07-10-2014, 02:07 PM
Some Observations On Web-Based Recruitment By
Selected Fortune 500 Companies
Some Observations.pdf (Size: 130.48 KB / Downloads: 58)
Abstract
Irrespective of size, industry, or location, companies and institutions are experiencing difficulty with recruiting and
retaining qualified information technology professionals. To cope with the problem, companies and organizations are
utilizing a variety of methods to gain access to prospective candidates. The Web has become one of the popular
methods for recruiting talented individuals who are skilled in the area of computing and information technology. This
study examines the use of Web technology by selected Fortune 500 companies to recruit computing and information
technology professionals. Specifically, this research project identifies the type of employment information and
methodologies that are included in the web sites of Fortune 500 companies. The results of this study should be of
interest to personnel managers, Web-site developers, systems analysts, placement agency managers, consultants,
legislators, immigration attorneys, and individuals responsible for generating governmental labor reports. Graduates
seeking jobs, individuals looking for advancement, career counselors, computing and information technology faculty
members, and researchers involved with Web-based recruiting and effectiveness will also find this study useful.
INTRODUCTION
In the United States, 65 percent of all workers use some
type of technology in their jobs (Educational Record
1995). Information technology professionals, in
particular, have to ensure that computer information
systems work well for people. However, the computer
and the information technology industries are sectors
that are continually changing. This is one of the primary
reasons for the increasing demand for highly skilled
computing professionals that can meet business needs.
In order to be competitive in this industry, one has to be
kept well informed of new innovations because the
computer information systems must be designed,
developed, implemented, supported and managed with
cutting edge skills.
Statistics have shown that companies need information
systems analysts, programmers, software engineers and
other technical support representatives in order to
function in a timely, organized and efficient manner
(Bachler 1998). In most modern offices, these
professionals represent essential personnel like
emergency medical professionals are to a medical
facility. Unfortunately, companies are finding that
intelligent, competent, and reliable information
technology professionals on their teams are hard to
retain. Companies in nearly every industry are also
reporting serious difficulty in recruiting qualified
information systems staff, “emphasis on the word
qualified” (Garner 1998).
The shortage is said to have reached crisis proportions.
With no signs of abating, this problem has caused some
real angst for Chief Information Officers and
information technology executives doing the hiring
(Bridges 1999). According to the Information
Technology Association of America (ITAA) survey
conducted in 1998, there were 346,000 unfilled jobs for
programmers, system analysts, and computer scientists
in American companies (ITAA 1999; U.S. Department
1998). This type of a report is most discouraging
because the survival and growth of companies depend
on having competent and skilled IT employees who are
able to function in high stress environments to bring
innovative products to market (U.S. Department of
Commerce 1999).
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The shortage of information technology professionals
has been an ongoing nationwide phenomenon for at least
the past ten years (Cothran 1998). The Information
Technology Association of America (ITAA) reported
that one in ten computer-related positions go unfilled
(Garner 1998). The proliferation of information
technology among companies and the year 2000-date
transition were said to be the primary causes for the
intense demand for information technology personnel.
Most discouraging about this shortage of qualified
information technology professionals is that this
problem is a threat to the stability of organizations that
have come to rely on efficient and effective information
technologists for their survival.
Projected news about the information technology market
remains bleak. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ forecasts
indicated that between the year 1996 and 2006, the
United States will require more than 1.3 million new
information technology workers. This averaged out to
be approximately 137,800 workers per year to fill newly
created jobs and to replace workers who are leaving
these fields as a result of retirement, change of
professions or other reasons (U.S. Department of
Commerce 1999).
By the way, between 1983 and 1998, data from the
Current Population Survey, a joint project of the U.S.
Department of Commerce and Labor, showed the
number of computer system analysts and computer
scientists soared from 719,000 to 2,084,000. This was
an increase of 190 percent which is six times faster than
the overall U.S. job growth rate of 30.4 percent (U.S.
Department of Commerce 1999). Despite this rate of
growth in available information technology
professionals during the period, companies and other
organizations are still reporting unfilled positions.
This intense labor shortage has caused set backs in
organizations. Major projects have been set aside
because qualified personnel are not available to handle
these endeavors. The various industry sectors are
creatively finding solutions to close the information
technology skills gap. However, according to Harris
Miller, the president of ITAA, the United States labor
market continues to experience a disconnect between
skills sets that employers demand and the education,
training, and experience of many American workers.
FINDINGS
Of the 500 companies, 81 companies were selected for
inclusion in the sample size. Variables were collected
from 80 of the companies’ Web sites. One company,
Smithfield Foods, did not have a Web site.
Out of the 80 selected Fortune 500 companies, 61
companies were involved in Web-based recruitment of
information technology professionals. The tally of
companies involved in Web-based recruiting is therefore
75 percent. The percentages in the Tables were
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
This study identified several important characteristics
about the use of Web-based recruitment by Fortune 500
firms. First, this research project validated the existence
of the information technology professional shortage
problem in the labor market. Each of the 61 Fortune
500 companies that engaged in online recruiting has an
average of 13 jobs that needed to be filled. Educators
counseling graduating students may want to encourage
them to use this new hinterland called the Web to seek
out the type of jobs that best match their desires.
Second, about 70 percent of the jobs identified require
multiple job skills. That means, during the academic
preparation process, students should not be overly
specialized by concentrating only in one area. They
should acquire sufficient breadth in the body of
knowledge to be marketable. Ideally, they should have
the type of skills that can integrate applications from a
systems perspective.
Third, this research found that certain information
represented essential elements that must be included
when recruiting online. Faculty members and students
involved with the development of online recruiting
systems may want to include only those essential
features identified in this study.
Finally, based on the other results obtained from this
study, there are a number of strong implications for
engaging Web-based recruiting and for using the
following managerial strategies for confronting the
computing labor shortage problem: