, media planning, choice of applicants. Collaboration with a personnel management consultant is also recommended if the company’s business must remain confidential. However, this form of searching for staff comes at a price: it may cost the equivalent of one or more times the monthly salary of the position to be filled.