<p>ABSTRACT</p><p>Title: First steps towards successful recruitment – A study about a small Swedish firm’s recruitment strategy</p><p>Course: Bachelor Dissertation - Leadership</p><p>Authors: Filip Agby, Damir Macanovic and Thomas Mennerdahl</p><p>Advisor: Anders Billström</p><p>Key Words: Recruitment in small firms, recruitment strategy, wrong fit recruitment, HRM, right staff</p><p>Problem enunciation: What pros and cons could the choice of recruitment strategy mean for a small Swedish firm. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to give recruiters a better understanding of how a small Swedish company could use different recruitment strategies, together with systematic preparations, to affect the experienced recruitment result. Another purpose is to study if earlier mentioned international research about small firms’ recruitment strategies is applicable to a small Swedish firm.</p><p>Theoretical framework: The section initiates by introducing the reader to the subject through describing Human resource management with a focus on recruitment. Then we point out the importance of systematic preparations prior to recruiting. Thereafter we present five common recruitment strategies. The chapter ends with reasoning about successful recruitment and wrong fit recruitment.</p><p>Method: We have used a qualitative approach to gather profound data for the study.</p><p>Empirical perspective: The empirical framework presents the fallout of the interviews we had with the studied company.</p><p>Conclusion: Our study implies that earlier international research about the challenges in small firms’ recruitment is applicable to our studied firm. The study also demonstrates that our firm have had and has a lack of resources, structure and discipline which is pointed out by the researchers. Particularly the neglection of systematic preparations, which increases the risk of wrong fit recruitment. Our result also shows that the firm uses advertising, network recruitment, recruitment firms and recruiting through the own website. Network recruitment was earlier considered to be fitting when the staffing requirement was very high and speed was of importance. Recruitment firms were on the other hand considered to have many valueable advantages and tended to generate successful recruitments.</p>

ABSTRACT Title:First steps towards successful recruitment – A study about a small Swedish firm’s recruitment strategy Course: Bachelor Dissertation - Leadership Authors: Filip Agby, Damir Macanovic and Thomas Mennerdahl Advisor: Anders Billström Key Words: Recruitment in small firms, recruitment strategy, wrong fit recruitment, HRM, right staff Problem enunciation: What pros and cons could the choice of recruitment strategy mean for a small Swedish firm. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to give recruiters a better understanding of how a small Swedish company could use different recruitment strategies, together with systematic preparations, to affect the experienced recruitment result. Another purpose is to study if earlier mentioned international research about small firms’ recruitment strategies is applicable to a small Swedish firm. Theoretical framework:The section initiates by introducing the reader to the subject through describing Human resource management with a focus on recruitment. Then we point out the importance of systematic preparations prior to recruiting. Thereafter we present five common recruitment strategies. The chapter ends with reasoning about successful recruitment and wrong fit recruitment. Method:We have used a qualitative approach to gather profound data for the study. Empirical perspective:The empirical framework presents the fallout of the interviews we had with the studied company. Conclusion: Our study implies that earlier international research about the challenges in small firms’ recruitment is applicable to our studied firm. The study also demonstrates that our firm have had and has a lack of resources, structure and discipline which is pointed out by the researchers. Particularly the neglection of systematic preparations, which increases the risk of wrong fit recruitment. Our result also shows that the firm uses advertising, network recruitment, recruitment firms and recruiting through the own website. Network recruitment was earlier considered to be fitting when the staffing requirement was very high and speed was of importance. Recruitment firms were on the other hand considered to have many valueable advantages and tended to generate successful recruitments.

