Hiring this year? Here’s what you need to know

Hiring this year. Here is what you need to know

Here’s an article that was published in the latest edition of The Business Journal that I was interviewed for. I’ll be sharing more information on recruitment after tomorrow’s Fife Chamber of Commerce seminar where I am presenting the subject “Recruitment and Selection”.

“People in your business are crucial if you are to achieve your business aims and objectives. Employing the right person is absolutely vital and by doing so you have a greater chance of retaining them. Get it wrong, then you may have to go through the whole process again – time and money I’m sure you’d prefer to spend on other things.

What do you need to do if you’re hiring this year?

First of all, be clear on what the role involves and prepare a job description and person specification. If you’re not sure how to do this, Business Gateway Fife provides a free service to employers and will help you get this right.

Once you know the type of person you want and have finalised the job description, you need to attract candidates. There are various ways in which you can do this – online using various recruitment sites, social media including LinkedIn and Facebook, in the local press or via the Job Centre. You need to think about the type of person you want and where they would be – if it’s an IT related role or management role, then chances are you’ll find them online or on LinkedIn.

Now you have received applications, whether it’s CVs or application forms, you then need to sift through these and decide who you would like to meet. The job description and person specification you wrote at the start is what you should refer to – this allows you to match people skills and knowledge and those who don’t have the skills you’re looking for can be rejected.

The next stage is to consider how you will assess their suitability. Is it an interview, assessment centre, role play, group exercise, presentation? Dependent on the type of role, you need to consider what’s the most appropriate selection process for you.

After you’ve selected the person you want, you need to make them an offer and ensure they have a contract of employment. This outlines things such as job title, the rate of pay, when they are paid, holidays, notice period, location and additional clauses such as data protection and any restrictive covenants. You should seek advice on what should go in the contract and you’re obliged to issue this within 8 weeks of the person joining. However, it’s good practice to do so before the person starts – put yourself in the employee’s shoes, would you accept a job without a contract?

You’ve invested time and money through the recruitment process – now you need to give a positive impression when the person joins you. Think about their induction plan, training plan and how you will measure their success. Remember, you want to retain this person – all of this goes a long way to doing so. Set expectations and create a culture where they can ask you questions – they will need support during the first few weeks of employment and it’s important your new employee feels he or she has this.

You know what your business goals and objectives are – share these with your people and ensure they have objectives which are aligned to these. Without them, you won’t achieve what you’ve set out to. Recruit the right people and develop them will help you meet your objectives.”

I hope you enjoyed the article and you can read it online with The Business Journal here along with other great articles for business owners.

If you would like more support on recruitment and other HR related topics, please get in contact.

What are my recruitment costs?

I facilitated a seminar for the Fife Chamber of Commerce today which focused on recruitment and selection. During the seminar we covered recruitment costs, job descriptions and person specs, attraction and advertising methods, the use of agencies, and some selection...