Hiring Your Next Employee

When it comes to recruitment, the adage "If you don't know where you're going any road will take you there" also applies to hiring your next

If you don't know who you want, anyone can fit the bill.

Define the role - write the job description

The more effort and time you spend in defining the role you want to fill at the beginning, the fewer headaches and grief you'll have further down the track.

The job description (aka position description) means you'll more easily be able to reduce the number of unsuitable applicants when the CVs start rolling in.

Write the job description to suit the person in the role

Your job description should be written at a level suited to the position - not every job description needs to be worthy of a PhD thesis.

The KISS rule applies (Keep It Simple Stupid).

There are some things a job description needs to have included (eg, to whom the employee reports). 

Here are some ideas to include in your company's job descriptions:the job title

• your company name
• the job purpose
• main tasks and responsibilities
• the reporting lines of the job - who the person is responsible to and (if appropriate) which other roles report to them
• any minimum legal requirements, education or qualifications, or occupational licensing
• ideal personal skills, knowledge and attributes for the job
• any delegated authority the position has (financial and people)place of work
• performance measures for the job (aka KPIs)
• hours of work
• remuneration (wage or salary) range
• customers and stakeholders - who the job works with internally and externally
• any organisational competencies or values relevant to this position
• the type of employment (eg full-time, part-time, permanent, fixed term, casual, contract).

Legal and compliance - qualifications and/or experience

Some roles require minimum qualifications and/or experience as stated by governing bodies. When these are detailed in your job descriptions it makes it very easy to immediately send "thank you but no thank you" notices to applicants.