Struggling to fill vacant roles? Let’s look at your recruitment processes

In today’s competitive job market, attracting and retaining top talent is more crucial than ever. A well-structured recruitment process is the backbone of successful hiring, ensuring that organisations not only find the right candidates but also create a positive experience for them. Whether you’re revisiting existing strategies or building them from the ground up, this article will help you navigate the complexities of recruitment with confidence and will help employers build a step-by-step recruitment process.

Step one: job analysis

Before you can hire for the role, you need to know what it’ll entail. This is when employers should define the role and responsibilities that go with it. This includes identifying the skills and qualifications required, developing a clear and concise job description and establishing the salary range and benefits.

Step two: sourcing candidates

Now that you’ve got a good criteria, you can start looking for people to fill the role. It’s a good idea to use multiple channels to get the word out – think job boards, social media and recruitment agencies. And don’t be afraid to target passive candidates through headhunting!

Step three: screening and selection

Now it’s time to pick your new recruit, at this point, employers should review resumes and cover letters, conduct phone or video screening interviews, utilise pre-employment assessments and tests and shortlist candidates for further evaluation.

Tip: when it comes to pre-employment assessments, it’s easy to get it wrong. It’s important to keep in mind the candidate’s time and skillset by avoiding long-winded projects and overly technical tasks unless that skill is required for the role itself. If hiring for an entry-level position, expect the candidate to have little to no experience or knowledge and base screening tests on general skills and personality instead.

Step four: interviewing

The next step is interviewing the shortlist of candidates, and the candidate isn’t the only one that needs to be prepared! Employers should come to the interview with structured questions and should provide candidates with a clear understanding of the company culture and expectations.

Tip: sometimes employers can go overboard by conducting –multiple interviews per candidate, this should be avoided as it can be a waste of resources and time for both parties. Try to stick to two to three interviews – that’s the perfect amount of time to know if the candidate is a good match for your business.

Step five: onboarding

Once you’ve decided on a candidate it’s time to send a letter of offer. Once they accept the offer, you can send all the necessary paperwork like their employment contract and Fair Work Information Statement. Now is also the time to collect important info from the candidate like tax file information, proof of identity, bank details and superannuation.

Plan a comprehensive orientation program including assigning mentors or buddies to new hires and ensuring new employees have access to necessary tools and resources including handover documents, company emails and important contact information.

Tip: best-practice recruitment process calls for a follow-up. Once the employee has settled in, employers should gather feedback to improve the onboarding process for the next hire.

Citation HR can make onboarding smoother

Having an industry-leading HR team behind you will make onboarding seamless and stress-free. Our software allows you to easily manage each stage of the employee lifecycle, think – recruitment, onboarding, termination and retirement. Plus when it’s time to make those difficult decisions, our HR experts are on standby 24/7 to give you advice. To discover how Citation HR can help streamline your company’s HR processes, contact us for a no-obligation chat. Book your call here.

About our author

Georgia Theocharous is the Communications Coordinator for Citation Group. She is responsible for crafting content across multiple channels such as blogs, social media, landing pages and email campaigns.