Recruiting the right person

It only takes a second to offer employment, but regret can last for months – improve your chances of making the right decision to land the perfect new recruit

by John Davis

7 February 2008

The choice is yours

The key to recruiting the right person is to conduct the perfect interview. Over the last 28 years I have asked numerous FMs what interview training they have received and very few have had any at all! Many see recruitment as a necessary evil and a distraction from getting on with their operational issues.

So what is the perfect interview? Firstly you have to ignore the subjective issues about whether you like the person or not and ensure that you recruit the right person for the role rather than trying to recruit a new friend. To enable you to do this you need to understand what exactly you are looking for, the role the person needs to do and what skills and competencies they will require. Treat the process the same as awarding an outsource contract, preparing full specifications and service level agreements and treating the CVs as tenders and subjected to the same scrutiny.

1  Research

You can never do too much research. Ensure you know exactly what the role entails and that you have created a full job and person specification. Break the job down into five or six selection criteria:,for example: FM knowledge, communication skills, people management skills, finance experience, customer service skills, personal circumstances (location, salary, personality). Review the website of their current employer for key facts and search the internet for any extra information about the individual. Ensuring not to breach the confidentiality of the candidate, speak to industry colleagues to get first-hand opinions.

2  Timing

Plan 10 minutes preparation time in the interview room before the interview to review the candidate’s CV and job specification. Ensure you commence the interview at the given time.

3  Preparation

Ensure that you are dressed appropriately to portray your company’s culture. Have a list of structured questions that will determine the facts relating to your selection criteria. Have a prepared sheet for notes that will enable you to easily grade the candidate’s answers against the other contenders.

4  Rehearsal

In a candidate-short market it is equally important to sell your organisation to the individual as it is for them to sell their skills to you. Be adept in stating who you are, what you do, what the role is, why the role is available and why it is a great opportunity for them to consider.

5  Literature

Take a copy of the job specification and their CV. Ensure you use this as a prompt for asking supplementary questions in addition to the prepared structured ones. Take a small portfolio of your company literature to promote the company to the candidate.

6  Facts

It is critical that you gather facts from the candidate to establish if they can do the role. For recruiting an FM these would be: size of FM budget; size and number of locations managed; numbers of employees reporting to them; numbers of employees they provide services to; scope of services managed; and cost savings. Examples of killer questions are:

• which aspects of your career most directly relate to you being able to effect this role?

• what do you feel are your key strengths?

• what are the three greatest achievements you have made in your current role?

This information must be factually correct and must be later substantiated. Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development indicates that 95 per cent of candidates’ CVs are factually incorrect. Therefore ensure that all offers are subject to receipt of satisfactory references/clean driving licence/certificates/medical etc.

7  Personality

Throughout the interview process, assess the person’s personality, taking into account nerves. Be personable at the interview. Establish how the person would fit into the team, perhaps by getting the opinions of some of them sitting in, or by using a personality profile psychometric test.

8  Feedback

At the end of the interview ask the candidate for their thoughts and ask the closed question, "If this position was offered to you, would you accept it?" Then ensure the candidate knows what the employment process will be following the interview. It is important to stress that few companies realise how important the professionalism of the recruiting process is in ensuring your organisation has the best calibre candidates. Sitting on applications or taking weeks to give feedback is not acceptable.

9  Post-interview

Always write that same day to the candidate thanking them for their time and reiterating your interest in their application for the role. Obviously if they are unsuitable for the role then reject their application politely.

John Davis is CEO of Facilities Recruitment Limited