Hints, Tips and Thoughts on More Effective Recruitment including Selection & Retention

This free guide is designed to give insight into the drivers that underpin effective recruitment, selection and retention; then stimulate thought on your own process.

Recruiting new staff is expensive. Not just in terms of advertising and agency fees but also in terms of the time spent interviewing. Additionally, whilst the position is vacant and the new appointee learns the role, the business will see a downturn in efficiency.

Improving staff enthusiasm, commitment and loyalty plays a big part in reducing staff turnover and churn. Having effective employee representation in place is essential. But even the most employee focused organisation will, at some point have a need to recruit new staff, growth and expansion being a good example.

Succession Planning and Job Role Cover
Before recruitment or simultaneously with it, you need to decide how to cover the existing vacancy. Indeed in some situations well planned succession planning may mean the actual job vacancy is not what it first appears. When a robust succession plan exists you may need to recruit to fill the vacancy created once the succession plan has been effected.

To achieve this you need to anticipate and plan for when vacancies may occur.

• Develop a plan that considers who, internally, can replace each team member in the event they leave
• Develop team members skills and abilities so they can take on new roles and responsibilities
• Make recruitment more structured and less reactive.

Forecast when recruitment might be needed

• Trend Analysis
• Warning Signs
• Succession Planning

Give Thought to:

• Who is there to help – what do they need to know and when
• Covering Short Term Vacancies
• Best recruit v right recruit
  • Cover from other Branches/Departments
    • Skills development opportunity?
    • Motivational Opportunity?
  • Lower Base hours with overtime options – greater flexibility
  • Agency Staff

Meeting the Needs of the Business
Before any recruitment is undertaken the recruiter needs to ensure it meets the needs of the business. Recruiters need to review

• Their Organisation’s recruitment, selection and retention policy
• Identify any factors which may get in the way and plan accordingly

Secondly it is important to consider historic performance

• Historic staff turnover stats and figures etc.
  • Benchmarking from the Sector
  • The organisation statistics if available
• Is there a Never Ending Circle?
  • Poor Recruitment – High Staff Turnover – Poor Recruitment ………..
  • How can you break free?

Breaking Free
If the organisation or your department has a history of staff turnover, wastage and churn

• Review the role, its job description and person specification
  • Will they attract the right people
  • Are they accurate
  • Are they made available with the recruitment adverts
• Focus on recruiting the right people rather than the best of the bunch
• Remember the business implications
  • Image
  • The impact on sales and service – interviewees are probably customers
  • Money – including a cost benefit analysis
  • Time
• Are you sufficiently employee focussed?
  • Employee Representation
  • 360 degree appraisals – the team appraise the leader

Creating the Right Impression
Interviewees are all, potential customers. Bad news travels fast. It is imperative that the recruitment process enhances and grows the organisations reputation. With modern technology makes communication before and after the interview quick and effective, don’t ignore it

Many of the following are frequently forgotten or overlooked even by experienced interviewers

• Applicant Meet and Greet
• Information/joining instructions to candidates including required certificates and notification of specific needs to access the interview
• Keeping with the law – what you can and cannot say/ ask
• One to One Interviewing – Benefits, Risks and Alternatives
• Seating Layout and Note Taking
• Interviewers Time Keeping
• Moving the interview along more quickly
• Dealing with extensive questions from applicants
• Informing applicants of what happens next

Are you Legally Compliant?
Does your selection and interview process meet the latest requirements in terms of legislation and good practice?

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
  • Protected Characteristics
  • Reasonable adjustments
  • Exemptions
• Data Protection and GDPR
• Immigration laws and the rights to work
• Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable people
• Your Duty of Care and “Vicarious Liability”

Decisions for the Recruitment Campaign and Selection Process
you will need to give thought to

• Advertising decisions – where, when and for how long, at what cost
• The use of recruitment agencies – seldom cheap but access to a wider range of candidates
• The technical components for both the job description and person specification.
• Branding and Image Promotion
• Equality proofing everything
• Shortlisting criteria using “essential” and “desirable” as well as identifying any other means, beyond an interview, of testing a candidate, e.g. a test or presentation

Arrangements for, During and After the Interview
Consider interview letters, interview question marking sheets and any other material used to subsequently communicate with all applicants as well as appointment letters & internal documentation used for induction and training programmes for the successful candidate(s).

