Blog - Sellick Partnership

by Michael Macfarlane | 2 December 2019

12 recruitment tips of Christmas

We know that recruiting the perfect candidate can often be a lengthy, costly and challenging process. Employers these days have so much more to think about, from asking the right questions at interview and writing job descriptions that attract the right talent, to building a positive employer brand and offering the right benefits. That is why we have put together our top 12 festive recruitment tips that should help take the load off this Christmas. 1. Write better job descriptions Your job description is one of the most important recruitment tools at your disposal. Your job description will generally be the thing that entices (or puts off) candidates so it is crucial that this is right and that you ensure you give candidates all the relevant information. Make sure you include things like salary, specific duties, what previous experience is required and most importantly, the type of person you want to attract. You may also want to briefly outline what benefits are on offer and a bit about your organisation, as these are the things that will likely make you stand out against your competitors. If you make your job descriptions completely clear at this stage of the process, you should attract the right level of candidates for your business and it will make the whole process quicker and smoother. Need some more help? Why not check out our useful guide on writing the perfect job description, or get in touch with our team and we will be more than happy to help. 2. Ask the right questions throughout the interview process It is important to ask the right questions at the interview stage to ensure you have all the relevant information needed to make an informed decision on the perfect candidate. You need to strike the perfect balance between being sociable and asking questions that will give you an insight into the candidate’s skills and experience. If you fail to spend enough time asking about the candidate’s skills, experience and ability to do the role you are in jeopardy of hiring the wrong person. You can use different question styles to help with this. For example you can use competency based questions to test their skillset and get an insight into their suitability or behavioural questions to measure their past behaviour. It is also important to think about the questions you ask at each stage of the process. For example, you might want to use an initial telephone interview to find out more about the candidate, and touch on their experience and skills. You can then ask more in-depth questions on this when you meet face-to-face. Use each stage of the process to get to know each candidate a little better, rather than trying to find everything out at once. Are you still unsure about what questions to ask and need some help? Check out our guide on making your interview process as detailed as possible. Or get in touch with a member of our team for one-to-one advice now. 3. Seek (and embrace) diversity A diverse team will give your business a competitive edge, and building one starts with your recruitment process. When looking at diverse recruitment it is important to remember that diversity can take many forms so you may need to alter your recruitment strategy in different ways. A successful approach will attract applicants from the widest possible range of backgrounds and life experiences. For example, you might want to think about training your interview team to remove unconscious bias from your recruitment process, or interview using panels of employees from across your workforce. Whatever you decide to do, it is important that you make steps to attract a diverse talent pool to remain competitive in the highly competitive recruitment market. If you want to ensure your workforce is diverse but not sure where to start, take a look at our tips on building an inclusive workforce. Or speak to your Consultant today for advice on how you can remove bias from your recruitment process. 4. Never discount previous candidates Just because a candidate is not right for a particular role now, does not mean they are not right for your business. We always advise our clients to think outside of the box and consider where that candidate might fit in. It is also important to consider repeat applicants as they may be more suited now than they were before. You might also want to keep a record of all the candidates you interview and review this whenever you have a vacancy open. In doing so you are widening your talent pool and increasing your chances of placing the perfect candidate in your organisation. 5. Utilise the knowledge of your recruitment partner Recruitment professionals have a great deal of knowledge – of their markets and recruitment – so it is a good idea to utilise their knowledge when you can. If you are finding it hard to attract the right candidates speak to an experienced recruiter working in your market and ask them for assistance. A good recruiter will be able to help with things like writing your job descriptions, setting up a successful interview process and what questions to ask to ensure you hire the correct person. You could even ask if they would be willing to carry out some internal training for your business to up-skill your own staff. Most recruiters will be more than happy to help, and it could save you time and money long-term. 6. Concentrate on your employer brand Your employer brand will be a major deciding factor for prospective candidates so ensuring this is positive is essential. Candidates want to know that your organisation is a great place to work and that you look after your staff, so making sure this can be easily seen from the outside is very important. Creating a specialised section on your website, utilising social media to share company news and getting involved in national awards that celebrate great workplaces are all fantastic ways to promote your employer brand and ensure you are attracting the right candidates to your organisation. For even more great advice on ensuring you are seen as an employer of choice, head over to our employer resources section. 