Question

What is the difference between a closed internal recruitment system and an open internal recruitment system?

Accepted Answer

Internal recruitment is the process of filling job vacancies and open positions with employees from within the company. The applicant pool is limited only to those already employed within the organization.
In a close internal recruitment system, employees are not informed on job openings. The manager typically informs Human Resources of an opening and a list of potential internal candidates meeting the given criteria is drawn up. The manager then interviews the candidates and fills the position with the selected candidate. In an open internal recruitment system, employees are informed of open positions. In this process the manager notifies HR of a vacancy and then HR post the job opening publicly (within the company). Applications are then screened and a list of qualified candidates given to the manager for interview and selection. The manager then interviews and selects a candidate to fill the open position.

Answer

The difference between an open internal recruitment system and a closed internal recruitment system is the transparency of the process whereby a company seeks to fill a vacancy from within. An internal recruitment system is distinguished from an external system by the human resources department's focus on promoting or transferring from within the organization. Both open and closed internal recruitment systems focus on promoting or transferring from within, but an open system is at least nominally inclusive of the entirety of a workforce. In a closed internal recruitment system, there is no broad organization-wide announcement of an opening with an invitation to all existing employees who meet specified requirements to apply. Human resources or management seek to identify the best or preferred candidates for the open position in question without making the workforce aware that such a process is underway, although most would obviously be aware of an opening.
In theory, an open internal recruitment system is fairer, but, in reality, both systems are susceptible to abuse. An open internal recruitment system is more transparent and inclusive, but there is no guarantee that management or human resources officials do not already know who they want to promote. That means all other candidates are filling out paperwork and sitting through interviews solely for show; a selection has already been made, but the aura of open competition is complete.

Answer

Recruitment, especially for management or executive positions, is one of the most important parts of human resource management. Hiring the right staff is a crucial business decision. 
Recruitment can be internal or external, open or closed. Internal recruitment means hiring exclusively from within a company. This has the advantage of costing far less and a guarantee of hiring someone who is familiar with company culture. It can also boost employee morale and loyalty by showing that there is a path for internal promotion or career development. On the down side, it obviously generates a far smaller applicant pool than external recruitment and can lead to an inbred corporate culture.
In open recruitment, the information concerning an opening is made widely accessible (either internally or externally) and anyone who feels qualified can apply. In closed recruitment, a job opening is not announced and application is only by invitation. While closed recruitment is sometimes used for sensitive executive recruitment situations, where, for example, a board might not wish to make public their plans to defenestrate a CEO, it has several disadvantages. It can perpetuate an old boys' network, excluding women, minorities, and people of diverse backgrounds, and it can make employees suspect that promotions are not an open and transparent process but instead secretive and based on cronyism. While closed internal recruitment can facilitate an orderly succession in a case where an executive has been grooming a successor, it does not always result in as good a hire as might result from a more open process and wider applicant pool.

Business

What is the difference between a closed internal recruitment system and an open internal recruitment system?

Expert Answers info

Unlock This Answer Now

Related Questions

Ask a Question

Popular Questions