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Recruitment and Selection Courses
Making mistakes in recruitment can be a costly experience not only in terms of wasted advertising, administration and interviewing costs, but in also in terms of handling poor performance or negotiating exit deals when things do not work out.
The cost of recruitment is generally considered to be one times the salary of the vacant position. This is based on the reduction in productivity as an employee prepares to leave the organisation, the costs of recruiting a new employee, the subsequent training costs and the reduced efficiency whilst the new recruit reaches peak performance.
When one considers this ‘actual’ cost of recruitment, it makes it extremely clear that there is a need to ‘get it right, first time’. Making recruitment mistakes will inflate an already costly exercise as the process has to be repeated and the ‘after effects’ of mistakes have to be dealt with. There is of course a legal framework which has to be complied with and we touch on this in both courses.
We have designed two courses to develop those who will handle recruitment and selection in your organisation.
- ‘Recruitment and Selection – Introductory’ is aimed at those who are new to interviewing.
- ‘Competency Interviewing’ – for those with some existing experience.
We can of course adapt both courses to your requirements.
Recruitment and Selection – Introductory : 1 day
- The Recruitment Process
This session covers the process of recruitment from specifying requirements via job descriptions and person specifications, designing advertisements, pre-selection, planning for interviews, conducting interviews, making decisions and candidate management. Delegates are given an opportunity to practice writing a job and person specification. We also touch on the legal aspects of recruitment.
- Objectivity and Consistency
In this session we cover the pitfalls that sometimes occur when recruiting where value judgements, stereotyping, and preconceptions stand in the way of recruiting the right person for the role. We learn how to suspend subjectivity and make the right choices based on the predetermined criteria for the role.
- First Impressions
This module looks to some of the aspects of recruitment which are often forgotten in terms of how the ‘candidate experience’ is with their potential new employer. We explore how the organisation and the interviewers in particular can ‘press the right buttons’ with the candidates so increasing the chances of successfully securing the chosen recruit.
- Questioning Techniques
This section introduces the candidates to interviewing questioning techniques and the importance of focusing on what the candidate can actually do. We introduce candidates to the techniques which are fair and legal, but moreover have the highest chance of successfully testing what the candidate says they are able to provide.
- Interview Design and Structure
So many interviews are conducted without planning and preparation. When interviews are not planned this significantly reduces the chances of getting the skills one is trying to obtain. Here we look at how to plan and structure an interview to get maximum results in the time available to you.
- Listening Skills and Note-taking
In this section we consider the importance of listening and taking notes. We consider what information should be recorded in the light of candidates being able to access their interview notes. Often once the interview is over – this is where processes fall down and our aim is to educate delegates on how important this aspect is not least from justifying recruitment decisions.
- Role Plays
The course culminates with an opportunity to practice the techniques learnt earlier in the course within a safe environment. Our facilitators will give feedback, hints and tips to ensure the delegates leave feeling confident and able to take their learning back to the workplace.
Competency Interviewing
This one day course has been designed to give those with a platform knowledge of recruitment theory and practice the opportunity to develop their existing skills in interviewing using competencies.
The course contains the following but should you have a specific requirement we can adapt the course to suit your specific requirements:
- The theory of competencies – Why use competencies?
In this session we examine the business case for competencies and discuss the main concepts of individual and organisational competence.
- How competency interviewing differs from standard interviewing techniques
We reflect and recap on the principles of recruitment and selection and through discussion identify some of the strengths and limitations of both standard and competency based interviewing. We explore what needs to be in the ‘toolkit’ of a competency interviewer.
- Identifying key competency areas by role
We deliberately take delegates ‘back to basics’ to understand how competencies for each role are defined thus enabling them to apply this back in the workplace with other roles. We want delegates to question and challenge what the role requires in competency terms rather than taking competency requirements from others.
- Identifying and testing behavioural anchors
We explore the need to have behavioural anchors and through worked examples really get to the heart of what headline competencies mean.
- Setting appropriate competency questions
Defining the right questions is essential if competency interviewing is to fully deliver the results it has the potential to achieve. We guide first and then give delegates the opportunity to practice in a safe environment defining competency question sets themselves.
- Gathering and analysing evidence of competencies
We develop the delegate’s ability to be objective and to be very disciplined in the assessment of competencies. We go through some practical examples testing the delegate’s ability to detach and not make any value judgements. This is about getting the right candidates in the right roles and therefore the ability to assess correctly is vital.
- Documenting competency assessments
This is a really important part of the course. Documents and an audit trail are required for recruitment decisions as well as validating why a specific decision is the right one.
- Practicing competency interview techniques
Delegates get several opportunities throughout the day to practice all elements of the competency interview process culminating with practicing the interview itself together with feedback.
