Recruiting the right candidate – By Lauren Campbell

The importance of hiring the right candidate and finding the best fit for your company comes from having clear objectives on the needs of the business and finding a common ground for goals at the interview stage which is a vital asset in any recruitment project. Finding employees who are productive and proactive within the workplace will not only collaborate a target driven environment but it will develop a thriving culture for any business and one which employees will excel in their current positions. Adapting a culture based around best fits for the company will ensure a healthy and determined workforce, minimising performance issues and retention.

The CIPD’s Talent Planning Survey 2015 has found that 89% of Companies have found difficulties in recruiting staff and in today’s competitive marketplace, businesses need to make sure they get value for money whether it is recruiting from outside the business or within. Employing the wrong person for a role is not only time consuming but will affect the morale and productivity within the company and is also a costly mistake to make. The average recruitment cost of filling a vacancy per employee is £4,333, increasing to £7,750 when organisations are also calculating the associated labour turnover costs. (CIPD)

Before determining who to attract and select for the role, it is essential that the organisation has a clear idea about what the job requires and the attributes of the person needed with the company. Some recruiters look for the ‘best fit’, one individual who will aspire to the culture of that organisation and one who will understand the needs of the business. Traditionally, job descriptions and person specifications have been devised to enable the organisation to effectively decide what skills the company needs to fill that position. By doing this, the candidate has some knowledge of the type of role they will undertake and from this will enhance job performance as there was a clear ground set from the beginning. However, the lack of a competent job description will in effect, attract the wrong candidates and leave the company with an under active workforce and time constraints on moving forward.

Some tips to adhere to when recruiting are:

1. Develop and design a proper job description and person specification, which does not include any elements of discrimination
2. Design an advert that informs the applicant of what you are looking for and what the job will entail
3. Select the interview team carefully – make sure managers are provided with the skills to participate fully.  Consider providing recruitment and selection training and having a recruitment policy
4. Fully prepare for the interview – consider the questions you are going to ask, whether you want the applicants to complete exercises to test their skills
5. Employ caution when shortlisting to ensure no bias/discrimination enters the process – use the job description & person specification to match how the applicants meet to the requirement of the roles
6. Conduct a professional interview – remember it is your opportunity to sell the company.
7. Communication – inform applicants on the process, when they can expect the responses
8. Provide the prospective employee with a conditional offer
9. Undertake relevant employment checks – reference, proof of right to work in the UK, proof of qualifications
10. Plan the induction – Use the interview to identify what support the prospective employee will need when they start
11. Follow up and ensure the individual understands fully what is needed

If you’ve struggled with the candidate selection process in the past and would like some expert guidance, please don’t hesitate the HPC team today!