How To Minimise Recruitment Mistakes

It does not always prove easy to attract, identify and select the most qualified candidate for a specific job?

We have all employed the wrong person for a job at some time. But what you may not be fully aware of, is the horrendous costs it caused for your company.

Hiring the wrong person can in fact cost you as much as 3 times the annual salary. How? The costs relate to:

• Wasted salary
  
  
• Wasted benefits
  
  
• Severance pay
  
  
• Recruitment fees
  
  
• Training costs
  
  
• Hiring time

* Statistics from a 1998 study by the Corporate Leadership Council

And the fees and time involved for recruitment, training and hiring have to be repeated to seek and employ the right person for the job.

Add to this the fact that many hiring mistakes occur, not because of a lack of technical skills, but because of 'interpersonal flaws'.

Why include psychological assessment as a part of the recruitment process?

1. Cost savings: In view of the cost of hiring and training employees, an organisation must attempt to recruit the best individuals available if it expects to realise a good return on its recruitment investment. Assessments can produce substantial savings by selecting employees who are more capable, better motivated and more likely to remain on the job.
   
   
2. Fit with organisational culture: A commonly made recruitment mistake is basing the selection of candidates only on their technical strength and the ability to do the job at hand. While recognising the importance of technical expertise, candidates need to be evaluated on characteristics such as their motivation to succeed and personality fit with the culture of the organisation.
   
   
3. Behavioural interviewing: 'Behavioural interviewing is a structured interviewing strategy built on the premise that past behaviour is the best predictor of future performance in similar circumstances.' Using the results from psychological assessment, along with the candidate's resume, a skilled interviewer can probe for behavioural evidence of what the candidate said, did, felt and thought, and what the results were.

What are the critical steps in the recruitment process?

1. Identify the critical job level performance requirements- those that will ensure success in the job you wish to fill.
   
   
2. Identify the most appropriate assessment tools to test the performance requirements that have been identified as critical.
   
   
3. Advertise the position outlining the essential criteria and ask for candidates to address these criteria in their resume.
   
   
4. Select those candidates who are the closest match and arrange for psychological assessment. Alternatively, you may prefer to interview first and then short list for psychological assessment.
   
   
5. Develop behavioural interview questions for all the critical success factors.
   
   
6. Train the interviewer/s and set up a structured process for the interview.
   
   
7. Conduct the interview using the following as a suggested model:
   

   a.	Establish rapport and obtain background information
   b.	Obtain behavioural information on the identified critical success factors, combining information from the resume and results of psychological assessment.
   c.	Describe the position.
   d.	Sell the position and the company.
   e.	Close the interview through determining the candidate's interest and describing the next steps.

   
   
8. Evaluate candidates.
   
   
9. Inform all candidates of the outcome.

*Corporate Leadership Council Literature Review March 1998 Catalogue No: 070-198-213

Reprinted with permission of NSW Business Chamber. For more information about this article or NSW Business Chamber, its products, services and membership, please call 13 26 96 or visit the web site: www.nswbusinesschamber.com.au
First published: 24 July 2002.
Last updated: 6 October 2005.