Top 10 Recruitment Tips for SMEs

Posted by Aniko, April-14-2010

For every successful business will come the time to start hiring employees.  Hire the right people and your business will benefit hugely.  Get the recruitment process wrong and there can be serious consequences.  Here are some tips on how to get your recruitment process right:

1. Good preparation  -  Draft a job description that states clearly the skills and knowledge the candidate needs and the tasks they will perform.  Also, ensure that the requirements for the job are objective and well justified.  For example, a request for working weekends may discriminate against certain candidates, like those with certain religions or with young children.  You must be able to prove that working weekends is indeed an unavoidably necessary part of the work.

2. Advertise widely -  Advertising does not need to be expensive; you can try using your business or social networks or other online resources to save costs.  Make sure your advert is well written and specific enough to attract the right candidates.   (But be careful how you say things to avoid any potential accusations of discrimination; see more below).  Also, advertise the job widely enough to avoid accusations of discrimination and don’t forget to let your own staff know about the new job opportunity either.

3. Play fair  -  You must actively avoid discrimination in selection as well as the advertising process.  Your business can be taken to an employment tribunal by someone who believes you didn’t give them a job because of discrimination.  For example, looking for a ‘young, dynamic person’ or ‘mature, experienced lady’ could fall foul of the age and sex discrimination rules.  Also, avoid asking for personal details that are not related to the job, such as race, religious beliefs or marital status. 

4. Dig deep  –  Experienced job seekers are good at submitting “air-brushed” CVs and providing expected answers to expected interview questions.  Use the interview to get as much information on the candidate’s real suitability for the job as you can.  For example, you may want to include a skill test in the interview and ask the candidates to describe their past experiences with situations that are similar to those they will need to manage in the new job.  

5. Set evaluation criteria  –  Make sure you ask the same set of questions from each of the candidates during the interview process and use your detailed job description to assess them.  If you are accused of discrimination, this hard evidence can be invaluable in demonstrating that you have objectively assessed each candidate.

6. Find the right fit  -   Any new person you hire will need to adapt to your company’s style and work well with your existing team and processes.  Try to include in the interview process a brief tour of the work place and a quick meeting with the people with whom the new person will work closest with. 

7. Check the papers  –  You must check if the candidate is eligible to work on the UK.  If they are not, you could be fined.

8. Promote diversity  –  Make sure you have a separate equal opportunities monitoring document and put an effort into trying to recruit a balanced work-force.

9. Feedback  -  It is important to give feedback on the interview on request by an unsuccessful applicant.  Failure to do so can leave you open to claims that the rejection was for discriminatory reasons.

10.  Seal the deal  -  Every employee is entitled to a written statement of employment within two months of starting. This can either be a contract or a statement and set of policies covering the date they started work, their salary, hours of work and holiday entitlement, your policies on sick leave and pay, and pension availability. There should also be a statement on how you or your employee can terminate the job, and what disciplinary and grievance procedures are in place. 

About the author:  Aniko Zagon is the founder-director of Entelliz Limited, the entrepreneurial incubator and training specialist.  Follow her @anikozagon