Once you have this information you can start the recruitment process.

Recruitment is the act of advertising and attracting candidates, and

Selection is choosing the right person for the job.

Many of you will probably be considering friends and family for your first employee – and this is great as you should know them well. However, a word of warning – make sure they actually have the skills and knowledge to do the job you want them to do; are willing to do that job; and are happy for you to be their boss.

And just as importantly, are you happy to be their boss, possibly having to tell them they have made a mistake. Many times this works well, but make sure it has been a conscious decision and not an emotional or cheap one.

Recruitment

 Now you know the details of the role, you can create an advert – to be spread verbally via word of mouth, posted on social media, or advertised on job sites. You might even use an agency/recruitment consultancy – useful for specialist or niche roles. Your choice will depend on the type of job and the range of candidates looking for work.

Using social media – your page or local area pages – is usually free and can often generate good interest. It is not a legal requirement that all job vacancies must be advertised, but it is useful to look to a wider pool to bring in new ideas and perspectives, creating diversity in your business.

It is a good idea to ask interested people to submit a CV (curriculum vitae) by a deadline date, so you can close off applications. However, you might be happy to just receive an interested e-mail or message that summarises their experience and skills. Whatever you do, make sure you have all the information you need to be able to make an informed decision.

Selection

When you receive applications – CVs, e-mails, messages – you will need to sift them to decide if they are worth progressing further, if they are unsuitable (and regret them) or are worth keeping on file.

Anyone who meets your essential requirements should be invited to the selection process, which is the process of choosing the right person.

It will usually include at least one interview – as you need to see the person and they you.

However, the best advice I can give is that the selection process MUST include some sort of test to help you determine that they do have the skills and knowledge to do the job. This might be a scenario question(s), IT or priority exercise and should include a practical skill test(s). The test and interview questions should be based on the criteria for the job.

The interview will ideally happen at the place of work but, for a variety of reasons, it may need to be external to the workplace or virtually. An interview is actually the least effective method of selection as we can be easily biased, and they can give us the answers we want to hear.

Conduct the interviews according to the agenda below. It is important that all applicants are treated alike. This is to prevent any bias or discrimination and enable you to compare applicants effectively against the criteria.

Prepare a set of questions appropriate for the job role that will help assess against the personnel specification requirements and the core competences of the role, revealing their knowledge, skills (problem-solving and communication), and attitude. (It is useful to have created a ‘bank’ of questions that can be used across a range of jobs).

Whilst you may have to ask different questions to each applicant to clear up any ambiguities on employment history or knowledge, these must be relevant to the role, must be in keeping with the information required to make a decision and must only be in addition to the set questions asked of all applicants.

You should record all questions and answers. Once the interview process is complete these must be kept with other decision documentation (e.g. test results record) and application forms for one year.

A useful agenda for an interview:

• Welcome and introductions. Clearly say name, position and role in the interview
• Briefly state the agenda of the interview and how long it is likely to take (and try to keep to time) and how the tests will work (brief candidates again when administering the tests).
• Ask the interviewee your set of questions – recording answers on an interview answer sheet.
• Then, tell them about the nature of the job and the company. Hopefully, they will have researched you and your business – but if you are new, this may be difficult.

Do not tell them earlier in the interview (save until you’ve asked all your questions) – or they may just copy your words and you won’t know if their answers are their views or yours.

• Tell them about the terms and conditions (pay, hours, any benefits), including discussing possible start dates.
• Ask if they have any questions.
• Tell them what will happen next – regret, offer.
• Thank them for their time and close the interview (on time!)

Before or after the interview, which can last around 30 minutes (perhaps a little longer), administer the selection tests. Ideally, these too will last around 30 minutes. If the job is practical one, involving teamwork, part of the selection process could be a job-trial, whereby the applicant(s) works with you for half or one day. You don’t need to pay them for this, but that would be nice, and it will give you a good idea of their skill set.

Tests should be relevant to the job they are going to do, for example:

• An administrator – test ability to compose e-mails, attach documents, scan documents, create basic spreadsheets.
• Bar staff – pour a pint, do mental arithmetic, identify clean glasses.
• A factory worker needing dexterity – wire a plug.
• A designer – create a simple design (in the test session – not bring it in).

It’s not a bad idea to see the person more than once and by more than just you (if that is possible in your business). And if you have interviewed virtually, meet them face-to-face at some point (unless the role is very remote).

Once you have chosen the best person for the role, you can:

• Send an offer letter – summarising start date, salary, hours, job title, holidays and asking them to bring proof of right to work in UK.
• Regret others – it is good practice to regret unsuccessful applicants at all stages (CV sift, first interview and at the end of selection). You can do this by letter or e-mail. It is a good PR exercise. So many businesses do not do this, and applicants are left in limbo. The courtesy of regretting them nicely, is good for your reputation and brand. You may want to ‘keep them on file’ or for them to apply again in future.

Induction – prepare to welcome the new starter. Take time out on their first day to:

• Go through paperwork – information for payroll, contract, handbook or policies (if you have one). From April 1^st 2020, contracts of employment and casual worker agreements MUST be given on or before day one.
• Talk through your ‘rules’ – even if you don’t have a handbook.
• Show them the facilities and their work area.
• Have something for them to do – we are most motivated when we start a new job, don’t let them get bored in their first week.
• Plan to train – even experienced people need to learn your ‘ways’.
• And plan to formally review and monitor then through their probation period – weekly would be good, monthly as a minimum.

Discrimination during recruitment and selection

Following the process outlined above for all applicants not only means you are fairly comparing each person against the role criteria, but means you are less likely to discriminate against a person due to a protected characteristic. Think about what you say and how you ask questions, particularly additional/ad hoc questions.

You should also ask each applicant if they need any adjustments to allow them to participate in the interview and the tests. https://www.acas.org.uk/discrimination-and-the-law .

Go for it!

Recruitment and selection are processes best not rushed. It can be so easy to grab at the first person who looks “about right”, but if they are not, you can spend much longer trying to manage them. So, without overthinking it, take your time in making the decision, even if that means going back to them a few times.