Like so many other areas of good business management getting the right plan in place for management of your human resources can increase profits dramatically if implemented correctly. Getting the right equipment for the job is accepted as essential if consistent quality production is to be maintained and it is with this same philosophy recruiting the right people into your organisation should be viewed.
This applies particularly to business sectors where we often hire fewer permanent employees but seem to have an endless parade of casual employees. Can we improve this situation by having a better plan? Yes!
The Mindshop recruitment process has been tested over many years, in a variety of industries and companies. It provides a simple yet comprehensive system for farm businesses to get the right people the first time. Consider the following: –
Person Specification
What type of person are you seeking? Do they need to be innovative, responsible, good with machinery or stock, or self-motivated? How will you test this at the interview?
Advertise
How are you going to attract the best applicants and discourage inappropriate ones? How can you use the advertisement to encourage your existing employees rather than de-motivate them? If you are not formally advertising then develop a statement that explains the sort of person you require and the qualities they must have. This is better then asking around the pub if anyone knows of anyone looking for work!
Interview Project
A way of minimising the risk of a recruitment mistake is to get the final applicants to undertake a project. An applicant for a storeman’s position can demonstrate their skills in the loading docks.
Reference Check
No one produces a reference or a referee that does not say what the applicant wants it/them to say. How can you use the reference check to find out the truth about the applicant?
Induction
Don’t throw your new employee into the deep end. Induction maximises the start up performance of a new employee. A little planning and a simple checklist is all that is needed.
The key to finding the best person is locating the person with the most appropriate core values. An advertisement in a USA paper for hotel said we don’t train our people to be nice we just hire nice people.
There is an imperative to bring out the core values of an applicant however in doing this through the normal recruitment process’s can create a number of traps
Solo Recruiting
Too often people recruit on their own. It’s very difficult to manage your own performance, plus, watch the reactions of the person you are interviewing. Never recruit on your own.
Lack of Preparation
People never make the time to effectively prepare for their recruitment interview. Part of the reason for this, is that they have done so many before, they have tricked themselves into believing they are good at it. Preparation is the key to success in any business activity, particularly recruitment.
Halo Effect
This occurs when your applicant makes mention of something you feel good about. Perhaps they are a member of a similar sporting club or group to you. As soon as you hear this common ground, then everything they say is biased in your mind. Be careful about the halo effect, it can lead you astray!
Lack of Follow Up
Too often, people ignore some of the basic business requirements of reference checking, offer letters and induction. The follow up in a recruitment process is as important as the initial planning and interviewing phase.
People assume that recruitment is an easy process, when in fact, it’s quite difficult to develop the key skills required to be effective in the recruitment process. This is especially hard when you only recruit once in a blue moon. Consider engaging the assistance of a professional to assist you in the process. They will charge a fee but it is usually money well spent.
However, a good system for recruitment coupled with sound implementation will go a long way to giving you the competitive edge that comes with having the right staff.
