What makes a recruitment process successful?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A good recruitment process allows businesses to find qualified candidates quickly and efficiently. This process starts at the beginning of the job search and does not end until a new employee is fully acclimated to their new role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it may seem daunting, there are a few ways that talent acquisition professionals and in-house recruiters can create a successful and effective process. And it\u2019s definitely worth the effort, as an effective recruitment process can lower hiring costs, improve the quality of hire and increase overall productivity. Three big reasons to reassess and reform your recruitment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To start, one of the key ways that you can improve your recruitment process is by increasing automation at every step of the hiring journey. This allows you to free up time and seamlessly recruit top talent for your open roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before we get into all that, let\u2019s recap the big benefits you could see from implementing and nurturing an effective recruitment process at your company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Benefits of an effective recruitment process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There are several benefits for in-house recruiters to utilise an effective recruitment process. An effective recruitment process helps you to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Save time: <\/strong>An effective recruitment process allows hiring managers and recruiters to avoid a long, complex application process. When relying on things like an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)<\/a>, recruiters can focus on their day-to-day tasks and spend their time on more important things.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Become more proactive:<\/strong> A simplified and successful recruitment process is also designed to be more proactive when it comes to making hiring decisions. When tracking data properly, you can easily identify gaps ahead of time and reduce time to hire overall.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Increase quality of hire:<\/strong> When you\u2019re using a comprehensive and effective recruitment strategy, you\u2019ll be able to improve the quality of your new hires. You can dedicate more time to talent acquisition and curate a unique talent pool<\/a> to fill individual vacancies. You can also easily have a wider pool of talent to choose from, ensuring you have your pick of top talent.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Reduce overall hiring costs: <\/strong>An automated but comprehensive recruitment process provides you with top-quality candidates from the get-go. This shortens your recruitment process, allowing you to spend less time at each stage. In turn, you\u2019ll save on most of the costs associated with new talent acquisition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
FREE EBOOK: How to reduce your cost and time to hire<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
8 necessary recruitment process steps for your hiring team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
As detailed above, an effective recruitment process is beneficial for acquiring top talent and improving overall company productivity. You don\u2019t want to spend time and money sifting through thousands of applications and ending up with no new hires. You also don\u2019t want to realise halfway through onboarding that your new hire is not a suitable fit for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To reduce the chances of wasting time and money and recruiting the wrong people, you need to optimise your recruitment process. Think beyond just placing job ads and finding a person with the right academic qualifications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are eight necessary recruitment steps your hiring team needs to take to ensure they optimise the hiring process and get the most suitable talent available:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Identify your individual needs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
All hiring teams have a variety of different needs that need to be filled with each individual position. These needs may change based on whether or not you\u2019re creating a new job or filling an open position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your needs will also impact the speed at which you need to fill a job opening and how advanced the role is. Finding a candidate with specific competencies may be more time-consuming than filling an entry-level role. On the other hand, finding the ideal candidate for a new entry-level role can take more time than filling a vacancy for an established mid-senior-level position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take time to review what your company needs and have these needs written down for the next step of the recruitment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Write and review the job description<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The job description will be your candidate\u2019s first impression of the role they\u2019re applying for and your company. Many candidates will see hundreds of different job postings throughout their job search, so it\u2019s important to ensure that yours stands out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some people may use a template for their job description<\/a>, but it\u2019s always best to customise it to suit the role you\u2019re trying to fill and your company culture. A good job description is comprehensive, outlines role responsibilities well and provides insight into your employer brand<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use your individual and industry-specific needs to customise the job description. The better your job description is, the more likely you are to attract some of the best candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Create a recruitment plan with your hiring team<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
