I’m an SME & I don’t usually Recruit. HELP!

You’ve built your SME up & now its’ time to get a new Team member / employee & it’s daunting & you may never have done it before & if you did, last time you did it you hated it as it’s time consuming & not your forte AT ALL!

Firstly, do remember: it shouldn’t be your ‘forte’. I do my thing: you do yours.

I interview daily & I should be pretty good at it. You add numbers up / manage administration teams / ship freight / provide insurance advice etc etc & that’s your forte. We can’t all be genuine ‘Jacks of all Trades’.

So I wrote this Blog Guide to try & put some pointers your way. Things to do & things to avoid & to self help the process along.

If I could, however, give anyone recruiting three pieces of advice it’s this:

• it’s rare to find The Perfect Person
• Expect anything.
• It often doesn’t go the way you plan.

We’re humans & issues – crazy & unforeseen issues – can & do crop up. And compromise (to a degree) is essential. On both sides

So, here we go. Recruiting for your SME:

• Have you got a Job Description? If not, be warned this plan is already DOOMED to fail. You’ll seem dithery. The candidates will sense that & it’ll all come to nothing as you’ll be outlining something that you have no conviction in. Get a JD pulled together. It’s actually not hard – just 8-10 pointers is a start!
• Do you know WHY you need this role? Have you thought about how it’ll fit within your current structure? Have you figured out the ‘add value’ pointers? Again essential or it’ll seem like a ‘wooly’ proposition.
• Do you know where to advertise & how to write an ad? What NOT to do more than what to do? Avoid any hinted ageism / male / female leanings (not as easy as you think) & be as clear & concise as you can.
• Can you physically fit another body in? Don’t laugh! I’ve just recruited for a client & they really really wanted 2 candidates & had a first & second choice & as the required skills are unusual. They were on the cusp of offering until they recalled they were in serviced offices & to add another headcount meant moving offices & a new contract + more cost. They’ve shelved the idea for now, but it got close to the wire.
• Who’ll do the interview? Why them? When? Are they the incumbent employee that’s moving on (not always a good thing?) Are they good company Ambassadors?
• Who CV sifts / rejects & communicates with the applicants? This job needs a consistent approach or how do benchmarks / comparisons get done?
• Get interviews booked in closely to each other. Try & fit all in over 2 days max or you’ll lose your compass on who you prefer & why & MAKE NOTES & keep those notes. I’m not a HR expert but those might be needed if a candidate possibly thinks they were discriminated against. Notwithstanding that – notes really do help.
• Are you clear about 1^st or second interviews. Have you checked candidates’ notice / holidays? All too often clients comeback on their perfect candidate for an urgent start & even though I’ve told them they’re off on 3 weeks’ honeymoon, they’ve set their heart on them. If that’s so, make sure you weigh it up.
• Reject all candidates that did not get through to a second or get the job. Ideally via the phone. I do. I will not decline candidates that have spared their time & money & effort to go to an interview with a bland email back. Talk to them to explain why they didn’t make it through BUT be prepared for questions back to you.
• Agree FIRMLY start date, salary, hours & holidays & ask for confirmation of all via email. It might be your first recruit but all must be done in writing in the form of an Offer of Employment. But verbally always go through at offer as you’d be amazed how 30 mins less for lunch can become a sticking point if not explained.

And off you go. Lots more HR comes into play now, but if I helped getting you to this stage – brilliant!

I’m Roseanne; Chester SME Business Woman of 2013 & I successfully run Nu-Recruit.

I place permanent & temporary candidates of the very best quality into great local employers & jobs in Liverpool, Chester, Wirral & Manchester. In a no-fuss, no nonsense way.

And I love what I do. And I’m good at it!

Call me if you think my experience will help you get the best candidate for your job! And please feel free comment on my Blog…..