The Effect of E-recruitment On the Recruitment Process: Evidence from Case Studies of Three Danish MNCs
Anna B. Holm, Aarhus University, Denmark annah@asb.dk Abstract. The aim of this research is to determine whether the introduction of e-recruitment has an impact on the process and underlying tasks, subtasks and activities of recruitment. Three large organizations with wellestablished e-recruitment practices were included in the study. The case studies were conducted in Denmark in 2008-2009 using qualitative research methods. The findings indicate that e-recruitment had a noticeable effect on the overall recruitment process in the studied organizations. The investigation revealed changes in the sequence, divisibility and repetitiveness of a number of tasks and subtasks. The new process design supported by information and communications technologies was identified and is presented in the paper. This process allowed recruiters in the study to perform recruitment tasks more efficiently. However, practitioners should be aware of the increasing demands of the quality of online communication with applicants, and with it the electronic communication skills of recruitment professionals.
Keywords: recruitment, e-recruitment, web-based recruitment, online recruitment, staffing, e-HRM

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Introduction

The first decade of the twenty-first century saw rapid growth in the use of online recruitment [25] and the transformation of electronic recruitment into one of the fastest growing recruitment techniques [23:119]. The most often reported benefits of electronic recruitment include wider applicant outreach [19], faster information exchange between potential employees and employers [38], lower costs of advertising [41], data accessibility and availability [39], reduced costs of communications [27], and improved organizational attraction [36:284]. The