Hire Right: First Time, Every Time
Martin Nicholson highlights the importance of a robust recruitment approach to make sure your first hire is the right hire.
According to Nerd Wallet’s research the average cost for a recruitment fee in the UK stands at £6,988.80 (average salary x 20% recruitment fee).
Yet as employers we make so many subjective, gut-related decisions and end up hiring badly the first time (and sadly the second and third times too!).
This article is my latest rant to try to ensure, as recruiters, we ACT and hire SAAFE:
S start slow
A advertise appropriately
A attract - be realistic about your chances of attracting the calibre you need
F fast - ensure every stage is slick
E experience - make sure every aspect of it is positive, on both sides
Some context
The estimated number of vacancies in the UK has dropped further to 898,000 for the period February to April 2024.
The unemployment rate has risen to 4.3% for the 3 months to April 2024.
But if we take a look at the chart below (source ONS May 2024) you can see the general trend lines over the past 50 years. Unemployment rates are low and despite peaks in the early 1990s and the 2008 -2012 period they have generally been reducing over the long term.
The fact remains our available workforce will not in the long term meet the needs of our economy. There will in the upturns in the economic cycle be an increasing shortage of talent to meet the demand.
If we are to meet the needs of our respective businesses it is absolutely critical, before we reach the next boom time, to ensure our processes are slick and that we hire right the first time.
So let’s just revisit the pitfalls of getting the process wrong. A bad process can lead to:
A delay in filling critical vacancies and the opportunity cost caused by this, whether that is in sales or customer service or production. If you need the role filled, you need to fill it in as short a time as possible, without lowering your standard of hire;
Hiring the wrong candidate will of course lead to the individual – or the organisation – changing their minds once onboard, and the process needing to be repeated. This can have a serious effect on not only the company performance, but also the morale in the business, as others need to do more to cover the vacancy and for the second time in a short period;
Worse still is finding the individual is right but as a business you have sold the need and the role wrongly. The new starter you thought was perfect thinks otherwise, and walks away. This risk is exacerbated if the whole journey, from attraction through selection and to onboarding, is not seamless and jeopardises their confidence in the organisation;
Consider the cost involved, in unproductive working time, time spent sourcing and selecting candidates, and in managing underperformance. Then add the opportunity cost of a role being unfilled.
So how can you make sure you do hire right first time?
Answer: Start Slow
The real art is in the time it takes to understand the role, its purpose and its main responsibilities. Thereby, you will identify the key skills and experience required to deliver successfully.
If you can create a detailed Job Description and Person Specification, then the chance of filtering unsuitable candidates and narrowing your search quickly and efficiently is maximised. This in turn leads to the right advert representing your employer brand and aids in you selecting fairly and consistently.
Consider the following questions to help guide you to finding the right candidate:
What four attributes do you have to have for the person to be successful?
a. How will you assess those fairly and consistently?
How can you ensure everyone in the recruitment process buys into this approach, and doesn’t become biased to a specific experience, or past experience, that they value personally?
How do you ensure you and other people involved in the selection process are aware of your biases, including the halo and horns effects, gut feel (or intuition bias) and ensure you objectively assess the capability and potential in a candidate?
We can help you navigate your next hire. From the time-intensive initial steps in your recruitment, to a fully comprehensive recruitment package, we have a solution to help you.
And if you are planning to grow your business in the next 6 to 12 months, want to learn how to best achieve the right hires first time, and save yourself in the region of £4,000 each time, then please get in touch for a FREE discovery call.
Martin Nicholson is the Managing Consultant at ProAction HR, providing Human Resources Services to SME businesses in Southampton, Winchester and throughout Hampshire and the adjoining counties.
Co-founder of the Winchester-based HR company, Martin and his team support clients across Hampshire and neighbouring counties, providing HR advice, HR consultancy, and HR services. They cover a broad range of HR solutions, from one-off responsive HR support to a full Human Resources service, along with Learning & Development, Training and Change Management.
“Helping organisations to thrive on the value & uniqueness of their people.”
