A team of good people is the heart of any successful business, but it can be a real challenge to find and hire the best person for any given role.
The market for talent is often intensely competitive and the recruitment process is a series of steps subject to many variables, from ensuring your job ad hits the mark and attracts attention, to picking the top applicants from a stack of CVs, then interviewing, checking references, and selecting your preferred candidate and making the job offer
Get it right and you will have a valuable asset: a person who excels in the position and helps drive and build the company. Get it wrong and you’ll have a new employee who turns out to either not fit the role or the environment, and you’ll either be spending lots of time training and supervising or be working out how best to move the newbie on so you can try again.
Obviously, no employer wants to find themselves in the latter camp, so how can you minimise the errors and ensure your recruitment processes produce dependable results?
This white paper takes a comprehensive look at recruitment, including the reasoning for doing it well and how to succeed in securing (and keeping) the cream of the crop while avoiding the many pitfalls. We’ll also look at adapting to changes in the market and examine how modern tools like social media can make recruitment more efficient and effective.
It seems fairly obvious that every company wants to hire the best people it can, but recruiting top talent takes time and effort
Sure, you could cobble together a job ad, bang it up online, wait for applicants and then select the one you warm to the most, but if you expect to get the best fit for the role and your company, you’re going to need to take a more professional approach. Here are the top reasons for doing recruitment well, whether it’s taking on a part timer to meet new demand or replacing an experienced staff member who’s moving on.
It’s often said that it’s better to hire no one than hire the wrong person. Having an effective recruitment process
means you start with a clear understanding of what the business needs, then you communicate that well to attract quality candidates, and carefully select the one who best meets those requirements.
It’s more than just finding the most talented or qualified people. It’s about getting the right talent for the role and the company; people with the best possible skill-set and the right personality for the team and business. Every stage is important, from defining the job through to interviewing and reference-checking candidates, and the combined effectiveness determines whether your new employee will turn out to be an asset or a liability.
High employee turnover can be a real killer for your company’s long-term prospects, but if your recruitment and selection processes are effective, you will be far more likely to consistently pick people who perform well and remain loyal employees. It’s all about using defined methods and assessments (rather than gut feelings) to identify applicants who will commit to the role and the company’s mission, and then successfully bringing them into the team. If you are regularly losing people within the first 90 days of employment, it’s a clear sign your recruitment practices aren’t up to scratch.
An efficient, frictionless recruitment experience increases the likelihood that new employees will be more engaged and motivated from the get-go, which improves their long-term chance of succeeding in the job and working to build the business. A large 2012 study by the Boston Consulting Group into the relationship between people management and financial performance found that ‘companies adept at recruiting enjoyed 3.5 times the revenue growth and 2.0 times the profit margin of their less-capable peers’. Quite apart from the effect of their own poor performance, hiring the wrong person can create stress and conflict in the team, and suck up management time that could be better spent on developing your people and the business.
Building a team of dependable, motivated employees is best for the bottom line. No one wants to waste all the effort and money to attract, select, and establish new hires only to find they aren’t up to scratch or don’t fit, and you’re faced with retraining them, or worse, back at square one, looking for a replacement. If your recruitment campaigns are consistently good, you’ll be way more likely to get the right person each time and have the confidence you can do so whenever the business needs it.
The recruitment process forms the base for the employment relationship, so having rigorous, transparent procedures that you follow for every new hire reduces the chances of finding yourself in legal wrangles. That means being sure you hire without discrimination or bias, adhering to privacy and human rights regulations, ensuring your new employee is entitled to work in Australia, and that you will provide the minimum pay and conditions set out in the relevant award, registered agreement, or employment legislation. If you and your new employee start off with a clear understanding of the position, each other’s expectations, and rights and responsibilities, you will be less likely to need to take remedial steps or end up offside, which could lead to disciplinary action or even termination (increasing the risk of unfair dismissal claims).
Aside from the legal considerations, robust recruitment practices that are free from potential biases and discrimination helps you create a stronger, more diverse team. This is more than ‘feelgood’ rhetoric or boxticking. A diverse workforce that brings a wide range of perspectives and approaches is proven to be better for business performance and resilience, with improved employee engagement and retention. It could be a balanced gender mix on your board, a variety of ethnicities in your customer service team so customers feel connected to the people who are helping them, or ensuring that you’re not just hiring carbon-copy employees who won’t bring fresh ideas and innovation to your team. Being open to diversity also means you’ll draw from a wider pool of talent and be a far more attractive company to potential employees.
