The Recruitment Process

What is recruitment?

Recruitment is the process of identifying, attracting, reviewing, interviewing, signing, employing, and onboarding new hires to your company. It’s a complex series of actions meant to attract top talent to your organization, starting with establishing your brand.

Depending on the company's size, the recruitment is handled by various professionals. As a rule, the HR department is responsible for recruitment, and the hiring managers offer assistance. Big companies may have talent acquisition specialists working as a department. Still, smaller companies may rely on department managers to oversee the new hires while the owner oversees the process.

HR software, such as applicant tracking systems, plays a crucial role in the recruitment process. These tools automate many aspects of recruitment, from job posting to candidate screening, and can significantly streamline the process. However, it's important to remember that while these tools are valuable, the human component remains key in making final hiring decisions.

The 7 essential steps in recruiting

We will discuss the seven essential recruiting steps in detail to help you transform your recruitment process from good to perfect for your organization. These steps include planning, outlining the strategy, screening and shortlisting candidates, interviewing and selecting candidates, making an offer, and onboarding the new hire.

1. Planning according to the hiring needs

This first phase is crucial, as it’s when you pinpoint and analyze the company's needs and vacancies. You can ascertain your employment needs in the following ways:

• Identify the areas where your current team needs improvement.
• Determine if your team needs new skills, abilities, or personalities.
• Assess if there are any tasks that are not being completed, indicating a need to hire someone.
• Keep track of the work completed by your team and decide if hiring is necessary to manage an increased workload.
• Regularly evaluate performance and make a list of skills, qualifications, and abilities needed for your team, which may also indicate the need to hire.
• Keep an eye on any staff members leaving, as this may require hiring a replacement.

Understanding your talent needs clearly is the first step in finding the ideal candidates for your vacant roles. Instead of relying solely on the job description, having the answers to the abovementioned elements will put you forward. Also, speak with the hiring manager to learn more about the role's future plans, tasks to be completed, and daily responsibilities.

Identify the technical and soft talents and experiences that are essential for success. Consider the new hire's ability to close any knowledge gaps and the team's current strengths. Remember that hiring someone who fits in with your team is essential for long-term success, including cultural fit.

Note that the size of the organization, salary, growth rate, and current economic conditions have a direct impact on hiring needs.

2. Prepare the job description

The next stage of planning involves developing job descriptions for each position. A job description is a document outlining the duties and responsibilities for each vacancy and the necessary experience and skills of the person to be hired.

Remember: an attractive and compelling job description speaks a lot about your company’s brand, not only about the vacant position, so make sure you put a lot of effort into this.

This part of the recruitment process must be fulfilled by more than the HR department or professional; the hiring managers will also have a say. This is when you decide if the job position is full-time or part-time, what the compensation and benefits will be, who will train the new hire, if it’s a remote job or on-site, etc.

3. Search for candidates

Now it’s time to search for the top hires your organization needs.

You can advertise internally and externally. Employee referrals are a great way to find candidates, but the pool may be small. Offer incentives in exchange for referring candidates; your employees will appreciate this benefit. The external advertising method ensures you have more options. You should use HR recruiting boards, job platforms, HR events, career fairs, or even collaborate with recruitment agencies.

The hiring strategy should be mainly online if you are hiring for remote positions.

Every recruiting method has costs and efficiency, so choose the appropriate one for each job opening. Remember that the more channels you use to recruit, the more chances you have of getting suitable candidates.

4. Screening and shortlisting candidates

This stage is when you narrow down the list you put together from all the sources, both external and internal.

You will have to check the resumes and possible cover letters to see if the candidates have the needed experience and qualifications. At this point, you can also perform background checks.

The hiring manager can be involved by completing small tests for personality, aptitude, or specific technical skills.

Phone screening(a 10- 15-minute call) may be the best option if you need to confirm some of the candidates’ skill sets, salary expectations, and previous experience. Make sure you have a pleasant, non-stressful conversation.

5. Interviewing and selecting candidates

After screening them based on documents, here comes the time to asses them directly, face-to-face or virtually. Interviews are essential not only for you, as an organization, but also for future hires because they can evaluate the company culture and see if they would fit in your environment.

The interviewing process can include just one interview or more, depending on the company's size, the role's specificity, or the number of candidates. Many people, from HR recruiters and talent specialists, can be involved in this step to hiring managers or HR managers.

There is no universal list of questions for the interviews, but usually, the candidates will be asked:

• how they handle stress,
• what their strengths and weaknesses are, and
• what their expectations are from the employer.

Determining their communication style can be of great value.

In highly technical roles, the hiring manager can engage in a conversation and ask questions to determine whether the candidate has the skills required to perform the duties accordingly.

If this interview phase goes great, an offer will be made only after doing a background check, contacting references, and verifying information.

Make sure you offer constructive feedback to all the interviewed candidates, whether you offer them the job or not.

6. Extending the job offer and onboarding

After all the hard work, the moment to extend the job offer to your preferred candidate comes. Be aware that top talent always has multiple options, so decide on a plan B, the second-best candidate to consider if the 1st one does not accept your offer.

