The staff recruitment process – what does it look like and what stages does it consist of?

Running your own business, you have probably found yourself more than once in a situation where you said: we need a new employee! Although hiring a new person for a particular position may seem like a simple task, it is not. The recruitment process is a complex operation and finding suitably qualified employees is quite a challenge.

Below, we will talk about what the recruitment process is and why it is so important. We will also describe the different stages of the recruitment process and the tools that are useful in this process. We will also discuss the most important provisions of RODO, related to the process of hiring new employees, and point out the benefits of properly planned recruitment for a company.

What is the employee recruitment process?

The recruitment process is a core responsibility of the human resources department. However, not every company has a separate department responsible for carrying out the recruitment process. In smaller companies, the head of a specific department or the owner of the company is usually responsible for hiring new employees. It is also common practice to hire an external company whose task is to find an employee who will fit the employer’s needs and expectations.

The recruitment process consists of all the activities involved in hiring – from the publication of the job advertisement, to the interview, to the selection of the best candidates and their induction into the new position.

Types of recruitment

In general, there are two types of employee recruitment: internal recruitment and external recruitment.

Internal recruitment

This type of recruitment involves looking for an employee for a given position among people already working in a given company. Internal recruitment often involves migrations between departments or divisions of the company, although there are also changes of position within the same team.

External recruitment

Occurs when an employer seeks potential candidates for a specific position outside their company. Finding the perfect employee seems a little more difficult in this case – you have to trust a complete stranger. In reality, however, external recruitment has quite a few advantages – new employees from outside the organisation can bring fresh ideas and a completely different perspective to the organisation, which will positively impact on the company’s development.

Why is the recruitment process so important?

The main objective of the recruitment process is to find qualified employees. The recruitment process is an activity that gives you a lot of choice. This is because the right recruitment method is intended to attract as many people as possible who are interested in a job offer for a given position. As an employer, you can choose from a large pool of suitable candidates who match your expectations and the needs of your company. The more applicants, the greater the likelihood of finding the perfect employee.

Properly conducted recruitment also allows you to reach candidates who are genuinely interested in the job. It makes the candidate selection process quick and efficient.

How do you create an effective human resources department?

If you decide to entrust the recruitment process to your employees, be sure to build the right team to skilfully select recruitment methods and conduct effective interviews. What should you pay particular attention to?

Firstly, the members of the recruitment team should be very familiar with your company’s needs and values. This will enable them to create an attractive job description that fully meets your expectations.

In addition to this, the employee recruitment team should correctly identify the qualities and skills you want a person to have, matching the job. This will make it possible to pre-select candidates and then select the right person.

Stages of the recruitment process

As we mentioned above, the recruitment process is a complex activity. It consists of seven stages. These are:

Identifying and verifying the need for a new employee

Any recruitment process should start by analysing the current situation in the team. Think about whether you really need the position – perhaps you just need to divide the associated responsibilities among the rest of the team members? Here are some simple steps to help you identify the company’s real needs in terms of hiring new staff:

• Analyse the current team that makes up a particular department. Ask yourself questions about whether and what is missing from the team at the moment. This could be values, skills or additional qualifications in a particular area.
• Verify the employees’ working hours and the tasks they perform during this time. You may need additional capacity because the team has too many responsibilities. It may also be that optimising the work of existing employees will suffice.
• Keep an eye on the notices of termination that are given and follow up on signs that any of your current employees are about to leave. This will allow you to start the recruitment process more in advance, enabling you to select the right candidates for the job.

If the situation does require hiring a new employee, keep in mind that with recruitment comes the need to define the requirements for the job you are creating – this is the next stage of the recruitment process.

Job description

Drafting job postings correctly is key to attracting the right candidates for the job. Accurate wording of the job description, as well as the experience and skill requirements, will allow you to target people who fit the description you have created. This is because the job seeker will be able to clearly see if he or she is a suitable candidate for your employee. What should job adverts contain?

When creating a job advert, remember to include:

• job title,
• responsibilities,
• required qualifications and skills (including experience in a similar position and language skills),
• the location of your company/possibility to work hybrid or fully remote,
• indicative salary and benefits that the employee will be entitled to (salary range)

Finding the right candidates

The next stage of recruitment is to look for candidates who match your expectations and are interested in the job offer created. How do you find them?

Firstly, look around among your current employees. It is very possible that the ideal candidate is already part of your company. In this case, you may need to transfer them to another department, promote them to a higher position or demote them (if they are not performing well). Also keep in mind your former employees – perhaps one of them would like to become part of your team again? It’s also worth looking out for previous applicants – if you still have their CVs and cover letters, use them for your current recruitment process. You can create talent pools where you post details of people potentially suitable for a position – this will greatly improve the recruitment process. Where else can you look for new employees?

You can primarily use your own website in the recruitment process. Create a Careers or Job Vacancies tab and post up-to-date information about vacancies there. Social media will also be extremely helpful. We are talking about platforms such as Facebook. LinkedIn or Twitter. If you decide to do this, ask your current employees to help you and share your ad – there may be someone among their circle of friends who is looking for a job and has the skills you need.

You can also publish your ad on job portals that bring together people who are looking for work. On the Polish labour market, the most popular are: RocketJobs, Pracuj.pl and Jobble. With their help, it will be much easier to find a matching candidate. Don’t forget about sites tailored to a specific industry. In addition to news and the latest trends, you’ll also find a place to place your job ad. One example is PRoto, a site dedicated to the public relations industry.

Candidate selection

When a job offer is answered by a large number of interested people, it will be necessary to carry out a selection of candidates. How do you do this to avoid mistakes and give the best a chance?