To get the most adept person for any role, you need to take a strategic approach that equally emphasises and integrates each stage of the recruitment process. We call this adopting a ‘recruitment mindset’ that aims to consistently get the most out of your recruitment efforts.
To attract and retain the best professionals, every organisation needs to take workforce planning and talent management seriously. Be strategic and don’t just hire on immediate (reactive) need but also look at hiring people based on what the business will need in the future and a person’s potential. So instead of seeking to replace like with like or only looking at a set of essential skills a candidate needs to get the role, try to hire people who have additional ‘softer skills’, e.g. communication, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, which can really make a long-term difference in your team.
You should also think about where someone could go in the business, what opportunities they have to grow (and help drive your success), which then links in with your wider employee retention strategies. Remember, the best way to recruit a replacement is to not have to recruit a replacement. Treat your people well so they have good reason to stick with you. Obviously, this requires some effort and insight, but if your business is going to stay competitive and flourish, your workforce and long-term recruitment efforts have to grow with it.
In areas with skills shortages, competitive pay rates may not be enough to attract the best talent. Your company needs to build a place that people really want to work and to offer a range of incentives, such as development opportunities, career progression, flexible work arrangements, and other benefits.
Before you start recruiting, take some time to define what you are as a business and the reasons why someone would want to come and work for you. People have different aspirations and commitments so you need to understand them and then see how you can best accommodate them. Building a good company brand that is honest and real is more than just window dressing. If you bring people in promising things the company cannot deliver, they will soon learn the reality of the role, the culture, and their prospects, and will struggle or leave if their expectations don’t match.
Top employees naturally want to learn and grow, so offering career development and learning opportunities is a real plus for candidates. This applies to all companies, regardless of size or sector, and is gold for the business. A casual waiter or bartender can go on and run the floor or manage the cafe or bar. Trade apprentices can get qualified and then go on to run jobs or whole worksites for you. It’s not just about putting people through training courses. Are there mentors and peers within the company who can help with upskilling and providing feedback (and be a nonpartisan listener)? Can you rotate staff and teams so multiple people have broad expertise across the business? If you are bringing in highly-skilled specialists for short-term roles, include a coaching component so your people can learn new skills and the business can retain the knowledge.
There is a lot of conjecture about the value of interviews in predicting a person’s ability to do a job. But they still form an important part of the recruitment process. Emma recommends trying to create a casual atmosphere so the person relaxes and you can get to know them beneath the professional exterior. Everyone is nervous, regardless of experience. However, ensure you have enough structure so once you get past the initial chat, you can objectively compare candidates’ responses and not be overly swayed by any biases.
Always keeping an eye out for talent makes recruitment much easier. Even if you aren’t hiring right now, be aware of good people. If you employ someone great and there are other talented candidates who you can’t offer a job, keep in contact with them. If you meet someone who stands out or you get awesome service somewhere, reach out to that person and connect. Network and find people. There are lots of ways to do this, via social networks etc. You never know, the person you connected with could be looking for a new challenge just as your company needs a new star.
It would be a little simplistic to continue without mentioning recent changes in the labour market.
At the start of 2020, unemployment was relatively low, the economy was buoyant, and talented employees could feel reasonably sure in their positions or that they could shift jobs if they wanted to. But COVID-19 has changed all that. Nothing is as secure. Some regions and sectors have been hit hard while others are experiencing a recovery. Unemployment is high and no one would be willing to bet on when the economy will fully rebound. But because of the uneven impacts of the pandemic and resulting restrictions, there is still a lot of mobility in the labour market as companies adapt to the disruption and reassess the size and shape of their workforces. Being flexible and looking at creative employment solutions is key for both employers and employees. Many talented, experienced people are looking for opportunities in new industries as their regular work has dried up. Your business may not feel confident enough to hire more full-time employees right now, but you may be able to bring in some great people on a casual or contract basis. It’s a good time to explore all possible employment arrangements, including working from home.
