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w o r k p l a c e p r a c t i c e s
Recruitment and talent management
Sustainable recruitment practices and how to win and retain
stars in the “war for talent”
Recruitment is not an exact science. Often decisions are
made on candidates that are based more on gut feel than
objective judgement. Yet this can be one of the most costly
mistakes you can make.
So where should you start when reviewing your recruitment
practices And what do you need to do to give yourself the
best chance of retaining the best performers
Business strategy and cultural alignment
How many people and what sort of skills and behaviours are
you going to have to bring in your business to achieve your
strategic plan for your business This is as important as these
are the people who are responsible for the delivery of this
strategy.
It is equally important that you break down the personal
attributes you will be seeking, such as evidence of leadership
qualities. Do not forget to include their wider company
obligations, such as upholding OHS standards, and any
expectation you have of them that fall outside the standard
template. If your job descriptions lack role clarity you risk your
people not being not focused on the higher value activities
that you require.
A lot of time can be wasted, or worse, if a dispute arises
and it can increase frustration levels for all involved.
Being clear about what you need a staff member to do and
achieve is paramount in getting business goals achieved, and
a good position description should help
you do that.
• Your method of sourcing these
people needs to be defined as
well. For instance, do you need
to find experienced sales people
with networks in your industry
• What have you put in place to
identify these people and attract
them to your business
• Are executive recruiters an
important part of this or can you find
them using social-media networking
sites such as LinkedIn
• It is well documented how important
workplace culture is to the
performance and reputation of a
business. How much time have you spent really defining
the qualities that you want your people to have, and why
Advertising the role
If you are advertising the role directly it is important to
take some time to produce something that represents your
business in the way you would like to be portrayed. Do not fall
into the trap of just giving a factual summary of the role with
no explanation of the advantages the role represents.
Think about all of the positives of the role and select three
that you think are key draw cards to potential candidates.
Ensure you get the basics right, and clearly identify the
location and any important considerations such as travel.
Research shows that advertising the salary or contract
rate improves the hit rate of candidates, and I am yet to
hear a convincing argument for not including it in your
advertisement.
Job descriptions
Once you have identified the key skills and personal
characteristics required for a role you are ready to develop a
job description, or review an existing one.
You must have clear, measurable key performance
indicators for which are mainly tactical and task-based
for employees, and key result areas for management roles.
BIKEBusiness
b u s i n e s s t o b u s i n e s s
26 July - August 2012
Many top
candidates
have been
lost with
a low-ball
offer
The interview process
Successfully hiring a strong candidate
depends, in part, on having positive
interview experiences with your preferred
candidates.
The following steps are key to
achieving this:
Plan the process
If you are sure about what you want you
are more likely to identify professionals
who fit the bill. If you are still working
out politics, funding or personalities, you
are better off waiting to start the hiring
process.
There are also marketing issues involved in making a
successful hire. If the previous candidate had difficulties, or
the organisation is in transition, you need to think about how
you will present this to a prospective candidate.
The more you have thought about key issues, and the
more you have addressed glaring weaknesses in reporting
systems, operating priorities or personal interaction, the better
your chances of making an outstanding hire. Candidates
understand there are challenges in every role... they may not
understand procrastination or avoidance.
Evaluate all candidates on the same objective criteria:
When you ask all candidates similar questions you can
compare their responses more precisely. If all candidates are
treated with similar respect and are asked to meet similar
criteria you can trust your result when one emerges as the
consistent candidate of choice. This approach is helpful then
you are reviewing two equally qualified candidates. Avoid
questions that raise issues of marital status, religion, politics,
gender or sexual orientation. These questions are simply
illegal.
They will have reviewed the website, read your literature
and have a working familiarity with your operations.
Depending on the nature of the role, use your questions to
figure out which candidates are responding with standard
answers and those who are thinking critically about the
challenges you put to them.