Start by analysing the submitted application documents. Check that they contain all the necessary elements requested in the published advertisement. If there are a lot of applicants and some of them have not included, for example, the required cover letter – you may, although not necessarily, exclude them from the list of candidates.

When reviewing the application documents, pay particular attention to the educational background and work experience of the candidates. Choose those who most closely match your company’s profile and the requirements associated with a particular position – they should be the ones to move on to interviews.

Interview

If you have selected candidates who match your company’s needs, invite each of them for an interview. Keep in mind that in this day and age, it can take place either on-site or remotely. You can contact the candidate of your choice via a phone call or using instant messaging tools such as Zoom or Miscosoft Teams. How to conduct an effective interview?

• Treat the candidate with respect and courtesy – during recruitment interviews, it is not just the employers who are assessing their interviewee. Your behaviour and approach to the candidate will also determine whether they remain interested in a job offer from your company.
• Plan the interview accordingly – before the interview starts, prepare a list of questions that will relate to the selected candidate’s qualifications and skills. This will give you the necessary knowledge about their suitability and work experience.
• Don’t ask abstract questions that don’t relate to the candidate’s job description or experience – it won’t do you any good to see how the candidate reacts to unrealistic situations.

If the first interview doesn’t answer all your questions, invite the candidate back. Thoroughly verifying any doubts or misunderstandings is the key to successful recruitment.

Selecting the best candidate and setting the terms of employment

Selecting the best candidate for a vacancy in your company is one of the most difficult stages of recruitment. Your subsequent satisfaction and the profits generated by your company will depend on it. What should you do if you are not sure which candidate to choose?

Recruitment tests are a good solution in this case. They allow you to test the knowledge of those interested in the job. A popular practice is also to ask the candidates to perform a practical task, which verifies their skills. The choice of a particular person to whom you offer cooperation may depend on the results of the aforementioned tests and recruitment tasks.

If you have already selected a candidate, it is time to make an appropriate offer. Remember to adapt it both to your own capabilities and to the preferences of the selected person. Negotiating terms and conditions of employment is a very important moment – employment or not will depend on it. If you are not happy with the offer, you may refuse. So make sure that both parties are satisfied.

Placing a new employee in a position

This is the final stage of the recruitment process. It includes both the signing of the contract and the adaptation of the new employee to his or her workplace and responsibilities. It will be a good idea to assign a suitable person to help the new employee with the induction process. This will ensure that the freshly hired employee knows who to ask for advice and who can help them with any problems.

Remember to show support and give the new person time – everyone needs to get used to a new place, new conditions and new responsibilities. This can be stressful – especially for someone coming completely from outside the organisation. So make sure you create a friendly atmosphere that is sure to improve the induction process for the new employee.

Tools useful in the recruitment process

During the recruitment process, it is worth using tools that will make hiring a new employee much easier. Here are our suggestions:

• Calendly – free software that you can use to schedule meetings and arrange interviews. The platform allows you to create your own schedule – appointments can be scheduled only on the days and times that suit you. The software also synchronises with your appointment calendar, which prevents unwanted overlapping of appointments.
• Tomhrm – a comprehensive application, which, among a number of functionalities, is also equipped with solutions that streamline the recruitment process. It allows, among other things, communication with the candidate, collection and storage of information about him or her, creation of statistics and reports on the sources of acquiring people interested in work. Importantly, all services of the application comply with the RODO policy.
• Elevato – a system that enables the publication of advertisements as well as the sourcing and selection of candidates. Elevato is also a useful tool for managers, who can use it to communicate their needs related to hiring new employees. This system, like the application above, is compliant with the requirements of RODO.
• Miscrosoft Teams – this application is equipped with many functionalities, streamlining the recruitment process. These include chat rooms, which allow you to communicate with a potential candidate – including a remote recruitment interview. OneDrive (for storing data), Excel (for keeping records of candidates) and Google Surveys (which allows you to create questionnaires for candidates) will also be helpful in the hiring process.
• eRecruiter – an application linked to, among others, the Pracuj.pl portal. It enables the completion of the entire recruitment process – from the publication of an advertisement, through the analysis of a candidate’s application, to hiring an employee.

Recruitment of employees and RODO

When conducting the recruitment process, do not forget to act in accordance with the applicable legal regulations. The Personal Data Protection Regulation, or so-called RODO, is particularly important in this context. Which provisions of the RODO should you bear in mind when conducting a recruitment process?

As an employer or a member of the recruitment team, you need to take into account, first and foremost, the duty of information. According to it, the content of a job advertisement must include elements such as:

• company name,
• the company’s address,
• the contact details of the Personal Data Administrator (ADO),
• the period for which the applicants’ personal data will be processed,
• the purposes for which the candidates’ personal data will be processed,
• the right to withdraw consent to the processing of candidates’ personal data,
• the right to lodge a complaint with the Personal Data Protection Authority (PDPA).

Keep in mind that due to the provisions of the RODO, a candidate who has not included consent to the processing of their personal data in their application documents for the current and future recruitment cannot be considered for current or future recruitment.

Properly planned recruitment process – benefits for the company

A well-planned recruitment process has a number of benefits that will positively impact your business. The main advantage is time saving – especially when the recruitment is handled by a dedicated team. What is more, recruiting employees according to a pre-designed structure allows you to reach candidates who are genuinely interested in working for your company. It also makes it possible to verify the level of their commitment – the higher it is at the stage of interviews, the higher the chance that it will also be high during their everyday work in a given position.

Properly conducted employee recruitment also provides an opportunity to analyse a company’s existing needs and the factors that influence its attractiveness. A thorough analysis, on the other hand, provides an opportunity to make the necessary changes that will improve the company’s operation and image.