The business is going well and now it’s time to consider taking on your first employee. Before actually recruiting, it’s worth spending just a little more time on ‘who’ and ‘what’ here. Recruitment can be expensive and it does take time to set up and interview people, so it is important to get it right. Getting it wrong can be a big expense too! So here are my tips to help you with the process.
Tip No 1 – Write a job description
Let’s start with the job itself. What is the job? Yes, you are probably aware of the content, well roughly anyway. Tip No 1 – Write it down. Write down the content of the ‘Job description’. Too many small businesses keep a lot of this information ‘in their heads’ where it’s not easily accessible! What are the main responsibilities of the job? To whom will the new recruit report? What are the main requirements of the job? What needs to happen now that it not happening already in this role? Has the role grown that it is no longer capable of being managed by one person – YOU – possibility, hence the reason you are considering recruiting more manpower.
A job description or job spec will help to clarify the new role. Write down the purpose of the job. Is the new job required to ‘assist’ you with your role? Perhaps you are recruiting someone to ‘fulfil’ part of the job that is not part of your skill set? You are after all developing the business and you need to think about additional skills. Be wary of recruiting a ‘cloned you’! Writing a job description will allow you to think more clearly about what additional help you need for the business right now and in the future too. Take time and be clear about this for your business. Preparation for recruitment can be a sound investment.
Tip No 2 – Write a person specification
Think about the person you need to do the job and again write it down. Consider what it is you will require from this person who is interviewing. What is your requirement? You know after all what it takes to do this job. What are the attributes you are looking for now, may include attention to detail, accuracy, flexibility, ability to speak a particular language? The person specification may be written in terms of ‘essential’ and ‘preferable’ requirements. If you are recruiting a finance person then it may be ‘essential’ for them to have a specific finance qualification. It may be ‘essential’ for them to be able to use all Microsoft packages? It may be ‘preferable’ for them to be conversant with e.g. Quick Books, but not essential as this is something you can train them on if required within the business.
By writing a person specification, it provides the opportunity to think about skills and attributes. It enables you to make a more informed decision for recruitment. It’s also helpful for when you are preparing your interview questions too. Further along the line, the person specification may help when you are job matching for further positions. It helps to have a template in place rather than starting from scratch all over again.
By taking the time to plan your recruitment, write a job description for the role and a person specification for the ideal candidate, you will be more confident about who and what you require for your business. Also, this exercise will be good discipline and practice for you. You are after all ‘investing’ in new people; you are paying the new person to do a job for which they will require payment. You will be required to assess the role and the person from time to time, so it is important to have a set of criteria to work with too. Yu may find that the job description and person specification changes and that’s okay. It is not something that is set in stone! As your company grows and develops you and your people will do too.
If you would like a template for a job description and personal specification, please contact me at Fraser HR. Email mary@fraserhr.co.uk and write Job Description in the subject line.
Mary Fraser is an experienced HR professional with a passion for learning and development. She set up Fraser HR in 2002 to help small and medium sized organisations by providing an external HR support service. Mary is a keen advocate of personal development and offers coaching and mentoring to individuals and organisations as part of their development strategy. In 2005 she co-founded Success Network for business women with colleague Ute Wieczorek-King. More about Fraser HR can be found at www.fraserhr.co.uk
