Become More Confident Hiring Staff

A theme that has become apparent for organisations looking into recruiting, is that while good at their core specialisation, many are not confident when it comes to hiring staff. Here are several helpful hints towards confident hiring.

Have the right recruitment framework

Every professional recruitment exercise should be underpinned by a framework. The framework consists of planning, sourcing, selecting, validating candidates, the offer, placement and on-boarding your employee. Proactive managers will implement a bulletproof plan and process. This includes resource or capacity planning and determining how best to fill your need.

By having recruitment procedures on file, if or when you decide you require an employee, the recruitment process is there and ready to be activated. Included in procedure files should be position descriptions, notations of key milestones in the recruitment program and a timeline for when key dates should be assigned for program fulfilment.

Find candidates

To achieve a successful outcome, you firstly need to identify where your preferred candidates are. There are numerous channels by which you can gain candidates and you need to identify which channels work best for different disciplines being recruited. For example, you would not use SEEK to advertise a role that is known to have a very small candidate pool as this would yield a low response rate. Once you have gained a decent pool of candidates you can progress to selecting those most applicable to your vacancy and your organisation.

Select and validating your preferred candidates

Once you have a group of applicable candidates you can work towards selecting the right fit for your organisation. By using a range of screening methods and tools as well as thorough interviews, you can gain an understanding of who your candidates are and whether they are likely to fit within your existing team. Prior to moving forward to offer it is important that you validate your candidate and confirm and support your thoughts and opinions gained at interview. Validation techniques including reference checking, personality profiles, aptitude tests, police checks and a pre-employment medical.

The offer

It is imperative to present an offer at an appropriate time so as to encourage your preferred candidate to accept. While it is important to select a candidate for the role that ticks all of the boxes in terms of qualifications, experience and fit within the organisation, be wary of holding out for someone better to come along. If you have a candidate that you love, that you think would be ideal for the position, don’t keep them on hold for too long while you deliberate over whether or not to make an offer. If they are a good candidate, it is likely they are an active job seeker. This leaves the very real possibility that someone else could snatch them up if you deliberate for too long.

There are numerous approaches you can take with an offer. You may stage your offer first with a verbal offer, then a letter of offer prior to issuing a contract of employment. Or you may go straight to the contract of employment. Regardless of the approach you need to ensure that you have the essential ingredients your prospective employee is seeking when offered the role.

Place

While many roles and recruitment assignments pass smoothly from offer to placement there are common pitfalls that managers need to be aware of between offer and placement that may impact on your employee starting. Individuals may not start with your organisation if: they have not been actively followed up after accepting your offer; they receive another offer from another employer; they accept a counter offer from their current employer, get cold feet or if other issues are at play.

Honeymoon period

It is a common mistake that many recruitment exercises are considered to be complete once the incumbent commences in the role. However the first three months are critical and it is important that a manager knows what turns an employee off and what makes them leave in their first days and weeks they are employed. By employing simple and effective processes such as inductions and one on ones proactive managers can ensure the on-boarding experience is smooth and the employee feels comfortable in their role, in their team and the company overall.

To gain a complete understanding of the recruitment framework you can purchase “Bodysnatchers – Unlocking the Secrets of the Recruitment Industry” written by Harvest Recruitment Agency Director, Maree Herath. If you are tired of getting bogged down in the recruitment process or are frustrated at continuously missing the mark when it comes to gaining the right person for your team… Stop faltering and start excelling. This book will show you how.