If your small business is growing, chances are you’re going to need some new blood. Starting searching for your ideal candidate might be daunting. How do you know that you are getting the best person available? You might have concerns about investing in an individual, entrusting them with responsibility, and then it coming back on you if your new employee lets you down. Getting it wrong can come at a cost. And then there are lots of regulations surrounding employment that you need to think of too.
There are many sources of recruitment. Some involve managing the entire process yourself; others take away the stress of a great deal of the work. How much control you feel you need to have over the process should determine your choice of recruitment technique.
Posting.
The first stage in any recruitment process is posting the vacancy. The most significant response you are likely to get is online; if your business has a large social media following, this is an excellent place to start promoting your vacancy.
You might also want to consider a broad range of recruitment websites. Check out their reach and popularity when it comes to deciding who to use. Some recruitment consultants will take on this process for you if you plan to use them at the later stages of candidate selection.
Whichever route you chose to promote the vacancy, be clear about the specifics of the job. Let potential applicants know the contracted hours, and any shift patterns involved. Try to get as much detail about what the job will entail. And, most importantly, try to describe the skills that the successful applicant will need to have. Putting all of this information at this stage will minimize the number of unsuitable candidates. Include perks of the job too so that you incentivize the high-end potentials you may be looking elsewhere for a similar position.
Filtering.
Hopefully, at this stage, you’ll have lots of people to choose from. And, while it can be time-consuming going through so many applications, it does mean that you are very likely to find the right candidate.
Again, using a recruitment consultant here might not only ease your workload, but they are also experienced at filtering applications for the correct attributes.
Screening.
Once you have whittled your applications down to the best, it’s time to make some screening calls. Having a brief telephone interview can help you gauge an understanding of a person’s motivation for applying. It’s also an excellent chance to get them to go over their career history briefly.
Interviewing.
Picking the best applicants to carry through to a face-to-face interview can be tricky, but once you are at that stage, ask your candidate a series of questions to find out about their experiences. Questions that begin with phrases such as: “Tell me about a time when you…” are beneficial in finding out how the applicant works and applies logic.
Trialling.
When you have your applicants down to the last two or three people, you may want to consider a short work trial so that you can see how they act in the workplace, and the level at which they can complete any task you set.
