How to Create the Ideal Recruitment Process: 5 Steps to Perfection

Did you know that 81% of job seekers stated that if employers continuously gave them status updates regarding their hiring, it would significantly improve the overall recruitment experience?

The steps in the recruitment process are much more than looking for the right candidate and hiring them.

A lot goes on in the entire process.

Right from searching for the perfect candidate to choosing among the ones you find and giving them onboarding sessions after they’re selected, everything is a part of the recruitment process.

But why is this process so important?

Put yourself in the candidate’s shoes.

Imagine you’re selected for a post at a company you applied for months ago.

Not only did they take ages to go through your application, but they didn’t keep you in the loop and connected with you three weeks after your interview process.

What would your first thought be?

Maybe you’d think you were their last choice?

Or the company as a whole is a little unorganized?

Whatever the thought, the candidate’s first impression would not be positive.

As a candidate, would you join this company?

The short answer is - no.

So, how do you streamline the entire process?

The first step is to understand what the recruitment process entails.

What is the recruitment process?

The recruitment process can be defined as:

Now, what steps of the recruitment process are involved? 

That’s what we will answer in this blog. Here are five steps you need to follow to create the ideal recruitment process:

1. Identify the needs of the organization

It’s justifiable to say that recruitment isn’t a discrete process of management. It’s rather more dynamic and iterative. The process of recruitment starts with identifying the changing needs of the organization and creating a recruitment plan to ideally fill those needs.

This involves:

• Delving into the operational complexities and business processes to be carried out on a regular basis
• Crafting a detailed outlay of human resources in order to address the needs of the business

For this, a high level of integration of multiple functions in the organization is necessary. Furthermore, an organization needs to ensure that the needs and means of the significant functions or divisions of the business are synchronized to achieve success in the long run.

Pro tip: integrate HR project management software to provide means for assessment and reassessment of personnel needs based on scientifically drawn data within the organization.

2. Create an accurate job description

A job description is perhaps the first instance of formal communication made by the organization to the prospective candidate. It’s necessary that the description is comprehensive and ideally crafted for the right kind of candidate with the desired traits and skills to identify the opportunity and approach the organization. Therefore, relying too much on templates isn’t advisable.

While preparing the job description, you must emphasize on:

• Experience
• Qualities needed
• Job requirements
• Educational requirements
• Any other matters that require the candidate’s attention

Pro tip: use HR project management software to keep track of all your job descriptions and ensure they accurately define the job requirement.

3. Invite potential candidates

A job description posted on the company website alone won’t serve as the means for inviting potential candidates. You should instead rely on public means like electronic media, publications, etc. for the organization to reach out to potential candidates.

It’s also necessary to realize that different levels of employee needs should be met using varying means of publicity.

For instance, to invite for the position of B level managers, the organization may opt to mass publicize, whereas the recruitment of C level employees is done with a certain level of confidentiality as it affects many of the external as well as internal factors of the organization.

Pro tip: do your research and always invite quality candidates. Check first if they have the necessary skills to fit the job profile.

4. Screening and selection

The screening process begins right from the review of the job application, and usually involves a dig into the candidate’s:

• Resume
• Relevant skills
• Qualifications
• Experience
• Background
• Social media presence

HR managers these days are very cautious and go through a number of checks to ensure how genuine the employee is in their application.

Pro tip: Deploy a robust HR project management software to provide easy means to organize, structure and streamline the entire process of recruitment. Many recruiters employ such solutions to identify the usage of keywords in the resume in order to quickly identify the candidate with the right kind of skills as a preliminary filtering process even before the actual interview.

5. Appointment and induction

Once the candidate with the right skills, qualifications, and expertise has been found, the next process in the pipeline is making the appointment. The pay scale, contract period and other contractual specifications should be enlisted in the offer letter and the employee should be introduced to the organization.

Just as a new member is introduced into a family, it’s necessary that the new employee is inducted into the workspace and that the job portfolio and relevant duties are communicated in a clear and precise manner.

Pro-tip: Create an efficient employee induction program to ensure that precious time and resources aren’t wasted due to confusion from a haphazard introduction. A system or procedure where the employee can identify their role can be of great help when it comes to the efficient management of labor hours.