What steps can you take to ensure you recruit the right person for the job you're advertising?

The choice of who to recruit into your organisation is one of the most important you can make, if not the most important. Getting this process wrong can result in untold cost and time in sorting out the problems it can cause, such as under performance, high staff turnover, loss of service quality, discontent and sometimes disciplinary action.

On the other hand, getting it right first time means you select candidates suited to the job and the organisation, and you are more likely to see better quality and productivity as a result along with lower staff turnover and ultimately higher profitability.

First and foremost, it is important that you set out the key tasks and responsibilities of the role within a job description. Secondly, a person specification can help you identify the skills, experience and disposition of the ideal person to fulfil the role. It is extremely important to take enough time on this stage as it is critical to finding the right person for the job.

At every stage of the recruitment and selection process, care must be taken not to breach any employment laws, particularly in relation to discrimination. It is illegal to discriminate against a potential candidate on the basis of race, religion/belief, age, sex, sexual orientation or disability. Care must be taken with;

• the wording of your job advertisements;
• short listing candidates;
• the interview process;
• how you apply your selection criteria;
• requesting evidence of the right to work in the UK;
• any requirement to answer any pre-employment medical questions (except in certain circumstances)