Ideas for building a fab recruitment process - The Cultivated Management Newsletter
Hi and welcome to this week's Cultivated Management Newsletter.
There's no book of the week this week as I've got an extended newsletter with a full blown post in it. It's a post with high level ideas for quickly building a great recruitment process. Many of you have asked me to write more about hiring. So I will.
Before that though, I'd like to remind you that I'm running a Communication Workshop in Winchester on January 28th - you can find out more here.
A quick set of ideas for building good hiring processes
Hiring is probably the most potent strategy you can employ to achieve business success. Surrounding yourself with the right people will make your job easier. If you create the right environment, treat people like people and hire well you'll not only get the right results, but you should also enjoy the journey. It all starts with the job advert. Even if you headhunt or source candidates directly the job advert is a useful tool.
Job Adverts
Writing compelling job posts and you'll likely get better candidates.
The Purpose of the Job
Job adverts should explain the purpose of the job.
Why does the job exist?
What problems does this hire solve?
If it's not possible to explain the purpose of the job it may be that more clarity is needed about the role. It should be an alarm bell. If clarity over the role is not forthcoming then hiring someone will lead to an unclear role and mis-aligned expectations.
Use simple language and avoid using jargon
Not everyone will understand business jargon. Maybe they should know jargon given they are applying within the industry, but consider that many companies call the same concept many different terms.
A simple advert, using simple language, shows the candidate that clarity about the role and expectations exists - this is a good thing.
Try not to use obscure terms and language like Rock Star and Legend etc. They may be emotional and impactful but they are mostly useless for SEO or even clearly explaining the role. Some people like job titles like that, most just want to know what's involved.
Focus on website user experience
Websites and job sites should be optimised for mobile experience. Many people are using mobile for job searching. It would be a shame for the advert to be found but be unreadable.
Offer a quick way for people to join the talent network (mailing list or social feed) so they can stay informed of future jobs and what it is like to work at the company.
Avoid friction in filling in applications or finding mailing addresses. This is especially so if they are on a mobile device.
Adverts out of the way - now it's all about creating a wow experience.
Focus on candidate experience
From first contact to offer/rejection focus on the candidate.
First impressions matter and candidates will look for ways to confirm their first impressions (either good or bad).
At all points through a candidates journey their needs and wishes should be accommodated where relevant and reasonable. This is important because if someone doesn't get the job it's entirely possible they will still rave about the company. I see this a lot but only if the impression is good.
Sell the company
The job application and interview process is a two-way activity. The company are being assessed as much as the candidate is.
Talented people have options and other companies vying for them. Make the offer compelling and the experience pleasant and the chances are high they will accept. Treat them with respect.
Social Media
Include social media links in the adverts and fill that media with videos, photos and other content.
Create a media pack for new applicants and agencies that gives details of social initiatives and who's who on social media.
Train Hiring Managers
All managers/interviewers should know what can and cannot be said in interviews. There are some questions that contravene local laws. Find out what they are and educate managers.
Train managers/interviewers on how to ask good quality questions. Good questions usually lead to good answers. Poor questions waste time and alienate candidates.
Behavioural and Values related questions are great for interviews, as long as they are targetted around the candidate and the purpose of the role. Far out questions unrelated to the role can waste valuable time.
All hiring managers should be hiring people who resonate with the company values. It's much easier to find people who share the same set of values than it is to try and mash people with different values together. At the end of the day, people will do what they default to, so find people who's default values and principles are in line with your company's.
Good Process
Try to measure the cycle time of candidates through the process from first contact to offer/rejection. It doesn't matter what this time is as long as the goal is set to improve it. Good people don't hang around.
Put in place filters to filter out those who just want a "job" and those who want a career with you. Phone interviews are the simplest form of this. Exercises and challenges can also work. A surprising number of people won't put in the extra effort to get a job.
Single day interviews should be standard. It's a big ask for many people to take multiple days off to attend interviews. Good people have options and someone else will be doing their interview process in a single day.
Do group interviews to avoid group think or individual bias. 3-5 people covering different sections of the interview (domain experience, team fit, values/HR) is a good strategy. At least one of these attendees should be from a different department. It also avoids individuals making hire/no hire decisions on their own. This has "disaster" written all over it.
Be sure the interview still flows when broken in to sections, bring everyone back together for review as whole after and don't overwhelm the candidate. Of course, invite the right people to interview.
Keep records of the interviews as a matter of good practice and store these against the candidate record for reference should any disputes or queries arise. It's also generally useful for future reference.
Who was in it?
What questions were asked?
Why did we accept/reject the candidate?
What happened in the group discussion after the interview?
What decision was made and on what evidence?
This process will slow down recruitment because it is thorough and professional and it will make it more expensive in terms of effort and time. But it will raise the bar. Hiring the right people first time is worth this cost.
Of course, there are many ways to hire. Above are some ideas I've experienced. Don't be afradid to experiment though and try to improve the process over time.
I do hope this helps.
Until next time
Rob..