Tag Archives: recruitment

How Do You Find the Best People to Join Your Team?

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Recruiting new staff is a great way to grow your team and build a stronger business, but what’s the best way to find the people you need? How do you avoid the pitfalls of making expensive recruitment mistakes that you might later regret?

The first mistake that many people make when starting a recruitment process is not putting enough time and effort into compiling a job advert. When you’re doing this, you should look at the advert from the perspective of potential employees. Whether they are searching online or looking at printed job adverts, people looking for a job typically start with two elements in a job search: job title and location.

Job Title – the title of a job advert could be the only information that a potential employee reads about your vacancy. This means that you need to use multiple words in the title of the job posting, so that there are more opportunities for candidates to find the advert when searching online job sites. If you’re using printed adverts, you should still make the job title as long and descriptive as you can. 

Location – you need to show the country, region, county and city or town of the location of the position you’re looking to fill. Many people looking for a new job look within a 30-minute commute of where they live, whether they’re searching online or looking at printed adverts.

Once you’ve written a clear job title and location, here are the next elements of the advert to consider:

Summary of the job – the first paragraph of the advert should encourage people to apply for the job. Make it compelling and interesting rather than just a list of tasks. 

Job description – this should set out the responsibilities of the job, along with the qualifications and competencies required for the role. It should outline the essential and the desirable skills and the competencies, as bulleted lists. This will make it easier for suitable applicants to recognise the match between their own attributes and the requirements for the role.

Job specifics – you need to include important information about whether or not the vacancy is full or part time, the provisional start date, the salary range, company benefits, the formats in which you will accept CVs and the application deadline. 

Contact information – it is good practice to include as many contact details as possible. Include your company website, email address (with a real contact name, rather than info@) and the direct phone number and postal address for a member of the recruitment team. 

Unique job code – every job advert, whether online or in print media, should have a unique reference number to allow you to track the activity generated by it and see which advertising is most effective.

A Word on Layout for Job Adverts 

The content of any job advert should flow in a logical order and contain line breaks to help people to find the relevant information quickly and easily. You should place general information about the company at the end of the advert to avoid confusing the search engines (for online adverts) and so that the critical content for which candidates are looking can be found easily and quickly.

Where Should You Advertise? 

  1. Printed Recruitment Adverts

The growth of online commercial job boards led to predictions about the demise of job advertising in traditional print media, such as national and local newspapers, trade journals and the specialist press. Many national newspapers have either launched their own online job listings or purchased a job board, while local print media often advertise vacancies on aggregated advertising provider sites. The job-board sector has taken over a significant proportion of recruitment advertising revenue and print media no longer dominates as most recruiters’ preferred job advertising channel.

However, depending on the role you are looking to fill, advertising your vacancies in traditional print media has some advantages over online job advertising:

  • A printed job advert has the potential for a longer shelf-life than an online one as it can remain visible to a prospective applicant for as long as they keep the publication. For specialist magazines, this can be weeks or months.
  • Print advertising offers scope for you to be more creative with your campaigns in comparison with most online advertising, which often consists of little more than blocks of text with logos or limited use of images.
  • A positive perception of newspaper job advertising remains, with potential applicants believing that a company that uses print media is serious about recruiting for the role.
  • A recruitment campaign in a respected publication can provide your company with a good opportunity to promote and build your employer brand.
  • For certain types of recruitment, such as a graduate recruitment campaign, a printed brochure with colourful imagery and great content can help to promote your brand above and beyond the immediate recruitment campaign.

The main disadvantage of relying on print media for recruitment is the cost. Print media is significantly more expensive than online channels and is based on the advertising space acquired. There could be extra costs for design, graphics and copywriting. Think carefully about where is best for you to promote your job vacancies, based on where your ideal candidates will look. You need to put your adverts where the highest number of the right sort of people will see them.

  1. Using Your Company Website

Many jobseekers research potential employers by visiting their company website to find background information on your operations, products, services, financial performance, locations, press coverage and job opportunities. Ideally, your company should have a dedicated job section within its website.

  1. Online Job Boards 

Promoting vacancies on commercial job boards has several advantages compared to advertising in other places, including: 

  • You can update the content of the job advert immediately yourself
  • Job board adverts are visible online around the clock and from any location
  • They can bring you a large, diverse audience across multiple generations and socio-economic sectors
  • They cost much less than traditional print advertising. A typical job board advert costs from £50 to £300 for 30 days’ advertising (at the time of writing)
  • Online adverts can deliver quick responses from applicants, speeding up the recruitment process. 

