In Ireland, we’re both blessed and cursed to have a low unemployment rate. For businesses, this means that competition for talent is rife. We know that getting the right people to work in the company makes all the difference, yet the means of securing the right person in this environment requires swift recruitment processes that allow you to move quickly.

A natural requirement for business growth is recruitment. Identifying the necessity in the business for an additional resource and then scoping out the role for this person can be a complex, intricate process, and then you have not actually started the hard part; which is finding the right person for your business.

 

Managing the application process

There are numerous ways to source potential candidates; job boards and platforms like LinkedIn, make it easy for smaller businesses to manage their own recruitment, especially if they only recruit occasionally.  But the time and effort required to manage the recruitment process internally may just be worth the recruitment fee of outsourcing this process to an agency, if you recruit on a frequent basis.

 

Best Practice

Recruiting can be an extremely time-consuming process. Firstly, the job description and specs of the role advertised should be clear and should include any qualifications required for the role. Details such as benefits, whether there will be a need to travel should also be stated in the job specification.

Ideally the business should take the time to respond to each applicant to inform them as to whether they have been successful or not. Due to large numbers of applications which can occur, this is not always possible. However, we would recommend that if the company has personally engaged with the candidate in some capacity, be this in a phone interview or during a face to face meeting, a follow up is essential. Ensuring that candidates are well communicated with conveys the culture of the company to candidates who have been unsuccessful in their applications as well as to appointees, and can be influential in word of mouth reports about the company.  This can also impact the response to future recruitment by that company in what is a relatively small and competitive marketplace.

Selecting a candidate

Once you have a short list of the candidates that you would like to see, be clear on the process you want them to follow. Define the steps, and ensure that the people who need to make the decisions are able to attend the critical interviews.

Once you have decided on the candidate to whom you would like to make the offer, get them to sign the contract as soon as possible;  this will then allow you to inform the other candidates that a decision has been made and the chosen candidate will be in a position to make the arrangements necessary to enable them to start their new job.

 

Inducting them into the business

Once the candidate has agreed to the offer and a start date has been confirmed you will need to think about how they can be inducted into the business. Whether it is by the employee welcome pack that they receive on their first day, or whether it is by inviting them to a social event to meet the team prior to their starting, making them feel welcome and excited about joining the team is key.  Once in the workplace, a process of orientation to the business and a brief description of their perceived role in it and introduction to their co-workers in the team can go a long way to facilitating rapid adaptability and subsequent productivity.

 

There is no doubt that securing new employees can be challenging. Having a defined recruitment process helps to move things along rapidly, ensuring that the candidate feels secure in the process. It also ensures that your business gets the desired outcome; benefits from the new talent acquired, and as a result grows in the process. FMI’s recruitment service is built on over 20 years of experience – get in touch today!