15 elements of a recruitment and selection policy

  1. Authority and governance
  • Decide who your policy applies to.I recommend that you apply it to all permanent, temporary and contract employees within the organisation, as well as to external applicants i.e. every appointment made will be made in terms of your policy. That way every person will be treated the same, and your procedure will be as fair and objective as possible.
  • Determine who hasthe authority to change or overrule the policy. The best policy is to lay down that this can only be done at the highest level of your organisation. This may be the CEO or Chairman of the Board or Management Committee, depending on how your company is set up.
  • Decide right from the beginning who will have the final decision in cases of dispute. E.g. if there are two equally qualified and promising applicants for the job, who will make the judgement call to decide who gets the position?
  1. Employment equity
  • State that the recruitment and selection policy must be read in conjunction with your company’s employment equity plan and refer to this document to establish the designated group targeted for the specific position and level.
  • You've got to show your employment equity focus throughout the recruitment process. Include a specific clause thatstates the organisation is an equal opportunity employer and preference will be given to affirmative action or designated groups.
  1. Succession planning

Make mention of your company’s succession plan and how it determines the types of individuals you want to employ. Ideally you should be employing the calibre of person who has the potential to fit in with your organisation’s succession planning process – immediately or in the future. That way you will be training the leaders and managers of the future from within the organisation.

See section S0X for more details on developing a succession plan.

  1. Classification of positions

Clarify which type of position you need to recruit for:

  • Replacement of positions i.e. to fill a position that has arisen due to a resignation, retirement, dismissal, etc.
  • New positions i.e. a newly created position,
  • Temporary/fixed term contract positions i.e. for a specific project, to relieve a permanent staff member while she is on maternity leave, to assist temporarily to ease an overload in work, etc.
  1. The search process – how do you go about inviting applications for the position?

Three types of advertising methods

  1. Internal advertising. This should be the first port of call and is done using the most effective internal communication facilities available to you, be it email, notice board, intranet, etc - whichever method will reach each and every employee within the organisation and inform them of the job vacancy.
  2. External advertising. Decide which media publications or internet recruitment search engines will be used to publish the advertisements for the positions to attract applications. This will need a little background research, as different media reach a different audience. You will need to select the right publications to suit the position you are advertising and the quality person you are trying to recruit.
  3. Employment/search agencies. Professional recruitment agencies can be a useful tool in finding the right staff and can be used in many ways – as the first step in the recruitment process, parallel to your own processes or as the last resort, if your other efforts don’t have the result you were hoping for. You should also specify that the recruitment agency or agencies used will be appointed in terms of the organisation’s procurement policy and in keeping with your organisation’s economic empowerment and equity policies.
  1. Applicant selection

Specify the process you will use to select possible candidates.

Example

Internal applicants:In addition to the CV, you may insist on a letter of motivation from the employee stating why he or she believes they are suitable for the position or why they are applying for this specific position. You may request the employee’s direct supervisor to submit a letter of recommendation.

External applicants: Once you’ve considered the applicant’s CV’s and whether they fulfil the position’s minimum requirements, you may want to do telephone screening to ensure that the person is in fact suitable for the position, confirming issues on their CV and establishing their remuneration requirements.

Another important facet of the selection process is reference checking and verification of qualifications.Clarify the format of the reference check and when it should be done – before interviewing, after interviewing, etc. For more information on reference checking see section XX

  1. Selection interview

Determine the composition of the interview panel for each level of position e.g. the interview panel for a senior position will include an executive manager from another department and the direct manager/supervisor, while the panel for an executive management position will include the CEO and/or Chairman of the Board etc.

  1. Payment of interview costs

Will the organisation cover the costs of applicants travelling from outlying destinations? Will they refund air travel or do the applicants have to take care of travelling costs themselves?

  1. The interview

Before the interview starts, you should have a clear idea of the form and direction it will take. This will help you get the most out of the limited time you have to question and assess the applicant. Some issues you need to consider are: What structure will the interview take?What documentation should be provided to each panellist?The format of the questions to be asked etc.

  1. Post interview procedures

This is where you would specify whether or not the applicant would go through a second interview process, if psychometric testing would be done, reference checks, etc.

  1. Offer of employment

Confirm details of:

  • The approval of the offer package e.g.for a sales position, a company vehicle included or a car allowance, the total cost to company, 13th cheque guaranteed, medical aid and pension fund benefits included, etc.
  • Who will take responsibility for the offer process e.g. will Human Resources make the offer or will it be done by the direct report, who will set up the letter of offer and who should the candidate respond to should he wish to negotiate?
  • Time periods in which the applicant can respond to the offer.
  • Negotiation of package if the applicant does not accept the initial offer, etc.
  1. Regret of unsuccessful applicants

How will the organisation inform applicants that they have been unsuccessful? Two possible options are by informing them either in writing or by telephone. An increasingly popular option with employers who receive excessive numbers of applications for advertised positions is to advise applicants in the original advertisement that if they have not received communication by a certain date, to please consider their application to be unsuccessful.

See sample letter of regret in section R02.

  1. Temporary and fixed term contract staff

Some important questions that must be decided when recruiting temporary or fixed term contract employees include:

  • Time limits for the project and employment.
  • Will the temporary assignment be based on a specific outcome or project?
  • Who will be responsible for signing off the temporary employee’s times sheets?
  • Who will have the authority to extend the fixed term contract employee’s duration of contract – or would an extension be allowed?
  1. Appointment of internal applicants

This section will deal with the appointment of internal applicants, which leads to specific issues e.g. what process will apply if the position is an upgrade of position in terms of level, if it would be a promotion etc?

  1. Dispute resolution

Should appointment decisions be challenged by internal or external applicants, what process will be followed and where will the dispute be referred?