There are some disadvantages associated with job board advertising. A job board posting may generate a high response rate from potential candidates and it could take substantial time and resources for you to process candidate responses. Make sure you have staff ready and able to handle all the applications.

  1. Social Media

Social media recruitment involves you using social and professional digital platforms to promote vacancies and enhance your recruitment process. Typically, social media recruitment supplements, rather than replaces, other ways of attracting candidates.

The most common way for companies to use social media is to promote themselves as an employer, either by driving applicants to their company or careers website, or by developing the company’s page on a social media platform such as Facebook or LinkedIn.

Direct job advertising is another popular way in which you can use social media when hiring staff. The most common approach is to use paid-for, as opposed to free, job advertising. The ability that social media provides for companies to make lasting connections with successful and unsuccessful candidates makes it a good tool for attracting candidates and recruitment in the long term.

There are many ways in which you can search for the best candidates for your job vacancies. Take the time to plan your recruitment campaign and write the best advert that you can, so that you can place it where the best candidates will see it and you will have the best chance of finding the people you are looking for.

For more specific advice on finding the best people for your own team, click here to email me or call me 0118 940 3032.

What’s the Safest Way to Withdraw a Job Offer?

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I have been asked a lot of questions recently about withdrawing job offers based on poor references, so I thought that I would write about it in more detail here. 

Can you withdraw a job offer once it has been made? What risks do you face as an employer if you change your recruitment plans?

Sometimes you will need to withdraw an offer of a job. The hiring situation may change because of a general recruitment freeze, a restructure within your organisation or a change of management. The funding for the post might have been withdrawn or you may become aware that the selected candidate is not suitable after all.

Job offers can be withdrawn after they are made, but there are risks associated with doing this. Withdrawing an offer because circumstances have changed looks like bad planning and could affect your company’s reputation. The employee may be able to bring a tribunal claim for breach of contract.

When is the contract of employment formed?

An employment contract is formed once an unconditional job offer is made and accepted. If you withdraw an unconditional job offer once it has been accepted, you are effectively terminating the contract and could be liable for damages for the individual’s loss.

Even though the individual has not started working for you, there will be a notice period due – just as with other terminations. Damages could amount to what the individual would have received if you had given proper notice – including any pay and benefits due.

What if your recruitment plans change?

If your recruitment plans change due to business needs and you have to withdraw job offers, you should notify the recruits as soon as possible to try to limit the damage and enable them to mitigate their potential loss. The selected candidate might not have resigned from their current employer yet. If they have, they may still be able to ask for their old job back – the sooner this is done the better.

Pre-recruitment checks and job offers

Most job offers are conditional on the new recruit satisfying certain conditions. The selected candidate may need to provide references or evidence of qualifications, or they may need to demonstrate their right to work in the UK. If the individual does not satisfy one or all of those requirements, you can withdraw the job offer without being liable for damages.

If you don’t make it clear that the job offer is conditional, and then withdraw the offer because the recruit has not satisfied one of your requirements, this will amount to a breach of contract and you may be liable for damages. Offers of employment should make absolutely clear that they are conditional on certain requirements being met. Failure to do so can be costly.

If you’re considering making or withdrawing a job offer and you want to make sure that you’re doing it properly, contact us first for some advice. Call us on 0118 940 3032 or email sueferguson@optionshr.co.uk.

Improving Performance Through a Probation Period

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Taking on new members of staff for a growing business can be a costly and time consuming process – especially if you get it wrong. Finding the best person for your business is important, and many people think that they can sit back and rest once their new recruit arrives on their first day. But that’s just the start of it!

This blog looks at how to give your new employee the best start with your business.

You worked hard on crafting the best Job Description for your new team member. The adverts went out and the applications came in. You spent time interviewing potential candidates to join your team. Finally you found them – the perfect person to work with you. They even turned up on their start date. What happens next?

If you think you can just sit back and expect your new recruit to get on with their job and perform as you expect them to – with no input from you – you’ll be disappointed.

The first thing to do – even before a new employee joins you – is to decide on the length of their probation period. This could be between three and six months, depending on the type of work being done. The probation period is your chance to start assessing your new recruit; it’s their time to find their feet and get used to their new role. It is a vital tool in measuring the performance of a new employee.

Next you need to plan when you’re going to review their performance, during the probation period. Planning a review halfway through is a good idea – don’t leave it until the end. This allows you to take action if you’re in any doubt about their ability to do the job for which you have employed them. Their performance will only get better if you do something about it. They might not have understood the job that you need them to do, so this is the time to go over what you expect from them. It’s also a good time for them to air any concerns they might have about their future with you.