The letter with the job offer should include the start date, the type of contract, compensation and benefits, working hours, and performance standards. Consulting an attorney may be a good idea to ensure compliance with all employment law provisions.

If you have worked with a recruitment agency, coordinate the process with them since they are extending the job offer to the preferred candidate.

Once the offer has been accepted, remember the onboarding process.

An onboarding plan is key to success and making the new hire feel appreciated and welcomed. Introduce the new employee to the team, assign a mentor for the first weeks, offer a welcome kit, and outline the performance plan for the whole year.

7. Evaluation of the recruitment process

The last step of the recruitment process is dedicated to analysis. It’s time to evaluate the effectiveness of the process. How do you do this? By determining how well the hired employees adapt, perform, and fit in. Also, you need to check the cost of the methods you used and see if this is an area you can improve in the future.

You can conduct surveys with recruiters and managers about their experiences with the process and get their feedback.

Benefits of having an efficient recruitment process

Here are some key benefits of implementing the proper recruitment process for your company:

• Better retention. After improving your recruitment process, hiring candidates who want to stay a long time in your company and be part of the culture, mission, and vision may be more natural. Hiring this type of person will generate a better retention rate. Having satisfied employees can also lead to them referring other top talent.
• Uphold organizational goals. Searching for candidates who will improve your organization and continue the path to the desired goals is crucial. For example, if you want to digitalize all the possible activities in your financial and HR department, you should look for highly regarded specialists in this HRM area.
• Enhance efficiency. A strategic and functional recruitment process can save a lot of time and energy and boost efficiency. Automating processes like resume screening or background checks will free up time for other important tasks for HR professionals.

Types of recruitment

There are several methods of recruitment, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. HR professionals must be able to select the most suitable method for their organization. Here are the most commonly used methods in today’s HR world, each with its unique benefits and challenges:

• Advertisement is when you advertise open job positions at career fairs, online job platforms, written newspapers, or social media to find suitable candidates. This type of recruitment offers a lot of visibility to the employer brand, and it can mean a lot of people will respond, but many can be unqualified.
• Using a recruitment agency can be an option when you need to fill a complex position. Since the agency handles the whole recruitment process, it will free up time for other tasks but can also be expensive.
• Recruitment events, such as career fairs or career expos, are a great way to present your organization to potential new hires and conduct a preliminary screening. They are less expensive than other methods and can save time.
• Internships have been prevalent for a while now. They’re a great way to detect talent and see if they fit your organization before they finish college. On the other hand, it’s also a plus for them because they get college credit and have the opportunity to work and learn new things.
• Employee referrals—If your company implements such a program, your employees can recommend family and friends. This may be cost-efficient since the possible referred candidates already know the company, and screening may be a shorter process in this case of employee recommendation.
• Talent pool database— this is the database containing candidates who weren’t picked for a specific position but had impressive resumes. In the long run, having their resumes can be of great help. Just make sure you comply with GDPR provisions in this specific case.

Tips for an efficient recruitment

Try the following tips if you want to attract top talent:

1. Make the candidate experience smooth and positive. The recruitment process should speak positively about your company and brand so that even if the candidate is not chosen, their experience can encourage others to apply to your vacancies.

2. Allow flexible working hours—Flexibility has become a crucial benefit for employees nowadays. Allowing work from home at least one day per week may be in your favor.

3. Encourage employees to change roles—internal recruitment can be cost-effective and save time. For example, an experienced employee in that department can fill a supervising role. It’s a great way to motivate all employees who perceive the organization as one that encourages advancement.
4. Collaborate with staffing agencies. They have a large pool of candidates and can reach them. They may help, especially for temporary roles, when you need to hire someone urgently.

Recruitment channels

We have already mentioned the majority of the recruitment channels, but here is an overview for a clear understanding:

• The company’s website and career section - ensure your website is user-friendly so applicants can easily follow the information and apply for the vacancies.
• There are many job portals available. It depends on your company and the open positions that you choose. Sometimes, using more than one portal may be helpful.
• Social media advertising—Social media may be a more informal channel, but you can attract people who are not actively looking for a job. You can advertise your vacancies directly as an organization or indirectly through a headhunter or recruiter.
• Employee referrals - Implement this type of program and offer incentives.
• Career fairs are a channel mostly for younger candidates, who are more inclined to attend these events. Make sure you put a lot of effort into your presence at these events; it can make a real difference.

Everyone can hire new employees, yet hiring them with style is something else. An attractive and compelling job description speaks volumes about your company's culture and values. By understanding the key aspects of recruitment, choosing the right methods, and following the essential steps, your business improves its ability to attract and retain leading human capital. Take the time to invest in creating a clear recruitment strategy and leveraging various channels to reach a diverse pool of candidates. With a well-planned and effective recruitment process, you set the stage for long-term success and distinguish yourself as a master recruiter.

FAQs

How long does the recruitment process last?

There are many factors to consider, including company size, industry, internal policies, and type of job, but it usually lasts from one week to one month.

Who supervises the recruitment process?

The responsible is usually the hiring manager.

Who decides which candidate should be hired?

The hiring manager decides after receiving feedback from the recruiter. Some companies require previous approval from leadership.