Facility and Job ObservationTours

One of the best ways you can help a candidate better understand the job and the environment for which they are interviewing is to show them as much as you can, give them a realistic job preview.

Depending on the position, this may be accomplished through a facility or plant tour or by having them spend time with another employee in a similar role (i.e. sales rep, driver).

This provides an opportunity for the candidate to see and get a feel for the environment that they would be working in, interact with current employees and ask questions that they might otherwise not think of asking.

It will also help to prevent situations where a candidate accepts a job offer although they don’t really fully understand what they are getting into and ends up quitting after a very short time because the job is not what they expected.

The following are some things to consider when implementing a plant and/or job observation tour program into your recruitment process:

  • Be prepared to have outside individuals entering the facility. This includes maintaining a supply of proper Personal Protective Equipment such as hard hats, earplugs, gloves, safety glasses/goggles, toe-caps, N95 masks/breathing protection, hair nets or tie-backs, etc.

If there is a requirement of wearing a specific type of clothing or footwear, make this known to the candidate. They may need to bring a change of clothing, or change of footwear to be safe while touring the area.

  • Are there security requirements that they must meet? Make sure that the candidate is aware of any procedures they must follow, forms they must fill-out, identification they should have with them, etc.
  • Provide a safe location for valuable items to be stored while the candidate goes on the tour. Or prepare the potential employee by letting them know they should leave anything valuable at home or in their vehicle to avoid damage or loss.
  • In the case of a job observation tour where the candidate is going on a sales call, prepare the candidate to dress appropriately to face your clients.
  • Keep current employees informed of the potential for meeting candidates. This way, they can be on their best behaviour and avoid acting in such a way as to disappoint someone who was actually interested in the organization. Also, by having employees aware of the tour for potential candidates, they will be ready if the candidate asks them a question or if the interviewer/tour guide stops them from working to talk to the candidate about what they are doing.