Human Resources: Needless HR problems for small business

Britain's Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said recently, that companies must put more time and thought into their recruitment and selection process to select the most suitable candidate.

I am tempted to use a phrase which sadly I find myself using all too often. However, I will resist the urge to use, "stating the bleeding obvious."

Recruitment and selection decisions are amongst the most important of all decisions that managers have to make because they are vital to the development of an effective workforce. It is all about matching the capabilities and interests of prospective candidates with the demands and rewards of a given job.

There are several ways employers can make this process more efficient. They do not include, (as I have encountered with clients) concepts such as, "he/she seemed nice," or "he's been doing this sort of job for 30 years, the other applicants haven't."

Personality does not equal ability and "experience" just tells an employer the applicant has been doing a job a long time - it doesn't mean they are any good at it!

The CIPD's research also reveals one in eight employees leave within the first six months.

In other words, failure to implement an efficient and consistent recruitment process is a costly and needless obstacle to development.

The sole aim of any recruitment process is to attract quality employees using the most objective, cost-effective means possible.

You can't do this by putting an ad in the paper and selecting the candidate who, "seems all right." Yes, that is an actual quote from a former client!