Staying flexible also means being smart about keeping your organisation’s goals and strategy current, to use this planning to determine if there are any gaps in your workforce, and to always be on the lookout for talent. The disruption to the economy doesn’t mean employers can overlook their legal obligations though. All employment laws around being fair and reasonable, providing the minimum National Employment Standards, and paying (at least) minimum wages still apply
Recruitment isn’t an exact science. There are many steps in the process and no single step guarantees you’ll attract and select the right candidate. It can also be flawed by any number of errors, whether it’s bias, omission, or over-reliance of one criterion over others. Let’s take a look at the most common recruitment mistakes and ways you can avoid them.
Approaching recruitment haphazardly can really hamper the results. You may have a great role that many talented people apply for but then make mistakes due to a messy interview process or random candidate selection. The trick is using all the steps together consistently to get the best outcome. Be aware of the pros and cons of each phase, so you know where you might discount or endorse someone incorrectly. The pros of one step should mitigate the cons of another. A structured approach is also much easier to implement, which means it is easier to analyse and improve upon next time. Remember too, that you will have way more unsuccessful candidates than successful, and if they have a bad experience, that will damage your reputation. Be organised when they show up. Uphold any time commitments you make. Communicate proactively with all the candidates, so they are informed of progress.
Starting recruitment with a job description that doesn’t accurately define the work you need done is a really basic error. Many people don’t take the time up front to determine the current and future needs of the company and role, and then let the recruitment process shape the position. Everything flows from having a clear view of the job, tasks, and your expectations. Ask yourself what you’re recruiting for? An accurate, honest job description will keep you focused on the sort of person, skills, and qualifications you need. It will also mean potential candidates know exactly what they are applying for, which will help attract the right sorts of people. But there is a balance to be struck. You don’t want the job description to be so detailed and granular that it’s hard to understand and the purpose of the role gets confused.
In seeking to attract the cream of the crop, it can be tempting to aggrandise the position or promise more opportunities than there actually are. It won’t take long for your new hire to find out whether the role is more limited (or more demanding) than they were expecting, or if any promised likelihood of advancement or bonuses were exaggerated. Any mismatch in expectations can cause a sharp loss of focus and motivation or start the person looking for work elsewhere. Again, the work you do in defining the job will help clarify what you need from a candidate and what you can offer them.
Some employers spend hours pouring over CVs, analysing and comparing details. Others may take all the glowing praise of referees literally. CVs really aren’t that accurate at predicting a candidate’s suitability for the role; it’s easy to embellish or make up details, and it’s hard to verify any claims made. We recommend sorting quickly through CVs to create a short list. Look for consistency, alignment with your needs, quality formatting, grammar and spelling. Compare them to LinkedIn (or other social media) profiles. If any achievements look too good to be true, flag them for checking later. Use referees to supplement the information you collect during the interview and selection process. We all choose referees because we know they’ll paint us in a favourable light. When talking to referees, ask about strengths and any development needs to help get a fuller picture of the person.
Interviews are an important chance to meet candidates, get a feel for their abilities and personalities, and hone in on their background, insights, and motivations. But too often they can be variable, vague, or overbearing. Interviewing is a skill that needs to be approached with preparation and structure. You’re not sitting down for a cozy chat but nor is it an inquisition. Try to create a relaxed but purposeful atmosphere. Have basic set questions so you can compare responses. Also have some curly or unusual ones that require thought, self-reflection, and creativity to answer so you can get some detail about what a person has previously done, what they’re good at, areas for development etc. Don’t do all the talking or use questions that leave candidates with little room to discuss themselves or their skills. You need more than ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers. A good rule of thumb is to have the candidate speak for 80% of the interview. Remember, some people are better than others in an interview situation and this isn’t always a fail-safe predictor of their ability to do a job (e.g. research shows narcissists do well in interviews, but you wouldn’t necessarily want one in your team).
By this stage in the process, recruiters usually develop a sense of which candidate(s) they prefer. But paying too much heed to ‘gut feelings’ can lead to hiring mistakes. We like to think we’re rational and balanced thinkers but our intuition is usually informed by a lot of things, including unconscious biases and social preferences. So instead of looking objectively at candidates, you can end up narrowing it down to those who share your background, ethnicity, age, gender etc. (also known as the ‘like me’ bias). To balance your intuition, include a range of assessments that give you some concrete results, like psychometric tests and work samples. If you’re still in doubt, step back and get someone you trust in the business to give you a second opinion. Having them review the information or join you for interviews could really clarify things.
