Pramana Research Journal ISSN NO: 2249-2976

Recruitment Practices in IT Sector: A Study of Employees

Perspective
Harpreet Singh, Research Scholar, Punjabi University, Patiala

Roop Kamal, Assist. Professor, Chandigarh University

Abstract
These days human resource has become the first and most important resource of any
organization, the quantity and quality of human resource has major impact and decides the
competitive ability of the organization. Recruitment is the first step in human resource
management, which directly effects the development of organisations. It is a kind of image
display of the organisation. It involves attracting, screening and selecting potential and
qualified individuals who might join an organization. This paper identified the recruitment
practices used by IT sector in Delhi NCR region. The study identifies the factors affecting the
recruitment practices and level of satisfaction of IT professionals. It has been found that job
portals and campus recruitment are the major source of recruitment in this sector. The study
concluded that positive and effective recruitment practices are being followed by IT
companies in Delhi NCR.

Keywords: Recruitment, Retention, Poaching,

Introduction:
In today's globalized and competitive environment, there is a considerable increase in
competition in all the sectors of the economy. The emphasis on organisational efficiency and
effectiveness has been increased, in which the human resources of organisation play a very
crucial role. So, these days human resource has become the first and most important resource
of any organization, the quantity and quality of human resource has major impact and decides
the competitive ability of the organization. Recruitment is the first step in human resource
management, which directly effects the development of organisations. It is a kind of image
display of the organisation. It involves attracting, screening and selecting potential and
qualified individuals who might join an organization. Without the right person, at the right
position neither a company nor individual can achieve optimum performance and success.

The organizations have found many innovative ways in recruiting and staffing practices to
adjust themselves to peaks and troughs in man power planning. Since it has become very
difficult to find and sustain talented people in an organisation, recruitment is one of major
human resource management practice these days. Organisations are putting in lots of efforts,
time and money for the recruitment and retention of talent with them.

According to Edwin B. Flippo "It is a process of searching for prospective employees and
stimulating and encouraging them to apply for jobs in an organisation."

Volume 9, Issue 1, 2019 318 [Link]

Pramana Research Journal ISSN NO: 2249-2976

Delhi NCR comprises of the national capital territory of New Delhi and several districts of
states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Prominent among these districts are Noida
and Gurugram. It has become one of the fastest growing economic regions of India,
accounting for 7-8% of the nation’s total GDP. Its proximity to government institutions, the
presence of a business friendly infrastructure and a burgeoning entrepreneurship culture make
the city a viable IT hub. Consequently, several companies have set up their delivery centres
and liaison offices in Delhi, Noida and Gurugram in order to take benefits of high quality
infrastructure, manpower, real estate and supportive government policies. Delhi NCR has the
presence of the biggest information technology and software companies in India and world.

Review of Literature:
Rao Pramila (2010) conducted a detailed analysis of senior level staffing practices in five
software companies in India. The research identified that, internal recruitment, employer
references, succession planning, interviews, personality tests, professional search agencies
and bio-data are the dominant senior-level staffing practices used mostly in India.

Nair Aishwarya (2011) studied the effectiveness of recruitment process in HCL Technologies
–BPO Chennai. The detailed analysis showed the positive attitude of staff towards the
recruitment practices followed by Medias and contacting sources.

Djabatey E. N. (2012) assessed the effectiveness of the recruitment and selection practices
and procedures of HFC Bank, Accra. The results indicated that, advertisement of job
vacancies and employee referrals are mostly the sources of recruiting the potential
employees.

Darkoh Mavis Adu (2014) identified employee recruitment and selection practices in the
construction industry in Ashanti region, Ghana. The research found that, out of the 16
identified recruitment and selection methods, the most frequently used medium in the order
of highly recognised methods are newspaper advertisement, internal recruitment, labour
office, employee referrals, and radio advertisement and at last internet recruitment.

Naveen S. & Raju D. N. M. (2014) identified the general practices that organisations used to
recruit and select its employees in cement, electronics and sugar industries in Krishna Dist.,
Andhra Pradesh. The study shows that the recruitment and selection process adopted in three
selected industries is effective. However, the HR managers of these industries have to focus
on campus placements, [Link], data banks, and etc. sources of recruitment.

Objectives of Study:
1. To identify the various sources of recruitment used in IT sector.
2. To identify the factors affecting the recruitment practices in IT sector.
3. To know the level of satisfaction of employees with the recruitment practices and process
in IT sector.

Volume 9, Issue 1, 2019 319 [Link]

Pramana Research Journal ISSN NO: 2249-2976

Data Collection:
The study is based on primary data. The primary data has been collected from 200 IT
professionals of IT companies by using a closed ended questionnaire. The questionnaire was
based on previously available literature.

Sample Size:
The sample frame is the major IT companies in Delhi NCR region. The sample size is 200 IT
professionals, which are from the five largest IT companies in NCR region. The largest IT
companies include TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Cognizant Technology
Solutions Corporation.

Analysis of Data:
Table 1
Recruitment Practice by which you were recruited
Sources Percentage of Respondents
Employee Referrals 18
Campus Recruitment 28
Advertisement 7
Recruitment Agencies 3
Job Portals 29
Poaching 2
Social Media 4
Internal Recruitment 4
Any Other 5

Table 1 indicates that, Job Portals and Campus recruitment are the widely used recruitment
methods as 29% and 28% respectively respondents are recruited using these methods. The
employee Referrals is 3rd most frequently used method of recruitment. However, all the other
methods of recruitment are also used by IT companies but only small numbers of candidates
are recruited through these methods. Poaching is at the last in the methods of recruitment
used by IT companies.

