RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION SERVICES OFFER FOR SMEs: THE CASE OF ROMANIA

Considered to be the engine of the economy, the SMEs sector has a well defined identity in the configuration of any modern economy, helping to renew its structure and to increase its competitiveness. In Romania, the small business sector had to be practically recreated after decades of centralized economy. The statistical figures confirm once again that this sector can be one of the main sources of growth that Romania should rely on as a new member of EU family. SMEs are usually displaying an increased responsiveness to market needs in a dynamic and complex working environment. Thus, SMEs have relied on human resources as a source of competitive advantage. More and more entrepreneurs are becoming aware that quality of the hired human resources is one of the main success variables’ and that recruitment and selection processes require professional approaches. In that sense, SMEs’ demand for these services has increased significantly. As a consequence, SMEs sector, as the most important new job generator, highly stimulated such services providers’ development. This paper is aiming to point out the specificity of the recruitment and selection services offered to SMEs on the Romanian market, based on a complex and comprehensive research. Data on 129 identified services’ providers (in 2008) were grouped and analyzed in order to highlight their main characteristics according to several variables: firms’ size and age; their targeted markets and clients; the types of services offered; their specific working methods and techniques; price strategies. The results revealed diversity and flexibility as essential attributes of the recruitment and selection services’ offer for SMEs, along with a growth trend. Further research is required in order to explore economic crisis’ impact on this market.