Good morning trusting that the last two weeks have been very interesting but not futile. Are you living life deliberately or are you coasting through life.. Today we’re going to be talking about recruitment strategies.
A few years ago, my organization at the time organized a team-building retreat. During the retreat we played a lot of team-building games.One of them was the fact that you had to run and pair- up with somebody whenever the command was given. You were out of the game if you were left standing on your own.
There was a young man who always paired-up successfully with another person immediately the command was given. He looked very unassuming but won the game without much of a fuss. I was intrigued as to how come he always paired up with somebody else immediately the command was given. When I asked him, he told me that before the command was given he would target exactly the next person he wanted to pair up with.He wouldn’t let the command come firstbefore he would start running around trying to find somebody. This strategy invariably led him to win the game. What this quickly taught me was that strategy is extremely important in anything you want to achieve.
With this mindset it is clear that selection and recruitment needs strategy just to ensure that the right person is recruited into the right position at the right time in the right vicinity and at the right cost.
Strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim. Recruitment is the action of enlisting new people into the work force. Therefore a recruitment strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term aim and objective in the act of enlisting new people into the workforce.
Over the past few weeks we have spoken extensively on the things you need to put in place so as to ensure the success of the organisation both externally and internally.
Once you have an organogram, a job description, a personality profile and people specification , a manpower plan, not to mention your systems and processes, it is time to design a recruitment strategy.
This strategy , like the process maps should also be flow charted especially as it is also a process.
At the start of the flow chart should be your organogram,that already details every position with the people specifications attached. People specification is not only skills and qualifications and experience even though this is of such great importance. Like I said before we usually hire for skills but we fire for attitude. The personality profile analysis is of great importance but is usually the most overlooked.
Remember that the manpower plan is putting the right number and right kind of people in the right place at the right time doing the things they are best suited for to ensure that the organization achievements her goals. I got this precise definition from the internet.
This ensures we are not just employing” Oga at the top’s “niece when we are told to, even though we don’t need her. We will not recruit her into a department where her skills and profile don’t work.
Each line manager will know when to start the process for new staff according to the manpower plan. However sometimes when people leave suddenly the departmental head has to make a request for new staff and flag off the process.
In instances of key staff, whose expertise and knowledge are core to the business of the organisation. I advise that you have what we call a” pipeline recruitment”where you have already identified and interviewed replacements andyou don’t start from the beginning of the process as this will take time.
If the departmental head believes he wants to fill a position that is not a core one that will require the pipeline recruitment and also the position is not on the manpower plan, she will have to create a business case that will buttress this requirement of such a position.
Once this is approved by the appropriate people, the next stage kicks in. Which ever way it goes the HR department must be involved. There was a time when the HR department did all the recruitment process from beginning to the end. These days however the line managers can also identify people, carry out the recruitment process with HRM just overseeing the process that is project managing the process.
The strategy should also define how the position will be advertised. Is it going to be an internal advert then a public advert. Are you going to advertise on the company website or a job site. Are current staff going to be asked to inform their friends and family. Are you going to go to linked-in or are you going to use a recruitment consultant? This is important because which ever method will determine how the advert should be worded. Always bear in mind that even the wording and the look and feel of your advert and the vehicle you use, plays a very important role in the quality of people you attract.
Depending on the level of the position, this will determine how you shortlist and then interview. Which personality profiling tool are you going to deploy?
There are many different types of interviews, the weeding interview which could be a test/presentation to reduce the numbers. Then you could have a group interview, a panel interview and then a one on one interview to mention a few..
All the interviewers and those conducting the interviews have to be trained in properly evaluating the prospective employee. Remember that any employee worth his/her salt will also be assessing whether or not they want to work with you. Be on time when you invite them. Don’t invite 10 people to come at the same time except if it is a group interview. Ensure the front desk is expecting them. Before they come ensure they know the job description of the job they are interviewing for.
Be prepared with the right questions and evaluation sheets to capture the answers. Proper etiquette during the interviews must be observed. For example, you can’t use your phone during the interview.
All of this forms your recruitment strategy strategy and more, and has to be decided before you need to do it. I will complete this process in the next article. In the mean time keep living deliberately.
Olamide Balogun
