Formalization and Administrative Burden as Obstacles to Employee Recruitment: Consequences for the Public Sector

Martin Sievert,Dominik Vogel,Mary K Feeney

doi:10.1177/0734371x20932997

Abstract

Job advertisements are a crucial first step in the recruitment process. Public sector organizations overwhelmingly rely on passive recruitment tactics such as written notices, listing formal rules and legal processes, and excessive application procedures. Little is known about the signals these formal rules and procedures send to potential applicants. This research uses a survey experiment to examine the effects of formalization and administrative burden in public sector job advertisements on individuals’ intention to apply for a job and the moderating role of public service motivation, person–organization fit, and person–job fit. The results indicate that formalization leads to lower application intentions. Administrative burdens such as compliance costs do not have a significant effect. These findings emphasize the negative signal of formalization in public sector job advertisements, which has the effect of making these jobs less desirable to potential applicants.

Highlights

Public organizations often face difficulties in attracting and recruiting competent personnel
Given the importance of generating a large applicant pool, we investigate the relationships between the content of public sector job advertisements— signals of formalization and administrative burden—and intent to apply
Does the perception of formalization and administrative burden in the job advertisement differ between experimental groups? Figure 2 indicates that the experimental groups’ perception of formalization and administrative burden differed significantly (F(3,236) = 10.48, p < .001)

Summary

Introduction

Public organizations often face difficulties in attracting and recruiting competent personnel They receive fewer applicants despite increasing vacancies (Fowler & Birdsall, 2019; Rose, 2013). This reduced interest in public sector employment is due to working conditions, salary (Bright & Graham, 2015), and the retirement of the baby boomer generation (Pollitt, 2016). Reputational pressures, including anti-government rhetoric, aggravate the recruiting difficulties (Bankins & Waterhouse, 2019) These challenging circumstances are especially problematic in countries where the public workforce faces a large number of retirements (Lewis & Pitts, 2018). While previous research has looked at distinct features of public organizations that make recruitment more successful, this article focuses on an aspect that potentially harms recruitment: the bureaucratic nature of the recruitment process and the signaling effect resulting from such practices

Results

Discussion

Conclusion