Recruiting people
Consider how your recruitment process can be designed to maximise the potential diversity of applicants.
Practical aspects of the recruitment process – time of day, interview location etc – can inadvertently discriminate against some candidates. To keep the potential pool of suitable applicants as wide as possible, be flexible when scheduling interviews and ensure the venue for the interview is accessible to disabled candidates. Whenever reasonable possible avoid significant religious times, for example Friday afternoons or major religious festivals such as Ramadan.
Ensure interviewers focus on competencies rather than personal details
Ultimately, the selection process should concentrate on assessing the skills and competencies required for the job. Avoid asking personal questions which may imply potential discrimination. Ensure that personal information that is volunteered is not considered inappropriately in the decision–making process.
Invite candidates to make any special needs known to you in advance of the selection process
Some candidates – for example wheelchair users, or people with visual impairments – may need adjustments to be made to the recruitment process or exercises in order to be able to compete fairly.
Make sure that all interviewers are familiar with applicable employment law issues, and your organisation’s equality policy if it exists.
People conducting interviews need training not only on the soft skills of effective interviewing, but also need to be kept up to date with changes in employment law and issues of equal opportunities, to avoid behaviour which leaves the organisation vulnerable to charges of discrimination.
Review the effectiveness of recruitment activity
If any stage of the recruitment process failed to produce the expected result, e.g. if the advertising method produced too many or poorly-qualified candidates, explore the underlying reasons in order to make the process more efficient in future.
Consider introducting a referral scheme for staff
Staff can often suggest potential candidates who would be well suited for a role, and share the values of the organisation, from amongst their own contacts. This can help to speed up the recruitment process, reduce advertising or search costs and provide some assurance that potential recruits would fit in well to the organisation – hence some employers offer staff a bonus or incentive if candidates they refer are subsequently recruited.
Conduct exit interviews with people leaving the organisation
This can be useful both to find out why the person is leaving and to get an opportunity to review and, if necessary, amend the role, job description or induction process accordingly.
Consider using a competency checklist in interviews
Using a form structured around the competencies required for the role to collect the views of interviewers can help to ensure decisions are made objectively.
Record and document recruitment decisions
Ensure that the results of interviews and other recruitment negotiations are kept in written form so that queries, candidate requests for feedback, or complaints can be investigated.
Build relationships with colleges or community groups
Building your brand amongst potential recruits is important in order to attract the best candidates, perhaps especially at trainee or graduate entry level. Forming links with colleges or universities through sponsorship, campus representatives, recruitment or training events can help to raise your organisation’s profile. Similar techniques can help to access community groups who are under-represented in your workforce, boosting diversity and ensuring your workforce is in touch with customer needs and values.
Ensure selection tests are applied and analysed properly
Whilst cognitive and personality tests can provide useful data on candidates, they can also be misleading, intrusive or even counter-productive if used in the wrong way. Ensure you choose tests which really help you identify skills, and aptitudes relevant to the role, and involve specialist help if necessary in interpreting the results.