Mind the gap - recruitment made easier

Somewhere out there is an operations director who refuses to employ people who wear brown shoes. Another only likes to hire people with Scottish accents. These managers, like many others, need to learn that selection and recruitment is not an area in which to indulge personal prejudices. Choosing the wrong individual for the job can devastate a business. Either the person will leave quickly because they realise they don't fit, forcing you to go through the entire time-consuming and expensive recruitment process again. Or, perhaps worse, you will be saddled with a poor performer who doesn't quite do badly enough to be sacked, but who, nonetheless, holds your company back while the world and your competitors march triumphantly on. So forget gut feeling – it pays to be objective and dispassionate to get selection and recruitment right first time, every time and avoid an expensive, time-wasting repeat of the whole process. Exposing underlying problems The first step in an effective recruitment process is to conduct an exit interview with the person leaving. It is only after they have resigned that many people relax enough to say what they really think and this might expose underlying problems in the company. The next step is to examine the vacancy itself. Is the job necessary at all? If it is, advises Caroline Gumble, executive director at EEF: "Start by examining what talent and succession planning you already have in place. You might have somebody who is not quite ready, but they might be able to take on the role with some extra coaching or development... Sometimes that is quicker than going out to the market and getting an unknown person." But don't assume you're replacing like for like. As Gumble says: "The role has probably changed quite significantly to meet the needs of the business." Whether or not you decide the time is right to redesign the job, you'll need to identify what is required in terms of qualities and competencies (skills, characteristics and abilities). That means putting together a job description. This has nothing to do with the person; it simply describes the tasks and their measurable objectives. So, what is the purpose of the job, what are the key responsibilities that indicate whether the job is being performed successfully, what are the targets the job has to meet, what resources does it have available in terms of hardware and people, who does it report to and for what is it accountable, how much know-how and expertise does it require, what people management skills are required, and what are the financial constraints and responsibilities? Having described the shape of the hole, you now need to find a peg to fit it. This is where the person specification comes in. Gumble explains: "The person specification describes the qualities of the individual. For example, you might have words in there like 'flexible', 'agile', 'can work with ambiguity', 'used to public speaking', if it's a managerial role have 'leadership qualities', and so on." You should specify not only what is desirable, but also the minimum standards acceptable in case the ideal candidate doesn't appear. However, for Gumble, although important, the job description and person specification are less critical than the 'employer brand' of the organisation. She explains: "If you want to attract the right type of people to your business you must have a reputation for being a good employer." Chris Slack of recruitment agency Morgan REM agrees: "An employer brand is important in the local area and in the industry sector… It normally takes two years to start paying back, but you can accelerate it with PR and exhibitions and so on... "Creating a good employer brand differentiates you from others. And, although getting a nationwide employer brand is tough if you're, say, a local injection moulding company, you can do it in the local area and it is certainly worth it in terms of tempting top quality people to your organisation." Employer brand is important Having a strong employer brand will help you attract more of the right candidates. But it is not enough on its own – you also need to make the vacancy known. One common way to do this is to advertise, sometimes in print, but more often digitally nowadays. The advert needs to identify the type of job, the nature of the work (the job's responsibilities and the type of company), where it is, and the terms (fixed term, part-time, or whatever). It should also give an indication of salary, and explain when you want responses and in what form (telephone, CV, application form, or online). If you decide not to advertise the position, you may employ a recruitment agency. Says Slack: "The best way to use recruitment companies is to look for a single trusted source and get them into your factory. Give them a tour so they can see what's required. "Always go with specialism so if somebody only does manufacturing, that's a great start. I would say don't get sucked into using the big boys because they have lots of trainees doing recruitment. Very often the best choice is the owner-managed business where it's not all about sales and it's about the specialism and credibility and, later, getting references and testimonials." For Slack, the most effective way to find a good recruitment agency is through references: "Do the same as you would for a supplier of parts to your factory; there's nothing different just because the product is people. So talk to their customers." Next come selection and recruitment. Our straw poll of around 50 WM?readers (see the boxes on pages 14 and 15) offers clues to how a range of typical factory managers see the selection and recruitment process. Most organisations still rely on interviews, despite the fact that they are one of the most unreliable selection methods. Think about complementing the interview with psychometric testing (tests and exercises to assess attainment, aptitude, ability, intelligence and personality), or an assessment centre (a process, not a place, where candidates perform psychometric tests and exercises which simulate the job including in-tray exercises, group discussions and presentations). People recruit in their own image Interviews can easily become discussions around a particular manager's own prejudices. People tend to recruit in their own image. But, if you have done a good analysis of what you're looking for, you can structure your interview around that to ensure that you are asking the questions that will provide you with the evidence that relates to the requirements of the job. Slack again: "People find it quite arrogant to be interviewed and then asked to accept an offer. It's a two-way street. So it is important to take the time to brief the interviewee on the structure of your company, its history, where it's come from, where it's going, who its competitors are, its strengths, its aims, how this job fits in with those aims, and so on." Graeme Parkins, managing director of Dyer Engineering, explains why it is crucial to get the decision right: "Selection and recruitment is a risky process which needs to be very carefully managed. If you consider you are potentially making a six-figure investment decision to recruit a person, then to merely make the decision on the basis of a one to two-hour interview is not effectively managing the risk. "A capital investment of this magnitude would attract a lot more rigour and scrutiny and I believe recruitment decisions should be considered with similar levels of diligence."