Recruitment and Selection made sexy!  

Used with permission of the author:
Author: Mandy Carlson
Copyright © 2006, CARLSON CONSULTING. All rights reserved.
http://www.carlsonconsulting.co.za
mandy@carlsonconsulting.co.za
30 April 2007

Back to ... Workinfo.com Human Resources Magazine Volume 1 Issue 6, 2007

People and organisations are changing. People (performers) want the see the value in what they do. And organisations (performers) who want to be competitive and grow are realising the value of their people in achieving success. It seems then that this is a prime opportunity to be a little more innovative in resourcing and assessing the right people. Who says HR can’t have sexy strategies in meeting organisational goals?

“Getting our people right” is a universal goal of employers today in achieving organisational performance. This poses both an opportunity and challenge to business leaders and HR professionals who are involved in designing and executing innovative people strategies. The bottom line is that employers really do want to know their return on investment and people want their worth appreciated.

There are many organisations aiming or claiming to be the “employer of choice”, but very often they are just blowing hot air. So how is it that some organisations are recruiting and selecting top talent and in so doing retaining their critical people?

Re-branding

We’ve been told that HR is always coming up with more ‘fancy labels’ than they are worth and that there is more talk than action in achieving on the people strategy. But how can we create some action if people are not behind the goal? We need to inject some passion and motivation.

South Africa is in the spotlight by the rest of the globe for developing effective models of human behaviour so NOW is a good time for us to come up to the mark. How about re-branding the staid labels of “recruitment and selection” to “resourcing and assessing” ? Yes, the umbrella term is talent management and includes both these processes and that of performance management, however, we still need to label these functions. Perhaps the HR profession can borrow from marketing colleagues and tap into the power of branding strategies and processes in order to make them more attractive, accessible and innovative.

Branding is “impressing unforgettably”. It is about reaching out to and capturing the right consumer market through appropriate messaging (communication). So this re-labeling exercise may inject some new energy into these two critical processes of resourcing and assessing with the ultimate objective of getting the right people on board and into the right roles. This in turn has a direct impact on team and organisational performance where deliverables have been aligned to those of the people involved.

Many HR professionals and line managers will tell you that “recruitment” is last on their list of “likeable” functions and certainly not a passion! In many instances, the “applicant” is left in the dark as to the assessment process, progress and feedback and a lot of energy and productivity is wasted through poor communication of and throughout the process. This is not only true for the applicant. A line manager for example may be changing the details of a role or a deliverable simultaneous to a recruiter attempting to source for a role that is changing. Communication is critical. A branding exercise aimed at adding a refreshing spin on the hiring process could add a lot of value for all involved. And with all this new emphasis on talent management and retention, a whole new focus may contribute to a new interest!

Resourcing

Attracting the right people is the resourcing/recruiting process. The resourcing purpose needs to be clearly identified and the approach should be focused and simple. What do you want to achieve? Does the hiring model fit the goal?

Knowing what type of person we are looking for i.e. the DNA such as skills and competencies takes away the guess work and aids greatly in an accurate, fair and objective assessment process to meet the legal, human and professional expectations.

So how do we add the sexy bit? Create a unique process that allows people to experience an innovative prospecting process and walk away having had a truly WOW! experience regardless of whether or not they are hired. Use marketing to contribute to such process as well as to coach those involved in the hiring process such as recruiters and line managers to incorporate the good principles of customer service and big, positive attitude.

Implementing a successful resourcing strategy ensures that communication both pre-hire and post-hire is consistent. After all, the resourcing process is a prospecting exercise – the right person internalises the messages received during the resourcing campaign and a two-way buy-and-sell process begins between person and organisation. How accurately you sell the role and the organisation is important to ensure the right fit between person and organisation. Oversell may create an unrealistic expectation with the result that the person is disillusioned upon arrival to the new organisation and leaves or never really performs. A positive but honest communication process is emphasised.

Assessment

Assessment of human potential is like a process of puzzle-building. By piecing together the person’s skills, experience, competencies, and motivation, an understanding is gained of the level of competence. Past work performance is a key indicator of future performance. Hence a systematic assessment approach is emphasised for gathering information about people in order to make selection decisions (employment, placement, promotion, training, etc). Sell assessment as a process whereby the person has the opportunity of learning more about his/her DNA and career development requirements. Add some “fun” assessment techniques to uncover the person’s passion.

The more effective the assessment process, the greater the faith of the applicant that the organisation is serious about its people and its performance. If “investing in people” is a core value to the organisation then anyone going through the assessment process will be able to judge such value. Other organisational cultural elements that are demonstrated throughout the process are leadership, communication, innovation, and decision-making. A major delay in decision-making or no communication about the selection does not tell the applicant a very positive story about the organisational culture.

Critical people that organisations are seeking to attract and retain are more selective about their occupational role and who they work for. These people want to find meaning and fulfillment in what they do and they are more closely aligning themselves with organisations that project the image that they aspire to and/or identify with organisations that reflect their personal value systems.

So now more than ever, the right people strategies can be seen to have a direct effect on people and organisational performance.

Are you GETTING YOUR PEOPLE RIGHT?

Sources: 
Elaine Saunders, Assessing Human Competence; 
workinfo.com; 
J. Leslie McKeown, Retaining Top Employees.

Mandy Carlson has an Honours Degree in Industrial and Organisational Psychology and is an accredited test administrator for selected psychometric assessment products.   She has extensive experience in recruitment and selection having spent over eight years with a global professional services firm focusing on management and executive level appointments.
Mandy has also assisted organisations in building sound resourcing and assessment processes and practices to ensure congruency of skills, competencies and culture between person and organisation.  Mandy now works closely with clients to identify organisational development needs and interventions required through OD support and Talent Management strategies and process design involving people development and training, career coaching, role definitions and performance outputs, competency frameworks and gap analyses, resourcing and assessment, and change facilitation.  Mandy can be contacted at Carlson Consulting, +27 21 6854819 / +27 83 461 3247 (office/fax) www.carlsonconsulting.co.za and mandy@carlsonconsulting.co.za 

Short Description
Critical people that organisations are seeking to attract and retain are more selective about their occupational role and who they work for. These people want to find meaning and fulfillment in what they do and they are more closely aligning themselves with organisations that project the image that they aspire to and/or identify with organisations that reflect their personal value systems. So now more than ever, the right people strategies can be seen to have a direct effect on people and organisational performance.  

Keywords and relevant phrases
Assessment, branding, HR policies, HR strategy, people strategy, performance management, organisational goals, recruitment, resourcing, retention, skills, talent management.

Back to ... Workinfo.com Human Resources Magazine Volume 1 Issue 6, 2007