special feature people and recruitment
How to secure your ideal candidate
In an article recently published in Leaseurope-Inside 13, Neel Amin, Managing Director of New Leaf Search the pan-European leasing recruiter, addressed a question most frequently asked by clients during the recruitment process, “What could we have done differently to secure the services of our preferred candidate?”
Employers invest considerable time and money in attracting high calibre candidates, but all too often let them slip through the net resulting in the need to keep vacancies open for longer or having to settle for the next best candidate. Needless to say, both of these outcomes are not ideal, and where key hires are concerned can have a detrimental impact on the business. Critical opportunities may be missed, important decisions stalled, corporate
direction may be lost, and staff morale may dip. So why is it that employers often miss out on their earmarked high calibre candidates, and painfully lose them to competitors? A delay in the end-to-end recruitment process is usually top of the answers list. At times, the process can be protracted but once the ideal candidate has been identified it is important to move swiftly, and avoid any unnecessary delays. Keeping the candidate’s interest and desire levels high is a prerequisite to obtaining a positive outcome.
It is important to understand that quality candidates are not only in short supply - with many of them courting several potential employers at a time - but that employers are essentially entering a race to secure this top talent. It’s up to you, therefore, to minimise delays by forward planning and ensuring contingencies are in place to circumvent any delays, should they arise.
Seven ways to minimise recruitment process delays: 1. Headcount approval
Ensure that headcount approval is in place before commencing with the assignment. Embarking upon assignments prematurely simply leads to candidate frustration as interviews and offers are delayed or stalled.
2. Job description availability
A well constructed job description comprising the role and responsibilities, person specification, salary package, location, reporting line and any other supporting information, is an absolute must. This speeds up the candidate attraction process, and ensures a good match between candidate supply and role requirement. Experienced recruiters may be able to provide a shortlist of potential candidates based upon an initial briefing by the Hiring Manager, but all too often candidate interest declines proportionately with the time taken to provide this vital information. Clients can sometimes place too much emphasis on the attractiveness of their brand rather than appreciating that potential applicants require a full job description and supporting
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information, in order to carefully evaluate the opportunity presented to them.
3. Clearly defined timescales
These should indicate start and end dates for the whole process with specific date ranges booked out for reviewing shortlists, conducting interviews and decision-making. With this information, recruiters can better manage candidate expectations, and sustain interest levels. 4. Deciding on shortlists
Hiring managers are sometimes guilty of not being decisive enough when reviewing shortlists. More often than not, this is as a result of day to day business activities taking priority. Again, by having clearly defined timescales combined with shrewd business planning should serve to avoid such delays. 5. Commitment to interview dates
Where recruiters have been given diary times in advance for interview facilitation, it is imperative that the interviewer commits to these dates. All too often, candidates find themselves in a situation where an interview has been confirmed in advance for it only to be cancelled at short notice. It is worth remembering that the candidate may have taken time off as holiday or shifted business priorities to accommodate the interview. 6. HR and Hiring Manager communication We often experience a breakdown in communication between the HR function and Hiring Managers, whereby the latter may fail to impress upon their HR team the business urgency of a new hire. The candidate may therefore perceive a slow turnaround with regards to the construction of a verbal offer or the issue of a written offer. Such instances may also be exacerbated with discrepancies in the offer letter or contract compared to the original verbal offer. Clear lines of communication are essential. 7. Seal of approval - final sign-off
Lack of availability of senior managers to participate in the final stages interviews can also slow down the process considerably. Further delays can be caused if offers require approval from senior signatories. Ensuring contingencies are in place for such instances, such as delegated authorities, should help to maintain traction.
Conclusion
Appreciating the reasons behind hiring delays, and implementing the tools, processes, and contingencies designed to avoid such delays will make the process more efficient, thereby reducing slippage, and ensuring that your ideal hires are just that . . . your ideal hires; and not those of your competitors.
NEEL AMIN, MD, NEW LEAF SEARCH LTD,
WWW.NEWLEAFSEARCH.COM www.leasingworld.co.uk ■ March 2011
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