Time is Money - By Caroline Seear, Managing Director of Red Recruit.

 

Whether you are running a small family business or a much larger organisation, recruiting staff is time consuming and costly. For many employers the risk involved in identifying and recruiting suitable people is huge. 

 

We live in a world where time is money. In order to recruit the right candidate; whether you are looking for a Porter or your next General Manager, you must spend time.

To begin with you must sift through CV’s and contact people in similar roles. For every ten CV’s you view, you may contact one candidate. For every five candidates you contact, one may be suitable for interview. For every three interviews you hold, you will hopefully find one person who meets your requirements and will add value to your business and be a good match.  All this selecting and interviewing takes time – time which a business owner or manager could be spending generating business and profit.

So, how do you save time, and money, and still find great candidates?

Here are my three tips:

 

Know what you want
If you do not know exactly what you are looking for then you are in for a torrid time finding well-fitting candidates. Having a clear idea of your requirements will also streamline the entire hiring process and make your search more efficient.

 

The first step is to be thorough from the outset. Investing a little time at the beginning of your search will pay dividends. If you write a detailed and accurate job spec you will find you filter out some unnecessary applications. It also means that later in the process people you are speaking to will have a greater understanding of your role.

 

Know your candidate

Your applicants will one day be your employees. Spend time talking to applicants and getting a feel for them. Your employees are your product and your shop-window, so it is vitally important to make sure that candidates are the right fit. Remember you are also trying to sell the applicant your company. There is no substitute for the personal touch.

 

Have a clear process

This is as important for a family run business as it is in a multi-national corporation. Having a clear continuity in your hiring process will make it clear and concise, saving time and money. This also makes the process transferable and means that people can assist one another without having to compile overly detailed handovers.

 

At the end of the day whenever you make a decision you have to ask yourself, “Is this cost effective for my business?” Time is money but hiring the wrong employee is a costly mistake. Make sure that you spend time finding quality candidates.

 

Many companies choose specialist recruitment agencies to avoid the spadework. This can be cost effective but choosing the right consultancy is as important as choosing the right candidate.

 

However you decide to recruit, avoid unrealistic expectations, be clear in your approach and spend time getting to know the people who will soon be part of your business.