Part 3 of a 3-part series based on The Definitive Guide to Hiring Employees for Small to Medium Businesses. In case you missed it, here’s Part 2.
You’ve chosen the most suitable candidate and you’re getting ready to welcome the new addition to your team. While this might be the most exciting part of the recruitment process, it’s certainly not the easiest. Getting the final steps right is crucial to ensuring your new recruit flourishes in their role.
There’s one last thing to do before you make that job offer: reference checks. As a minimum, we recommend speaking with at least two referees for at least 10 minutes each. This is crucial for gaining insight into something that simply can’t be gauged through an interview – what is the person like to work with on a daily basis? As such, the ideal referees are former colleagues or managers of the candidate.
As with interviews, it’s best to go into reference checks with a prepared set of questions. On top of confirming the referee’s relationship with the applicant, you should also endeavour to find out:
Before making these calls, ensure you have written permission from the candidate to do so. If they haven’t been included in a CV or cover letter, you will need email confirmation that they are happy for you to contact their referees.Making the offer
Once everything is locked in and you’re sure you’ve found the one, don’t waste any time making that call. It’s a competitive job market out there and quality candidates get swooped up very quickly! Make a verbal offer – including salary and benefits – and see if the person will commit verbally. It’s important to show enthusiasm, but also be empathetic if they can’t accept right away and give them a reasonable timeline to respond.
After your discussion on the phone, follow up quickly with the formal letter of offer. Handy templates for these are available from both government departments and legal firms, but feel free to adapt the template to match your organisation’s personality.
Letter of offer essentials include:
Further details can be left for the full employment contract if you prefer.
At the very least, show appreciation for each candidate’s time and wish them the best with their job hunt. You may also choose to offer feedback on their application and interview, or invite them to apply again in the future if they were only narrowly beaten.
Job accepted and new staff member locked in – time to hang up your ‘Recruiter’ hat and get back to work as usual, right? Not quite! On-boarding may occur post-hire, but it’s undeniably a key factor in making sure your new employee can thrive in their role. Any time you spend helping them integrate quickly and effectively is not time wasted – especially if it prevents them from being one of the 31% of entry/intermediary level workers who quit within six months!
When preparing for their first day in the workplace, consider:
The new employee’s first day should feel special. Having everything set up and ready for them will certainly help them feel welcome.
We hope you’ve found this 3-part series helpful, and we wish you all the best with your recruitment!
Revelian is an Australian-owned specialist in cutting-edge psychometric assessments to enable employers to make better people decisions. We give our clients unique, data-driven insight into human behaviour at work.