Table 2
Opinion regarding effective method of recruiting candidates
Sources Weighted Mean
Direct Applicants 4.04
Placement Consultants 3.51
Job Portals 4.01
Employee Referrals 4.07
Campus Recruitment 4.22
Body Shopping 2.83
Employee Poaching 3.10
Social Media 3.52
Internal Recruitment 3.70
The result shows that Campus Recruitment is the most effective method of recruitment

Volume 9, Issue 1, 2019 320 [Link]

Pramana Research Journal ISSN NO: 2249-2976

according to IT professionals followed by Employees Referrals, Direct Applicants and Job

Portals. Further, Internal Recruitment, Social Media, Placement Consultants and Employee
Poaching are the moderately effective methods of recruitment in IT sector. The Body
Shopping is ineffective method of recruitment.

Table 3
Internal factors that affects recruitment
Internal Factors Weighted Mean
Companies pay package 4.19
Quality of work life 4.30
Organisation Culture 4.23
Career advancement opportunities 4.24
Company’s size and operations 3.92
Role of trade unions 3.47
Cost of recruitment 3.50
Company’s image 4.34
Foreign assignments 3.88
Flexible work timing/ work from 4.03
home
Table 3 revealed that, company’s image and quality of work life (weighted mean 4.34 and
4.30 respectively) are the most prominent factors among internal factors that affect
recruitment strategies and practices in IT companies. The career advancement opportunities
and organisation culture are also important factors that affect recruitment practices. The role
of trade unions has least affect over the recruitment practices and process.

Table 4
External factors affect recruitment practices
External Factors Weighted Mean
Socio-economic factors 3.93
Supply and demand factor 3.76
Employment rate 3.89
Political and legal factors 3.56
From the external factors, socio-economic factors have highest affect over recruitment
practices followed by employment rate in an economy. While political and legal factors does
not have much affect over recruitment practices.

Table 5
Overall level of satisfaction of respondents
Level of Satisfaction Percentage of Respondents
Highly Satisfied 15
Satisfied 51
Neutral 30
Unsatisfied 4
Highly Unsatisfied 0
Weighted Mean 3.77
Table 5 reveals that, majority of respondents i.e. 51% are satisfied from the existing
recruitment practices. 30% respondents are neither satisfied nor unsatisfied and 15% are
highly satisfied. Only 4% are unsatisfied and none of respondents are highly unsatisfied.

Volume 9, Issue 1, 2019 321 [Link]

Pramana Research Journal ISSN NO: 2249-2976

Findings:
It has been found that, Job portals, campus recruitment and employee referrals are the widely
used sources of recruitment in IT sector in Delhi region. However, all the other sources of
recruitment were also used but for recruiting very small numbers of candidates. The study
also evidenced the use of employee poaching as a source of recruitment.

Campus Recruitment is the most effective method of recruitment according to IT

professionals followed by Employees Referrals, Direct Applicants and Job Portals. Internal
Recruitment, Social Media, Placement Consultants and Employee Poaching are the
moderately effective sources of recruitment in IT sector.

The company’s image and quality of work life are the most prominent factors among internal
factors that affect recruitment strategies and practices in IT companies. Among the external
factors, socio-economic factors have highest affect over recruitment practices followed by
employment rate in an economy.

Majority of respondents are satisfied from existing recruitments practices and process
followed in IT companies. It implies that positive and effective recruitment practices are
being followed by selected companies.

Conclusion:
The organizations have found many innovative ways in recruiting and staffing practices to
adjust themselves to peaks and troughs in man power planning. Since it has become very
difficult to find and sustain talented people in an organisation, recruitment is one of major
human resource management practice these days. Job portals and campus recruitment are the
most widely used sources of recruitment in IT sector in NCR region. Campus recruitment is
the most effective source of recruitment in the sector, as it may give good candidates both in
terms of quality and numbers. The company’s image and quality of work life are important
internal factors and socio-economic factors are external factors that have impact on
recruitment practices. The positive and effective recruitment practices are being followed by
IT companies in Delhi NCR.

References:
[1] Broughton Andrea, et. al. (2013). The Use of Social Media in the Recruitment Process. A
Research Paper by Institute of Employment Studies, Brighton, UK., Published by Acas
Research Publications.
[2] Darkoh Mavis Adu (2014). Employee Recruitment and Selection Practices in the
Construction Industry in Ashanti Region. A Master of Business Administration Thesis,
Submitted to Department of Managerial Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science
and Technology.
[3] Djabatey E. N. (2012). Recruitment and Selection Practices of Organisations: A Case
Study of HFC Bank (GH) Ltd. A Commonwealth Executive Master of Business

Volume 9, Issue 1, 2019 322 [Link]

Pramana Research Journal ISSN NO: 2249-2976

Administration Thesis, Submitted to the Institute of Distance Learning, Kwame Nkrumah

University of Science and Technology.
[4] Edwin B.F. (1984), "Personnel Management", New York: McGraw- Hill.
[5] Gugesh J. N. & Rani S. S. (2013). A Study on the Effectiveness of Recruitment Process in
Multicultural Organisation. IJER, 10 (2), 373-390.
[6] Nair Aishwarya (2011). A Study on Effectiveness of Recruitment Process in HCL
Technologies- BPO Chennai. International Journal of Management, 4 (3), 14-18.
[7] Naveen S. & Raju D. N. M. (2014). A Study on Recruitment & Selection Process with
Reference to Three Industries Cement Industry, Electronics Industry, Sugar Industry in
Krishna Dt. A.P., India. IORS Journal of Business and Management, 15 (5), 60-67.
[8] Rao Pramila (2010). A Resource-based Analysis of Recruitment and Selection Practices
of Indian Software Companies: A Case Study Approach. Journal of Indian Business
Research, 2 (1), 32-51.

Volume 9, Issue 1, 2019 323 [Link]