2014 looks set to be a promising year for growth in the recruitment industry. Data from the REC/KPMG Report on Jobs showed the strongest rise in permanent placements since March 2010 and the growth of temp billings quickening, reaching the fastest pace for over 15 years.
This is a great indicator that recruitment companies ready for growth will be able to maximise on this positive outlook to achieve success in 2014. The growth of any recruitment company is always underpinned by the people in the business – without the right people in place growth plans will not be fulfilled.
To get the right people on board that can help propel your business and fulfil the growth potential all hiring decisions should be made for the right reasons which reflect your business plan, objectives and values. Look beyond the skills of candidates and look at their attitudes, such as strong communication skills. Attitudes are a bigger indicator of what will make a high performer and a valuable asset to your team. Ultimately skills can be learnt but if they don’t have the right starting attitude they will not be successful.
The hiring decisions you make will determine the culture, service standards and reputation of your business. Hiring outside of the desired values you have in place will ultimately hurt both your internal and external reputations.
The start of any hiring process is to attract the types of candidates you are looking for, so be honest are your adverts in terms of content and look reflect the kind of attitudes you are looking for? If they don’t, get a bit more creative and set the tone for the type of candidate you want to attract as well as setting you apart from the competition.
Once you have attracted the candidates how do you determine if they have the right attitudes you are looking for? Design your interview questions targeting particular attitudes, for example to test for ability to admit mistakes, rectify and learn from them ask; “Tell me about a time when you made a mistake with a client/candidate or co-worker and how you overcame the mistake.” Dedicate enough time in the interview to get answers to both types of questions that will allow you to determine skill set as well as attitude.
Investing the time to establish a robust hiring process and sticking to the desired attitudes will be invaluable with any new candidate you hire. If you don’t have the time to establish a hiring process, outsource your hiring decisions to specialists.
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