HRM
Adina – This is Not an Ab Fab Job Description
Recruitment | HR | Business Development
Unfortunately, Adina is not alone in the way she considers job descriptions (refer YouTube video above).
When I ask Business Owners/Managers (and not just Small Business Owners/Managers) if they have documented Job Descriptions for all roles in their businesses, too larger number reply “Oh I don’t have time to do that – besides I know in my head what I need them to do”.
Interesting, I think, and then raise the logical question “so in relation to your XYZ position, what do you need them to do?”
“Well” is the reply, “I need them to do this, this and this” which is more often than not the technical aspect of the job (eg, bookkeeping for a Bookkeeper position or computer configuration for an IT position).
“Terrific” I say, “and how do you want them to treat your customers? What sort of relationship with the other staff and you do you wish them to build? What sort of employee do you want them to be? What sorts of things do you want your people to be saying about you and your business to others who maybe looking for work?”
Statistics indicate that recruitment of employees costs approximately 2 ½ times the salary of the position (actual costs of advertising etc, time to consider applicants and interview, training of new employee, potential overtime for others to do the work whilst recruiting, loss of productivity whilst new employee reaches full performance etc). Further, benchmarks also support that it can take close to 12 months for an employee to be working at full productivity and that, employers can expect to hold onto an employee, on average, for 2-3 years. In other words, we invest for 12 months to bring a new employee to peek performance to hold onto them for another 1-2 years.
Job Descriptions (particularly when documented) are sound tools for businesses to:
- group work that needs to be done in the best possible way;
- identify both the technical skills and knowledge required as well as the customer focus and personal attributes sought;
- strengthen the chance of employing the right person for the right job and thereby reducing the chance of turnover;
- market a business as an Employer of Choice as a way to attract better candidates than the competition; and
- be the foundation for performance processes.
Can I suggest that investment in well thought out documented Job Descriptions is not a significant cost to a business.
www.balanixsolutions.con/recruitment
Recruiting to the Job or the Process
Recruitment | HR | Business Development
I am all for documented procedures and processes being used by business owners. Knowledge, consistency and compliance equals efficiency, productivity, less errors and reduced rework. However, like Erika’s job interview, procedures and lack of training can have the opposite effect.
In relation to Job interviews, why have a process? Well, the answer lies in why do an interview in the first place?
Most interviewing processes include a job interview. Selectors have read the written application and matched it to the Job Description requirements – this is where a good Job Description comes in handy. But job applications cannot always reflect the candidate accurately.
Candidates are encouraged to present a Resume or CV to get noticed. Many invest in Professional Resume and CV Writers or seek other help to ensure the best advantage (can’t blame them). However, as the recruiter, you need to test and validate what is being claimed in the written application to ensure they are the right person for the job and your business.
And this is where the interview comes in. The interview process needs to be structured sufficiently to ensure you find out everything you want to know and that you comply with laws and regulations, but not so structured that the only ticks are that you followed the process but don’t really know anything further about the candidate.
Face to face, the recruiter can hear the language the candidate uses, see how they respond to questions and begin to build rapport (or otherwise) with the prospect. Make sure when you are interviewing you use open questions (not closed questions) to ensure the candidate can talk (remember – you want to know what they know not what you already know).
Examples of Open Questions are:
- Tell me a time when …
- Have you ever experienced …. And if so, how did you handle it?
- You mention in your application you worked on … project. Could you expand on this for me?
- When you worked in …. Team, what role specifically did you have and what contributions did you make?
These questions allow the candidate to talk thereby opening up opportunities for the recruiter to explore information further with follow-up questions.
Closed questions are ones that can be answered Yes or No and don’t give the opportunity to really obtain much information. Examples of these types of questions are:
- You indicted in your application you have experience in … is that right?
- You mention in your application you worked on … project. Did you do things like …… in this project?
- When you worked in …. Team was the team successful in its work?
The right questions and the right process can get from the candidates exactly what they know, what their experience is, how they fit with the culture of your business and what type of employee they will be.
www.balanixsolutions.com.au/recruitment
3”C”s of Better Output
Recruitment | HR | Business Development
I recently read a wonderful recount of an episode in an organisation.
An employee was working late one evening when he found the CEO standing in front of a shredder with a piece of paper in his hand. “Excuse me,” said the CEO, “this is a very confidential and important document, and my PA has gone for the night. Can you make this thing work?”
“Certainly,” said the employee. He turned the machine on, inserted the paper, and pressed the start button.
“Excellent!” said the CEO as his paper disappeared inside the machine. “I just need one copy.”
Errors and re-work cost businesses plenty and yet, many handle the issue by merely venting frustration and complaining. People make mistakes and, to some extent, making mistakes is a good way to learn. However, allowing errors and re-work to continue at unacceptable levels results in direct costs to the business, as well as, loss of productivity.
But the 3 “C”s can help on the way to resolving the problem.
- Correct people in the right job: Getting the right person for the right job at the right time has enormous benefits for a business. Making the wrong decision can be stressful, confusing and expensive. Refer our previous blog on “Who to Employ” to start you on your way.
- Communicate: OK, you may have the right people with the right skills doing the right job, however, communication and consultation needs to be facilitated amongst the team. No one is an island – no employee can work in isolation to the rest of the organisation – keep people informed in relation to business activities; stress the importance of everyone talking and working together to make sure things don’t slip through the cracks or misunderstandings occur; think about just how urgent things are before asking someone not familiar with an aspect of work to help out.
- Continuously monitor and measure: Job costing and timesheets are great tools to monitor and measure work and costs. Monitoring and measuring the time it takes to do work, the materials used etc will provide invaluable information to identify areas prone to error or re-work and enable better practices, policies and procedures to be developed to minimize and/or get rid of these situations.
