Recruiting Department

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A personnel placement department (PVA) or transfer department serves to coordinate the company's internal job supply with the internal demand for work. A frequent goal of PVA is to secure jobs for employees whose jobs will be lost in the future. These employees are advised by the PVA, qualified if necessary and intensively supported in their search for a new job.  

Recruiting departments as a subject of research

PVA are rarely discussed within research and therefore do not form a broadly illuminated research topic. The low level of attention paid to PVA not only in research, but also in the media, contradicts its importance as an operational instrument of personal flexibility. This is especially true for large companies in which PVA is often represented. In their study on PVA published in 2010, Johannes Kirsch and Gernot Mühge found that “every fifth employee in large German companies falls under the PVA's job security regulations”. This means that if these employees lose their jobs, they will receive support in line with the function of the PVA.

The study was conducted as part of the project WEGA University of Duisburg Essen published which the W FFECTIVENESS of E acilities for G estaltung internal A LABOR explored. Among other things, different types of PVA should be identified and the effectiveness of PVA analyzed. Recommendations for action should be derived from research into PVA and its organization. The research project started in 2006 and for the first time was able to draw a precise picture of the structures and procedures of PVA.

In 2011, Carsten Wirth published the results of an exploratory study, which was dedicated to researching the question "how job placement in an 'internal labor market' project can contribute to cost reductions and what (other) city administrations should pay attention to when they start similar projects". The study relates to the city administration of an anonymized city.

As part of the research project " B eruflichkeit, O rganisations- and P ersonalentwicklung in S pannungsfeld of restructuring and competence assurance" (BOPS) PVA were examined in various qualitative case studies. The study came to the conclusion that PVA can be an efficient means of internal recruitment, but the results depend on the specific requirements, in particular the power structures in the internal labor market.

Structural problems of PVA

Research shows that PVAs are an effective tool in avoiding layoffs in the external labor market when downsizing . Nevertheless, there are structural difficulties that can reduce the effectiveness of PVA. Mühge summarizes this under the term basic conflict of internal recruitment.

One element of this basic conflict is that the transfer of employees from one department to another also carries a risk of conflict. A conflict can arise, for example, with managers in the department to which an employee is being transferred, since filling vacancies usually falls within the responsibility of a manager. There is a similar potential for conflict in the department from which an employee is absent. It could happen that executives mostly dismiss hard-to-place colleagues into the internal labor market and demand employees for their departments who better meet their expectations. So they try to maintain a position of power in personnel decisions. According to Mühge, the cooperation and support of upper management is therefore particularly important.

Another element is the lack of suitable vacancies in the respective organizations. This deficiency means that not all employees can be successfully placed. In particular, if certain occupational fields become extremely less important, or employees are difficult to place for individual reasons, the unsuccessful placement can drag on. Training offers can reduce the risk of this, but not eliminate it entirely.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mühge, Gernot: Operating securing jobs through internal switching. In: Schäfer, Claus; Hans Böckler Foundation (Ed.): WSI Mitteilungen . Edition 2/2011. Düsseldorf 2011, p. 70 .
  2. ↑ Effectiveness of institutions for the design of internal labor markets (WEGA). Goal and task. University of Duisburg Essen, accessed on December 9, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Wirth, Carsten: Job security through job placement in the internal job market: Results of an exploratory study. In: Voss-Dahm, Dorothea; Mühge, Gernot; Lubricant, Klaus; Struck, Olaf (Ed.): Qualified specialist work in the field of tension between flexibility and stability. VS Verlag, Wiesbaden 2011, p. 124 .
  4. ↑ Wirth, Carsten: Job security through job placement in the internal job market: Results of an exploratory study. In: Voss-Dahm, Dorothea; Mühge, Gernot; Lubricant, Klaus; Struck, Olaf (Ed.): Qualified specialist work in the field of tension between flexibility and stability. VS Verlag, Wiesbaden 2011, p. 123 ff .
  5. ↑ a b Mühge, Gernot: Company employment security through departments for internal recruitment. The "Lemon Dilemma". In: Klatt, Rüdiger (ed.): "Change we can believe in". Flexibility and stability in change processes. Editorial office præview gaus gmbh - media education policy advice., Dortmund 2011, p. 22nd f .
  6. ↑ a b Employment: Internal job market cushions downsizing. In: Guggemos, Michael; Hans Böckler Foundation (Ed.): Böckler Impulse . Edition 04/2011. Düsseldorf 2011, p. 7 .