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The Concept of Sourcing

Sourcing is an important function in HRM, used strategically to identify job applicants who fit perfectly for a job and for the organization. Sourcing usually follows job analysis and workforce planning processes because the organization needs to find applicants with characteristics that fit well to convert them into recruits. The sourcing process also facilitates the identification of applicants who are interested in pursuing a career with the organization.

Different organizations adopt different methods of sourcing. The most common methods are in newspaper advertisements, manpower consultants, corporate websites, etc. For example, a computer network equipment manufacturer named Cisco Systems relies on the internet fully to recruit people based on their online behavior and fill positions. A successful sourcing process involves a sourcing plan, carefully formulated with different sourcing strategies to identify good recruiting sources strategically for finding applicants.

A company employs different types of employees – management staff, specialized professionals, technical staff, customer service staff, skilled labor, etc. The sourcing strategy is different for every type of recruit and further classifies recruits as active and passive job applicants. Active job seekers are applicants who are in need of a job and actively looking for information on job openings. Passive job seekers are currently employed and they are not actively seeking a job, however they may apply if they are tempted by a right opportunity.

There is another group called the semi-passive job seekers who are interested in applying for jobs, but only occasionally. Highly talented employees can be identified in passive job seekers but they may not be interested in job openings that are advertised. The software company Microsoft spends about 95% of their time in identifying talents in passive job seekers. Passive and semi-passive job seekers are not actively seeking jobs in traditional recruiting sources and hence sourcing is very important for organizations focused on identifying and pursuing them.

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