After creating the job description, you should outline clear expectations with your hiring team and create a detailed recruitment plan. Discuss who will be reviewing resumes and job applications, conducting job interviews and performing phone screenings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s crucial for your entire team to be on the same page to remain organised, collect the information you need from candidates and reduce the time to hire<\/a>. When everyone understands their role, they can better prepare themselves to do it. In turn, the entire process goes by faster because there are no unnecessary redundancies or setbacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Start searching for potential candidates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Getting the right candidate starts at this step in the recruitment process. Even before screening and interviews, scanning applications for the best candidate is where hiring begins. This can be a time-consuming task for even the most well-staffed hiring team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trying to crosspost to multiple job boards and track and compare all applications that come through can take weeks. You can also miss the right candidates and you\u2019ll have to restart the entire process once interviewing is done and you don\u2019t find your ideal candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And this is where an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) comes in handy. With software like JobAdder<\/a>, you can crosspost to multiple job boards at the same time and manage and review them all in one platform. You can also automate the screening of applications and do AI and skill matching<\/a> searches of both the applications you\u2019ve received and the existing candidates in your database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, you can use an employee referral program to encourage your current employees to refer quality candidates within their network. A wider candidate pool means higher chances of finding top talent. You can use social media sites like LinkedIn<\/a> to conduct some proactive sourcing<\/a> to expand your candidate pool and overall reach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Conduct phone screenings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Phone screenings are a great way to quickly screen candidates before inviting them in for an in-person interview. Create a shortlist of interview questions to ask via the phone before you get started with this process. The questions you choose should be relevant to the open role but also general enough to screen for other incompatibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your company has the capabilities, you can also use video screening<\/a> to create a better candidate experience \u2013 this will often feel more personal and allow the interviewer to create a more genuine connection with the candidate. Video screening is especially important for remote roles<\/a> as candidates will likely never step foot in the office for your hiring team to get a feel of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. Begin the interview process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The interview process is one of the most crucial steps of the recruitment process. This is when you can get to know your candidates in person and determine if they\u2019re a good fit for the role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s important to keep in mind that your interviewee will be looking for a positive candidate experience<\/a> as well. They\u2019ll need to decide if they\u2019re a good fit for your company’s culture before considering a job offer. The interview goes both ways so you\u2019ll want your hiring team to also bring their best and most professional selves to the interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you begin to conduct interviews, you\u2019ll want to ensure you\u2019re asking the right interview questions<\/a>. The candidate you choose to hire may never have to work directly with the hiring team. However, they will spend every day directly in contact with certain employees in the relevant department. Involving any current employees that will work with this potential candidate is crucial to a successful interview process and a smooth integration into the company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the first round of interviews is complete, you can create a candidate shortlist and continue with second or third interviews as necessary. Please remember that a consolidated interview process is always best, so conduct group interviews where appropriate and don\u2019t get your candidates to jump through unnecessary hoops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7. Send out a job offer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Once you\u2019ve found the right candidate, it\u2019s time to send out a job offer. However, you should always be prepared in case your candidate doesn\u2019t choose to accept your offer. Have your top four options clearly outlined so you can reach out to them if your first pick doesn\u2019t accept. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You should also be prepared to negotiate salary<\/a> and benefits with your potential candidate. It\u2019s crucial to remember that it\u2019s always worth fighting for the best possible candidate. You don\u2019t want to settle for someone less qualified just because they may be more expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s also good to keep in mind that transparency throughout the hiring process will lead to more accepted job offers. Job seekers like to feel comfortable and in the know throughout the recruitment process, so ensure communication is clear and consistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t try to hide any possible company shortcomings or give lowball offers. In the age of social media and salary transparency, always assume your top candidate has done their homework and is ready to walk at the first sign of dishonesty on your end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
