One common problem many business owners have is recruiting and training the right people.
The team you build around you in your business is critical in determining how well it runs. Whether you are hiring an apprentice, a full time or part-time member of staff, you will have to spend time and money recruiting that person, so you need to make sure that you have a good recruitment process in place.
Here are some tips to ensure a smooth recruitment process:
1. Review your current recruitment process
Before you start the recruitment process, there are a couple of things you must consider. Firstly, is this your first employee? If so, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the basic HR requirements for taking on a team member – or better still, speak with a HR consultant and get them on board!
If you already have a team, take a moment to consider whether you feel that you have been hiring the right people for the right job up until this point. If the answer is no, take some time to review the recruitment process you used for hiring those people. What could you have done differently? If the answer is yes, then either you’re doing something right, or you’ve got lucky – hopefully it’s the former! But either way, it’s a good idea to take a moment to reflect on your current process to see where improvements can be made.
- Be clear on what the role is
You don’t have to list every responsibility in the job advert, but make sure that you have it written down so that you can share the details with your applicants during the interview process. If they have KPIs or targets to reach, make sure that you share this with them, including deadlines. Give details of any systems or software they will be required to use
- Be clear on the location and hours
As well as the responsibilities within the role, be clear on how you want the role to be worked. Now more than ever employees are looking for flexibility. Whether that is full remote working, half office and half remote or flexible working hours, make sure that you decide what is needed beforehand and explain this clearly to applicants to manage expectations.
- Decide on the selection criteria
Who will be shortlisting the applications? If you have a team, is there someone you could delegate this task to? If not, speak to a recruitment company to see if they can offer this service if your time is limited. Whoever is doing the shortlisting, make sure that you are clear on what the criteria is for inviting people for an interview. For example, do they need a certain number of years of experience in a similar role? Do they need to have experience with a particular system?
- Have a clear interview structure
Decide whether you will have several stages for the interviews. For example, you may want to hold initial interviews over the phone, or video call, then perhaps a second interview face to face to get to know them a bit better. Whatever you decide, make sure that you have a structure for each interview. Are there certain questions you need to ask which are specific to your industry or company? Asking for applicants to provide examples of when they have solved a problem or performed well in the past is also a good way to learn about their skills, experience, and ability to handle situations.
- Is there an assessment needed?
For certain roles, you might need applicants to complete a test or assessment – make sure you are clear on what you are asking them to do and be transparent – share this with them from the start so they know what to expect.
- Have an onboarding/induction period
An induction period ensures that the new employee has time to settle in. Yes, they might have used the same systems or equipment in their previous role, but all businesses operate in different ways and a new employee will need time to understand your internal processes as well as how you, as the business owner likes to work. If you have a team, it is a good idea to ‘buddy’ new starters with another team member, so they can shadow them and ask questions for the first couple of weeks.
- Hold regular reviews
Many companies have annual appraisals, but what about quarterly ‘check-ins’? Meeting with your team quarterly in a more informal way ensures that your team are kept on track with the company’s goals through the year. It also encourages open communication and feedback from both sides, creating a more trusting, honest environment, and ultimately a more engaged team.
You might find it useful to check out some of our other blogs on Improving and motivation and Team engagement and the Top qualities to improve your leadership style.
