How do I check the qualifications of candidates?

Most roles have a minimum requirement in qualifications. For many jobs these qualifications are not essential to the candidate’s ability to do the job, but in some cases, such as medical, legal or financial industries, they are key and disregarding them could be very dangerous and possibly illegal.

It is your responsibility as an employer to ensure that your staff are qualified to perform their roles. You can ask for the certificates that confirm the candidate’s qualifications and then follow up with the awarding body if you know the candidate’s name, the qualification and the year of award.

There are also many organisations that offer Education Verification services and tools and if you have a large number of candidate’s, it would be much more cost and time effective to employ a specialist than to try and check yourself.

Filled Under: Recruiting Posted on: 1st June 2021

Our staff turnover is very high – what can we do?

If your business regularly has people joining and leaving again it is easy to blame ‘the staff’ as not having the right attitudes or skills. However the truth is that you have probably not recruited the right people in the first instance and then not communicated with them in order to ensure they stay engaged.

Here are my top tips for improving staff turnover

• Ensure the people you hire have not just the right skills, but the right fit for your business culture. You could incorporate behavioural interview questions
• Ensure your pay and benefits are competitive and review this regularly
• Give your team praise regularly, recognition shouldn’t just be an annual pay rise. Ensure you show your appreciation of good work on a regular basis
• Have a career path for all roles and make sure this is made clear to staff members so they can see the progression options
• If possible allow flexible work schedules, many employees leave when their job does not match their lifestyle.

Filled Under: Recruiting Posted on: 1st June 2021

How can I ensure I am being fair when recruiting?

As an employer it is your legal responsibility to ensure you are not discriminating during the recruitment process and that your decision to hire someone is based solely on their ability to do the job, how they will contribute to the organisation and their potential for development. You should ensure that you are treating applicants fairly at all stages of the recruitment process. It is important that you make the process clear to applicants and that adjustments can be made to accommodate disabilities.

For shortlisting candidates you could consider using Artificial Intelligence technology, which can avoid the unconscious bias that humans can experience. You should ensure that any technology you employ has been tested thoroughly and provides a good experience for candidates.

Interviewing candidates is an area which is particularly prone to bias, some of the issues to look out for are:

• Asking candidates questions which are designed to confirm initial impressions gained before interview
• Thinking stereotypes are true, such as assumed characteristics about sex, race, disability, marital status or criminal record.
• Applying the ‘Horns and Halos’ effect, just because a candidate rates badly in one area this judgement should not be replicated across all areas of the assessment.
• Comparing candidates to earlier applicants throughout the interview process
• Preferring candidates who are ‘similar to me’ in areas such as background, career history or attitudes
• Making decisions based on whether you ‘like’ the candidate

I would advise committing to a set of interview questions which are directly related to the performance of the role and that you use consistently for every applicant. However, you also need to ensure that the interview feels natural and balanced and that the applicant has the opportunity to ask questions.

Filled Under: Recruiting Posted on: 15th April 2021

How can I find out whether a new staff member has the right to work in the UK?

One of the most important factors here is not discriminating against prospective staff because of their nationality, colour, race, ethnic origins or any other factor, so you should ask ALL new employees for proof of their eligibility to work in the UK.

The list of documents that are acceptable proof is on the Government website https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-work. Just because a person is not able to produce documents does not mean they are in the UK illegally. You can refer them to the UK Border Agency for further assistance.

Remember it is a criminal offence to employ a person who is not allowed to work in the UK and you could face a civil penalty fine of up to £20,000 for each illegal worker!

Filled Under: Recruiting Posted on: 25th August 2020