Guide to Recruitment and Interviewing for Small Businesses

‘You are only as good as your people’ is a broad statement but one that applies to all busineses, across every industry.

Helen Cracknell, from Business Link Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire looks at a best practice approach to the basics of recruitment and interviewing.

With so much face-to-face interaction in business today, and increasing skill requirements, recruitment is the essential first stage of getting hold of the right people to make your business a success. Without good people, customers will look elsewhere.

Whichever way you choose to do it, recruiting staff will always require some form of investment for your business. But it’s equally important to remember that taking this investment seriously can make it more valuable.

Do you really need to recruit?

Always think about whether you really need to take on new staff, as a solution or alternative to recruiting may already exist within your business, allowing you to save money. For example, by reorganising the business’ structure, or promoting existing staff to take on and manage new tasks, you may be able to meet your staffing needs. Perhaps you already have temporary staff – if so then you could consider asking them to work more hours. This obviously depends on the size of your business, but in most cases should be considered before rushing into the recruitment process.

Why are you recruiting?

Start by thinking about the skills you are looking for. Establish why you are recruiting as this will help you look for and find the right person. If you are replacing one of your team who has just left or is about to leave, then think about what kind of experience you will be losing and what needs to be replaced.

Some businesses recruit to meet special business demands or busy periods of trade – perhaps seasonally. If this is the case then asess whether you need someone on a permanent or temporary basis. Alternatively, you could be recruiting to help your business expand into a new area or service a new market, and as a result you may need someone with new skills currently missing from your team. Reflecting on the skills gap you are trying to fill will make finding that person much easier.Writing a person specification and job description

Once you know exactly what sort of individual you are looking for, you need to draft a concise and accurate person specification and job description allowing you to attract and identify the right kind of candidates to your business.

The person specification should accurately outline the skills, knowledge and experience you are looking for. This will help you define the qualities you are looking for in a candidate. It is also what you will use as an advert for the job if you are sourcing candidates yourself, as opposed to a recruitment agency.

The job description should highlight the general nature and objectives of the job, along with the main duties and tasks it will involve. You should also include the more practical information, such as job title, the position and where the job will be based.

Using recruitment agencies

Using a recruitment company is effectively outsourcing a large chunk of the process and this will certainly save you time. Another benefit is that in some instances, you can try out temporary workers before employing them permanently. Also, you can often get a rebate (within certain time periods) and be provided with another candidate if the first candidate you take on is unsuitable. Recruitment agencies usually pay temporary workers directly and take care of tax issues, which again will save you time.

On the downside, if the agency is unsuccessful or slow at lining up the right kind of candiates then you will find yourself losing valuable time and not filling the position as quickly as you would like. This could be disruptive to other staff and customers.

Furthermore, recruitment agencies are expensive - you may have to pay an agency as much as 30 % of the employee's annual salary (or equivalent for temporary staff) once the candidate has successfully completed their probationary period.

Interviewing: the basics

Once you have had decided which candidates you would like to meet, you need to arrange interviews. Interviewing requires time and preparation and is not just about assessing the abilities of potential employees. Prepare in advance and reflect on what you wrote in your personal specification and job description. Your aim is to get quality information from the candidate so you can assess them fairly and fully against your needs.

At the same time, think about your business too, and how you will sell the idea of why the candidate might want to work with you instead of a competitor. By selling your business as a good place to work with opportunities to learn and progress, you are more likely to attract a better calibre of candidate who will accept your job offer and ultimately bolster your team and business.

To ensure that your interviews have a clear and consistent structure, follow this outline:

• Welcome the candidate and try to put them at ease by offering them a drink
• Introduce yourself and briefly explain what the interview will involve
• Talk through some background on your business and give some information on the role and what it will involve
• Encourage the candidate to talk about about their skills and experience and how they apply to the vacancy
• Ask open-ended questions so that the candidate has the opportunity to express themselves and expand on what you are asking
• Keep control of the interview. If you feel the candidate is going off-track, turn the conversation back to the information you need
• At the end of the interview, ask the candidate if they have any questions
• Inform them of the next stage in the recruitment process, e.g. second interviews and estimated timescales
• Thank the candidate for their time

Having found the right person, then make your offer, either directly, or through the recruitment agency if you used one. If you are undecided between one or a few candidates, then invite them back for another interview, maybe with one of your colleagues who can give their opinion.

Once the offer has been made and accepted verballly, ensure the same is done in writing. Make sure you think about how you will welcome, train and induct your new recruit to the business so that they can get off to the best start possible.

Finally, remember that the most important part of your business is the people and this should always be considered throughout the whole recruitment process.

More Information

For more information on recruiting and interviewing visit Business Link. The ‘Employing people’ section of the website has a range of online tools, resources and guides that can help guide you through the HR and employment side of running your business.