Recruitment Tools/Techniques

1. In your opinion, how important is recruiting the right staff compared to say 5 years ago and what are the biggest challenges managers need to overcome when investing in recruiting methods? Recruitment has become a critical component within the Human Resources structure, especially in the ITES industry. It is essential to recruit quality people and to do so organizations must implement and support a finely-tuned recruitment process. The recruitment process needs to both identify the best talent available and ensure that those recruited are the right fit for the job and the organization. In today's increasingly competitive environment, the biggest challenge is to identify and retain highly qualified and reliable employees. Five years ago, people did not have as many job opportunities and loyalty to an organization was commonplace. Today, jobhopping has become the norm and competition among employers tapping into the same talent pool makes the need for a well designed and supported recruitment process crucial. The fundamental factors of today's recruitment process are: The process must be efficient and cost-effective in method and sources. The process must be effective and produce suitable candidates.

The process must be fair and legally sound to ensure decisions are made on merit.

2. What are the common misconceptions of assessment tools/techniques as far as you are concerned? The most common misconceptions of assessments tools and techniques are: The recruitment process is often done via assessment tools, leading to the assumption that an accurate evaluation has occurred. In fact, assessments should be viewed as part of a process and an indicator but not the whole picture. Assessments do not provide clarity of responsibilities thus creating a mismatch between the role and job profile.

Assessment tools and techniques need to be customized for the organization's needs and cannot be generalized.

3. Technically, how advanced are we today with the effectiveness of personality profiles and predicating applicant behavior in a job? Research has determined that most interviewers and reference checks make inaccurate predictions of what will be the actual on-the-job performance. Quite simply, interviews and reference checks often are about as predictive as flipping a coin! The introduction of technology has enhanced pre-employment tests, making them the best forecasters of true on-the-job performance. Pre-employment tests are developed with scientific research techniques so that they can objectively predict how an applicant will behave on-the-job. In contrast, interviews and reference checks typically offer only subjective guesstimates of an applicants work potential.

Traits required for job success boil down to three key tests: A + B + C. Successful candidates should possess these traits: A = Abilities Tests Did you ever hire someone and later discover the person had the IQ of tire pressure? Abilities test expose: 1. Problem-Solving 2. Vocabulary 3. Arithmetic 4. Grammar, Spelling, & Word Use 5. Small Details B = Behavior Tests Each job requires crucial behaviors, including teamwork, friendliness, and customer service. Behavior tests expose: 1. Interpersonal Skills 2. Personality 3. Motivation 4. Introvert/Extrovert 5. Attitude C = Character Tests Character tests help managers avoid hiring problem employees. Character tests expose: 1. Work Ethic 2. Trustworthiness 3. Substance Abuse 4. What are the biggest mistakes recruiters and/or contact center managers sometimes make when recruiting staff? Mistakes in the recruiting process center around three central themes: Lack of planning resulting in 'emergency' requirement fulfillment: Failure to have a clear recruiting plan results in poor recruiting results. Positive recruiting occurs with the review and analysis of company's hiring goals, sourcing programs, metrics, recruiting staff, and overall recruiting budget. Organizations that know where they have been, where they are, and where they are going are on the way to achieving recruiting success. Lack of resources: In the planning stage it is important to determine the resource investment necessary to have an effective recruiting program. To increase the ability to attract candidates, organizations need access to multiple vehicles for recruiting, including web-based methods. The cost-effectiveness of web-based recruiting supports the recruitment campaign budget. Poorly articulated position descriptions: In this competitive employment marketplace, it is essential to properly articulate and market position descriptions. Companies that are successful in attracting high quality people into the interviewing process have well written position descriptions. It is also important to properly market your organization to potential candidates in order to rise above the rest of the competition. Avoid position descriptions that are very long or extremely dull, and out of date.

5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of in-house recruitment versus outsourced? Recruitment outsourcing is often termed as Employment Process Outsourcing or Recruitment Process Outsourcing. Although it is in its infant stage, many companies realize its importance. In a survey of 300 HR executives, 30% of the participants are involved at some level with recruitment outsourcing. Five years ago, when HR discussed outsourcing, it was only recruitment that was not considered. Today, 60% of organizations that outsource the recruitment function state that recruitment costs are lower and time to fill a position has been cut in half. Outsourcing the recruitment function is also beneficial to smaller organizations that may not have the infrastructure for a welldesigned recruitment process. The disadvantage of outsourcing for some companies is the belief that outsourcing eliminates their ability to control and direct the recruitment process, and in-house recruiting supports direct company branding. These disadvantages may be unfounded, however, as it is the organization's responsibility to set the hiring profile and ultimately make the formal offer. It is not for the outsourcer to decide who will get an offer.

6. How can we measure the effectives of different recruitment methods?

To best measure the effectiveness of different recruitment methods, organizations should rely on: Feedback from internal customer: Training, Operations, other internal departments. Feedback from employees: was the job profile correct? What is their job satisfaction? Feedback from external customer: what was their experience regarding service and delivery? Finally, the most accurate assessment of an organizations recruitment methods and processes is the true caliber of the candidate as displayed on-the-job.

About Knoah Solutions: Knoah Solutions is a leading offshore outsourcing company with multiple facilities in Hyderabad, India, providing world class multi-channel customer and technical support services, as well as BPO services. We provide US call center quality at competitive offshore prices. Our state-of-the-art infrastructure, proprietary software (KnoahsARK), experienced management team, and highly skilled agents deliver our clients award-winning customer support and quality. Learn more about how you can achieve your contact center management goals by visiting http://www.knoah.com. About the Author: G. Kameswari, Director of HR, Knoah Solutions, has more than 12 years of HR experience, with an expertise in recruitment and retention. Kameswari has been an advocate for change and innovation in the HR role. Her strategic abilities allow companies to advance business objectives while developing a winning culture.