Get Your Employees To Run Your Recruitment Process

So here's another idea, one you might find a bit shocking, but one that we think you should definitely consider: get your employees to take the lead when it comes to hiring.

Surprised? Wouldn't consider it, maybe not even in a million years? Do you worry that your employees might not have the right skills to conduct interviews, and might not be able to take the 'birds-eye' view necessary to make a decision with full awareness of its impact on your business? Who knows better than you?

One of the lessons that every business owner has to learn at some stage, if their business is to grow beyond a certain size, is what to let go of, and when to let it go. So here's a list of things that we think you not only can, but should, delegate to your employees.

Job Descriptions

You are no doubt responsible for the mission statement, the strategy, and for the targets set each department in your organisation. Your hand is on the tiller, and the ship goes where you send it. But your employees are the ones who run out the sail, haul the anchor and scrub the deck.

There will be at least one person in your team who knows the ins and outs of a particular role better than you do, and they will be able to give you invaluable insight into the exact nature of their duties and responsibilities, as well as the points where their role touches others. This should enable you, together, to draft a job description that really communicates the role and everything it involves.

Put Together an Interviewing Team

Good candidates want to know who they're going to be working with, and your existing employees are going to want to meet any potential employees, so here's a chance to bring them together and also get a thorough and balanced assessment done. Just as your employees are going to be able to give real insight into job descriptions, so they are going to be well suited to discussing suitability for a role.

Here's what we'd recommend:

1) Make sure that your interview / assessment team is at least three people, and no more than five

You want to make sure that you get as balanced a view as possible.

2) Draw up a list of attributes, skills and experience you want to identify

If you have a decent job description (and you should), reduce this to a bulleted list.

3) Agree questions and exercises that will allow assessment

Then agree a simple scoring system that your assessment team can use throughout the evaluation.

4) Get each member of the team to keep their own score and make their own notes

Then you can review afterwards with your team, discussing any points you want to with each member.

Networking

Smart recruiters (ahem) know that a strong network is everything. Yes, some great hires do come via job boards, but the vast majority come via a network, on or off line. If you are happy with the quality of your employees then it is inconceivable that each one of them doesn't have other people you'd be interested in meeting professionally in their circle of friends and acquaintances. That's just the way things work - like people are frequently attracted to each other.

Worried about favouritism? Don't be. You can put surprising amounts of stock in the recommendation of a trusted employee, because they know that their vouching for someone reflects on them; if they're smart, they won't give praise where it's not due.

Brief Your Employees...

You may well have certain ways you want your business mentioned; an impression you want to create, an editorial line you want held. Think you can't trust your employees with that when discussing jobs? Think again.

Your employees represent you all day every day at work; they toe the party line already, so what's the stretch from that to conversations with potential employees as opposed to customers? Just make sure that you provide comprehensive guidance, with an explanation of the approach you want taken.

... Then Get Them Involved in Your Talent Pool

Everyone at your organisation should share the responsibility for identifying potential team members. Most businesses need staff with different skills and different levels of experience, so get outreach and communication across company boundaries into your corporate culture at every level.

Work out non-competitive ways to share information, and encourage your team to do this; be generous when it comes to sending people on courses, conferences and other learning and networking oportunities, and coach them on how to go out there flying your company flag.

Driven people thrive on responsibility and the opportunity to learn. By empowering your employees and delegating something as crucial as recruitment to them, you are sending a very strong message about the trust and regard you hold them in.

Employees who feel valued and important are happy, will go the extra mile every time, and will make excellent brand evangelists for you everywhere they go. It's a win-win situation.