In planning your recruitment and selection there are a number of things for you to consider.
Here is a checklist to help you make sure you cover everything.
The Recruitment and Selection Planner
Planning recruitment for a post you should develop a job description, details of the appropriate conditions of service and details about the Company.
The job description will include an overview of the main duties and responsibilities of the post. A person specification will have an outline of the qualifications and experience which candidates are expected to posess.
The job description should state the purpose and key responsibilities of the role, reporting lines, any training and development requirements or opportunities and performance standards and objectives. The job description forms the basis of the recruitment advertisement/brief and can be referred to over time by the jobholder and line manager as a basis for performance review.
A number of organisations have provided example job descriptions to use as examples.
Days Hotel Guest Services Manager (Ops Manager/Assistant GM)
Days Hotel Chamber Person Job Description
Days Hotel Guest Service Assistant (Food & Beverage) Job Description
Days Hotel Guest Service Assistant (Front of House) Job Description
The Green House – Operations Manager
Set out what knowledge, skills and attitudes are required. An example outline for you to complete can be viewed here.
Benchmark against salaries being offered for similar jobs in your area. Be realistic about what you can expect –if you are looking for a top quality employee, you need to offer competitive remuneration. Take into account your existing pay structures.
Planning workforce numbers is a strategic activity designed to ensure that your company is adequately resourced to meet customer demands and business objectives. Employing the right number of people for your business with the right skills is essential for success. Identify areas where your business is underperforming – this may suggest a need to recruit employees with particular skills. You may also need to fill vacancies where employees have left, or where you are aware that they plan to leave.
See your plans for Resourcing or Succession/Continuity Planning above.
Assess the impact of any future business activities. For example if you plan to grow your business you will need additional staff and possibly a strengthened management team. Take into account seasonal fluctuations and consider how to manage this.
Is there scope to recruit employees and train them to do a particular role. Have you identified any staff in house that have potential to be promoted with development?
Ensure that you understand the legal issues involved in recruiting new employees. Do you need any support e.g. how to interview effectively?
Establish ongoing relationships with potential sources of workers. Building relationships with local schools and colleges can be an effective way to attract promising trainees. Be ready to interview candidates when they start looking for work at the beginning of their final year.
Explain your business and the job being offered. Describe your business. Detail the important elements of the job. Indicate the salary.
For general tips on how to write an effective job advert visit https://hiring.monster.co.uk/hr/hr-best-practices/recruiting-hiring-advice/attracting-job-candidates/how-do-i-write-an-effective-job-advert.aspx.
Consider any suitable candidates for internal promotion. Ask existing staff if they can introduce any suitable applicants and offer a reward if they are suitable.
Identify websites and publications that reach likely candidates e.g. gum tree, online job sites. Consider using social media platforms.
An example advertisement from the Arbor Restaurant can be viewed here – Experienced waiting staff required and here The Green House – Junior Sous Chef
Explain what you are looking for to give candidates the opportunity to show how they meet your criteria. Be clear about any essential requirements to discourage people who don’t fit the description from applying.
Explain what makes the job attractive and why you are a good business to work for.
Include the details about any training and promotion opportunities.
Explain how to apply.
Asking for a CV and covering letter should give you the information needed to draw up a shortlist.
Alternatively draw up a standard application form. This will help you get specific information and allow the easy comparison of candidates.
Write your job advertisement.
Drawing up a shortlist involves cutting through the pile of applicants until you have a selection of candidates that you would like to invite for interview. If you have stipulated a level of qualification, skill or experience in the job advertisement, you should be able to reject some candidates out of hand – you’d be surprised how many people apply for jobs that they are obviously under-qualified for.
To reach your final selection, read the CVs and covering letters or application forms and pick the best ones.
If the job involves a particular skill, it might be worth arranging a test for around 10 candidates to demonstrate their skill levels. This can be an effective way of eliminating applicants that seem suitable on paper but may not be up to the job in practice. For example, if you’re recruiting for a secretary, you could set a typing test.