8. Begin new employee onboarding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The employee onboarding process<\/a> is still an important part of recruitment. It\u2019s the recruitment step that many companies neglect, which can often lead to a high turnover rate. Even though you have selected a candidate and had a job offer accepted, your hire will still need time to acclimate to a new role, team and environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the onboarding process, you may perform things like background checks, discuss start dates, outline specific expectations and provide them with info on work hours, office etiquette and work attire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll also clearly outline what you expect the new hire to do on a day-to-day basis, as well as who they\u2019ll regularly work with. Be clear on organisation structure, policies and guidelines. The point is to ensure that the new hire is confident in their new role and the company culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A solidified onboarding process will often lead to your team members quickly and seamlessly integrating into the company and may even lead to a higher employee retention rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Start optimising your recruitment process with JobAdder<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The recruitment process is an integral part of hiring. It can allow you to reduce costs, increase productivity and place quality candidates in the right job positions. However, it\u2019s not easy for your hiring team to optimise the recruitment process on their own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Automation and tracking tools help your hiring team to simplify and streamline the recruitment process. Such tools do most of the heavy lifting for your hiring team, allowing them to focus on interviewing the right candidates and creating a great onboarding program. The best tool you can use to optimise your recruitment process is JobAdder<\/a> (we may be biased, so here\u2019s some proof to back us up<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
JobAdder helps you search, engage and hire top talent for every job opening in your company. It\u2019s a superior Applicant Tracking System<\/a> and recruitment CRM that helps your hiring team to streamline hiring, stay organised and create an effective recruitment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With JobAdder\u2019s powerful Applicant Tracking<\/a>, you don\u2019t have to go through every application, just the ones that have your carefully selected key terms and qualifications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the JobAdder Academy<\/a>, your hiring team will receive in-app product training, helpful certification courses and an extensive library of videos and articles to guide their progress to ensure they stay on top of their recruitment game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Request a personalised demo of JobAdder<\/a> today and experience the benefits of a streamlined and effective recruitment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nReady to cut your cost and time to hire? Discover our top tips.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It can be difficult to find and recruit the right candidate for an open position. From putting together the perfect …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":421120,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"bjm_location":[19,13,111,106,20,14],"class_list":["post-425336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","bjm_location-global","bjm_location-australia","bjm_location-canada","bjm_location-new-zealand","bjm_location-united-kingdom","bjm_location-united-states"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/421120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425336"},{"taxonomy":"bjm_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.jobadder.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bjm_location?post=425336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":425341,"date":"2024-07-17T01:26:20","date_gmt":"2024-07-16T15:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobadder.com\/blog\/building-a-5-day-kpi-model-for-the-4-day-work-week\/"},"modified":"2024-09-18T12:58:36","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T02:58:36","slug":"building-a-5-day-kpi-model-for-the-4-day-work-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.jobadder.com\/gb\/blog\/building-a-5-day-kpi-model-for-the-4-day-work-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a 5-day KPI model for the 4-day work week"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Nina Mapson Bone <\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recruitment KPIs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In over a quarter of a century of working in recruitment, I\u2019ve worked in two listed, one boutique and one medium-sized agency firm as well as one stint in internal recruitment. <\/strong> During that time, I\u2019ve had the complete experience of setting and managing KPIs, from the non-negotiable through to what I\u2019ll term, \u2018choose your own adventure\u2019. Like any business practice, there are pros and cons of the different ways of implementing this, each resulting in differing behaviours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2019, when I was managing director at Beaumont People, we went through a process of implementing the Four Day Week<\/a>. The core objective was simple. Team members who were on a full-time five-day-a-week contract could continue to get paid for five days whilst working only four, as long as they qualified each month. To make this successful it was imperative that we had a very clear view on what five-day productivity looked like. This started us on a journey with our KPIs that fundamentally shifted the way we measured and viewed them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beaumont People\u2019s Journey to the Four-Day Week<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Nikki Beaumont, Founder and CEO of Beaumont People first came across the four-day week when she heard Andrew Barnes, the pioneer of the concept, speak at a conference. <\/strong>She came back from that event full of enthusiasm, aware of the benefits for both individuals and businesses, and concerned about the risk of burnout that some of our high performers may have been facing in Beaumont People. Initially, I rejected the idea because I felt that the timing wasn\u2019t right with other initiatives we were tackling in the business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this was happening, Beaumont People had also been conducting its\u2019 world-first research into meaningful work<\/a>. Within that research, it was discovered that in the previous academic studies \u201chours that allow for free time and rest\u201d had been highlighted as a factor of meaningful work. Simultaneously, the rise of the four-day work week was showing benefits for both workers and organisations alike, including 71% reduced burnout, 65% reduction in sick days and a 57% reduction in staff turnover, according to Swinburne University.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second time Nikki raised it with me, she got a qualified yes. I still had some scepticism, but we decided the time was right to explore it. However, I had a lot of questions. How would we maintain our 7:30 am-5:30 pm five days a week schedule? Could there be potential entitlement issues? Would our service quality and compliance metrics falter? What about clients and jobseekers, would they go elsewhere? Not to forget the existing four-day week employees when we hadn\u2019t budgeted for a 20% salary surge. Eventually, we agreed that a trial was the best way to test it and to trust our people to devise the solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Communicating Internally<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step one was to communicate it to our executive leadership team, a key group of six. Their responses were incredibly diverse from excited to cynical, which we hadn\u2019t anticipated. It was good preparation for a wider rollout. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
