Hiring employees: not just a matter of luck

Hiring employees is often a task performed in response to a crisis: you have a vacancy to fill and need someone to fill it fast. A quick call to your advertising agency to design an advert, and the sooner it is published the better. Let's get those CVs flooding in as soon as possible.

Recruitment along these lines is a lot like a lucky dip. If this is your usual way of operating, then you are only able to choose from those few people who happen to be reading the paper the one or two days you can afford to run the adverts. If that is your company's policy, you're probably also relying on the throw of a die when you make other decisions.

All managers involved in the hiring process should develop the skills necessary to make the best possible hiring decisions and then come up with a plan for recruiting the best candidates. Remember, the way you employ could have implications on your company for the next 20 to 30 years.

It takes two to tango

Attracting the right mix of prospective candidates is a lot like the workings of the dating scene - no matter whether your attitude is more conservative or modern. The conventional way is to ask around to see who would be a possible partner, and then try and wangle a third party introduction.

This can be seen as a parallel to headhunting recruits. The modern Ms sets out to market herself, highlighting her positive attributes, maximising the number of potential partners she meets, ensuring she goes where the men are.

She uses contacts to organise blind dates, lets everyone know she is on the market and clearly identifies both her marketable qualities and those she is on the look out for. This can be seen as being a more direct marketing approach.

The dating analogy highlights the two-way aspect indicative of the whole hiring process. You want the right person for the job, they want the best job.

Recruiting is not simply a case of sending out a request, and then seeing who replies. It is actually an intricate strategy during which more than one person orchestrates the approaches, the conversation, and the decisions.

Heard in the hive

The hiring process needs to be addressed within the company's overall annual strategy. After all, your employees are the lifeblood of the organisation, so why wait until you need a transfusion? Your organisation is the flower that needs to attract as many worker bees as possible.

Analyse your successes and failures. Take an objective look at each of your employees, and note how they were employed. Do you operate from an 'it's not what you know, but who you know' policy? It may be time to rethink your hiring strategies to maximise the possibility of finding the right person for the job.

Your reputation?

Recruitment is a two-way street. Just as much as you want to fill a vacancy, job-seekers are on the lookout for somewhere to lay their briefcase.

Potential employees do not only come through replies to vacancy adverts. Any enterprising job seeker is sure to send her CV to companies she is interested in working for, without waiting for you to advertise a vacancy. This interest will not only stem from the match of her qualifications to your professional background and the kind of assignments you handle but will also hinge on your company's image.

It is an open secret that the best jobs are rarely advertised, precisely because prospective employees will either have been head-hunted or will have contacted you themselves. Personal recommendation works both ways: just as you would ask friends and colleagues about prospective candidates, so too will they ask about your organisation.

Are you seen to be a leader in your field, innovative, efficient, with a social conscience? This is one area which should be addressed in your marketing and PR campaigns - not only are you marketing to prospective clients, but also communicating an image of your company to prospective employees.

The green light

So what kind of reputation do you have? It takes an open and frank readiness to look at your organisation. Locally, one major group of companies is reputed to get rid of anyone nearing 50, while another market leader is known to never fire an employee unless they are absolutely left with no alternative.

Take stock of what you are offering employees: is it a windowless cell, isolation, backstabbing and harassment, blood letting as standard?

What about the possibilities of climbing the corporate ladder, training, education and advancement? Do you offer significant salaries and pension benefits? Do you offer a work/life balance? Are you known to send acknowledgement letters? Are they not only matter-of-fact, but also courteous and kind? These are the things that will deter would-be employees who can command a choice of employment.

Get noticed

Apart from advertising vacancies widely, you should also aim to be present during career days at Sixth Forms and on campus. Build up a relationship with head-hunters and, naturally, with Commercial Services Bureau.

On the printed page, your vacancy advert needs to stand out from the crowd, while perfectly reflecting your brand image. It must provide a clear and detailed explanation of the job, giving a real idea of what the position involves; both the good and the bad facets.

Faced with a clear picture of the job, a number of potential candidates may recognise that they would not be a good fit and choose not to apply. Effective job descriptions also enable you to avoid wasting time describing the post during the interview.

The interviews

You need reliable data to assess whether the candidate is a good match with the company's needs.

First prepare a list that will include several kinds of questions. You will try to determine not just the candidate's qualifications, but also their interpersonal skills, manageability, attitudes, values, etc. Does the candidate possess sufficient qualities that equip him or her to have a high likelihood of success?

Of the elements that are missing from the candidate's profile, can you modify the job or provide additional resources to cancel out the down-side of putting that individual in the role? Can any of the person's weaknesses be improved by skills training?

Once you have analysed each CV thoroughly before the interview, you can then formulate a few open-ended questions about some of the accomplishments described, to determine the validity of their claims.

Don't take interviewing skills for granted. They need to be learned and honed like any others. You may not be aware that prejudice could affect both your questions and opinions. You may have a natural tendency to discriminate on the basis of looks, race, gender, age, disability, education and social class.

Taking the dating analogy a step further, the first interview is similar to a first date. Nervousness on either end does not help either side to ask the right questions. Neither do you want to put someone off by using Gestapo interrogation techniques. At the same time, be alert for candidates who seem to be argumentative, cynical, judgmental, blaming or manipulative.

The numbers game

You can assign each candidate a numerical score right after the interview, based on their answers to your previously prepared questions. This will provide you with a simple formula to compare all candidates.

At the same time, don't ignore your gut instincts. If you have a feeling that a strong candidate was not being completely forthcoming in describing why he left his last job, there may well be a real problem with that candidate.

Techniques and tools

What about the use of psychometric tests and graphology to help with evaluation? When you are making very serious, life-changing decisions about people you should use methods with evidence that support the technique.

Employers are looking for tools that can accurately predict a candidate's suitability. In countries like France, between 38 and 93 per cent of companies use graphology in personnel selection, while in the UK and the US the figure is probably closer to five to 10 per cent. However the British Psychological Society ranks graphology alongside astrology, giving them both "zero validity" in determining someone's character.

Psychometric testing has potential value, as long as you use the right tests for the situation. Having your own personnel professionally trained and licensed can be costly. For those organisations which do not hire a high volume of staff, it can be more cost-effective to employ experts as and when there is a need.

Welcome aboard

During the final decision-making process, make sure you check the references of your top candidates. Lastly, if you interview all of the qualified candidates and none of them are up to your standards, it is better to re-advertise the position than accept a candidate with whom you are not completely satisfied.

Hiring the best people involves a lot of work. It is well worth the time invested, however, as your hiring decisions are among the most important decisions you will ever make.

There is too much at stake to go headlong into the relationship and just see what happens.

CSB Recruitment Agency has been supporting the local business community with its services since 1987. For further informa-tion you can write to us at Vincenti Buildings, 14/19 Strait Street, Valletta VLT 08, call us on 2122-5800 or 2124-6543, fax: 2123-0520, e-mail: jobs@vacancycentre.com, or visit www.VacancyCentre.com

Copyright 2004, Commercial Services Bureau (CSB) Ltd