One of our most popular posts on our website is a TEDx talk by Human Resources expert Regina Hartley where she unpacks the topic “Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume”
As a business owner, many of us take talent development very personally – we want to help people realise their true potential. At the same time, we also recognise that South Africa has onerous labour laws and the wrong hire can be an expensive mistake.
In this article, we look at 6 valuable questions that will enhance the recruitment journey for your business and assist you in de-risking the process to some degree.
1. Is this a new or existing role you are recruiting for and … does it actually exist?
This question is particularly relevant for a smaller, growth business who is beginning to expand its headcount.
While the core team are getting busier, it is important to clearly define what role you are hiring for. The “Administrative Assistant” is an easy catch-all, but is it a true role that your business requires?
The benefit of an existing role is that you have a clear idea of the day-to-day tasks that need to be handled while a new role still needs to be fleshed out.
It is important to remember that the wrong hire will be an expensive mistake – don’t rush into the recruitment process until you have clearly defined what you are looking to achieve.
2. Can you define the KPI and ROI early and clearly?
A common mistake that businesses make as they begin to expand is that they don’t have a clear idea of the expectations around the role and what success in a particular role looks like.
An easy way to get around this is to start out by drawing up the employee contract and focusing on the KPIs for the role. Some roles are easier than others – for example sales can clearly be linked to a revenue figure and you have a clear idea of whether the role is delivering a real Return on Investment (ROI).
Contrast this to a discussion we had with a potential client around a Social Media Manager role for an SME. The role was benchmarked to an annual investment of around R180 000 per year.
When viewed through this lens, the client realised that the role would not be a direct contributor to the bottom line.
Remember the old saying in management: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”
3. Can you actually build somebody into this role or do you need existing experience?
Another common mistake that business owners make is the perception that they will save money by hiring a young, inexperienced resource and ultimately building them into an experienced resource.
In certain roles this may be possible – particularly if you have strong internal processes and systems where somebody can step in and replicate a specific task.
However, you cannot lose sight of the fact that there is an opportunity cost when it comes to hiring junior or less experienced staff and then having to dedicate time and resources to developing them. Short term cost benefits may be outweighed by long-term expense.
4. Are you recruiting for a Generalist, a Specialist or a Fractional resource?
Another common mistake that small businesses make is that they are unsure as to what sort of resource they are hiring for and this means that they tend to hire more generalists where specialist skills may be required.
A classic example of this is the “Sales and Marketing Manager” role where a business dilutes its targeted outcome by hiring a generalist to cover two specialist disciplines. Instead of hiring a sales resource with industry-specific knowledge, they hire somebody who has done a bit of sales and a bit of marketing. The outcome is equally diluted.
A similar argument could be made for growth business which is attempting to convert its accountant or bookkeeper into what is actually a CFO role.
The issue comes in as a growth business is expected to commit to higher salaries for a role such as a CFO.
A key trend which has emerged over the last few years is the so-called “Fractional” employee – for example a Fractional CFO / Fractional Marketer. This allows you to hire experienced people without taking on the full-time employment obligation.
5. Have you benchmarked the salary of the role you are recruiting for?
One of the benefits of working with an experienced recruitment team is that you can have a robust discussion around the remuneration for a particular role. We often find that the base-line salaries that small businesses have a perception of the going rate for a particular role but fail to benchmark accordingly.
An experienced recruiter will help you benchmark accordingly.
Need some inspiration to master recruiting?
While we would love to be your recruitment partner of choice, we do recognise that you the employer are key to a successful placement.
To inspire you, we share this great TEDx talk from Mads Faurholt-Jorgensen who explains why why most leaders spend 10% of their time recruiting, 90% of their time making up for recruiting mistakes.
In this video, Mads Faurholt shares based on science and research, as well as having hired and managed thousands of people; frameworks, processes, and tools for how you can become a world-class recruiter today, and immediately start hiring the right people, that will enable you and your organisation to reach its potential.
With over 525 000 views, it is a much watch for anyone passionate about talent management.
Looking for a recruitment agency in Gauteng to help you identify great talent?
We would love to work with you to identify and develop talent throughout your organisation. If you would like to setup a meeting – either online or at our offices in Rosebank (Gauteng), please do not hesitate to contact us.