HR AND TRAINING
So how do we recruit good staff?
Good loyal and committed staff are hard to find, what with the cost of living increasing along with fuel prices rising on a almost daily basis. So how do we recruit and maintain our staff.
There is no easy answer to this, I wish there was.
Your recruitment process must be robust, in the first instance.
So your process starts with advertising the role that you are recruiting for. The advert must be attractive to catch the right persons eye, doesn't have to be expensive if you are putting it in the local paper or advertising on line.
The advert just needs to outline the role, so the person is able to understand right from the start what's expected from them, no hidden agenda that they find out about at the interview, this is always a disappointment, from the off as the candidate will feel pressured into agreeing at the stage of the interview or they will lose motivation for the role.
In the advert give a brief description of the role itself and what the hours are and the rate of pay, (always a good start). You can state competitive rate of pay, if you wish.
You will need to clear and be honest about the working hours, such as if they are excepted to work weekends or evenings, if the role includes on call, then be clear about this as well. if they are expected to travel from place to place and if there is a mileage allowance or travel time, this can attract a candidate to the role.
In return what do you expect from the right candidate, when advertising, so experience is good, but not essential as you should offer full in house training and induction. Do they need to be a car driver or have use of a car? Do they have qualifications or skills that will assist with the role. Any benefits that you can offer such as sick pay, mileage allowance, travel time, any progress through the company and obviously salary and contributions to the company pension.
Once you have placed you advert whether being on line or through social media, adverts on the internet or even in the local paper.
You will need to prepare for the interest that hopefully will generate, from the Advert. You will need to have you application form that states you need full employment history, (gaps will need to be identified at the interview), please note that under the GPDS data protection you are no longer able to ask for their Date of Birth. You will need at least two employment references, work colleagues are not advisable as this could be a conflict of interest, as they will not inform you of any sickness or disciplinary action, that may of been taken against the candidate. The Manager should always be the first port of call. The candidates are not allowed to use relatives as a reference, if the candidate can't produce two references , then you can ask for a tutor of college or school.
A job specification and a job description out lining the role is essential part of the application process as this will enable the candidate to decide if they are suitable for the role and they are able to proceed with applying for the role.
Education will need to be part of the application along with dates of education including last school and any qualifications.
Any higher education will need to be part of the form as well again with dates and qualifications.
You will need to be clear on the application about the criminal offence Act and they must declare if they have had any convictions that might had earlier in life. It is the registered manager decision if they want to go ahead with the next stage or not at this point.
A signature need to be on this part of the application form with a date declaring any conviction or not.
Then a short statement about how all of the candidates information on this form is true and any false information may lead to termination of the application. This needs to be signed and date.
Always have a tick List when sending out application forms
- application form
- Job Description
- Job Specification
- Stamped address envelope
Remember to always have a Closing date for the advert.