• Venue arrangements with equality proofing for all aspects of access
• Management of interview panel and respective roles. This would include the appointment of a chair, timetabling and the allocation of specific questions/subjects to panel members
• Clear agreement on the way in which responses from candidates will be tested and assessed based on the criteria used at shortlisting
• Arrangements for the reception of candidates outside the interview room, verification of documents, domestics etc.
• Provision for the candidate to seek further information and/or offer further information in support of their application
• Washing up/clarifying loose ends around certificates/references etc.
• Determining how and when final decisions will be made
• Feedback arrangements to all candidates
• In house liaison with HR about appointment letter, contract and plans for planned induction/training-links to any staff appraisal or performance review system

Interview Questioning Listening and Note Taking
What skills will be needed by those involved in the recruitment and selection process?

• Communication – body language/tone and words
• Communication and cultural considerations
• Questioning techniques – open/closed/supplementary/probing
• Questions to avoid – loaded/discriminatory
• Interview structure – balance between formal and informal/fluency
• Listening – active/ reflective
• Observational skills
• Managing nerves and stress – it happens to interviewers!
• Note taking
• Chairing
• Summarising
• Self – awareness

Interviewing against Using Behavioural Traits
Most people have a fairly pre-defined character way of working and set of inbuilt behavioural traits. Similar behavioural traits underpin the person specification and their suitability for the role. An applicant who can demonstrate/evidence that their past performance demonstrated the behaviour traits needed to be successful in role is likely to perform well.

For example a sales person may need to demonstrate a high degree of tenacity and results achievement where as a customer complaints handler may need to demonstrate skills in the area of empathy.

Consider

• Typical behaviours
• Matching behaviours to the person specification
• Interviewing against the roles priority behaviours
• How to score and grade applicant responses

Possible behaviours that may fall out of the person specification are endless but may include

Assessing and Evaluating Applicant Suitability
The applicant’s responses, physical, verbal, written etc all need to be considered relative to the person specification. A consistent approach is required

• Use Behavioural Traits as an indicator of future performance
• Recounting Past Performance – tell me about a time when
• Probing and Clarifying
• Body Language and what it can tell us
• Evaluating and Scoring

Introduction to Assessment Centres
Assessment centres aim to create real life scenarios and evaluate how the candidates perform. The following need to be considered

• Planning and preparation

• • including cohort research, the joining instructions and equality proofing

• Use of resources including equipment, furniture and literature
• Public speaking and communication skills
• Active Listening
• Verbal and non-verbal communication skills
• Observational skills
• Voice projection and voice care
• Dealing with nerves
• Dealing with difficult participants
• An understanding of learning styles based on proven academic theory
• Group theory and dynamics again based on academic models
• Differences between facilitation and training
• Creative thinking techniques
• Feedback techniques
• Time management
• Evaluation and after care

Psychometric profiling
Psychometric profiling aims to identify the candidate’s behavioural style through their answers to a long series of pre-developed questions. Most require their users to be formally trained in the use of the specific system employed. In general terms these systems are not designed to stand alone but generate a profile that the interview can interview against. They can be highly effective when behavioural questioning is used after to verify and explore the outputs.

Post Appointment Actions
In many ways selection and recruitment is the easy part. Post appointment it is essential the team leader and the organisation create a positive image with high levels of support being available.

Consider

• Initial workloads
• Induction training
  • Who when where duration
  • A robust induction process may last 6 months or more
  • What needs to be covered, day 1, week1, months, 1, 2,3 etc
• Performance and issue reviews
• Ongoing support

Support from Concrew Training
Concrew Training’s courses cover a wide range of related topics including:

• Staff Selection and Recruitment Training
• Equality Diversity and Inclusion Training
• Employment Law Training
• Data Protection and GDPR Training
• Public Speaking Training
• Being more Assertive
• Influencing
• Performance Management
• Working with Volunteers
• Employee Representation

All provide high quality, high value, support advice and guidance.

Call or email us today for more information

Download our “Better Recruitment” guide for free via the link below
Better Recruitment