Recruitment and selection procedure in 10 stages & Proactive ways of Candidates Acquisition

The recruitment and selection process can be absorbing and often quite long, nearly as long as the article I’m about to present you with. :)

However, please don’t let it discourage you, because the results are worth all your efforts. 

The process of recruitment and selection of candidates is one of the elements of the Human Resources Management. Its main purpose is to select the person who will meet the employer's expectations to the greatest extent. Candidates are assessed in terms of  hard and soft skills, attitude towards the company, experience, as well as motivation, commitment and financial expectations.

There are 3 types of recruitment:

• Internal - consists of selecting an employee for a new position from among people who are already working in the company.
• External - as you can guess, it involves selecting candidates from outside the company.
• Mixed - both employees and people who do not work for a given company, can participate in this recruitment process

Here is a detailed procedure of recruitment and selection:

Stage 1. Recruitment decision - staffing needs analysis: The first stage in recruitment and selection is determining the organization's staffing needs. The HR team should analyze the job vacancy and the number of employees needed. This analysis should include identifying the job duties, responsibilities, and qualifications for the role, as well as assessing the current staffing levels and identifying any gaps that need to be filled.

Stage 2. Nomination of the recruitment committee: The HR team should then nominate a recruitment committee that will oversee the recruitment process. The committee should include representatives from the relevant departments that will work with the new hire, as well as a representative from the HR department to manage the recruitment process.

Stage 3. Recruitment planning: The recruitment committee should then develop a recruitment plan that includes a timeline, a budget, and a strategy for sourcing candidates. The plan should identify the recruitment channels, such as job boards, social media, and employee referrals.

Stage 4. Start of recruitment – candidates search – think outside of the box! The HR team should start sourcing candidates using the channels identified in the recruitment plan. They should also think outside of the box and explore other ways to attract candidates, such as attending job fairs, hosting open houses, and networking events. (more on proactive ways of candidates acquisition pesented below)

Stage 5. Shortlisting of candidates (selection of received applications) After the job offer has been published, and the deadline for submitting applications has expired, it is time to review the applications received. At this stage, the following steps are taken:

• Review of applications - it is necessary to verify whether the applications meet the requirements set out in the job description. The evaluation process should be based on objective criteria, such as education, experience, competences, language skills, and certificates. Applications that do not meet the requirements should be rejected, and those that meet them should be shortlisted.

• Communication with candidates - each candidate should receive information about the result of the application review process. Candidates who did not meet the requirements for the position should be informed about the reasons behind the rejection, and those who met them should receive an invitation to participate in the next stages of the recruitment process.

• Database - it is important to create a database of candidates, who have submitted their applications, even if they did not meet the requirements for the position, they can be a valuable source of information for future recruitment processes.

Stage 6. Candidate evaluation process (contact with candidates)

At this stage, the following steps should be taken:

• Personal data verification - it is necessary to verify the candidate's personal data such as education, previous work experience, and references.

• Contact with candidates - candidates should be contacted to confirm their participation in the next stages of the recruitment process. It is necessary to inform them about the date, place, and time of the meeting, and about the forms of the selection process that will be used.

• Additional tests - depending on the requirements of the position, additional tests or tasks may be assigned to candidates, such as language tests, personality tests, and practical tasks.(e.g. assessment centre: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assessment_center )

Stage 7. Interview & additional recruitment stages

The following steps should be taken here:

• Interview - one of the most important stages of the recruitment process is the interview. It is an opportunity to get to know the candidate better, to verify his/her competences, attitudes, and motivation. The interview can be conducted in different forms, such as individual or group, and it can be conducted by one or several people from the recruitment committee. It is important to ask open-ended questions that will allow the candidate to present his/her achievements, competences, and experience.

• Additional stages - depending on the position and the requirements, additional stages may be introduced to the recruitment process, such as additional interviews with managers, or meeting with team members.

Stage 8. Decision on the selection of the candidate

The recruitment committee selects the candidate who best meets the requirements for the position. The decision should be based on objective criteria, such as competences, experience, and motivation. The decision should be communicated to the selected candidate as soon as possible, and he/she should receive information about the terms of employment, salary, and benefits.

Stage 9. Activities after the interview

This part of the process should include the following steps :

• Feedback - all candidates who participated in the recruitment process should receive feedback on their performance. It is important to give feedback in a polite and constructive manner, pointing out the strengths and areas for improvement.

