Recruiting a new employee can be expensive and time-consuming, so it pays to make sure you get the best person you possibly can! Recruitment is an important area for employers to get right as employing the wrong person for the job can often be damaging to a business and its reputation.
#1 Poor job description- Being clear on what the job requires for superior performance.
Job competencies are key for the hiring manager to write the job advert and conduct the interviews. It all starts with the job description!
#2 Terrible interviewing-The candidate should do most of the talking!
Ensure your managers have been trained to interview and there is structure to the interview and a scoring system in place.
#3 Not pre-screening over the telephone- Opportunity to decide on whether to progress to 1st interview. CV’s come in all shapes and sizes and there is no rule on how a CV should look.
#4 Hiring for skills and not attitude-Remember the movie “The Pursuit of Happiness”.
Whilst we recruit on skills, experience and qualifications, attitude is the forgotten ingredient for the perfect candidate mix.
#5 Hiring too slow- Looking for the perfect one can mean you lose the ideal candidate.
Beware of missing good quality candidates because your desirable has been placed on your essential list.
#6 Hiring too fast-Don’t panic buy!
Hiring out of desperation to fill a seat isn’t always the best person for the job. Take your time to evaluate what you really need and wait for the right candidate. If they are the wrong fit for the team or ability this can cost more than money in the long run.
#7 Inappropriate use of assessments– They are a tool for interviewing not the decision maker.
There are lots of assessments on the market. It is important that the assessment is used as a tool to challenge the candidate during interview. The person carrying out the interview must understand how it works.
#8 The finer details- Are you on the same page?
Ensure you have asked the candidate their thoughts on the role, salary package, notice periods etc. You may end up being in a position where one candidate is more likely to accept an offer than the other, or one wants a higher salary than you can realistically offer.
#9 Not taking up references-Check the candidate has worked where they say they have.
You can do this in the form of reference, or if the company have a no reference policy P60’s/payslips.
#10 No induction! – Time, money and resources spent on recruiting, why wouldn’t you want to keep them?
If there is no formal or poor induction process the candidate is likely to take longer to settle in, pick up bad habits and potentially leave as they don’t really understand the company and what is expected of them.
To discuss your recruitment strategy for 2017, get in touch with the LHR Team.
