How to recruit and select staff when positions become vacant in organisations

1. How Do You Recruit
and Select Staff
GEOFF HARDY
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2. The importance of recruiting and
selecting the right staff
Development can help great people become even better….but if I had a dollar to
spend, I would spend….70 cents….getting the right person in the door
We are concerned with hiring….but do we treat it….strategically….as the most
important aspect of business. Are we professional students of hiring?
There is only one thing that really mattered in the long run to the health of the
enterprise….namely….the quality and character of the workforce
Tom Peters
The Little Big Things

3. The importance of recruiting and
selecting the right staff
There is a large amount of money spent every year by organisations on
recruiting staff
Organisations can, however, waste money in a number of areas if the successful
candidate is unsuitable or leaves after a few weeks or months
◦ Recruitment costs; for example the cost of adverts
◦ Induction training – the time and effort invested in training can be large. In the contact centre
industry, for example, there is often high turnover of staff with new starters staying only a few
weeks before deciding the role is not for them
◦ The costs of having to subsequently re-advertise the role and go through the whole process
again
What is generally overlooked is the impact on the morale of long serving
staff if they see a high number of colleagues comes and go.

4. The recruiting manager
The recruiting manager should decide whether the role will be permanent or
temporary
In the UK, a number of new starters are recruited on temporary contracts
This brings with it the advantage that, if the successful applicant does not fit into
the role, the company can let them go
However, the disadvantage is that new starters could look for a permanent role
elsewhere and may leave early in their employment.

5. The recruiting manager
The recruiting manager should draw up a job description and person
specification for the vacant role if the documents are not already available
These are generally standard company-wide documents that specify the duties that the
appointee will carry out and the skills and competencies that applicants should have
For example, in a sales role, it will be beneficial for applicants to have developed some
negotiation and customer presentation skills
The Human Resource Manager will be able to check these documents or help draw them up
If a job grading system is in place, the role should go through the relevant
process
The job grading process will identify the salary band that the role falls into and
the benefits package that comes with it.

6. The recruiting manager
The organisation may have standard processes for managers to follow to attract
candidates
If the company does not have a standard policy, a cost analysis should be undertaken to
decide if it will be more effective to advertise the role and through which channels, or to
use an agency or specialist recruitment firm
Using employment agencies or recruitment companies can have the benefit that they will undertake part of the
selection process; such as, application and CV screening, initial candidate interviews and testing
The downside is that the agency needs to be very clear on the kind of person that the company is looking for and
the kind of workplace environment that they will be joining. Often too little time is invested to make sure the agency
or recruitment company is clear on these points
There are a number of ways around this including, for companies who recruit regularly, having a dedicated
relationship manager at the agency.

7. Selection
Once applications have been received for the role, the selection process should
be clear and a timetable drawn up
There are a number of methods a company can use at the selection stage
These include identifying whether the candidate has the required skills and
experience from their application or CV, face-to-face interviews, assessment
centres and completion of case studies or presentations
Many companies like to conduct initial telephone interviews to draw up a short list
of candidates.

8. Selection
Whatever selection process is used, managers involved should be fully
accredited and act in a consistent manner
◦ For example, if the selection process consists of criteria-based interviews (where candidates give
examples of how they meet the various requirements of the role), all managers concerned should be
trained to ask questions in a consistent manner and on how to rate the answers that candidates give
◦ Senior managers or a Human Resource Manager may wish to audit the process to ensure there is
consistency of application
When the successful applicant has been identified, appropriate references
should be sought
In addition, feedback should be given to those candidates who attended
interviews or other selection events and were unsuccessful.

9. Is a job description in place – are we clear on the skills,
competencies and experience that the successful candidate
will need?
Is the role temporary or permanent?
Is there a job grading process and has the role been
assessed?
In Summary What is the best way to attract candidates – directly by the
company or by using an external recruitment agency
Is the selection process clear?
Are managers involved in the selection process clearly briefed
(or accredited)?
Is the selection process carried out in a consistent manner by
each manager involved?
Have references been taken on the successful candidate?
Has feedback been given to unsuccessful candidates?
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