There’s no reason to assume the best candidates aren’t already working with you, but plenty of people overlook existing employees to cast their net in the wider market. Quite apart from the time — and cost — savings, filling roles internally means the person is already part of the team, understands your company’s culture, processes, and mission, and is likely to get up to speed in the new role faster than a brand new hire. Promoting and training up your own team members is good for wider morale and team spirit, as it clearly demonstrates career progression and trust. It also helps you retain any intellectual capital that you’d lose if the person left.
We all know the one about the prince or princess who waited for their perfect match and ended up forever spouseless. It happens in recruiting, too. While there is little point in filling a role with someone you don’t expect to succeed, keeping the vacancy open indefinitely can put strain on you, your team, and the company. If you’re having trouble finding someone after advertising a couple of times, it is probably time to check if your expectations about the role, the market, and pay rates are realistic. If you’re not getting the calibre of person you want, either you’re not positioning the role right, you’re not offering sufficient incentives (not just remuneration), or there’s something else going on that makes your organisation unattractive.
Of course, recruiting is about filling an immediate gap in the team. But don’t make the mistake of discounting the wider, long term picture. Just as you want people to grow into invaluable employees that help drive your business, people want to develop and grow. Again, this speaks to the defining work you need to do up-front, so the role is informed by your company’s strategy and vision. A new hire that leaves after a short time will ultimately cost your business time and money in lost productivity and low motivation, and you’ll also be back recruiting again.
Nothing sets a new recruit up for failure quite like cutting them adrift as soon as they’re hired. Once you have offered someone a job, communicating poorly (or not at all) only serves to create doubt and uncertainty about their decision. Instead, see it as part of the recruitment process that starts with the job design and ends when the new employee’s onboarding (induction) is complete. Don’t wait until after they start to provide them with an employment contract. Give them any important company policies or documents to review before their first day. There may also be tools or programs that they can get familiar with.
When the person arrives for work the first time, ensure you are totally ready. Be there to meet them and spend time with them. It may sound cheesy, but a buddy can help the new person with all the unofficial, cultural practices in the organisation and provide a safe person to ask questions. It typically takes a new hire around 3 months to become fully integrated into the team and hit their straps in a role. If you’re experiencing any employee churn in those first 90 days, then you probably need to brush up your recruitment practices.
You are simply trying to identify the best potential candidates for your organisation and quickly get rid of those who don’t fit your needs. CV screening is an imprecise process. CVs are very easy to ‘dress-up’, the truth is easily stretched and a piece of paper doesn’t really tell you much about a person. For this reason you must be prepared for a decent interview process once you have identified your candidates. A CV that ticks all, or most, of these boxes could be the sign of a candidate worth interviewing. A CV that doesn’t should be binned. Make sure you act on a good CV — even in a tight job market, a good candidate will have a number of options available to them. Don’t lose good talent. Simple!
The CV's you select should tick as many of these boxes as possible, in priority order:
Skills, education & experience relevant to your job
Stable job history
Concise, well-formatted and easy to follow (2–3 pages)
No spelling mistakes or grammatical errors
No unexplained gaps
Targeting the needs of your job: relevant
Legal right to work in Australia
Check again: skills, education & experience
Why are you interested in this position and what was your motivation for applying?
Tell me what you know about our company, our industry and this position.
What accomplishments in your current (or most recent position) are you most proud of? Explain why.
Outline the duties that take up most of your time in your current (or most recent) position. What are the top 3 things that you are measured on?
Tell me what you like best and least about your current position and why.
Why did you (or why are you planning to) leave?
Who has been your favourite manager in your career so far?
Why did you like working for them?
What is your ultimate career aspiration?
How do you hope this position will contribute to your aspirations?
Give me an example of when you exceeded a sales target. What was the target? How much did you beat it by? What do you attribute to this success?
Tell me about a time when you converted a particularly difficult client. What did you do to turn them around? How long did it take? Would you do anything differently next time?
Explain how you would go about identifying potential clients for our company and connecting with them in order to make a sale.
Describe what you would consider to be the unique selling points of our product / services. How would you emphasise these to help grow our sales?
If you were successful in securing this position when would you be able to start? What is your current notice period?
Do you have any pre-arranged leave we would need to factor in if you were offered this position?
Are you constrained by any restraint of trade clauses in your current employment contract that may affect this position?
Safety is very important to us. Do you have any medical conditions or injuries we should be aware of and which may affect your ability to perform this job adequately and safely? If so what are they and what can we do to help keep you safe?
