A speculative application is a way of sending job applications to an employer without evidence of a job vacancy advertisement. Job seekers send applications to various companies to secure possible openings (London School of Economics and Political Science, 2023). Therefore, they send applications showing qualifications to companies they are interested in working with, even without job listings. Companies may consider speculative applications when job opportunities open in the future. This involves reviewing the submitted qualifications and selecting those that match their employment requirements to invite those individuals to fill the specific job positions. However, since the applicants may apply for opportunities in more companies, they may not be available when a job vacancy arises, which is a disadvantage to the company recruiting through speculative applications. For example, in Soupcon, the individuals interested in design engineering made speculative applications to the Director of Engineering. The company contacted these individuals when job opportunities arose.
Real-life application
A graphic designer sends a cover letter, CV, qualifications, and portfolio to design agencies with the aim of seeking job opportunities even if there are no posted or advertised job openings in those companies. Using speculative applications gives the graphic designer an opportunity to explore the available opportunities in various companies.
What other strategies can be put in place to substitute speculative application?
Recruitment advertising
Recruitment advertising entails creating awareness among the public about openings and job vacancies in an organization. According to Banfield et al. (2018), in the UK, recruitment advertising has shifted online. This process can be done through various channels such as social media, companies’ websites, and job boards. The channels are used to describe the job titles, qualifications required, roles and responsibilities intended for the job applicants, and company details. By using recruitment advertising, a company will be able to attract the right individuals for the job position. This is supported by Banfield et al. (2018), who state that for a company to attract suitable candidates, it should market the organization to potential individuals. This is because recruitment advertising is associated with the talent pool. Recruitment advertising reaches a broad base of individuals; thus, it attracts many skilled individuals to apply for the job, giving a company an opportunity to select the more competent individuals for specified job opportunities. This can prevent issues such as understaffing, as evident in Soupcon company. Also, it will ensure that the company has options such as recruiting some individuals for part-time and others for full-time. Soupcon LTD lacked options because all its design engineers were employed full-time. Therefore, for recruitment advertising to substitute speculative applications, a company should advertise all available vacancies.
Is there any other business function or other department within the organization that can be involved or that may be required to get involved in any company’s recruitment exercise? Give at least an example of how this other department may be involved.
The finance and the sales department can be involved in the recruitment exercise of the company.
For example, the financial department can be involved in the recruitment to address the recruitment costs. According to Banfield et al. (2018), an organization should make recruitment decisions based on the recruitment costs it is likely to incur. This is because the decisions can be beneficial or have long-term financial costs for an organization. The financial department can be included to calculate the differences between the value to be contributed by people intended to be employed and those to be rejected (Banfield et al. (2018). This will assist a company in making recruitment and selection decisions that benefit the organization. Based on the case study, the sales department consists of individuals who have previously worked as design engineers and are familiar with Soupcons’ products. The company can include these individuals in the recruitment exercise due to their potential to spot individuals with the desired attributes and skills, making them qualify for engineering roles. Also, involving the sales department in the recruitment exercise can generate valuable insights into how to detect the most competent applicants for specific positions in an organization. This can give the company potential for success and growth because selecting the right candidates boosts productivity and profitability.
Based on the information contained in the assignment brief- with particular reference to the case study supplied- Briefly give a 2-minute explanation using your knowledge of HRM to explain whether SOUPCON LTD is in line with the recruitment exercise as stated in the law.
The practices of SOUPCON LTD align with the recruitment exercise as stated in the law of employment in the UK. In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 covers employees by prohibiting indirect or direct discrimination against employees based on nine protected characteristics, such as gender (Bennett et al., 2020). The law concerns the relationship between employees and employers, whereby employees and employers have rights that should be respected and maintained in the workplace. Based on the case study, Soupcon employs the UK workforce, and there are no issues of inequalities. The law requires organizations to have a fair process of recruitment. According to Banfield et al. (2018), organizations have a legal responsibility to ensure a fair selection of candidates based on the requirements for recruitment. Based on the case study, Soupcon LTD has a policy to hire post-graduate candidates only and those with expertise and experience of about five years. Respecting this policy indicates that the practice of Soupcon employing from the UK workforce aligns with the law pertaining to recruitment exercise. Also, the case study highlights that although the workforce comprises of British nationals, they are from diverse backgrounds. Therefore, the company values equality and diversity in the workplace, revealing it is in line with the recruitment exercise as held by the law (Bennett et al., 2020).
References
Bennett, T, Saundry, R, and Fisher, V. 2020. Managing Employment Relations (CIPD), Kogan Page
Banfield, P., Kay, R. and Royles, D. (2018) Introduction to Human Resource Management. 3rd edn. Oxford. Oxford University Press.
London School of Economics and Political Science (2023) Application process, Speculative applications. Available at: https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/careers/information-and-resources/application-process/speculative-applications.
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