I was talking to a prospective client once, who asked me to recruit two people for the one role. When I enquired why two people were needed, he said “Because one always leaves!” It got me thinking about the circumstances that could contribute to a situation like this: could it be poor work environment, poor hiring choices, lack of management or not having an effective recruitment process. The costs associated with an employee leaving can be high, up to 1-2 times their annual salary so you want to get recruitment right first time.

Focus is key. It’s critical you have a clear idea of what you are looking for in the first place. As Lewis Carol said in Alice in Wonderland “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” If you are looking to grow your team or fill an important role this year, start by answering the following questions:

1. Do you have a job description for the role?
2. What type of person will do best in this job/organisation?
3. What skills and experience will they need?
4. What do you offer to attract the right person? (Salary, conditions, culture, training).
5. Do you have an Induction plan for the first 90 days?

Here is my guide to hiring right the first time in 2021.

In my experience, a carefully executed recruitment strategy is critical to making the right hiring decision every time and is key to successful attraction and retention of your ideal candidate.

We take our clients through 5 key steps to help them find their Ideal Employee, from navigating the external market to finding the right fit for their internal culture.

Step 1. Define the Job Requirements. And this starts with a detailed Job Description to ensure you have absolute clarity about who you are looking for and what they will do. Can you describe your ideal employee, someone will be a good fit for your business? What experience will they need, do they need particular skills to be successful in the role and what are they like to work with?

Step 2. Plan your Search Strategy. You need to fish where the fish are. And you need a well written Job Ad that targets your ideal employee. When they read it, you want them to say that’s me!

Step 3. Effective Selection starts with the Interview. You need to ask the right questions, one’s that focus on your key selection criteria, that will allow you to see how this person will perform in the role. And you must Check References to validate what you have been told.

Step 4. Early engagement requires a well-planned Induction and Onboarding program. This means mapping out the first three months with milestones and goals to be achieved. A well-constructed Induction plan will accelerate the onboarding of your new team member and make them productive faster. Clients and candidates alike tell me this is one of the most important stages of the hiring process.

Step 5. To retain employees, you need to have robust HR Systems and Procedures in place, and this starts with having a well written and legally compliant Employment Contract. If things get rocky you will be glad you had everything in writing. And good employees value the clarity that an Employment Agreement provides.

It might be tempting to try and short cut the process above but from my experience when things go wrong later, it can usually be traced back to poor execution or omission of one or more of these steps.

Download our “Ideal Candidate 30-point Checklist” to help you with your Recruitment planning and then contact us to discuss how we can help you grow your team with the best people in 2021.