7. Make the use of digital tools and social media Content marketing and social media are two innovative and effective ways to attract potential talent, particularly passive candidates that may not be actively looking for a role. Workplaces and job seekers have become so technologically connected that they are more likely to find companies they are interested in working for through sponsored job ads and blogs posts, rather than solely hunting through job sites. It is therefore important that you consider where your candidate base is spending their time, and make sure you are visible on these platforms to maximise results. Looking for more tips on attracting candidates through content and social media? Take a look at our guide. 8. Take a good look at your benefits and remuneration packages Candidates today are looking for much more than just a good salary. They want to know what else you can offer them and will usually be expecting additional benefits as part of their package. It is therefore important that you tailor your benefits to suit each role, or each candidate. You could offer benefits such as flexible working, private medical insurance, a company car or the option to buy or sell holidays. This will give you a competitive edge and make you a much more attractive option to the highest quality candidates. Take a look at our handy blogs on the benefits you should consider for your business, and making them work for your business here. 9. Check references to avoid a bad hire It is important to always check references to ensure you are making the right decision. As a minimum you should ask for two references from two previous employers that you can call for a quick chat about their time at the business. It is important to plan these calls in advance and think about what you want to ask. This is your opportunity to follow up on anything the candidate may have told you at interview, and get an even better understanding of their ability to do the role. If you fail to do this you are at risk of hiring someone that may not be right, which would be costly and time consuming. 10. Utilise your current workforce Employee referrals and the reach of your current workforce are priceless. Offer referral bonuses and encourage your staff to share vacancies with their network. Create social media graphics that your employees can share and ask your staff to ask their friends and family. You will be surprised how many people they know, and this will widen your talent pool even further. 11. Conduct exit interviews Having a tailored off-boarding process is just as important as an on-boarding one. When employees are leaving the business sit down and talk to them about their experience working for you and their reasons for leaving. This will give you invaluable insight into any challenges they have had, or any processes that may not be working, giving you an opportunity to rectify any problems before taking on any more new staff. 12. Think outside the box Finally, try to be as unique as possible throughout the hiring process. There is so much competition on the market that it is important that you stand out from the crowd. Think about what you can do differently to stand out against your competitors and try to make your recruitment and on-boarding process as interesting as possible. Can we help you this Christmas? Still need help with your recruitment? Get in touch with one of our expert team today by calling 0161 834 1642. They will be more than happy to answer any questions, and get your recruitment off to a flying start. Alternatively, you can check out more tips on hiring the right staff for your team in our Employer Resources section.

Are you interested in finding out what skills are in demand across the Finance & Accountancy sector? Senior Consultant Liam Cox spoke to one of his clients who told him what skills finance candidates should be concentrating on, and offered his insight into what hiring managers might be looking for in the future. It can be hard to build a successful career within any sector, not least a sector that is becoming increasingly caudate-led. As a result, candidates looking to secure a job within Finance & Accountancy need to set themselves apart. A good way of doing this is by ensuring they develop and showcase the key skills many hiring managers look for across the sector. Finance professionals that continually build on their skills and react to the market are always the most sought after, and generally do very well throughout their career. But what skills doe hiring managers within the sector look for? Senior Consultant Liam Cox spoke to one of his key clients to find out the skills he is looking for, how candidates can showcase their experience during the application process and also what skills he thinks will become increasingly important in the future. What are the key skills you usually look for in candidates joining your team? There are a number of things we would normally look for, especially in junior candidates joining our team. One of which is confidence and how they come across. This is becoming increasingly important because of the direction that the sector is taking. The Finance & Accountancy sector is moving towards more of a “business partnering”, so we look for candidates that have a higher commercial acumen that we did previously. Candidates that have excellent communication skills, and that are able to relay financial data to stakeholders at varying levels is also highly important. We also want to try and test their team fit; how they will operate in a close