We unveiled the plan at our annual conference in August 2019, to an equally broad spectrum of reactions. Leveraging the de Bono groups\u2019 six thinking hats<\/a> methodology, we workshopped different aspects: the facts needed, the potential positives, the risks and problems, the feelings and intuitions, the creative solutions and the thinking process required. This gave us some preliminary thoughts to consider. It also made us realise there was much work to be done before we were ready to implement the concept. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Subsequently, we extended an invite to any interested employees, at any level, to join a working group to delve into the specifics, with the objective of creating a recommendation to our executive leadership for implementation. Whilst I chaired that group, my job was only to facilitate the conversation and provide feedback on their procedural approach. We had a significant number of employees join that working group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Productivity Guidelines by Role<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
After a bout of over-engineering solutions, the team arrived at a breakthrough: productivity guidelines categorised by role type. Under this model, if you met your productivity guidelines in month one, you had access to your four-day week in month two, but then if you lapsed, you lost it in the following month. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, it was crucial to outline precise measurable outcomes necessary to qualify for the four-day work week. Encompassing all our role types, these benchmarks spanned from the receptionist through to myself, as managing director. It was agreed that these standards should be set at a level higher than mere acceptability but beneath our top-performer tiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next came the debate around the specific nature of these guidelines. They couldn\u2019t be solely financial metrics, as not all positions generate revenue, and they needed to embrace aspects like service quality and compliance. They needed to meet the definition of a SMART goal<\/a>, and needed to be as simple as possible for leaders and team members alike to discuss and agree, without debate each month, whether the productivity guideline had been met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Within the working group, we had a diverse mix of employees, of all different job types. We had senior and junior people in the group, we had revenue generators and operations. The discussion around what levels the productivity guidelines should sit at was respectful but robust. Understandably, no one wanted their personal guidelines set too high, but it was also important that the standards of the business as a whole, were maintained. That made for some healthy discussion! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the outset, these were referred to as productivity guidelines. The intent was how we would maintain the five-day a week productivity. It never occurred to anyone that what we were actually doing was outlining a really clear definition of KPIs, in a way that we had never discussed as a whole business before. Had we referred to them as KPIs I suspect it may have changed the whole tone of the conversation. We always maintained a focus on the outcomes we were looking for; and the inputs that were needed to lead to those outcomes. This is what kept relating the conversation back to productivity. It was this focus that helped to keep the conversation respectful and healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A series of workshops led to the final guideline framework, also providing clarity on the increased effort required for any part-timers requesting to transition to full-time to participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rollout & Effectiveness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In January 2020, Beaumont People announced the launch of a four-month trial commencing on February 1st<\/sup>.<\/strong> Employees post probation and already meeting the productivity guidelines became eligible. Assessed monthly, those failing to meet their productivity guidelines would lose their four-day week privilege the following month, regaining it any month after meeting the guidelines again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Initially, it was a great success, but the Covid pandemic halted the trial for six months before it was resumed in late 2020. The four-day work week has been in place consistently ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like anything, it was not perfect, and there are learnings to be taken from the experience, but overall it has been a resounding success for Beaumont People.<\/a> Measuring output instead of hours has been good for the team, but also good for leaders. The team are now steadfast in their desire to maintain their performance even as the market conditions have changed. It improved business performance \u2013 Beaumont People experienced the reported benefits of reduced burnout and sick days. It was also a powerful tool for employee value proposition, during a time of extreme talent shortage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reflecting on the process, it was challenging to solve how we would implement it, but the concept of productivity guidelines opened more doors to meaningful work for all involved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To discover the 7 tips to Leading with Empathy, check out the Leader\u2019s Guide.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n
- Become more proactive:<\/strong> A simplified and successful recruitment process is also designed to be more proactive when it comes to making hiring decisions. When tracking data properly, you can easily identify gaps ahead of time and reduce time to hire overall.<\/li>\n\n\n\n