How to Introduce Employee Recruitment & Selection
There are two key components involved in introducing applicants to your recruiting process. The first, branding, happens before the applicant ever walks in your door. Your brand is an external factor, as it is how you are perceived in the marketplace, and dictates (among other things) how the applicant expects to be treated during the recruiting and selection process. The second is communication. Clearly outlining the details of your recruitment process will not only increase the applicant's chances of success, but it will streamline your recruiting process by reducing applicant questions.
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Instructions
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Branding
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Understand why branding is important to your recruiting and selection process. According to David Lee in "How to Build a Compelling Employer Brand," "When you make the effort to create a compelling employer brand, you save yourself the work of trying to convince candidates that you are an employer of choice. With a compelling employer brand, your reputation acts like a huge talent magnet, drawing the best, most talented people to your organization."
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Figure out who you are. Before you can create an accurate brand, you have to know who you are. Not just who human resources and top management thinks you are, but the entire organization. According to David Ogilvy, advertising pioneer, "Nothing will kill your reputation in the labor market faster than doing a great job advertising a work experience you don't deliver."
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Use a confidential employee survey to ask detailed questions about how employees perceive your organization's environment, culture, communication, compensation, benefits, management styles, and chances for advancement.
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Compile the results and create a summary of your top attributes.
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Develop a cross-functional or cross-level team to review the selected attributes and ensure they are truly representative of your organization. For example, if one of your attributes is "exceptional benefits," make sure your benefits are competitive with those of your nearest competitors. Next, as a reference point, check your benefits against those provided by Fortune Magazine's "Best Places to Work" companies.
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Educate employees on the new brand, and roll it out company-wide.
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Begin using your brand in your recruitment advertising.
Communication
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Ensure a smooth process for both you and the applicant by informing her of the rules from the beginning. It is unfair to become frustrated when an applicant calls five times a day for an update on an application, if you haven't clearly outlined communication expectations.
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Clearly outline application procedures in the job advertisement. If you prefer no calls, or if you require a cover letter, state that in your ad.
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Create an auto-response email for all applicants. The auto-response should state when the applicant can expect a response, how they will be contacted, and how long the resume will be kept on file.
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State on your outgoing voice mail message how you handle applicant calls. If you are unable to return duplicate calls, or if you have a high volume of calls and may not return all calls within 24 hours, state that on your outgoing message.
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When scheduling interviews, provide the applicant with a list of items to bring to the interview. Give a time estimate for the interview, and a list of people with whom he will be meeting.
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Warn applicants of any construction or other traffic obstacles they may encounter when coming in for their interview. Email the applicant directions to your location if you have reason to believe that mapping software or GPS may be incorrect.
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Close interviews with a time line for the decision process. Discuss when, and how, the applicant will be notified of her status. If you can't meet your deadline, call the applicant with an update.
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Tips & Warnings
Employee surveys should be used beyond the initial branding stage. Create cross-functional focus groups to address any problem areas that the survey revealed.
In order to achieve buy-in when rolling out a new brand, it is crucial that you include education and a healthy dose of "what's in it for me."
In order for a brand to be successful, it must be embraced by top management.
If you say you are going to call within a week, do it. If you interview someone, you should notify them of a status either way. Broken promises, dismissive attitudes, and lack of communication are very damaging to your brand. With the advent of social-networking, chat rooms, and blogs, negative reviews spread like wildfire.
