By John Viktorin and Lee Downs
Recruitment and selection is one of the most fundamental parts of the HR professional’s job. And it’s an evolving function—in many organizations, internal HR resources are now taking more of an oversight role in sourcing and hiring talent, or only becoming an integral part of the final decision making process after it is almost complete.
HRPA’s Recruitment and Selection PD in a Box workshop covers the seven features of a successful recruitment and selection program, and helps you create or adapt an existing program by providing the tools you need to get the job done.
This article provides a brief overview of the workshop materials.
Defining Recruitment and Selection
Recruitment is the sum of the various methods that an organization uses to help it establish and connect with a pool of candidates. Selection is the act of choosing and hiring the individual who best meets the technical requirements and culture fit of your organization.
There are some starting points that can ensure a successful recruitment and selection program: focus as much on culture fit as with a candidate’s technical skills; build relationships with potential employees before they’re needed; and place yourselves into potential hires’ shoes to fully understand their drivers and needs.
Ultimately, recruitment and selection is about finding, wooing and hiring the right talent for the job, though the reality is somewhat more complex.
Making ‘a sale’: Recruitment and Selection today and tomorrow
HR professionals need to understand the issues that impact recruitment and selection today. These include:
- How to put ourselves into talents’ shoes while still hiring to our organization’s mission, vision, values and needs.
- The trends and demographics of today’s (and tomorrow’s) hiring marketplace.
- Employees want to be challenged at work and they want advancement opportunities.
- Employees want to work for a well-managed organization and have a good relationship with their boss.
- Employees want to feel they are listened to and that they impact organizational decisions. They want to be recognized and rewarded for their contributions.
Enticing good candidates is like making a sale. If you want to sell the candidate on your organization, you better understand their needs and interests.
Four Steps to Recruitment and Selection Success
Recruitment and selection doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Your recruitment and selection program needs to flow out of your staffing strategy, which flows out of your HR strategy, which, in turn, flows out of the organization’s strategy.
The four key components to developing a recruitment and selection program are: Define, Attract, Interview and Select.
‘Define’ asks you to describe where and why you need talent, defining your needs in terms of organizational fit, job requirements and figuring out how you will measure a prospective talent’s fit. To answer these questions, you must answer all the applicable 5Ws + H questions (who, what, when, why, where + how) that you can think of.
‘Attract’ refers to how you will source the talent you need. Utilize your employment brand and decide whether you need to go internally or externally. Profile where you will likely find the talent you need and clarify salary and other compensation issues.
‘Interview’ specifies the process by which you will narrow and interview potential talent. Confirm your selection criteria and any assessment tools you plan to use. Prepare interview guidelines and ensure everyone involved in the interview is informed on these guidelines. Create a shortlist of candidates.
‘Select’ refers to how to choose a candidate and validate that they are the right selection. Involve all stakeholders in the decision-making process. Check references and confirm qualifications. Provide candidates with a realistic job preview so they understand the role that’s being offered to them. Make the offer to the ‘best’ candidate, but keep a positive relationship with all candidates. This is important not only in case the first selection doesn’t work out, but also because it is simple good practice to treat all candidates with respect, including the ones we don’t select. Remember that people talk to one another and it’s important to have positive word-of-mouth about your organization in the hiring marketplace.
Have the right tools in place to face challenging times
The hiring marketplace is difficult today and promises to become more challenging over time. As of this writing, the unemployment rate in Canada is at a 30-year low, hovering around 6 % with some parts of the country at a level of employment some would consider full employment.
Hiring employees is expensive and the talent pool is getting shallower. Being able to make the right hiring choices saves your organization money, and means you’ll have the right talent in the right roles, which leads to better organizational performance.
Lee Downs and John Viktorin are partners in Amoeba Communications a consulting firm that creates communications that engage people and drive performance. They are the go-to team for leaders seeking high impact, high value solutions in four areas: organizational communications, change management, HR communications and leadership communications. You can reach Lee and John at www.engagecanada.com or by calling 416-535-3350.
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