Understandably, employers worry about making recruitment mistakes. Many employers turn to professional recruitment consultancies to help them achieve better results, but things don’t always go to plan. However rigorous your recruitment process, errors can be made and potential ‘lemons’ can slip through the net.
So what are the most common mistakes when recruiting either directly or through an agency, and how do you avoid them?
1. Inadequate job descriptions & advertising copy
Bland, generalised or inaccurate descriptions will reduce the chance of attracting the right calibre of candidate for your position, and you will waste time sorting through unqualified applicants. By being more explicit with details and expectations, including key ‘selling points’ and not being too ‘exclusive’ with selection criteria you will filter the candidate pool right from the application stage, ultimately leading to better candidates – and a fast, more effective hiring process.
2. Failure to move quickly enough
Organisations need to plan for the hiring process and make sure key decision makers make time available, and plan for a smooth efficient process. This is where a good consultancy can add real value in taking control of the process and ensuring things happen according to a timeline.
Despite market conditions being favourable to employers currently, there has been no change to the proportion of top talent on the market. They still represent only 10% of the market, and everyone is chasing -them!
If you have taken more than 3 days after an interview to offer or confirm interest, you may have already lost your top candidate!
Do you really want to risk losing all that time and effort and the best talent because you have been side-tracked on something else?
3. Low ball vs paying market rates
Top candidates are generally aware of their own worth. Low ball or non-competitive offers will often ‘switch off’ the interest of good candidates purely based on professional respect, and quite often they will not return to that process, even if a higher offer is made.
4. Only focusing on skills and experience
Immediate, short term vacancies require a very close alignment of experience with the role so the contractor can ‘hit the ground running.’ However for longer term vacancies, organisations that hire the best person based on capability and organisational fit, and then train into the role, achieve more sustained value and a longer term fit.
5. Failure to ‘engage’ at interview
Have a very clear ‘value proposition’ for working with your team and organisation, and consider developing a publicly available ‘benefits listing’ that clearly articulates this.
6. Failure to engage effectively with a recruiter
To run an effective process, open and timely communication from both sides is important all the way through. Engaging upfront and in-person with a specialist recruiter is crucial. Time invested in building a strong shared understanding will be returned tenfold in the results.
7. Not providing feedback
Best practice is to give a candidate feedback as soon as you are absolutely sure they are not right for the role. Employers who provide detailed feedback portray a transparent and honest culture in their recruitment and selection process.
So, place value and invest the appropriate amount of time into your recruiting processes for the best results. And remember, the best hires are found when companies and recruiters commit to working together in -partnership.
Please contact David Harrington, Director at HorizonOne
Recruitment on 02 6108 4878 or
[email protected]
Level 1, 27 Torrens Street, Braddon
www.horizonone.com.au