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Recruiting takes time. Here are three ways guaranteed to save you time and money when you next need to take on a new team member.
Plan your resourcing needs in advance.
Many organisations are caught out by ‘surprise’, staff resignations. This results in a knee-jerk reaction to reach for the recruitment agency phone number and (usually) pay overinflated fees for a short notice replacement. Often your best new recruit for the role will already be working with you. Internal promotion or secondment even for a trial period can prove a less costly way to filling the role and developing your staff. Extra staff motivation comes as an additional bonus.
Stop asking for CVs.
CVs are the least effective way to screen candidates. Recent research has revealed that nearly two-thirds (63%) of CVs contain lies. CVs take ages to read and are at best just a list of skills. Other research has revealed that third of people embellish or exaggerate their academic qualifications when applying for jobs. A more robust solutions is to use an online process where candidates complete a set (no more than three) simple competency (or experience) based application form.
Remember to keep it short, and ask questions that are pertinent to the skills and behaviours you need for success in the role. Motivated candidates will tend to give you a full answer, time wasters and inappropriate candidates will not bother to complete the questions and self-select out of the process – saving you that job.
Use some employee profiling questionnaires.
Conservative estimates put the cost of recruiting the wrong employee at 200% of salary. The best (i.e. the most robust and objective) way to get behind the CV and interview is to invest in some robust personality profiling. Don’t miss a trick and think this is a cost. Smart businesses know this is an investment. You’re investing resources into getting the most robust and objective information about a candidate. Robust information about a candidate enables you to make more robust selection decisions. The cost of a personality test for the final candidates is minuscule when compared to the costs (financial and otherwise) of finding out you got it wrong – and after the employee has already started working for you.
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