Understanding the lived Experience of Knowledge Workers from the Recruitment Process in Knowledge-Based Companies in the Healthcare Sector

Ahmadi, Mehdi; Ghorbanizadeh, Vajhola; Seyyed Naghavi, Mirali; Nargesian, Abbas

doi:10.22034/jhrs.2025.531909.2439

Understanding the lived Experience of Knowledge Workers from the Recruitment Process in Knowledge-Based Companies in the Healthcare Sector

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mehdi Ahmadi ¹

Vajhola Ghorbanizadeh ²

Mirali Seyyed naghavi ²

Abbas Nargesian ³

¹ PhD. Candidate, Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

² Prof., Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

³ Associate Prof., Department of Leadership & Human Capital, Faculty of Public Administration and Organizational Sciences, College of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/jhrs.2025.531909.2439

Abstract

Background & Purpose: Human resource management has entered a new era called “employee experience”. Employee experience encompasses what individuals encounter and observe during their tenure in an organization. Companies with strong employee experience are able to attract the best and most talented talent. In this regard, the present study aims to understand the employee experience of knowledge from the recruitment process in knowledge-based companies.
Methodology: This study is based on the interpretive paradigm in terms of philosophical foundations and uses the interpretive phenomenological method to understand the lived experiences of knowledge workers. The participants in this study are 30 employees of knowledge-based companies who have recently been recruited and have master's and doctoral degrees with specialized work experience. The data collection tool in this study was interviews. The technique of Dickelman et al. was used to analyze the data.
Findings: The results of the study were divided into 3 main themes, 8 sub-themes, and 81 pleasant and unpleasant experiences: The main themes are: attracting job applicants, the assessment and interview process, and integration (acceptance and starting work). The sub-themes, which are themselves subsets of the main themes, include: attractiveness of the company and job position, transparency and quality of the job advertisement, how to interact with applicants (initial assessment), the interview environment, the structure and quality of the interview questions, the characteristics and behavior of the interviewers, acceptance and announcement of the result, and the familiarization program.
Conclusion: The results of the study showed that knowledge workers have different lived experiences. Therefore, knowledge-based companies in the health sector should pay attention to individual differences when designing and creating an enjoyable experience for job applicants.

Keywords

Employee experience

Knowledge workers

Recruitment process

Knowledge-based companies

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