Compete for the position

Author: Tian Xiaoxun, Ke Xuemin, Zhang Dengyin / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features:
2. When to Implement Competitive Recruitment and Why?
It’s rare to hear of multinational corporations conducting large-scale competitive recruitment, yet their performance isn’t poor. When is competitive recruitment necessary? The answer to this question essentially clarifies the actual value of competitive recruitment. The key to "competitive recruitment" lies in the word "compete," meaning positions are publicly announced, and anyone meeting the basic qualifications can apply. The most suitable candidate is selected through competition among multiple applicants. So, under what circumstances is competition needed to produce new incumbents?
1. When There Are More Candidates Than Positions
Some enterprises have limited positions but excessive staff. In such cases, competitive recruitment can be used to streamline personnel and optimize human resource allocation. Some companies avoid competitive recruitment and use blunt methods like age or academic qualifications to reduce staff. This approach may push experienced and capable individuals to competitors. Therefore, not valuing academic credentials or seniority and streamlining personnel through fair competition is a more sensible approach. Most foreign companies have well-established human resource planning and flexible staffing, so they rarely face bloated structures or overstaffing, making large-scale competitive recruitment unnecessary.
2. When Performance Evaluation Is Difficult
Another form of competitive recruitment is not for downsizing but to discover outstanding talent and select the most suitable person for the position. Only if a position is sufficiently attractive will multiple candidates apply, creating a competitive environment. From this, the best candidate can be selected. Only by allowing different candidates to fully demonstrate themselves during the competition can their talents in certain areas be discovered. Multiple candidates in the competition allow for comparison, making it easier to make accurate judgments and improve the accuracy of human resource decisions.
On a daily basis, top leadership cannot directly observe the behavior of most potential successors, even if they are familiar with them. They can only evaluate performance in their current roles. Therefore, competitive recruitment is a valuable opportunity for top leadership to identify talent. For example, when selecting a research and development project manager, technical personnel with strong management capabilities should be chosen. At this stage, daily observation alone cannot determine whether candidates have the potential for management. Through competitive recruitment, candidates are given a chance to showcase their management skills, and the company can identify their potential.
3. When a Fair Competitive Mechanism Is Lacking
State-owned enterprises or government agencies and public institutions in China often lack open and fair competitive mechanisms for personnel allocation. Employees frequently complain: What are the criteria for hiring? Why was Zhang promoted instead of Li? What is the basis? Why do I never get a chance? Over time, this leads to a situation where the day a cadre is promoted is the day others grumble. One person is motivated, while a group is demoralized. Perhaps the company truly practices meritocracy, and leadership has sharp eyes, but employees’ psychological experience is the opposite: Leaders love to promote their own people! Those who know how to network are promoted! It’s always easy to see the relationship between promoted cadres and leaders—they are either alumni, hometown friends, or old colleagues.
In conclusion, competitive recruitment still has significant market demand in specific environments. For state-owned units, transforming the personnel allocation mechanism through competitive recruitment, introducing a competitive model, and shifting from "I’m forced to work" to "I want to work" can activate internal human resources and unleash potential, making its value immense. Most companies that have implemented competitive recruitment have achieved excellent results. For most enterprises, competitive recruitment also helps identify outstanding talent and truly achieve "position-personality" alignment.
In practice, the purpose of competitive recruitment varies across different organizations, determining the complexity of procedures and the depth of reform. As mentioned earlier, China Merchants Bank aimed to transform its human resource management mechanism, making competitive recruitment a means, not an end. Therefore, the bank invested heavily in preparatory and follow-up work, including process diagnosis and restructuring, organizational restructuring, position management system development, post-performance appraisal, and talent development. In contrast, some organizations conduct competitive recruitment solely for show, simplifying the process, such as deciding a person’s suitability for a position based on a 15-minute recruitment speech. Such approaches yield no real results.
Objectively speaking, only market pressure is the true driving force behind competitive recruitment. Market pressure first reaches the management team, who cannot tolerate inefficiency to meet board performance targets and seek capable individuals to take responsibility. Similarly, department managers will choose employees with real skills. Only in this context can competitive recruitment truly gain public support and select the most suitable candidates.
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