Essential tips for effective recruitment - planning http://www.qed-consultancy.co.uk Copyright Jeremy Thorn QED www.qed-consultancy.co.uk en-us Caution Wherever you are intending to recruit, seek well-qualified legal advice on local employment law as it might affect you or your organisation. Legal requirements vary considerably across the globe and, in many areas, are changing fast. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Decide if you really need to recruit Alternatives might be internal promotion, sub-contracting, interim-management, job reorganisation or restructuring. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Write a clear Job Description This should include a Job Title, to whom this post will report and who in turn will report to this post (by job titles rather than name), the overall scope of the job, primary detailed tasks that will be measured in performance, and add: 'any other duties that might reasonably be required' Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Establish a clear Candidate Profile Determine the competences and skills you need, any desirable previous experience and qualifications, location, mobility, availability and any other criteria that will help you in your initial sift of candidates. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Make sure both you and all your colleagues are aware of employment law and equal opportunity concerns (such as sexism, racism, disability and ageism) Ignorance (or abuse) can be very expensive and makes poor business sense. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Remember that employees often get hired for what they know, and fired for how they behave When recruiting, be careful therefore to consider interpersonal style and behaviour, as well as technical or functional skills. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Know that smart employers map the 'core critical competencies' for their organisation This post (ie the personal skills and qualities that might be expected of successful employees) - as well as the 'competences' (what the person has to be able to do). This is how you get 'round pegs into round holes'. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Be clear at the start what the reward package is likely to be Make sure it will attract suitable candidates in terms of market rates for this post, but also establish whether it will be in line with your current employment policy so as not to cause internal problems of jealousy or precedent. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Be clear about all the non-wage benefits Include (such as holidays, pension, health insurance, share option schemes, opportunities for promotion, training and the period of notice) in your overall package. These may be just as important to good candidates as the salary. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Make sure the job title is realistic. It needs to offer clarity of purpose internally, adequate status externally (to customers and suppliers, for example) and fit in to your existing organisational structure. If you are in doubt, you can always confirm the full job title after recruitment, by using terms such as 'Manager Designate'. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Think ahead. Smart organisations consider candidates' suitability not only for the present job, but for the subsequent jobs they might grow in to If there is no chance of subsequent career growth, a good candidate is unlikely to stay. If the candidate is not likely to be capable of meriting further promotion, you probably don't want them. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Publicise the job internally, unless 'local politics' make this impossible There may well be excellent internal candidates who meet your specification. Existing employees may also know of people outside your organisation who might be suitable and interested, whom they might encourage to apply. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Recognise how demotivating it can be to your existing staff if internal candidates are not invited to apply, especially for a position of some seniority If you regularly ignore internal candidates, you may well signal that there are no opportunities for internal promotion and the better ones may well leave. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Decide whether you might find suitable candidates externally by public advertisement Whether in the press or on a web site for example, or by private search (whether using your own efforts or those of a skilled head-hunter), or a mixture of these. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Consider engaging an external recruitment specialist to save you the substantial administrative task of placing advertisements, sifting CVs and conducting preliminary interviews Especially if you expect to have a large number of applicants - or if you think it might be difficult to find the right person yourself. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Make sure that anyone engaged from outside your organisation to help you recruit is fully briefed, and be sure to agree how this service will be charged for from the start Including reimbursement of candidates' interview expenses. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Be aware that it may take several weeks or months to find the right applicant, who may then need to work a period of notice in their previous employment before they might join you This could take at least a further period of weeks or months. So plan ahead! Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Help to make your organisation an attractive place for new employees to apply to, By pro-active promotion of your organisation's successes and style, through both local and national press releases - and your own web site. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Keep a record of past applicants who may have been unsuccessful for other jobs with you It may be possible that they are more suited for the post you wish to recruit now. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Ensure that your records of past unsuccessful candidates show why they were rejected and what you may have already found out about them This can help you to avoid inviting inappropriate candidates. It can also help retain the good will of those whom you do ask to re-apply, by avoiding questions to which they may feel you should already know the answers! Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Make your external advertisements clear who and where you are, what the requirements of the job are, what the likely characteristics of the successful candidate will be And how candidates can make their application. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Note that if you insist on asking applicants to fill in an Application Form at the very early stage, you may deter good candidates from applying, especially for more senior jobs So keep it short and ensure that you ask only for information that will help you to choose whom you might wish to interview. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Reduce the number of time-wasting candidates by being very clear what your basic requirements are The less specific these are stated in your advertisements, the more candidates you might attract but the fewer will be well-qualified ones. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Increase your advertisement response-rates by making it clear what the true earning-potential of the job is If you feel you can't declare this publicly, perhaps because of internal sensitivities, recognise that the probable response rate will fall dramatically. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Raise interest in your advertisement by making it clear what opportunities the post holds and by accentuating the benefits of working for your organisation Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Make sure that your advertisements are approved by the relevant managers in your organisation Checking after the advertisement appears is too late! Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Ask colleagues and other business acquaintances which advertising media work best for them And ask the advertising medium you choose to specify their readership population, which should be freely available. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Make sure that you keep good candidates interested by planning ahead your selection procedures and schedules, so that candidates can be dealt with promptly There is nothing worse than finding good candidates, only to lose them because key decision-makers weren't available to interview them when they needed to be. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Be absolutely clear before the interview what information you need from potential applicants and indicate how applications are to be made This will substantially assist with the sifting of written applications. Information you may want to ask for could include details of education and training, a full career summary with responsibilities, achievements and salary progression, with reasons for leaving each post, reasons for applying to this one and availability. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Ensure that the person responsible for sifting replies understands your organisation, the nature of the post to be filled and the skills that will be required It is a false economy to give this laborious job to someone who does not! Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Consider specifying a deadline for replies, but note that this may put some good candidates off if it looks too authoritarian Enthusiastic and relevant candidates - ie the ones you want! - will presumably reply as soon as they can unless they have a genuine reason not to (such as holidays or overseas business trips). Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Make your preliminary sifting techniques of candidates CVs as effective as you can The fewer inappropriate candidates you arrange to interview, the less time-consuming and expensive your recruitment process will be. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Organise a simple checklist of essential requirements of the post as you sift each written application That way, you can concentrate on those that match your complete specification. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Note carefully any chronological gaps in a CV There may be good reasons for these, such as redundancy, childbirth or major illness, or they may suggest an unsuccessful job move or poor performance. If you decide to call the candidate for interview, be sure to explore these gaps. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Talk briefly to promising candidates on the telephone before you meet them In confidence so as not to embarrass them, with a predetermined checklist to ensure they really do meet your basic Candidate Profile. Keep your options open by making no commitments at this stage as to whether they will be called for interview, but be ready to present your organisation in the best possible light to keep candidates interested. This can substantially reduce expensive interview and assessment costs, and build an early personal link between your organisation and the candidate. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Be clear, when inviting candidates to interview, where and when they will be interviewed, by whom and how long the process will take It is also good practice to make it clear whether you will pay for the candidate's travelling expenses. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25 Copyright Jeremy Thorn QED www.qed-consultancy.co.uk Jeremy Thorn is a prize-winning author and Chairman of Quantum Enterprise Development (QED), a multi-functional management consultancy and development company based in Doncaster, England, dedicated to making good businesses better, encouraging customers to be more loyal and to helping employees and suppliers be more effective. Engineering Adventures Ltd 2007-03-25