What base salary and benefits package are you seeking?
Do you have any questions for me?
Plenty of companies are happy handling recruitment themselves and approach it in quite a traditional way: advertise the role, shortlist candidates, then interview and reference check before selecting the new hire.
This may get good results, but it’s time consuming, and there are a lot of tools and support out there to streamline and hone the process. Engaging a recruitment consultant is one obvious option. While small business owners might rule it out on cost, a good recruitment professional will provide value for money, save you time and hassle, as well reaching a wider pool of candidates. Software and other cloud-based technology can bring many benefits by automating administration tasks, and speeding up the screening, interview, and response processes.
Technology can also help with onboarding and managing the ongoing employment relationship and individual performance. But remember, no matter how helpful the technology may be, it’s still not a cure-all. Human interaction is best at authentically connecting with candidates, building relationships, and bringing a new person into the company. Technology needs to work seamlessly with your people processes. You want to bring good candidates in, provide a painless recruitment experience that leaves the successful applicant and unsuccessful candidates with a good impression.
Over the past decade, social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have grown from being systems for private communication and connection into being powerful commercial tools. Many companies are profiting from the sales and marketing opportunities social networks present, but not all of them are using them to amplify and hone their recruitment efforts. Most people across age groups (not just young people) are active on social media and are using it to search for jobs and check out potential employers. While the more traditional recruitment strategies, e.g. posting on job boards, in newspapers, and at employment offices, are still effective and valuable, social media offers many benefits and efficiencies in helping you find and hire new talent.
‘Social recruiting’ (as it’s known) can be active or passive, and each social platform has strengths and weaknesses and appeals to different groups, ages, and professions. Get familiar with the various networks, their features and products, and tailor your recruitment efforts accordingly.
Cheaper and more responsive than traditional channels.
Attract better talent.
Reach people who aren’t actively looking for a job (passive candidates).
Build a large, high-quality talent pool.
Quickly narrow the candidate pool and find people with certain qualifications or skill-sets.
Learn more about applicants’ backgrounds, personalities, and fit for the business.
Build two-way communication with potential employees.
Increased employer brand and recognition, providing insight into the company, its mission, values, and culture.
Requires ongoing effort to do well.
Need to develop a dedicated strategy on what to post and when.
Learn how to use each network and any advanced features, e.g. LinkedIn Advanced People Search, Facebook’s Graph search.
Tailor your message to the right individuals.
Take candidates profiles with a grain of salt (it’s easy to look good on social media).
Create a smooth application experience with as few steps from the job post to completion as possible.
Think mobile first - most people apply for jobs on mobile, while on the bus etc.
Get your employees involved to help promote job vacancies and the company.
Be up front about any use of social media in the selection process (consider developing a procedure that complies with the Human Rights Act).
Measure and analyse your results and update your strategies accordingly.
Be genuine and creative to stand out for the right reasons.
Many candidates will go and look at your company’s social media pages to get a sense of who you are, what you’re up to, and whether they would be a good fit for the company culture and brand. Having active social media feeds with a range of content and tone will help you attract the right sort of people, especially younger people, who want to feel connected and aligned with their employers. Be mindful though; people are busy, social networks can be unforgiving spaces, and information is easily shared. Your social media presence should be coordinated, purposeful, engaging and honest. Aimless or poorly executed social posts could do your reputation and appeal to potential employees a lot more harm than good.
Based on your criteria, figure out what your actual talent pool looks like and how many people exist within that. This will give you your total addressable talent market.
Once you have your total addressable talent market then you need to understand who your strong leads are and who you need to ‘warm up’. Your strong leads could be people that have applied to your organisation before or who may be following your company page(s). Those that you need to warm up may not have any connection to your organisation and will likely become your longer-term talent pool.
Contact these people. Express interest in their background and explain that you would like to tell them all about your organisation and give them the opportunity to learn. Be sure to keep these conversations high level, inspirational and ideally more about you than them. Be clear about your intentions and be open.
Is the person interested in moving forward to a recruitment process? Are they happy where they are but open to future opportunities? Did you identify a red flag or misalignment therefore they are unlikely to be a fit for your organisation?
If successful in this, you will have opened up top talent that was not actively looking for a job in your organisation. You will also have built a pipeline of future talent — be sure to have regular touch points with these individuals.