• Waiting period - after the decision on the selection of the candidate has been made, there is a waiting period during which the selected candidate may be considering the offer, negotiating terms of employment, or withdrawing his/her application.

Stage 10. Employment

Finally, the selected candidate starts working in the company, and the employment relationship is formalized through the signing of a contract. The selected candidate may also need to undergo an induction process, during which he/she will be familiarized with the company's policies, procedures, and culture.

Proactive ways of candidates acquisition

In addition to traditional job postings and recruitment methods, there are several proactive ways to acquire candidates.Think carefully about your general approach, decide where the job offers will be published. It is worth using not only advertising portals and agencies or employment offices, but also creating a career tab on the company's website and fan page, using the opportunities offered by social media.

Here are some examples of more options for you to explore:

• Employee referrals: Encourage existing employees to refer suitable candidates can be an effective way to acquire new talent.
• Social media: Post job vacancies on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook can help reach a wider audience and attract candidates who may not be actively looking for a job.

*** LinkedIn:

Use BOOLEAN search engine ; reach out to more candidates faster! Boolean searching uses operators: words like AND, OR, and NOT. These are logic-based words that help search engines narrow down or broaden search results

Gain access to LinkedIn Premium;

1. More InMail credits to contact your candidates directly & expand your network
2. Unlimited search & the freedom to explore all businesses in the world's largest professional network.
3. Who's Viewed Your Profile. Turn views into recruitment opportunities! And much more :)

*** Facebook, Instagram, Twitter + :

Join groups for people looking for employment & specific trade/industry groups, find people with language skills {e.g. : Italian living in Poland or French community in specific location/city }

• Networking: Attend industry events and job fairs can help to establish connections with potential candidates.
• Talent sourcing platforms: Platforms like Indeed, Glassdoor, and Monster can be used to source and engage candidates who are actively looking for jobs.
• University / college / language schools/ technical skills courses providers: Build relationships with universities, colleges and various courses providers, it can help you to attract talented students and graduates who are looking for employment opportunities.

Meet with your potential clients face to face & get them to know you; e.g. organize a presentation (you can use Prezi - it's free) for the final year & postgraduate students: present, recommend & invite to applying for the open roles through your company.

• Use Design Thinking approach to be more effective in your work:

1. Empathize; Understand your consumer needs, barriers, attitudes and aspirations 
2. Define: it’s about clarity, focus and definition. Gather all the insights you’ve collected— consumer need states and barriers, lifestyle realities, cultural influences, etc.
3. Ideate; start developing potential solutions & establish the creative or design “pathways” & collaborate with multi-stakeholder team: ex. brainstorming, mind-mapping, landscape mapping and Post-it Notes
4. Prototype; put each solution to the test, in order to highlight any gaps, barriers constraints or flaws in the concept.
5. Test; get fast, productive feedback from your candidates & clients, apply corrective & peventive actions

    +   Implement!: monitor and analyze your project life cycle.

• Be the Inquisitive Explorer:

Find out what other recruitment tools are being used by recruiters.

Explore all available options of your current company’s software & recruitment tools and use it to it's full capabilities.

Find a way to improve the existing processes & make it even more efficient!

• Promote Continueos Candidate Engagement: Build the ongoing relationship between a company and a potential employee from the first point of contact through the entire hiring process. When done right, candidate engagement leads to better hiring outcomes

In conclusion, the recruitment and selection process is a crucial element of the Human Resources Management process. By following a detailed procedure, and utilizing proactive ways of candidates acquisition, employers can ensure that they select the best candidate for the job and maintain a high-performing workforce. This process is very complex and starts as soon as we make a decision on increasing our human resources.

Bibliography

Literature:

1. Borkowska S, Motivation system in the enterprise, PWN, Warsaw 1985.

2. Pocztowski A., Human resources management. Strategies - processes - methods, PWE, Warsaw 2008.

Tutorial materials:

3. Presentation: "RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION", Mgr Ewa Grzegorek

Netography:

4. https://www.elevatosoftware.com/blog/stages-of-the-recruitment-process/

5. https://poradnikpracownika.pl/-jak-przebieg-proces-rekrutacji-w-firmach

6. https://www.aplikuj.pl/porady-dla-pracodawcow/1593/wzorowa-rekrutacja-znajdz-idealne-pracownika

7. https://www.ama.org/marketing-news/the-5-phases-of-design-thinking/#:~:text=The%20short%20form%20of%20the,%2C%20ideate%2C%20prototype%20and%20test.