January 12, 2018

The Recruitment Process – How to get it right!

The cost and time spent recruiting can vary dramatically depending on the recruitment process you adopt. It’s important to know how to get the most out of your recruitment specialists to reduce costs and the time consumed.

So what is the best recruitment process?

Whether you have an in-house recruitment team or use a recruitment agency, the process should be the same. You should work alongside your recruitment specialists and manage the relationship – view them as an extension of your HR department. Spend some time sharing an insight into the company, the culture, the goals and deterrents – the more they know about the company, the better they can find the best candidate to fit the vacancy.

Raise the bar. Expect more from your in-house team/recruitment agency. Recruitment isn’t about receiving a CV as quick as possible, it’s about finding the best person for the job. With an increasing number of industries seeing skills shortages in the talent pool, it’s imperative that you’re confident in your recruiter’s knowledge and understanding of the role you’re recruiting for. Challenge them – challenge their processes, their knowledge and network and you’ll soon identify which can perform and deliver the service you require. Too many clients accept an inadequate service, so in order to save money and time, only work with those who you’re confident can deliver.

The interview itself. It’s well known that the interview is the key element to the recruitment process, but it’s important to remember that as much as the candidate is there to impress you, you also need to impress them. You need to use this as an opportunity to promote the vacancy and the company. The objective of an interview is to challenge the candidate and assess their suitability and capability for the role, whilst ensuring they also leave the interview wanting to work for you. Given the current market status, candidates are in an optimal position with a lot of choice, so ensure your interview process presents the most important elements of your company whilst enticing the candidate to want to be a part of it. A top tip – ask the recruitment agency for any advice on what to ask or even promote to the candidate to secure the candidate’s interest. It’s surprising how often employers fail this aspect of the recruitment process, leaving candidates feeling disinterested in taking the role following an interview.

The job offer. With demand increasing, candidates with the right experience and skills have more control in the job market, yet it’s so common for a delay in a final decision to be made, or for a company to withhold offering the higher salary until the first offer is rejected. This simply opens up the opportunity for the candidate to accept a higher salary from a competitor, or a higher salary from their current employer, or simply lose interest/faith in the company. Whilst giving an offer, move beyond the starting salary and focus on the additional employee benefits and highlight progression opportunities within the firm. This will demonstrate how committed and invested you are in the candidate and help seal their commitment too. The cost to recruit and train a new hire is roughly £5,000-£10,000, so you need to be prepared for the chances of a counter offer from their current employer. The way you promote the candidate’s potential, career progression and company vision whilst giving them their offer is critical to keeping the candidate on board, despite any counter offers elsewhere.

They’ve accepted. Is the hard work done? No. It’s all too common that once an offer has been made and accepted, it’s assumed that the task is completed and your new recruit is fully on-board. You need to remember than the process isn’t over yet. You need to maintain a level of engagement with the candidate after the offer is accepted, a lot can change and happen whilst a candidate is working their notice, so ongoing communication will ensure they stay committed and a valued new addition to the firm – nobody wants to feel forgotten.

An organised on boarding process ensures employees feel valued and welcomed. The process can include a company induction, one to one meet and greet with the team, health & safety session, company history, training opportunities, the company’s future goals. This will give the candidate confidence that they are welcomed into the team and that you’re invested in them. An organised on boarding process has been associated with greater job satisfaction and employee retention. So it’s worth getting right!

If you want assistance with your recruitment process or looking for a new hire, get in touch with our team today on 0207 118 3003.