Attracting applicants
Attracting the right applicants requires an all-round approach. Some steps to consider are: Review your online presence, revisit your “work for us” content and be seen where your ideal candidates are seen.
Business plan
Workforce planning is an important part of any wider business plan and is a good first step in any recruitment strategy. Your workforce plan can highlight skills gaps and opportunities for training or internal promotions.
Company culture
Company culture can be a big pull for candidates, and you will also want to know that your new-hire will fit in well with yours. Communicate your company culture and core values by including them in your job description and interviews.
Data protection
Processing the data of EU citizens currently falls under the General Data Protection Rule (GDPR) and the handling of personal data needs to be compliant throughout your recruitment process. GDPR can be complex, ask us if you are unsure.
Employment contracts
Providing each new-hire with the right employment contract is crucial when it comes to protecting your business. Make sure you use the right contract for the right role and at the right time. You can be taken to an employment tribunal if you don’t.
Flexible working
Flexible working is a hot topic and a desired benefit of many job seekers in 2019. Could flexible working widen the net of your recruitment strategy?
Ghosting
Being ‘ghosted’ is the modern-day equivalent of being stood-up. In a job-seekers’ market, that cold feeling of rejection usually associated with online dating is becoming a common occurrence for companies who are hiring. Read our top tips on how to reduce the risk of being ghosted.
Headhunting
Headhunting can be a good way to attract your preferred calibre of employees. Just be sure to approach the process with caution and respect the confidentiality of your prospects. Steps one and two should involve research and rapport.
Interviews
An interview will give you dedicated time with a candidate so that you can both discuss suitability for the role. To get the most out of this time, it is wise to do some interview prep to avoid repetition or missing out on important questions to check that the candidate really has the right knowledge, skills and attitude to do the job.
Consider the location of your interview too, does it give a good first impression of your business?
Job descriptions
Both a good job description and person specification are essential when it comes to being clear about the role and the person you want to fill it. Consider the title and keywords that you are using to advertise your role. Check out the competition too, is your offering as attractive as theirs?
Knowledge
Make sure they have the right knowledge for the role, but also have you found a way to train and share knowledge across the team so that if someone is away work does not grind to a halt?
Legal bit
Legal protection for candidates starts with your job advert. Is your process up to date and compliant for the likes of anti-discrimination, right to work or criminal record checks?
Medical
Enquiring about a candidate’s health before offering them a job could fall within the lines of discrimination under Employment Equality Acts 1998–2015. There are few instances where it would be suitable to ask, for example if the job comes with an occupational requirement.
NDAs (Non-disclosure agreement)
Asking candidates to sign an NDA during your recruitment process can help to protect sensitive information and the confidentiality of your business. The question here is, do you need one?
Some candidates can find this off putting and NDA’s have come under scrutiny in recent high-profile harassment cases. If you are unsure about NDAs, ask us.
Offering the job
When you have found the ideal candidate for your role it’s time to make them a job offer, great!
If you have already discussed salary expectations and employee benefits with your candidate, the process is likely to continue as expected. If you haven’t, you may want to keep your options open or prepare for the possibility of a counter offer.
Psychometric Assessments
Are a useful tool to help you make the most informed decisions about hiring new employees. An ISO certified behavioural assessment will help you to understand the behavioural tendencies of your short-listed candidates, how they are likely to react in a given situation, such as Reaction to Stress, for example. What motivates them, and are they process or people people?
Questions
Your questions should tell you enough but not too much. There’s an obvious need to avoid subjects that could breach equality law (see protected grounds under the Employment Equality Acts 1998–2015). And it’s also wise to steer clear of contentious subjects like politics or pressing for answers too vehemently. Their questions will tell you how much they have thought about the role, be wary of those inquisitive about sick entitlements.
References
Candidates often lie on CV’s. We recommend that you include reference checks as part of your recruitment process to corroborate the skills and experience submitted. To do this it’s best to have a policy in place to make the process legal and fair.
Salary
Legally you must pay your employees at least the national minimum wage. It would be fair to pay your employees an affordable salary based on their skills, experience and the work entailed. Consider salary at the very start of recruitment to ensure that you have the budget required.
Telephone interviews
If you have received a substantial amount of applications for your vacancy, telephone interviews are a good way to shortlist candidates before holding face to face interviews. Plan your questions ahead of time and give a dedicated amount of time for each one to be answered.
Unconscious bias
Unconscious bias, through affinity, can influence your recruitment decisions. It’s important to be aware of it and justify your decisions with facts and evidence to avoid discrimination.
Vetting
If your business works with the vulnerable, children or the elderly for example, you will need to know about Garda vetting. Where references give you a basic and recent history of candidates, Garda vetting provides a more thorough record check.
Which employment status?
When bringing a new-hire into your business you’ll need to know which employment status they need. There is an official code of practice for determining the correct status and getting it wrong can be a costly mistake. Ask us if you have questions about employment status.
Xmas and seasonal staff
To be well prepared for busy periods you may wish to consider hiring seasonal staff. Our advice would be to give yourself plenty of time with this. Planning your seasonal recruitment strategy in advance will not only provide you with more time for training temps, but also broaden your opportunities. Read more on our top tips on recruiting seasonal staff.
Your rights
Ultimately it is your decision as to who you choose to hire for your business. But your recruitment process does fall subject to employment law. Be fair to your business and candidates by introducing a recruitment policy, detailing the how’s and whys of your process.
Zero hours
The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which is due to commence in March 2019, prohibits the use of zero hours contracts except under very specific circumstances. Are you prepared for the new bill? Contact your local HR Dept for advice.
