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Common Recruitment Errors

What is the biggest thing employers get wrong when recruiting?

Being clear what they need and measuring against those requirements. Often employers have poor job specifications and are vague about what they want; this is true whether they are recruiting themselves or using a recruiter. This then carries forward to interview stage which can end up as little more than an unstructured chat. You may say so what but without a clear set of requirements and a structured interview it can be very difficult to evaluate candidates based on anything but gut feel. Getting on well with someone is a poor indicator of weather they can do the job.

Why do candidates drop out of the process?

Usually it is one of two reasons. Firstly many employers still think they are calling all of the shots; this is a mistake. Even in times with higher unemployment good candidates are always scarce. Employers need to “sell” the position and the company to candidates and use language which is meaningful to the candidate. At a simple level this means not just saying how wonderful the company is, that it has won this or that new customer or award or that it has the best kit, but adding “and so that makes it easier for the candidate to sell or gives them the best working environment” These are the “what’s in it for me from the candidate perspective.

The other key area where employers loose candidates is when the process takes to long. We know organisations where candidate were having up to nine interviews over a period of several months. At best candidates in this situation get bored and frustrated at worst they feel insulted. In most cases 2 interviews should be sufficient but we recognise some times there is a need to meet multiple people and diaries can be difficult to co-ordinate; in these case employers should look to conclude the process in a matter of weeks rather than months.

What should I do about references?

We always urge employers to take up references themselves and verify employee’s eligibility to work.

At a simple level employers are sometimes so enamoured with the candidate they are convinced of their “rightness” and don’t see the point in taking up the reference. However in the excitement of finding someone who appears just right it is easy to overlook small faults, which would normally betray larger issues. In this case if the candidate is as good as you think the reference will only reinforce it whilst that final check could save you from a costly mistake.

Where a candidate has been headhunted it is easy to assume that the disgruntled former employer will have nothing good to say about the candidate. Clearly they will not divulge anything that they consider commercially sensitive.

The other issue is that generally employers are more and more aware of the law and so written references are becoming ever more bland with the general sense that they are not worth the paper they are written on.

In the face of all of this negative sentiment we continue to encourage employers to take up references because, handled properly, they are a valuable tool in the recruitment process.

How to take up references

Rule number one is call. Don’t write for a reference unless you expect and are happy with a standard template that tells you little more than the dates employed the jobs title and absenteeism figures.

The real value in a reference is in using it to verify information given by the candidate during interview. Intrinsically this confirms the honesty of the candidate and can be used check on things like particular awards won, project involvement and scope of responsibility. For senior candidates you may look for issues during their tenure that may give an indication of the management style.

There are always concerns regarding the honesty of former employers in these situations but realistically anything the say that is untrue leaves them liable to prosecution so would be extremely reckless behaviour. (See side bar on the legal implications of references)

Of course if you launch straight into probing questions the conversation is likely to be a short one. It is always wise to start off with simple in offensive questions such as confirm dates of employment, job title etc before moving slowly onto more specific questions. We have a number of clients who are extremely good at this and often get extremely thorough information on candidates.

What should I check with foreign nationals?

Employers now have an obligation to check an employee’s eligibility to work in the UK. Most people automatically assume that all EU nationals are eligible to work in the UK; this is not the case. Actually Essentially workers from the 20 states in the European Economic Area (EEA) before May 2004 plus Switzerland are eligible to work in the UK. Those from the Accession states, those joining after 2004 are required to register with the Border and Immigration Agency and in the case of Bulgaria and Romania they must register before they are permtted to work. Workers from out side these areas will typically require their passport to be endorsed with leave to remain and work and have a valid work permit.

However you cannot rely on an applicant saying, for example, I’m German I’m eligible to work; you must check as they could be lying and without documentation to show you have verified it you will be liable to penalty; up to £10,000 per illegal employee. There are various check but as a minimum take a copy of their passport. Further guidance can be found on http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers/

Can I ask about age?

Yes, it is a popular misconception that employers can’t ask about age. What they cannot and must not do is select or discount a candidate based upon age; an to this end they must be able to demonstrate their reason for the selection decisions – keeping this in writing in a file relating to the recruitment for a particular role will provide your defence should a candidate acuse you of discrimination.

How do I avoid age discrimination or being accused of it?

Clearly this means that any job specifications or job adverts must not contain age restrictions or requirements.

Very often descriptions like “experience” are used as euphemisms or short hand for certain levels of knowledge or skill. These could be discriminatory as they may effectively prevent people under a certain age applying, even if they have the required knowledge or skill.

Equally phrases such as “mature” imply age whereas perhaps what is required is a balanced or considered outlook.

It is clear that the best starting point for job specifications and adverts is for the employer to be absolutely clear about what is required rather that using these euphemisms.

Competency based assessment / interviewing and also psychometric testing are very useful for avoiding all forms of discrimination. By focusing specifically on knowledge, skills and aptitudes candidates or staff can be assessed on a level playing field irrespective of age, gender, race etc.

The key starting point is in determining the correct competencies for the role and being able to objectively justify that they are required.

For example an employer may seek a sales person with a minimum of 5 years experience in a particularly market. This could be discriminatory and so perhaps the employer should specify the range and depth of product knowledge required and the level of market knowledge and contacts. It is entirely possible that a very good candidate has gained these in a shorter period. Discriminatory or not the employer would be unwise to exclude a candidate who is so diligent as to have gained this in a much shorter period than is typical.

A member of staff has asked about flexible working. They have young children, do I have to offer flexible working?

NO, you have to consider offering flexible working but you are not obliged to offer it if there is a genuine business case which makes it impractical. It is often the case that with shift patterns etc flexible working can be difficult to implement in the print industry. However, It is worth knowing that In fact there are 14 officially recognised forms of flexible working and where appropriate these can bring benefits to employer and employees alike. These include:

Flexi-time

Job sharing

Part-time working

Staggered hours

Compressed working hours

Shift swapping

Self rostering

Time off in lieu (TOIL)

Term-time working

Annual hours

V-time working

Zero-hours contracts

Home working/tele-working

Sabbatical/career break