The increasing globalisation of the marketplace combined with an ever increasing shortage of skilled staff and advances in technology have resulted in large scale changes to recruitment practices throughout the world. Recruitment is the process of finding and attracting appropriate job candidates capable of effectively filling the job vacancies available within an organisation. There are three main objectives of recruitment, firstly to increase the pool of job applicants at a minimal cost. Secondly, to ensure the organisation compiles with legislative requirements, and lastly to somewhat improve the selection process. For successful recruitment, the human resources department needs to analyze the vacant position so that detailed job descriptions and job specifications can be created to efficiently help with the hiring process. Recruitment can either be internal or external. Internal recruitment is promoting existing employees in conjunction with internal training and external recruitment involves recruiting suitable candidates with relevant experience and qualifications who have not previously worked within the organisation (Bartol et al Tien Matthews and Martin, 2000, p335). There are many advantages and disadvantages of both internal and external recruitment and depending on what the organisation objectives are, recruitment would be from whichever benefited the organisation most. .
Internal promotion is good public relations and reinforces the point that the organisation is interested in the welfare and development of its own people and will consider them first. This is a beneficial factor of internal recruitment for the organisation as it improves morale amongst the employees and motivates staff as the prospect of potential promotion or transfers provides a clear sign to the current work force that the organization offers room for advancement. This addresses the employee's need for self-achievement.