You should next plan to review the performance of your new recruit before the end of the probation period. This could be after five months, if the probation is six months in length. This gives you time to properly review their performance and plan any action that needs to be taken – such as training or development. This will put you in the best position to be able to confirm whether or not your new recruit will be staying on.

If you decide that they will not remain with you, and your employment contract is correctly worded, the notice period for a new employee is usually less than for someone who successfully completes a probation period. If they have to leave, you can quickly turn your attention to finding a better person to fill their role.

There is no legal requirement for using a probation period at the start of an employment contract. However, it is a very good way of making sure you get the right person for the job, after all the time and effort you put into the recruitment process. Just make sure that your employment contract explains all this and that you discuss the use of the probation period with anyone to whom you offer the job!

Three Stages to Successful Recruitment

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Recently I’ve been helping some clients sort out problems that have arisen because they didn’t carefully think through their recruitment process, when they were taking on new members of staff. There’s a great deal that you can do to avoid the problems, so in this issue of my newsletter I’m going to cover some of the basics of getting recruitment right – especially if you’re taking on your first member of staff.

We’ll look at how to find the best person, then we’ll look at what to do when they start working for you and finally I’ll talk about what to do at the end of their probation. This three stage process will help you find and keep hold of the best people for your business – and avoid some costly pitfalls!

Part One – How do you find the right person?

So your business is growing and you’re getting busier and busier. You’re working longer hours, just to keep up with the work and the demands of your clients. You don’t want to turn business away, so you keep working all the hours you can, including evenings, weekends and holidays. Eventually, when your friends and family are really fed up of not seeing you and you’re completely exhausted, you decide it’s time to take on your first member staff. Click here to see what you should do next.

Part Two – How do make sure they get off to the best start?

Recruitment can be a long, expensive and time consuming process. After all the effort of finding the right person to join your team, you want to help them settled in as quickly and smoothly as possible. Some new staff have been known not to show up after the first weekend, or even on their second day and you don’t want that!

Particularly if you’re taking on your first member of staff, take the time to plan their induction. Make sure they have somewhere to sit and a computer to work at – if that’s part of their job! Find out what to include in your induction training here.

Part Three – What do you do at the end of their probation?

The first thing to do is to make sure that you have actually agreed a probationary period with your new employee. Three months is the minimum and works well for simple jobs, but this can go very quickly. A six month probationary period is a good length of time for you to decide whether or not you want to keep your new employee within your business. Click here to see what else you need to do at this stage.

Recruiting can cost a lot in terms of time and money; getting it wrong can cost even more. You can avoid the pitfalls by following this advice. If you have any specific questions about recruitment for your business, do get in touch.

Three Stages to Getting Recruitment Right – Part Three

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In three blog posts I’m covering some of the basics of getting recruitment right – especially if you’re taking on your first member of staff. First we looked at how to find the best person (click here if you missed that post or would like to read it again.) In Part Two we covered what to do when your new recruits start working for you, which you will find here.

In this blog, the final part of the series, I’ll talk about what to do at the end of their probation. This three stage process will help you find and keep hold of the best people for your business – and avoid some costly pitfalls!

Part Three – What do you do at the end of their probation?

The first thing to do is to make sure that you have actually agreed a probationary period with your new employee. Three months is the minimum and works well for simple jobs, but this can go very quickly. A six month probationary period is a good length of time for you to decide whether or not you want to keep your new employee within your business.

The next thing to do is to book a meeting with your member of staff, once a week during their probation period. Put something in the diary at the same time every week for a few months, especially if you don’t work closely with them. If you don’t see them every day, then this is a good way to check in with them. It’s your chance to find out how they’re getting on – are they reaching their targets, or are there parts of their role that they’re struggling with?

What happens if they reach the end of their probation and you’re not happy with their progress? You need to take action! You can extend their probation period, to give them time to work the performance issues you’ve identified. If you’d been having regular meetings, you’ll know early on if there’s something wrong and be able to do something about it. Don’t leave it until the end of their probation period to tackle an issue, or spring the surprise on them!

And if you are both happy? Then you’ve got a fully fledged new member of staff on your team. But don’t think that you can just sit back and relax! Being a boss/manager of people is an ongoing job that doesn’t finish at the end of probation. We’ve talked more about useful tools like appraisals, performance plans and setting targets in other blog posts – just use the search box on the front page of this blog to find what you’re looking for.

