Payroll Software and People Management blog

Top Tips for Increasing Recruitment and Retention Success

Posted by Sage MicrOpay on Tue, Oct 21, 2014 @ 09:00 AM

Newcastle_UKI_100913_0190-cropped-2How can you ensure that you hire the right people, in the right positon, that are suitable for your business? Successful recruitment involves following a process that contains steps for identifying, attracting and hiring the right person.

In this blog, we share a few useful tips for engaging with Recruitment Consultants and increasing your recruitment and retention success.

Allow time in your busy schedule to meet with your Recruitment Consultant

The initial job briefing meeting is the opportunity for you to tell your Recruitment Consultant everything there is to know about your organisation and the role.  Think of it like an interview; make sure you share with your Recruitment Consultant everything they should know about the position, your organisation and the company culture, so that they are able to find the most suitable candidates. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of your own about how the recruitment process works and what is included in the service.

Discuss the candidate screening process with your Recruitment Consultant

Find out the candidate screening process your Recruitment Consultant undertakes for their candidates.  Do they take references during the candidate registration process or only at the offer stage? A best practice guidelines for recruitment recommends that Recruitment Consultants should take at least one reference after they have interviewed a candidate, before your first round interviews begin. A candidate’s resume and interview performance is only part of the picture, references can either support an application or in some cases bring information to light that the Recruitment Consultant was not aware of that might hinder their suitability for the role.

Provide an up to date position description

A good position description in the hiring process is an absolute must. Your Recruitment Consultant will use this to brief the candidate effectively and can send the detailed position description on to interested parties. Candidates can decide if the role is still interesting to them once they see the actual duties and responsibilities on the position description. If it is well written and up to date, it can rule out candidates before the interview who might not be suitable and this will save you time in the interview process.

Agree on a recruitment timeline with your Recruitment Consultant

Plan out a timeline during your job briefing meeting so that you can schedule when your new hire will be on-board and move through the process efficiently and without unnecessary delay. Timelines need to take into account the time taken for all aspects of the process from start to finish.

Remember that the more thorough the hiring process, the more effective and successful the placement will be. Your Recruitment Consultant should be experienced in discussing these timelines with you and giving you an indication of when you can expect to be inducting your new hire.

Be available to discuss your feedback following the first round of interviews

Have an open conversation with your Recruitment Consultant to discuss how the interviews went. Be specific and provide feedback on each candidate interviewed. This will ensure that you only take candidates through to the second round that you are really interested in and will save you time in the long run.

Keep in touch with your Recruitment Consultant during your new hires first three months

They are there to assist you with any concerns that you might have following the placement and act as an intermediary to find out how both yourself as the client and the candidate is getting on. Share your feedback, both positive and negative, so that they can provide valuable aftercare advice as part of the recruitment service.

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Topics: recruitment, people management

Are you fully aware of the cost of a poor hiring decision?

Posted by Sage MicrOpay on Fri, Feb 22, 2013 @ 11:44 AM

CostofPoorHiringDecisionWith Australia’s talent shortage on the mind of most HR and Line Managers today, it is no wonder that employers feel pressure when trying to fill key positions. As such a cost driven exercise often compounded by time constraints, the recruitment process can be rushed and employers can be too focused on technical qualifications and years of experience.

The cost of a poor hiring decision can be so much more than just the salary. It is critical not to overlook key factors such as cultural fit with the team and organisation. A candidate who is a good fit for the organisation and has the potential to excel in a role with some investment in training, is a smart move in today’s employment market and builds loyalty.

A poor hiring decision such as hiring for skills and years of experience alone, at the expense of company fit, can have far reaching effects on damage to culture, morale, productivity and profits, not to mention the hard costs of salary, on-costs, training and induction, recruitment fees and advertising. Loss of revenue and the manager’s down time can mean that a poor hiring decision can cost 3 times the individual’s salary.

To choose the right person for the job, candidate interview practices must comprehensively assess both the eligibility and sustainability of the candidates being considered for a role. The candidate’s eligibility is a match between the role and the candidate’s education, work experience, practical skills and their overall aptitude. A candidate is sustainable if their attitude, motivation, interpersonal skills, task preferences, interests and work environment preferences reflect that of the company.

There are jobs where there will be more emphasis placed on one assessment more than the other, for example it would be more important for a computer programmer to have the eligibility rather than the sustainability, compared to an entry level position such as an office assistant where the emphasis would be on the company fit. Regardless of this, both eligibility and sustainability should be taken into consideration to ensure the right person is selected for the role. 

Now is the time to ensure that your interview and assessment practices are geared towards achieving positive hiring outcomes. 

 

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Topics: recruitment

8 Steps To Recruiting the Right People

Posted by Sage MicrOpay on Wed, Feb 08, 2012 @ 11:10 AM

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Recruiting the right people isn’t always easy as each person has their own unique strengths and weaknesses. However, with the right approach, companies can be successful in recruiting the right employee for your business.

Here are some approaches that are recommendable:

1.  Recruit for attitude, not just skills and experience
    • Give an opportunity to a less experienced candidate who may need some additional training and support initially, but could turn out to be a talented, hardworking, passionate and loyal employee in the long term.
2. Ask the right questions
    • Understand what you need to know from the candidate to assess their suitability for the job, use this to develop questions that will enable you to gain this information.
3.  Be consistent
    • Plan and use a structured question format that you can use to consistently compare all candidates based on the same criteria.
4.  Seek out evidence based answers drawn from past experience
    • Behavioural interview questions will enable you to assess candidate’s competencies drawn from past performance, rather than speculative questions such as “would you” or “could you”.
5.  Be prepared to present the benefits of working for your company
    • Have some selling points ready to demonstrate the benefits of your opportunity. Never assume that the candidate wants the job you have on offer.
6.  Ensure you put the candidate at ease and build rapport quickly
    • Do this so that the candidate is more likely to respond to questioning in an open and honest manner.
7.  Apply the 80/20 rule
    • Ask questions 20% of the time and listen 80% of the time in order to assess the candidate’s competencies and suitability for the job.
8.  Recruit Actively
    • Use a combination of methods for recruiting the right people. Create an employee referral scheme, advertise job boards, utilise social networking mediums such as LinkedIn, maintain a professional network, recruit from relevant colleges and professional associations, and engage a recruitment agency that specialises in your industry.

Despite the ever changing demand and supply within job markets, referring to the handy hints outlined above will support your endeavour to recruit the right person. 

Topics: recruitment, people management