Finally, follow your gut! Recruitment is not entirely about CVs, cover letters and testing – especially for a small business. Trust your business instincts and choose candidates you feel will best support your company’s vision, passion and ideals. This is also an important consideration during the interview stage – you want to hire someone who will complement and stay with your company and they need to fit in with the rest of the team.
Eventually you will have a final list of those that you would like to interview. A shortlist of five or six should be sufficient, and you’ll need to set aside a day for the interviews as well.
Inviting people to interview
Screen out candidates who do not meet your requirements. Look for evidence of success in previous jobs. You must adopt fair and equitable practices.
When you contact the prospective interviewees, make sure you provide clear instructions covering:
When it comes to recruitment interviews, it’s important to remember that candidates are assessing you too. The best way to make the right impression – and make the most of your interviewing time – is to make sure you’re thoroughly prepared. Here are some pointers on how to prepare for recruitment interviews – and create a professional environment – thus maximising your chances of making a successful hire.
You will need to set aside an area in which to conduct the interviews. Use somewhere where you’re not going to be interrupted, either by other people walking in or by the telephone. If this doesn’t sound like your office, then find somewhere else. Try to keep it in your workplace, since this will be the most cost effective and also give the interviewees a chance to see where they would be working.
Make sure your other staff know that you are interviewing, divert your office phone and turn off your mobile. You will then be able to give your interviewees your undivided attention.
Before the day of the interviews, you will need to make sure that you are totally prepared. Compose a series of questions, bearing in mind what you want to find out about the candidate. This will include general questions on their personality and motivation, as well as questions that will probe more deeply into how well suited they are to the job description.
You should have their CV and application form with you at the interview; make sure you have read through these beforehand. This will give you some background from which you can ask for more detail from the candidate.
Also when conducting interviews, make sure you’re prepared too. Know what to watch out for in applicants – appropriate dress, confidence and knowledge of your business. Ensure you are familiar with all the candidates CVs, can describe the job role effectively, and have allocated the right amount of time for each person.
Prepare interview questions in advance. Focus on finding out how well individuals match your requirements. Plan questions and probe skills and qualities for the job. Decide how candidates answers will be scored. Look for evidence of achievement and skills.
You should also prepare some information about your company – whether it’s a leaflet, examples of what you do or simply some background about yourself – and a job description for the position for which you are recruiting.
Let interviewees know when they can expect to hear from you.
As a small business owner, it is possible that you are the only manager and will therefore be the sole interviewer. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
At some point though, you may wish to involve a colleague in the interview. The advantage of having more than one of you is that you can get a second opinion on each candidate.
If appropriate, test candidates, such as with a role-play exercise, presentation or work sample. In this situation a candidate is asked to demonstrate their abilities in a real work situation. This also gives a candidate a taste for the job on offer and the culture of the organisation.
When all candidates have been interviewed, you will need to consider each candidate in turn, assessing each against the agreed criteria. Please ensure that:
When the job market is very tight, you may discover that none of the candidates meet the required criteria. In this case it is usually better in the long term to interview other acceptable candidates or re-advertise rather than appoint someone who is not capable of doing the job (despite the inevitable short term problems this will cause).
When the successful candidate has been chosen the panel should decide the next most suitable candidate in case the offer is declined.
If a recruitment exercise fails to find an acceptable candidate, ask yourself why. Use indicators in areas such as employee performance and staff turnover to assess whether you are recruiting the right people.
Send the successful candidate a job offer letter and explain pre-employment checks will have to be made. Inform your candidate when the job starts and how much time they have to accept the offer. Confirm details such as salary and probationary period. Clearly set out any conditions such as references.
An example offer letter can be seen here. Example offer letter.
Plan the new recruit’s induction. See Induction below.
Send rejection letters to unsuccessful candidates as soon as possible and give carefully considered feedback if requested.