You Don’t Make Princes by Kissing Frogs
(But you do build successful organisations by knowing
which is which)
What links these four people and
Who’s the odd one out?
Ian Huntley
Nick Leeson
Shaun Jenkins
Jeffrey (Lord) Archer
Question
How does your organisation measure the effectiveness
of its Recruitment and Selection process?
Latest Trends in R & S
• Improving the Employer Brand
• Improving the quality (efficiency and effectiveness) of the R & S
process – ‘Evidence Based HR’
• Psychometric Testing
• Using social networks, blogs & other electronic media
• Using referral programmes
• Outsourcing your recruitment
• Using assessment centres
• Generalised ‘job boards’
• Competence modelling
Out-of-Fashion Ideas
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Psychometric Testing
Using social networks, blogs & other electronic media
Using referral programmes
Outsourcing your recruitment
Using assessment centres
Generalised ‘job boards’
Competence modelling
Lesson One
Don’t Follow Trends
Why Do Organisations
Follow Trends?
1. If everyone else is doing it, it must be right - casual benchmarking
• Copy the most visible, most obvious (and least important) practices
• What an organisation needs to do to be successful is unique to that
organisation
2 Doing what seems to have worked in the past
• But how do we know? – Cause and effect
3 The Consultants recommend it so they must know
4 Following deeply held yet unexamined ideologies (e.g. that pay
motivates)
7
The Challenges
• The most important challenge is to recruit the best
people for the organisation
• Adaptability to globalisation
• Lack of motivation – Recruitment is considered to
be a thankless job
• Process analysis - The process should be flexible,
adaptive, responsive and cost effective
• Strategic prioritisation – reviewing resourcing
needs and prioritising the tasks to meet the changes
in the market
The Challenges (Cont)
• Attracting the highly talented - All the big boys are
trying to attract these people with high salaries,
perks, incentives etc
• These days, it’s not just salaries which will pull
the candidate in but factors like:
• brand
• culture
• location
• job security/flexibility
• reputation of the company
Becoming an Employer of
Choice
There are measurable things organisations can do to attract
and keep the best people:
1. Leadership
• Studies show that strong leadership (linked with good
management) is the single most powerful feature in
motivating and keeping employees
• Employees understand that poor leadership will impact on:
• the success of the organisation
• the quality of the work environment
• their own ability to develop
2. The Organisation
• This encompasses the organisation: reputation, values,
culture and its contributions to the community.
• Employees might be willing to work longer hours or for
less compensation for a company with stronger corporate
values or a better reputation.
Lesson Two –
Avoid PR Disasters
Exxon
Enron
Lehman Brothers
The Halifax
XL
BA (after Terminal 5)
3. Job
This involves many of the day-to-day aspects of a job:
• How interesting and compelling is the work?
• Can employees grow and be fulfilled in their jobs?
• Do they have the resources and training to achieve
their goals?
• How much freedom, autonomy, growth and challenge
do employees have in the job that they are asked to
do?
4. Rewards
It’s not just wages and benefits that count as employee
compensation, but also include intangibles such as:
• career prospects
• development opportunities
• flexibility
• recognition and
• social contact with co-workers
“Lots of companies believe their competitive
advantage is their unique culture; however,
if you can’t attract and retain the right
people, your culture will soon stop
delivering any advantage.”
Lesson Three
It’s about ‘who’ not ‘what’
Investing in the Labour Market
C
A
P
A
B
I
L
I
T
Y
• High Risk
(unpredictable return at
high cost)
• Gilt-Edged
investment (heavily
in demand)
• Junk Bond (negative
equity)
• High yield
investment (long
term)
COMPATABILITY
Effectiveness of Selection
Techniques
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Graphology
References/Testimonials
Application Forms
Unstructured Interviews
Psychological Tests
C.V. & Biodata
Practical Tests
Structured Interviews
Assessment Centres
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0.00
0.13
0.20
0.31
0.38
0.40
0.55
0.63
0.69*
Applying the Relevant
Techniques
• The references confirm the person is who they say
• The application form outlines capability for the sift
• The c.v. gives evidence on compatibility for the sift
and material for effective questions
• Practical ‘tests’ can be used for virtually any vacancy
• Any interview should concentrate on:
• assessing compatibility match
• confirming quality of capability
Maximising the Effectiveness
of the Techniques
• Consider the nature of the job
• Consider the type of person
Questions About The Job
• Job Title – does it convey the nature of the work?
• Job Purpose – why does the job exist?
• Key Tasks/Responsibilities – what would they spend
most of their time doing?
• Conditions – hours, particular circumstances?
Keep the descriptions simple but comprehensive
Questions About The Person
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Education and Academic Qualifications?
Professional Qualifications?
Experience and Career History?
Particular Skills and Abilities?
Attitude and Personal Qualities?
Selection Criteria
• Organisational Criteria – organisational values
• Function/section/group Criteria – sub-culture
• Individual Job Criteria – from J.D. & P.S.
The criteria may be essential or desirable
If you don’t know who you’re looking for.....
Discussion Point
What to Look for on the
C.V. and Application Form
Discussion Point
• Why don’t interviews deliver the
best candidates?
• What have you experienced
going wrong?
Assessing the Candidates
• The selection criteria are key – ensure people keep
focused on them the whole time.
• Review all the evidence, behavioural examples,
objective assessments:
• what do they tell you?
• what patterns emerge?
• is there congruence?
• is the quality/depth adequate?
• would you like to work with
them?
Remember
It is seven times more costly to recruit
the wrong person than the right one