• Angeline Long

Attract, select and recruit the right people

Columnist Angeline Long looks at the process of choosing staff...

So how do you find the right people? Most companies don’t have the budget for recruitment companies, but don’t have the expertise to do it themselves. Here are some tips to help you out...

The first step is to ensure you have a job description that accurately describes the responsibilities and competencies required in the role. Next it’s important to draft an advertisement that initially describes the company, then clearly details the requirements in the role, and what’s in it for them. You can attach a video about your company which can provide a personal touch to your advertising.

Now comes the time consuming part of working through the CVs to determine the best candidates for your role. If there is only one candidate then that’s all you need, you shouldn’t wait till you have a shortlist of three as while you're waiting your preferred candidate may get snapped up. Try to arrange the interviews back to back, for ease of comparison.

The next step is to develop behavioural-based questions with a variety of closed and open questions so that you can gain an understanding of how knowledgeable the candidates are and what examples they can give. Also ensure that you ask what their personal values are as it’s important they are aligned to the companies.  

Having completed the interviews, you can decide what type of testing is appropriate. Personally I believe psychometric testing is most suited to sales roles and senior management and should never be a deciding factor. It should be a way of supporting what you have discovered in the interview process.

Having found your preferred candidate it is important to complete two verbal references with their most recent two direct reports.  If they provide a cell phone we always call the company and ask for the person to confirm that they work for the company and are not some familiar friend.

If the references come back good, then it is important to have a legally compliant Individual Employment Agreement and Letter of Offer.

Once you have brought your new employee on, it is important to ensure they have a good induction.  Having put in all this time and money into the recruitment process your new employee needs to understand the purpose, direction and values of the organisation and how their role contributes to the company’s overall success. 

Angeline Long, HR Executive Solutions 

0275 913 912 www.hrexec.co.nz


Issue 89 July 2018