If you have a specific question about one of your employees, do get in touch for a chat and some advice.

Three Stages to Getting Recruitment Right – Part Two

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In three blog posts I’m going to cover some of the basics of getting recruitment right – especially if you’re taking on your first member of staff. Last time we looked at how to find the best person (click here if you missed that post or would like to read it again.) In Part Two we’ll look at what to do when your new recruits start working for you and in the third blog, I’ll talk about what to do at the end of their probation. This three stage process will help you find and keep hold of the best people for your business – and avoid some costly pitfalls!

Part Two – How do you make sure they get off to the best start?

Recruitment can be a long, expensive and time consuming process. After all the effort of finding the right person to join your team, you want to help them settled in as quickly and smoothly as possible. Some new staff have been known not to show up after the first weekend, or even on their second day and you don’t want that!

Particularly if you’re taking on your first member of staff, take the time to plan their induction. Make sure they have somewhere to sit and a computer to work at – if that’s part of their job!

Induction training must include the following elements:

  • General training relating to your business, including values and philosophy as well as structure and history
  • Mandatory training relating to health and safety and other essential or legal areas
  • Job training relating to the role that they will be performing
  • Training evaluation, including confirmation of understanding and feedback about the quality and response to the training.

You will also need to take up the references that they provided you with, check the qualifications they say they have and confirm they have the right to work in the UK. (The law about foreign workers has changed recently – there are more details here.)

Acas has produced a very useful Induction Checklist which will give you more ideas on what to cover during induction. You can download it here.

In Part Three of this series we’ll talk about what you need to do once your new recruit (who really is the right person and has started off well) reaches the end of their probation period.

(HR) Human Resources for Small Businesses

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When you run a small business, taking on and managing staff can be one of the hardest things to get your head around. Here are a few of the basics that you need to get right.

Employment contracts – This is the most important HR document you’ll have in your business. You’re legally obliged to provide every employee with a written statement of the terms and conditions of their employment within two months of them starting with you.

National Minimum Wage – Almost all workers in the UK aged 16 or over are legally entitled to be paid a minimum hourly amount. The rate is reviewed every year and usually increases in October. Click here for the current rates.

Holidays – All employees are entitled to a minimum amount of time off per year. For full time employees the maximum is 28 days. You can work out your employee’s holiday entitlement by clicking here. Some companies like to give their staff an extra day off on their birthday, if it falls on a working day.

Pensions – Since July 2012 changes have been brought in. Every business will have to provide eligible employees with a qualifying pension scheme and make minimum levels of contributions into it. Talk to pension providers to find out when you need to set up your scheme.

Statutory Sick Pay – When an employee is absent from work due to sickness for more than three continuous working days, they become entitled by law to receive Statutory Sick Pay.

Discipline and Grievance Process – When dealing with disciplinary and grievance situations in the workplace, you should follow the Acas Code of Practice.

Dismissal Procedure and Tribunals – Dismissing an employee is fraught with risk for employers, so you should make sure that you follow the correct procedure and take advice.

These are just a few of the things you need to know. It’s best to deal with issues before they become big problems, so if you need any more advice, please do get in touch.

Zero Hour Contracts – What Do You Need to Know about Them?

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Some companies, especially those in retail, have a huge spike in labour needs in November and December. What are the options for dealing with this?

Here are the most common ways of coping with seasonal labour requirements.

Agency workers – where an employment agency deals with the administration involved in fluctuating workforce needs. You can pay the agency for these services, but it can be a cost- and time-effective solution.

Traditional fixed-term contracts – these are not quite as flexible as the other options, but short-notice provisions are often inserted into the contracts.

Zero hours contracts – as the employer you are under no obligation to offer work and (generally, although not always) your employee is under no obligation to accept any work offered. This provides both parties with greater flexibility.

Increased overtime (including weekend work) – the viability of this option depends on how much more labour is needed.

There has been a lot of negative publicity surrounding the use of zero hours contracts. Are they even legal?

Many zero hours contracts do not give workers full employment rights. It is difficult to construe an employment relationship when neither party has to provide and/or undertake work. Seasonal working is a good example of when zero hours contracts can be used effectively. Fluctuations within the busy period mean that the employer may require the flexibility that only zero hours contracts provide (if recruiting direct). Recent bad press surrounding zero hours contracts relates mainly to large organisations using them for their core workforce. While not unlawful, there is a growing belief that having core workforces working zero hours contracts is an attempt to short-circuit employment rights legislation.