Don’t recruit Mini-Me!

Would you make a $130K expenditure decision without doing your research?  For most of us (who plan to stay in business), the answer will be no.

As an absolute minimum, any recruitment decision is a $130K plus decision.  Just think, if you recruit someone you hope they will stay for at least 2 to 3 years and 2.5 years multiplied by $53,040 (Median Full-time salary Mid 2020) = $132,600.  

And that is without even thinking about reputational damage, stress, issues with getting rid of someone etc. if you recruit the wrong person!

Recruiting Mini-me’s

One of the most common mistakes is recruiting Mini-me’s.  I.e. those people who you like, because they are like you.  But guess what, Mini-me’s like doing the same things you do, and also avoid doing the same jobs you do.  So if you don’t like doing detail work, the chances are, your mini-me will also avoid doing detail work.  You need to recruit to fill those skill/job preference gaps.

The best way to do this is to really clearly define not only the skills you need the person to have, but more importantly, the competencies you need them to have.  You can train someone to use a particular computer programme, but it is virtually impossible to train someone to be good at multitasking if their preference is to complete each job fully before moving onto the next.  For example, a bookkeeper will need attention to detail, and the ability to work methodically through the tasks in order.  However, a salesperson in a busy retail environment will need to effectively multi-task, jump between jobs easily, but get everything done accurately.

Recruiting warm bodies

The other fatal recruitment mistake is recruiting a person because they are available! 

Despite everything that has gone on over the last year the recruitment market is exceedingly tight in many sectors:

1. Trades and construction workers are pretty much dictating their pay rates
2. Many tourism companies employed backpackers who are not currently here (though hopefully a few more Australians now!)
3. Highly specialized workers who were often recruited from overseas because the skills didn’t exist in NZ are struggling to get into the country because of border restrictions.
4. Workers are starting to move companies, but there is probably still a pretty high degree of reluctance to switch job if you are currently in employment.

But the dangers of settling for the person “who is available” can be catastrophic for the business. Reputation damage; costs to manage them out; damage to the team of a poor recruit pulling others down etc.


Maximising Recruitment Success

We are running a webinar on 27^th May at 10am where you will learn:

1. How define the gap you are trying to fill
2. How to write an advert to attract the right candidates
3. How to ask the right questions at interview to identify if they have the necessary competencies.  For example, if you ask the question “are you good at teamwork?” we all know the answer is yes.  But if you ask, “tell me about the last time you were involved in a team, what went well and what went badly?” you will find out a lot more about the person and how they interact with others.
4. The importance of reference checking and doing it yourself.  You need to hear the answer to the question “would you reemploy?” as “yes” can have a lot of inferred meanings depending on how the answer is delivered!
5. What are the alternatives to the traditional sit-down interview as a recruitment method?

NB using these simple recruitment processes can increase your chances of getting the right person from 8% to 60%

HR is easy…
The HRtoolkit document library includes whole suite of recruitment tools which can be found at this link.

You just need the right tools and documentation, so sign up for HRtoolkit for only $349 + GST per annum for all the tools and documentation you need, and access to the expert when you are not sure exactly what to do.

Free Webinar Programme

Don’t forget to sign up for our next webinar on Thursday April 29^th 10am – Bonus Schemes – how to ensure they drive the right behaviour

And our webinars over the next few months are:

1. May 27^th 10am – Recruitment – how to significantly increase your chances of finding the right person for the job
2. June 24^th 10am – Types of employment engagement – Casuals, Contractors, low-guaranteed hours agreements – what the risks are, and how to ensure you have the right agreement in place
3. July 29^th 10am – Induction – getting the first impression right and ensuring that new employee is up to speed ASAP.

Looking forward to seeing you at the next webinar
Cheers

Lisa Mackay
Managing Director
021 741 544