Recruiting Fitness Checklist

So, you’re ready to expand your team and hire the next employee? Before you start what can be a lengthy and expensive process, it’s important to take the time to fully assess the role, the requirements and the process.

The following checklist will ensure you’ve considered all the angles and have done the necessary ground work to start the process:

• If this is a new role, determine if there’s enough work to keep someone 100% occupied.
• Check that approvals and budgets for hiring are in place.
• Determine when you’d like your new employee to start. Do you have enough time to hit that date? I If tight on time do you need to bring in interim resources?
• Ensure team buy-in. Check to see if there is anyone on the team who is interested in or suitable for the new role? Do you need to address potential disappointment if someone internally wants the role but isn’t the right candidate?
• Think about what the turnover has been like in that department. Whether high or low, find out why. If high, have you identified the right people to join in the past? if low, find out why people stay and use that as part of the selling features for the new position.
• If this is a replacement role, look at why the former employee moved on and what the new person can bring to the role. If it’s a new position, really flesh out what you need/want this person to do.
• Decide if the role has enough scope to allow growth or if it’s really more of a maintenance role. This helps you identify some of the necessary attributes of the person you are about to hire.
• Determine overall what type of individual will best fit with the team and with the organization. Think of the people who’ve been successful to date and assess their attributes and personality characteristics.
• Check out the market for this position and give thought to compensation.
• To minimize the risk of losing any existing hires, take your market information and assess whether this is the time review everyone’s salary to check all are in line.
• Be able to articulate the key selling points of the position and the organization.
• Assess the existing job description to see if it needs to be altered or re-written.
• Ask yourself if you or the person who will be managing the new hire has enough time to settle a new employee into the role.
• Ensure you have the space to accommodate a new person.
• Map out the interview process. Who needs to interview, where are they located and how far in advance do you have to book their calendar?
• Contact Human Resources to determine how you/they are going to find the person.