To answer this question it is important to first clarify what recruitment is.
What is recruitment?
Recruitment refers to the overall process of identifying, attracting, screening, shortlisting and interviewing suitable candidates.
The process you adopt will vary from role to role to fit the demands of your business – for example recruiting a Finance Director or CEO will require a different process to say that of recruiting an administrator.
What are the key stages in an effective recruitment process?
There are five stages that I recommend you include in any recruitment process:
- Planning
The key to getting the best candidate (for you) is knowing what you need rather than what you want; being clear on what you’re looking for and knowing where to find it. To use a fishing analogy, you go where the fish are, you use the right bait and know when to cast, troll or net.
That’s really where the planning comes in. I cannot stress enough how important this is. Having an in-depth understanding of the role you are hiring for and why, makes the balance of the recruitment process easier and quicker.
A few questions to ask yourself:
- Why is a new employee needed?
- How will recruiting this position add value to the business?
- Where does this role fit in within the existing business structure?
- What skills/experience are required to fulfill the need?
- Write a quality job description and person specification.
This provides a written description of the role you are recruiting for and the type of person you need to deliver it. Too often, this stage does not get the time, focus and investment it should.
The job description will be what the job seeker see first and may influence the decision to apply for role (or not). So many hiring managers do not give this the attention it deserves. Rather than adopting a ‘post and pray’ approach, spend time in getting the job description and person specification right. The quality of these will determine the caliber of the candidate you attract.
- Choose where to advertise
It’s important to recognise that different candidates will be drawn to different platforms.
The most popular platforms are:
- Jobsites
- Internal Referral/Recommendation
- Social Media channels
- Specialist support
There are pros and cons to each. Jobsites are popular and the role will be visible; this will attract volume applications that will then need to be sifted through. Social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram may appeal to a millennial workforce; however the quality of the content must be high to capture their attention and imagination.
- Reviewing Applications
First and foremost. Don’t feel bad for rejecting applications or scan reading applications. Trust me on this, when you’ve read 50+ CVs you will instantly recognise good applicants or the ones that require more thoughtful review.
Strong applicants quickly and clearly demonstrate how their skills and experience align with your role. Re-visit the job description and person specification so you stay on track. The goal here is to create a ‘long list’ from which you can screen (using such channels as telephone interviews, email interactions, social media networks etc.) in order to form a shortlist for more formal interview.
- Interview
Do not underestimate the power of a good interview in assessing the candidate’s experience. Good preparation is key to getting the most out of the conversation and it’s worth spending the time preparing the discussion points, questions and familiarising yourself (again) with the job description and person specification. A potential pitfall during the interview is what I call ‘shiny object syndrome’ where a candidate seems great at everything, but when you stand back and view objectively, you realise the candidate does not actually fulfil what your business needs. So, always keep your end goal in mind – what does your business need and what skills/experience will deliver it?
In summary:
Get the basics right and the rest will fall into place. This is by no means an exhaustive list and the points here are discussed in greater detail in our downloadable ebook.
The recruitment process is not an easy one; following a proven method will give you a higher chance of success. If you want further support and guidance, please do contact us.
