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Some points to consider when recruiting

Recruitment today is a science and an art ... and it is costly. Jenny Reid offers some wizardly insight.

Is the recruitment of the person in line with company policies eg, disabled or employment equity?

The Government is looking for 2% of staff positions to be filled by disabled people. Many companies fear this and believe that this is not possible as they do not have the facilities for disabled staff. Research can be done to establish what facilities are available and how disabled staff can be employed. Learning-disabled people often need no extra facilities. Research shows that only 19% of disabled people in our country are able to find employment.

Do you have an up to date job description for the position being advertised?

Consideration is given to the qualifications and skills required to do the job. The CV is checked and verified and whilst one in three qualifications are fraudulent and these people can be eliminated from the process, not many companies do tests to verify the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate. It is essential that the personality and attitude of the candidate are not overlooked. There are tests that can analyse this and they must be able to identify corporate culture. A budget must be set.

The job description must include hours of work, reporting line, scope of the post and responsibilities.

Is your employee screening policy up to date?

Company requirements change from time to time, but do you review your screening policy? Legal requirements may have changed and it is essential that in your application process you obtain the necessary indemnities to complete your screening tests.

Many companies implement an employee screening programme but fail to remember that contractors can often pose more of a risk on site than your own employees (remember the cleaner removes all rubbish from your CEO’s office). Another mistake often made is the failure to screen existing employees and this can easily be done when transferring or promoting staff members as employee’s personal circumstances often change and companies are not aware of the situation.

A good screening policy needs to add value to your organisation and not just be part of your systems and procedures and be done because it is the cheapest form of screening on the market. When reviewing your screening policy questions to consider are:

* Is it specific to your organisation?

* Is it job specific?

* Is it specific to your industry?

* Does it counter possible labour unrest?

* Does it have the buy-in of all staff and stakeholders?

* Does it include all contractors on site?

* Is it legally correct?

Some services that can be included in a screening policy:

* Criminal record checks.

* Credit checks.

* Verification of employment history.

* Verification of drivers licence and if necessary PDP.

* Verification of identification document.

* Verification of personal details.

* References.

* Integrity assessments.

* Checks against a database of past employees or past recruits.

* Checks against dismissed sub-contractors.

* Checks against industry databases.

* Checks against CCMA records.

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