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Last Updated September 3, 2019

What does your recruitment process say about your business

It can be a lengthy process to attract the right candidates and ultimately employ the right person for your business.  But it is an important process to get right the first time, especially for a small business. To achieve this, you will want to ensure your entire recruitment and attraction process is sound and robust.

It is worthwhile to spend the time up front determining your overall, high level recruitment strategy. This includes mapping out timeframes and processing for the following items;

Advertising helps to attract the right type of candidate, may they be internal or external. At the same time, throughout the process, you want to be displaying and representing the benefits your business offers.  This is what makes a potential candidate motivated to apply in the first place, and really want the job.  Read more about writing a job advertisement that attracts the best people here.

Shortlisting requires knowing what skills, knowledge, experience or attributes are essential for success within the role and your business.  You also need to be clear on which desirable and you would be willing to provide extra time and training to acquire.

Another important step in the shortlisting process is to utilise phone screening. A few key questions for each shortlisted candidate will help you determine who will go through to interview.

There is no point interviewing someone who potentially doesn’t remember what they applied for, whose salary expectations are not aligned, or in actual fact they don’t have the necessary experience in systems or ownership of a task.  The shortlisting process will assist here. 

Interviews are an important part of the process and something that you don’t want to delay due to the unavailability of the interview panel. Before you even advertise the role know what type and how many interviews you will have, who will be on the panel and block out time in advance.

Take the time to think carefully about what you want to learn about the candidates to assist in determining the right match for the role and your business.  Think about how you will obtain this information. Will you have behavioural based questions to learn of previous experiences and how the candidates responded? Will you require some testing, group assessments or presentations? Will you require a trial or maybe an informal coffee catch up is more appropriate. Read more about the types of interview questions to ask here.

Background Checks are an opportunity to ask current or previous employers how the preferred candidate performed in the role.  During a reference check you can seek further information about any areas of concern, gain an insight into their personality and cultural fit within your business.  A really telling question can be if the referee would rehire.

Take the time to consider what your recruitment process will be to ensure that potential candidates have a good experience with your business. You never know who they could refer to your business for employment or as a customer.

For more assistance with reviewing or developing a recruitment strategy for your business contact Small Business Society.

The information provided in this document is for your guidance only and is general in nature. It does not constitute as legal advice. It is the responsibility of the individual to seek legal advice where required.


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About Kate Tongue

Kate Tongue is the founding Director of Small Business Society.

She is a qualified and experienced Human Resources professional with more than 10 years of experience across the private and public sectors.

Her particular interest and experience is in managing the employee life cycle, delivering process improvements, and Human Resource strategy.


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