Perceived effectiveness of e- recruitment in talent acquisition in the kenyan public service

Abstract

In the rapidly changing global world economy, it’s important to keep pace with the competition and succeed. Today, one of the most crucial sources of competitive advantage is based on human resource efforts through attracting and retaining talented individuals. Automating the recruitment processes helps companies in implementing the best practices of recruitment and hiring the best talent available in the market. E-recruitment allows for better targeting of candidates than advertising in general newspapers, resulting in a greater availability of qualified applicants. The objective of the study was to establish the perceived effectiveness of e- recruitment in talent acquisition in the Kenyan Public Service. The research design used was cross sectional descriptive survey. The study used primary data which was collected using a semi structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences based and presented using mean scores, standard deviations, percentages and frequency distribution. The study found out that online recruitment has made work easier as compared to the traditional recruitment practices of receiving hard copy applications; social media has facilitated communication of vacancies and prompt response from suitable applicants. The study recommends that each ministry must be aware of other factors that can influence the effectiveness of e-recruitment system in the ministries, such as poor internet connection in all parts of the country so that there is equal opportunity for all the citizens to apply for the vacancies and stand a chance to be selected. The limitations of the research are that the researcher used questionnaires with closed ended questions to collect data which have the disadvantage of limiting the responses according to the researchers’ choice and the focus was on human resources practitioners only. It is suggested that a similar study be done at Teachers Service Commission which has a more advanced e-recruitment system to establish its effectiveness in acquiring the right people for vacancies at the Commission.