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Attract, Recruit & Select

> Attracting employees / Recruiting employees / Selecting employees

Selecting employees

Selection process and methods

You can use a number of methods, besides an interview, to assess a candidate’s suitability for the job. Sometimes you might use more than one method.

Flowchart

Essential Human Resource Management process flowchart This flowchart provides logical steps to follow for the recruitment and selection process.

In addition to interviews which are covered in the following section, there are a number of common assessment methods that may be suitable small to medium-sized businesses.

• Written applications give you an understanding of what a person has done in the past, in written form. These can be useful if you need an in-depth look at what the candidate has done previously and if writing skill is important for the role. However, don’t be tied to this method as it can be misleading and time consuming for both you and the applicant.
• Informal chats allow you to talk to the person to get to know them but they can be very unreliable and should be used in conjunction with other methods. Informal chats are useful when recruiting upper level jobs and when you need to hire for skills other than practical competence for example management.
• Work sample tests assess the ability of the applicant to do an actual task required for the job, for example answering a phone, pouring a beer or changing a tyre. Work tests can be useful if the job is task orientated and the candidate needs to have a certain level of proficiency from day one.
• Written tests include multiple choice, true/false or short answer questions for example. These are useful when you need to determine a level of knowledge or understanding of certain aspects of the job. These are also useful where a level of language and literacy is a prime concern, however be careful not to eliminate people for reasons not related to the job.
• Presentations require candidates to prepare a presentation on a set topic for an interview panel. These work best when public speaking or presentations are part of the job, such as a sales person or trainer.
• Examples of previous work are useful if its relevant to the position, and applicants may be asked to bring in a sample of their work. For example, graphic artists or photographers may provide a portfolio of work. Furniture makers may provide photos or actual pieces of work for consideration.
• Referee checks are recommended to always be conducted, both verbal and written. Ask for names and numbers of people who will confirm the candidates claims as well as for concrete evidence not just opinions. It might help to give an example of what the work entails and ask the referee to recall a time when the applicant undertook similar tasks.

Interview tips

When planning your interview questions you need to determine the best way to find out what you need to know during the interview.

There are two types of interviews:

• Structured interviews allow the interviewer to record each applicant’s answers to pre-determined questions in line with the selection criteria. The same questions are put to all applicants. This is a reliable way to rate and compare interviewees.

• Unstructured interviews are like an informal chat and have the drawback that they do not allow you to easily compare candidates.

If you choose to use the interview method you may like to consider two styles of questioning: behavioural-style and situational-style questions.

Behavioural-style questions are designed to give you examples of the candidate’s behaviour as opposed to just their knowledge or opinions. These questions allow you to describe situations, or the types of work involved in the job and allow candidates to provide examples of how they have approached similar situations or wok.

Situational-style questions involve questions about hypothetical situation based on challenging job-related occurrences is presented to the candidate and he or she is asked to describe how they would handle it. These are useful for applicants may not have enough work experience to be able to draw on past experiences for example school leavers or graduates, and for internal applicants for a job different to their current position.

Template

Prepare for an interview checklist This template assists you to prepare for an interview. You can adjust this document to suit your own needs.

Template

Interview record form template This template will help you to record details of the interview. You can adjust this document to suit your own needs.

Things to avoid during the interview

During the interview, you should avoid discussing the following topics or discriminating against an applicant based on any of the following:

• race or ethnic origin
• skin colour
• criminal record
• marital status
• gender
• pregnancy
• disability (when unrelated to the ability to do the job)
• sexual preference
• union membership.

For more information see:

Appointing the successful applicant

Appointing the successful applicant will require you to:

• produce and send the employee contract/appointment letter and undertake other administration to formalise the appointment
• notify those applicants who were not successful
• arrange and conduct an induction and prepare for the arrival of the new employee
• schedule time for an initial feedback session.

Template

Acknowledgment of application letter These templates assist you to write a acknowledgement letter, a letter of offer and letters to unsuccessful applicants. You can adjust this document to suit your own needs.

>Attracting employees / Recruiting employees / Selecting employees