Assisting a client with their recruitment process last week was a great reminder of just how significant having a robust recruitment process can be!
On the other hand, getting it wrong can be a real time waster, extremely irritating for the team, and, not to mention costing your business thousands of dollars! In fact, getting recruitment wrong can cost a business up to, and beyond, 2.5 times the salary of the person you are replacing! Think about advertising costs, external recruiter’s fees, a decrease in operational efficiencies, loss of productive time for everyone involved in ‘re-recruiting’ as well as on- boarding and training someone new….for the second time! Investing some initial time and effort into a quality recruitment process pays dividends!
Here are some simple tips for attracting and selecting the right people for your business:
- Revisit your business’s strategy: Is this role really an integral part of your structure or can it be remodelled to be more effective in meeting the business’ needs? Is this role needed at all? Can the responsibilities be reallocated to other roles? Can the responsibilities be outsourced?
- Position descriptions and reporting lines: Do you have an up to date, and concise position description? This helps everyone involved in the recruitment process to be clear about the skills, experience and capability required. Is the position reporting into someone who can proactively manage and support the incumbent or does this need to be changed?
- A thorough job brief: Make a specific list of the absolute ‘must have’ skills, experience and capabilities of the candidate. Also make a list of the attributes that would be great to have for the candidate to be considered a good team ‘fit’.
- Effective advertising: Write an ad that will excite the candidates you are seeking! Be clear about what the role involves and describe what people can expect to experience working in your team. Don’t just advertise on SEEK. Think about your network of friends and colleagues, who might they know who would be a fantastic fit for your role? Is there a professional network or group that needs to know about your opportunity? Was there someone you interviewed previously that may be interested in your opportunity? Think outside the square!
- Do a phone screen: Call each candidate you have short listed for the role. Probe them on important criteria to check they are suitable for an interview. For example, if your role is part time, check they are seeking a part time role and how many hours they can commit to working. This is also a great opportunity to assess their verbal communication skills, how genuine they are in applying for your opportunity, as well as their personality and motivation.
- Interviews: Prepare structured interview questions that will extract as much information from the candidate and give you a good indication of their suitability. Questions should be a mixture of behavioural, technical and general. Make sure all people interviewing are well prepared and able to make a fair assessment of the candidate. When interviewing, be frank about what the role is and what it isn’t. Be frank about the culture of your business. Candidates need transparency and honesty so they can assess whether the role and the company are a good fit for them. Discuss a candidate’s potential suitability objectively with the interview panel. If the panel has any concerns, these are great to note down and form as part of the questions in your reference checks.
- Psychometric testing: Can be a great tool to assess behaviour and personality. The results give the hiring manager an indication of how this person might be most effectively managed.
- Reference checks: Do not skip these! Make sure you speak with at least two recent reporting managers of the candidate. These are the people who are most equipped to give balanced feedback.
- Job Offer: Make a verbal offer to the candidate and follow up quickly with a written employment agreement. Notify unsuccessful applicants: It is courteous and professional to follow up with all applicants who have applied for the position and advise them of being unsuccessful. Remember, these people could be potential future employees or potential future clients of your business.
- Tell your team: After you receive written confirmation that the candidate has accepted your offer, sit down with your team and communicate when they will commence as well as any other important information.
The above may seem like a lot to consider. However, I guarantee you are far more likely to employ the right person for your role, and retain them, if you invest the initial time and effort into being thorough. Think about the extra time and money your business will save by getting the recruitment process right first go!