Target Recruitment - Using audience differences

Recruitment plays a crucial role in human resource planning and the success of the organisation as it provides the organisation with the human capital to achieve their strategic goals. It is important that the recruitment strategy used to attractive potential employees is effective and tailored to the desired audience of the recruitment effort (Compton, Morrissey & Nankervis 2014).

The targeted recruitment requires an organisation to design an advertisement which catches the eye of the desired applicant while also discourage those who would not be suitable for the position, but it must also promote the image of the organisation (Compton, Morrissey & Nankervis 2014). This can be achieved through the targeted recruitment method which is based on interactional psychology, by speculating the differences within the audience to target potential employees in an effort to achieve person-organisational fit. This requires an organisation to target individual differences through either surface level factors, such as demographics, or deep level factors, such as values and attitudes (Casper, Wayne & Manegold 2013).

A recruitment campaign which targets surface level factors, appeals to the needs and desires based on attributes such as gender, race, parental status and education (Casper, Wayne & Manegold 2013). The linked advertisement sourced from Seek.com for Horizonone is an example of surface level factors as it concentrates on the education levels of the audience. A potential applicant is able to discern if they are the intended audience through the emphasis placed on the education level as well as the professional language which has been used.

Due to the realisation that diversity within an organisation has multiple benefits; organisations are starting to target minorities within their recruitment efforts by highlighting the organisation’s diversity climate (Casper, Wayne & Manegold 2013). An example of this is Suncorp, in a recent advertisement placed on Seek.com. The diversity culture has been highlighted so that audience members who intrinsically feel that this is important are drawn to the position. It is particularly highlighted through the image used in figure 1. 

Figure 1: Diversity Policy Example

By understanding that there are differences in the audience which view their advertisements, organisations are able to target selected criteria through the emphasis of surface level or deep level factors to tailor their advertisements to encourage action from their desired sub sector in that audience. 

References 

Casper, WJ, Wayne, JH, & Manegold, JG 2013, 'Who Will We Recruit? Targeting Deep- and Surface-Level Diversity with Human Resource Policy Advertising', Human Resource Management, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 311-332.

Compton, RL, Morrissey, B, & Nankervis, A 2014, Effective recruitment and selection practices, 6th edn, CCH Australia, Sydney, New South Wales.

Horizonone, 2016, APS6 / EL1 Financial Compliance Officer / Manager, viewed 5 January 2016, http://www.seek.com.au/job/30119978?pos=14&type=standard&engineConfig=&userqueryid=137441785209188633&tier=no_tier&whereid=

Suncorp, 2016, Financial Control Advisor, viewed 5 January 2016, http://www.seek.com.au/job/30130486?pos=8&type=standard&engineConfig=&userqueryid=137441785209188633&tier=no_tier&whereid=