Det svenska näringslivet och i synnerhet svenska börs- och finansiella bolag är nästan helt mansdominerat, där Vd-positionerna utgörs av endast sex procent kvinnor. Vi vet fortfarande mycket litet om rekryteringsprocessen av en verkställande direktör i dessa bolag, vilka påverkande mekanismer som finns i de olika rekryteringsstegen och vilken roll dessa har för valet av en verkställande direktör. Syftet med denna studie är att öka förståelsen och fördjupa kunskapen för hur rekryteringsprocessen ser ut för en verkställande direktör i ett börs- och finansiellt bolag samt huruvida homosociala mekanismer och könsstereotypiska uppfattningar finns i rekryteringsprocessen. Vi vill vidare öka kunskapen på vilket sätt homosocialitet och stereotyping påverkar möjligheten för tillsättandet av likvärdigt kompetenta kvinnor. Vi har använt oss av en kvalitativ fallstudie metod i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem börs- och finansiella bolag. Vår teoretiska referensram består av forskning inom organisationsteori, ledarskap, rekrytering och genusvetenskap och som behandlar huvudbegreppen rekryteringsprocessen, homosocialitet och stereotyping. Med hjälp av våra genomförda fallstudier har vi kunnat identifiera vilka steg i en rekryteringsprocess som har använts eller inte använts för en Vd-rekrytering. Vi har vidare funnit i vår empiri återkommande tecken på homosociala mekanismer och könskodade uppfattningar i rekryteringsprocessen vilket påverkar både direkt och indirekt innan och under rekryteringsprocessen. Studien uppvisar att homosocialitet och könskodade uppfattningar i rekryteringsprocessen påverkar både direkt och indirekt innan och under rekryteringsprocessen, kvinnors möjligheter att rekryteras till en Vd-position baserad på kompetens där vikten av framförallt en öppen rekryteringsprocess framträder tydligt. / The Swedish business community and notably Swedish listed companies and financial companies are almost completely male-dominated, with female CEOs accounting for a meager six percent. We still know very little about the recruitment process of an Executive Director in these companies, what influencing mechanisms exist in the different steps of the recruitment process and what role these have in the final selection of a CEO. The purpose of this research paper was to increase awareness and provide insight in to the recruitment process, to explore if homosocial and gender stereotypical influences affect the recruitment process, how they are evident and finally how these perceptions and practices can influence competent women's possibilities to be recruited to a CEO position. We have used a qualitative approach with a case-study method in the form of semi-structured interviews with five listed and financial companies. Our theoretical reference framework consists of research within the fields of organizational theories, leadership, recruitment and gender with emphasis on our three main concepts, recruitment of business executives, homosociality and stereotyping. With help from the empirical data collected from our completed case studies, we have been able to identify how a recruitment process of a CEO is implemented and which steps in the recruitment process that have been used or not used. The results of our study show that there are frequent and recurring signs of homosocial behavior and stereotypical perceptions both directly and indirectly before and during the course of the recruitment process. Our study also shows that homosocial behavior and stereotypical perceptions affect both directly and indirectly women’s recruitment possibilities to a CEO position based on competence where the importance of, above all, an open recruitment process stands out distinctly.

M.Tech (Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / In terms of the Public Service Act, 1994, as amended by Act 30 of 2007, all government departments operate under a recruitment system whereby applicants and employees are selected for positions based on their qualifications for the job. Equity and fairness are underlying democratic values and principles of the system. Therefore, the system guards against pre-determined successors until such time as all qualified candidates are provided an equal opportunity to apply for, and be considered, for the job (RSA 1994). However, organisations need to ensure that the appropriate people are in place with the required values, skills and competencies that are necessary to bring about change and accomplish goals to drive organisational strategy forward. It is also necessary to ensure that a suitable leadership team is chosen to help preserve and build upon an organisation’s existing vision, mission and values. Ensuring that leaders have the appropriate skills, abilities and competencies is crucial to assist an organisation to implement its strategic direction and overall goals and objectives. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of organisational strategy, recruitment strategy and organisational culture on effective succession planning in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). In this study, focus was on trait behavioural, situational and chaos leadership and management theories; and their relationship to succession planning. The study made use of a quantitative research technique. Quantitative primary research was conducted by employing a self-administered questionnaire in the gathering of primary data for the study. The target population comprised employees (from entry level to executive levels) of DIRCO based in Gauteng Province as well as 127 South African Embassies and Consulates in foreign countries. Descriptive analysis was used in the analysis of the sample composition and participants’ perception of succession planning at DIRCO. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to assess model fit and to test the hypotheses. The results of the study confirmed that the recruitment strategy of DIRCO does not create opportunities for identification of internal talent. In order to address these deficiencies, it is recommended that DIRCO identify, mentor and promote diverse pools of internal candidates through succession planning. A proper succession plan will provide an organisation with a surplus of talent and will assist officials to realise their potential. DIRCO prefers to recruit external candidates rather than developing training programmes that will prepare the internal workforce for future leadership positions. The results indicate that lack of organisational and recruitment strategies have substantial influence on organisational processes.