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A Recruitment Guide

What are the best ways to advertise a position?

Advertising is a passive medium and generally speaking people will not respond to an advert unless they are actively looking for a new position or there is something startling, such as a large salary, to get their attention. This means that some of the very best potential candidates will simply not apply because they have successful careers in secure roles.

Having said that advertising offer the ability to cast a very wide net and for certain positions such as machine operators it can be very effective. The key to advertising is to be very targeted, so trade press options such as PrintWeek and the Daily Mail on Thursday are the right way to go. On the internet print specific sites such as Jobsinprint.com the BPIF’s specialist jobs site, which receives about 40,000 page views per month, are best. Using broader media such as the big jobsites on the internet are likely to attract large numbers of unsuitable candidates and waste a lot of time.

The other element which is often overlooked is the way in which ads are written. Many ads talk only of what the company wants and fail to sell the vital “what’s in it for me” for the candidate. The ad is a great opportunity to present the benefits of joining the company. Particularly in a jobs market where there are numerous skills shortages employers need to remember to work on selling the role and company to the candidates.

In what circumstances is headhunting appropriate?

Head hunting is probably the most effective option when recruiting at a senior level or in areas where there is a specific shortage of candidates. Further if a company is planning to introduce a new product or to go into a new market they may not want to alert their competitors before they are ready to launch. In this case advertising is unwise and head hunt will allow the company to identify key members of staff ahead of the launch.

How do you build a desirable employer brand?

Clearly there are many factors which go into making an employer attractive to potential candidates. It goes without saying that salary and benefits package are a key part of why employees accept a job however they are far from the only reasons.

There is no doubt that most people would jump at the chance to work for the market leader.

However there are many ways in which smaller players can make themselves attractive. Innovation and having great products are appealing to prospective employees. The publicity generated by winning industry awards is also a valuable tool in making a company attractive. Customer reputation is also a key factor. If the company has a reputation for letting customers down they are not an attractive prospect; potential employees fear they may end up with a lot of grief from dissatisfied customers so tend to avoid those companies. Lack of financial security is another big put off.

A record or culture of developing people with training and career progression is attractive to potential employees.

So what about the company that has been through hard times and perhaps under new ownership is starting to turn things around? In this case strong clear leadership is essential in making sure everyone understands where the company is going, what has been done and what the future plans and targets are. In these circumstances a professional recruiter can assist the company by addressing the concerns of potential candidates and getting them to at least meet with the company.

What makes a job ad appealing?

The sarcastic answer to this would be put an extremely large salary on it! Again there are no hard and fast rules and there are a number of techniques such as making the ad a bit of a teaser etc. However we would advocate that should identify the scope of the role and importantly the “what’s in it for me?” This does not necessarily mean a big salary but as I have already said adverts are passive and need something to get the candidates attention. You really have to look at it and say “If I were the candidate, what’s in it for me?” If you can’t answer that why would they apply? The company should sound like an attractive place to work, the role should be interesting and the rewards should be apparent; be they package or opportunities for progression.

What is the best interview process?

Generally we would advocate a two stage interview process, with an initial interview to get a broad picture of the candidate and their abilities followed by a second interview to consider in a more in-depth way the specific candidate’s skills in relation to the role alongside their “fit” with the company. Employers must also recognize that the interview process is as much about them selling the benefits of joining the organization to the candidate as it is the candidate proving they are worthy.

In terms of selecting candidates the process really has to start at the beginning of the recruit in terms of defining the role and identifying the key requirements from a core competency perspective. Failure to clearly define what is required at the outset will result in woolly decision making from there on.

Candidates can then be selected for interview based on their match to the requirements. Clearly it is rare that the elusive candidate who satisfies every requirement perfectly appears and therefore it is important to understand which of the requirements is most important.

Another point which should not be overlooked is the legal aspect. Following a competency based approach ensures that candidates are no discriminated against for example on the basis of sex, race, age etc and would allow the employer to defend their decision if an unsuccessful candidate were to allege discrimination.

How should interviews be run?

Professionalism and courtesy should be factors which go without saying. Sadly it is not always the case. Both parties should do everything in their power to be on time and prepared and avoid interruptions.

In order to get the most out of an interview the interview should try to establish a rapport with the candidate. Setting out the scope and purpose of the interview will make it clear what the objectives are. In some respects it is the same as making any other meeting effective.

Approaching questioning in a structured way, perhaps clarifying person details and career history, then going into detail of specific achievements and skills which are applicable to the new role, will pay dividends. Essentially the purpose of the interview is to establish if the person can do the job. To support this decision the interviewer should be looking for evidence of the candidate demonstrating the required skills.

Who should be involved?

The line manager should be involved from the start as they should be in the best position to understand the requirements of the role. In turn they will be able to see how the candidate measures up against these requirements. That is not to say however that you should assume the line manager is competent to interview. Very very few people have had any training in interviews skills and few give any thought to the interview process being structured rather than a chat with some specific questions. We would recommend companies invest in at least some basic interview training for their managers.

Are there any things which should or should not be asked?

Employment law can be a minefield with issues of discrimination in sex, race, disability etc so clearly there is a whole range of questions that could have serious legal consequences. However if the employer focuses on the competences required for the role and interviews based on assessing those competences they should avoid these pitfalls.

The questions to ask are very definitely in the area of asking the candidate to provide evidence of their achievements and competency.

What about taking up references?

We have commented many times in the media that companies should never skip the reference. References are not the be all and end all but certainly have a role to play. It can be quite a difficult area these days as many companies have adopted a standardised response to avoid litigation from either the candidate or the prospective employer. We would therefore always recommend a telephone call rather than simply writing fro a reference. Sometimes you will only get basic information such as dates of service, job title, absenteeism etc. However if we look at the reference in the wider context of the selection process it is certainly worth making the call and trying to corroborate the information given by the candidate. For example if the candidate has given a specific example during interview as evidence that they have s specific skill then checking this example via a reference adds weight to your decision.

What should you look for in a potential employee?

The obvious answer of the enthusiastic, ambitious, driven individual can be a mistake. Clearly employers need these high achievers; self motivated, hard working and driven to succeed. However, many roles in many companies simply don’t have the scope to satisfy these people and they would quickly become dissatisfied and either leave or, worse, become disruptive.

Employers must be realistic and match candidate’s abilities and traits to the requirements of the role. Beyond this looking for people who are a good fit with the existing team and are willing to adapt and learn is beneficial. Fitting the team doesn’t mean recruiting an identikit team of clones, in fact these are rarely successful, complimentary skills and similar values are a better approach.

What are the danger signs to look out for?

This is a difficult issue and one where we must all be careful not to discriminate based on our own prejudices. We would not suggest knee jerk reactions to so-called “Danger Signs”. There are factors which may give indications about the candidate and these should be explored rather than reacted to; for example gaps in a career or frequently changing jobs. These issues could give rise to concern but equally could have reasonable explanations and so shouldn’t automatically prejudice you against what might be a valuable candidate.

What else should we look out for in recruitment and selection?

The overall point is to explore. If you come across a point which concerns you ask about it rather than assuming it means x or y. Look for skills and competencies rather than just pure like for like experience. We have often said that if the search criteria is so narrow as to only look at exact like for like experience the result is the same people do the rounds of every company in the sector with salaries being bumped up at every move. A broader focus which considers similar roles in different markets or different roles in the same market can unearth fresh new talent.