S7 E1 Recruitment 101- 4 part series - Engaging Your People For Success with Lisa Askwith

Lisa Askwith- Engaging Your People for Success

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Recruitment 101- 4 part series

​1-   Set up your playing field for recruitment success.
2-   Build your recruitment structure- roles and responsibilities, key questions
3-   The Perfect Interview- Situational questions, flow, and internal rating scale
4-   Onboarding and Induction- Recruitment does not end at the job offer 


Segment 1- Set up your playing field for recruitment success.


Contrary to popular belief, and often the biggest mistake made in this area, is it is not just about a good recruitment process. Yes that’s important, but if we really want to get this key people area right, we have to take a step back. Even before you have a great recruitment process you need several key items and knowledge in place, So let’s set up your recruitment playing field properly so it can support your recruitment plan and strategy.

These are;

1. Company Brand……or lack thereof…..or worse negative reviews- this can be a massive red flag, particularly for great talent, who want to feel valued and create a career.
2. What are you actually recruiting for?
3. Is the role right?
4. Who is managing the process? Are they actively involved?
5. When was this last reviewed?
6.  Where do you find new people?
7. Is the role competitively marketted/priced?

Segment 2- Build your recruitment structure- roles and responsibilities, key questions

One question I often get from my clients is centred around how to motivate people, and in reality there is only so much you can do, so instead try and look for this key personality attribute at the interview.

Interestingly, John Maxwell says that he gets asked all the time, “How do you motivate your people?” and his answer is very simple: “Hire motivated people.” You want to attract and hire the best talent in order to continue your development, and growth as a company.  You can have great processes and great products but the execution of your business plan is dependent on the people in your organization. 

Clear Technical Requirements – The eligibility - intelligence & competence - requirements are clear and consistently applied throughout your organization. 

1. Fit test – The character, personality, and other desirable qualities needed for the position are clear – often it is easiest to develop your own key list of attributes and rate the candidate on a short list using a 1-5 scale after an interview as this helps keep everything consistent.

 

1. Agreed and appropriate Job Description needs to be available

 

•  Job Description- don’t use an old one with the plan to fix it after you have employed someone!!!!
• List of tasks, duties and responsibilities that the job entails. Need to create an effective balance between breath and specificity.
• Job Specifications
• List of skills, abilities, knowledge and other characteristics that an individual must have to perform the job- this is where you need some not negotiable areas.

Develop a core set of situational questions that you use for every candidate you see for   the role. This is not negotiable. Without this you risk internal bias taking over and you missing key issues or experiences. You need at least 3 strong core questions that you ask every candidate. Make them large enough for the candidate to need to go in-depth in the answer.

Ensure the same hiring manager is involved throughout the process to prevent bias or missed opportunities. As interviews are often spaced out due to work commitments on both sides. You also need to have an internal rating scale you can use that you can rely on to keep you on track between interviews.  This means, develop something that gives you an idea of how the candidate made me feel during the interview, as these key things can be forgotten in the rush to catch up on work commitments. Remember it is the aim to hire for attitude and motivation as well as core skills and experiences. So a behavioral scale helps keep you on track.

Have a clear structure around responsibilities- Main interviewer, recruiter and additional interviewers. Decide in advance how each interview is run and who is responsible for each part or particular questions.


Segment 3 - The Perfect Interview- Situational questions, flow, and internal rating scale

    1- Preparation is key

    2- The actual Interview- define the interviewers roles based on the already preselected questions and needs……you can ask other questions, but you should have some preselected core questions you ask every candidate. I recommend a minimum of 3 situation questions that allow you to have a conversation around previous work outcome or achievement. As these give you the most insight and allow you to compare between candidates.

    3-  Divide the Interview into three parts
        1-Welcome and introduction- explain the interview process for today- allows the candidate to become comfortable and relax. Ask topical questions to gain further insight into their character, and allow you to develop a gut feel for the answers.
        2- Ask the candidate to review the last 10 years of their work history with you. You will ask questions as they go and after they finish. When they have finished if you have not already completed your preselected questions then review those.
        3- General wrap up, give the candidate a chance to ask any questions that they need to. Plus ask any relevant final questions yourself, such as if you were successful, how long before you can start, what is your salary expectation and do you have and leave plans, or medical conditions that would stop you from performing parts or all of the role. At this point it is critical to give the candidate next steps, both for them and your brand.
Don’t forget follow up

Types of questions to ask- Situational

• open and example driven,
• expect clear answers,
• look for I not we,
• Ask situational questions that are relevant to your workplace.

Remember this is about tailoring this key part of the recruitment process to your workplace!
 YOU ARE LOOKING FOR TRANSFERABLE SKILLS. 


Segment 4​​ - Onboarding and Induction- Recruitment does not end at the job offer 

Onboarding

Once you have made it through the recruitment process and selected your new staff member, how you handle onboarding will play a massive part in if the person stays with the business and is successful. Of particular note is that every step of onboarding should be clear and agreed on by the hiring manager and the new employee, and this should be documented and signed against by both. Just like the hiring manager should run every step of the recruitment process.

Good Onboarding/ Induction plan

• Done by the hiring manager- like recruitment
• Clear weekly agenda
• Time spent with the person to ensure any required training is clear and being utilized
• Hiring manager to review all training with the new employee as it is finished/passed
• Clear program set out for the entire length of probation, and run by the hiring manager- milestones, expectations and meetings
• For the first week, the hiring manager should meet with the new employee daily at a minimum.
• For the entire length of probation the program should ensure the new employee has weekly meetings with the new manager to review their feelings of settling in, success, training, needs, and general work ability. As the new employee displays the appropriate skills and attitudes these meeting can become less formal, and if probation is to last for 6 months then the last 3 months may just be a monthly meeting
• Fixed probation review meeting with workplace expectations that are clear and able to be reviewed.
• Clear objectives      
• Most importantly- document everything!!!!

Great on boarding by and actively involved hiring manager- can stop mistakes too, not just keep great people

An open and clear Career plan backed up by accessible and relevant training will help keep your great people for as long as possible


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Make sure you leave some thoughts in the comment section below. We are interested in continuing the conversation.

Lisa Askwith
Director of ApexBRS | ApexBRS, Regional Director of See Global Media, Chair of  EGN Singapore, and Associate Professor Cambridge Corporate University | At the Age of Change, providing the HR component of the Global Executive MBA and BBA. 

Lisa has worked for some of the largest companies in the world and successfully led restructures and change management programs in order to improve the bottom line through engaging the people for success, while developing exceptional leaders who can make a positive impact on Culture and long term business sustainability. Also working closely with Start-ups and venture capital, Lisa has the ability to structure your business, or help your leadership, regardless of size of company or industry, and is able to do this in an inclusive no nonsense way which will involves all of your people and leads to success.

You can connect with Lisa on any of her platforms

LinkedIn Lisa Askwith - Director - Apex BRS
https://www.apexbrs.com/
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