Recruitment Flowchart

This process covers all situations where we identify a vacancy. Even if we know people we want to approach, or people approach us, we still need the key process steps i.e. get approval to recruit, interview, pre-employment checks, final approval to hire and creating offer documents. Use our tips for successful recruitingto help you. Involve the ‘experts’. You are responsible for successful recruitment but our experts can help you recruit well and you must involve them at the start of the process.

1. Good hiring begins with clarity about the job, the person we need, how we will recruit and terms of our offer. You must involve HR in all recruitment. As Hiring Manager you complete the approval to recruit form including customising a position description for the role. These help you define the skills, experience, attributes etc of the person you want and key details such as remuneration, pre-employment checks required, entitlements etc for the role. They allow you to get the necessary approval to recruit and start to plan the sourcing and recruitment process. Next get the right approvals (see Delegations Authority) to recruit.

2. Sourcing. With approval in place talk with HR to agree a detailed job brief and plan for recruitment. Use our tips for writing great  ads to help you. We use a wide range of sources including; the internet, online job boards, social media, recruitment agencies and our staff networks via our referral scheme. Use our tips for working with agencies to get the best from our recruiting partners. All roles must be advertised to internal candidates on our intranet.

3. View the CVs/applications received using Phoenix. Screen using our short listing template and  tips for short listing to develop 3-4 candidates for interview. If there are many similar candidates use telephone/SKYPE screening to reduce interview numbers. The ‘must have’ list you prepared as part of the approval to recruit will help you stay focused on your minimum requirements. HR will send an application decline template email to candidates you don’t shortlist. This courtesy is important since we might wish to hire them for some future vacancy.

4. With your short list complete its time to organise and prepare for interviews. Interviews are normally organised by HR but your role is critical. Use the tips for organising and conducting interviews. Customise either our sales interview questions or salaried interview questions when preparing. Make sure that you have a fully completed application before the interview. If the person applied on–line they will have completed one otherwise get them to complete a paper application form.

5. Use the customised sales or salaried interview questionaire prepared earlier to interview your short list candidates. Always have an interview partner to help you interview and assess the candidates. Two sets of eyes/ears will make much more accurate selection decisions. Our policy is ‘one over’ involvement in the interview process (i.e. the persons hierarchical and functional manager should participate at some point). Afterwards debate with your interview partner how various candidates measure against your interview questions and ‘must have’ and ‘desirable’ requirements and rank them. As well as their technical ability are they passionate, forward thinking, team players with a track record of relevant success? If its close, think about the old recruiting wisdom… ‘always prefer the right attitude over superior skill….we can teach skill but attitude is harder to change’. Use these tips for making selection to help you select one or two candidates for second interview  where applicable.

6. Second interviews (often including a Branch visit) are essential for making the right decision. They also give you the chance to get other colleagues involved bringing their different perspective on the candidate. Don’t forget the candidate also has to make a decision and the second interview is their chance to ask final questions before they commit. Use our tips for second interview to help you.

7. Hiring mistakes are expensive and hard to put right so we use a series of role specific standard checks and tests, including reference checks, to ensure people are qualified to work, have the skills, ability, record and experience they claim and generally to avoid making hiring mistakes. The checks we use depend on the job involved. Our schedule of pre-employment check requirements spells out what is required. You conduct the reference checks and HR undertake all other checks. If our checks raise concerns talk with HR. Consider seeking additional information if there are gaps or you got feedback that concerned you. Do not proceed and make an offer before you are satisfied on the results of these checks.

8. If your second interview and checks are satisfactory its time to make your hire/no hire decision. Use the tips for making selections to help make good decisions. Remember ‘better an empty chair than a bad hire’. Key questions are; do they meet your ‘must have’ criteria? do they share our values? how do they stack up against the next best option? how will they fit in your team? what does your ‘gut’ instinct tell you? Take time to decide and talk it over with a colleague/HR. You need to get a final ‘approval to hire’ sign-off from your manager to make the offer. Make sure your Manager agrees to the key terms of offer (such as remuneration) if these have changed in discussion with the candidate since original approval was gained. Prepare your employment agreement request so the offer documentation can be prepared if a verbal offer is accepted.

9. As the hiring manager you should make the verbal offer. This allows you to ‘sell’ the opportunity and explain the offer with any context you want to provide. The candidate can ask any questions and attempt to negotiate if they wish. The main terms you should cover include: Title and reporting location, hours etc; remuneration and main (or unusual) terms of employment including 90 day trial, study bond etc; your answer on any special requests they had (e.g. an extra weeks holiday). Start date, any other key terms or unusual features (e.g. variations from responsibilities originally discussed, pre-approved requests for leave etc) When you want their response by. If they want to negotiate on key terms take a break. Think about it, talk to the HR and get your managers approval before calling back with any change. Consider the tips for negotiation. If agreement is reached, complete our employment agreement request form and send to HR so an offer pack, including an employment contract, can be prepared and sent. (These normally take 24 hours to prepare and send).

10. Based on your employment agreement request HR will generate an Employment Agreement and send/courier it with the other items in the offer of employment pack. We are legally obliged to give people a ‘reasonable’ opportunity to review and take advice on our offer. 2-3 days is generally enough.

11. Once we have verbal acceptance we (you or HR) should ring the other short listed candidates and advise they were unsuccessful. We may want to talk to these people again so it’s important we are courteous and, if they request it, give them some feedback on why they were not successful. Use the tips for talking to unsuccessful candidates guide to help you.

12. HR will check that the offer documentation is returned signed and complete. If you are requiring a 90 day trial period that requirement will not be legally valid unless the employee signs before starting work. HR will notify you of final acceptance via circulation of a new start form or by email/phone.

13. Once an acceptance is received HR will send pre-induction information to the new hire asking them to complete our DISC work styles profile. As their future manager you need to plan and prepare for their 90 day induction (refer Induction section).