knit environment and if they’re willing to help others. This is especially important to us as we have a small team and everyone we employ needs to get stuck in and help where possible. We tend to do this by asking scenario questions throughout the interview process. Experience is also a bonus. It isn’t always essential depending on the role but we can teach them what they need if they demonstrate they’re flexible and willing to learn from us. How have the skills of Finance & Accountancy candidates developed in recent years? The main difference tends to be that candidates nowadays lack “qualification skills”. We tend to find that candidates have a broader, more varied skillset rather than specific knowledge that you would likely gain through qualifications. This can swing both ways, it can be a bonus for a role that is likely going to have a lot of variety as they will have generally already had some good exposure. However, the higher up the ladder you go can have a detrimental impact as senior candidates generally need to be qualified and have some specific, niche training and experience. Having said that, I do think that the personality of some new accountants has definitely developed over the years, which is great to see. I think there is a much greater focus on soft skills now than there was when I first started my career, which will stand people in good stead moving forward. What skills is your team/the industry lacking the most? I don’t think my team is lacking a huge amount of skills, as I tend to ensure I hire junior candidates that I can develop and ensure they learn the skills we need them to have. We assess their capabilities of picking things up quickly and how open they are to learning from the interview stage and generally try and hire candidates on that basis. In terms of the sector as a whole, the biggest shortfall is the lack of qualified accountants on the market. My peers across the industry often talk to me about the struggle they have finding qualified candidates that are the full package, and have the right mix of technical ability and soft skills that they need. When looking at a CV to shortlist a candidate, what are the main things you look for? I generally look at a CV and score each section out of four in-line with the person specification and job description. This gives me a really good understanding of if the person is right for us, and usually helps me come up with a strong shortlist of suitable candidates. In terms of specifics, experience is the main thing I tend to look for, but the level of experience varies depending on the role. I then look for someone that I feel has the right personality and will be the right cultural fit for our business. To decide this I usually look to see if they have added any extra-curricular activities to their CV as this can give you a different perspective and can make one candidate stand out over another. I also appreciate that some younger candidates may not have achieved as much at work, so it can be nice to see candidates mention why they are looking to move on and what they are looking for in a new role. Generally it tends to be for progression, but it’s good to see. Are you looking for some support on writing your CV? Check out our CV guide and downloadable CV template here. What would you ask a candidate at interview to find out if they have the relevant skills/experience for your business? We would try to see if they’d done any research on both us as an organisation and the sector before the interview. With the financial pressures within the Public Sector at the moment, we need to know that a candidate is sure this is the right move for them and that they show a willingness to join us. Also, if we’re going to be investing in their long-term future, we need to know they’ve made an effort to show us they want the role. The kind of questions we would ask to find this out are: What do you know about us as an organisation? What kind of pressures do you feel the sector is facing at the minute? Who would our clients or customers be apart from the obvious? We would also ask specific personality and scenario questions related to the skillset of the role. As I’ve said, team fit is a big part of what we try to operate so we would definitely be asking about how they would see themselves working in a team environment when the pressure is on. Still not feeling prepared for your next interview? Why not head over to our Candidate Resources page for interview advice and common interview questions to prepare. What do you think the future holds in terms of skillsets and candidates joining the market? I think we will continue to see a drop in the number fully qualified candidates on the market, which is why we are trying to put more emphasis on training people who show an interest in becoming qualified. The training and programmes we provide are really beneficial for all parties. Hiring finance professionals in this way also means that we get qualified accountants that know how we work. Candidates are also going to want to work for businesses that will invest in their future, something that has become synonymous with the sector. So although I think the number of qualified candidates may drop, I think the number of candidates that will want to pursue a career in the sector will continue to increase. Employers will therefore need to be able to show candidates what they can do to invest in their future in order to continue attracting the best talent on the market. Do you think you have the skills required to pursue a job opportunity within Finance & Accountancy? If so we would love to hear from you. Get in touch with our team today, or check out our latest live vacancies here. Alternately, you can find more advice, blogs and resources specifically written for Finance & Accountancy professionals on the insights section of our website.