Foreword
In a historical phase of the labor market in which companies are faced with the difficulty of intercepting candidates with profiles consistent with those sought, choices must often be made on very shortlists, if not forced on a single person.
Therefore, it becomes essential to have a clear plan of action to better manage search and selection processes. Critical issues that the Company has experienced in more than 400 interviews conducted in one year, and which it intends to address with a view to development.
In response to the need to improve the effectiveness of the selection processes, PRAXI was involved as a strategic partner to train the first line management on this important issue. Specifically, the training process was built with the goal of extending the ability to conduct an effective recruiting process to everyone besides the HR figure, creating an excellent “candidate experience.”
Project
The training intervention, carried out in the classroom, was based on an interactive mode with alternating theory and practice.
The theoretical aspects covered were:
- New trends in the labor market, such as great resignation, smart working and employer branding
- trends in recruitment: difficulty of finding candidates; need to motivate and involve them in selections, no longer responding to job postings, and to ensure a bu ona “candidate experience”
- The effective interview: what to do (DO)/what not to do (DON’T).
For the practical part of the training, mainly engaging modes were used:
- GAMING, online mode quizzes related to the management of recruiting processes
- VIDEO, job interviews from movies and TV series in which some behaviors to avoid during interviews are ironically exaggerated
- ROLE PLAY, mock interviews in which managers took turns in the interviewer/interviewee roles resulting in a classroom debrief with the PRAXI team.
Results
The interactive approach, adherence to real cases and constant collaboration with the corporate HR function made the activities engaging, facilitating understanding of the project objectives and time spent, and accelerating learning.
In general, the intervention gained greater awareness of the complexities to be managed in the search and selection process and with respect to the importance of the organizational role of function managers, facilitating the work of HR in the company.
Among the main achievements we can highlight:
- Strong accountability with respect to the topics covered
- understanding of the context, changes and challenges to be faced; how much the expectation of candidates in the search for a new job has changed, no longer related only to objective aspects (technical skills, salary etc.), but increasingly to personal well-being (alignment with one’s values, work life balance etc.)
- Increased awareness of aspects to improve, such as the importance of presenting the company and the sought-after role in a clear and appealing manner (thus creating a positive candidate experience)
- Understanding of the opportunity that candidate time, regardless of whether or not it aligns with the role being selected, provides in terms of enhancing corporate image
- Increased awareness of the importance of overseeing every step and detail of the selection process, such as the quality of questions asked andactive listening
- More efficient management of selections made independently and those entrusted to outside companies.
Future
Through this experience, the Company was able to transfer and disseminate internally the strategic importance that the
training on selection processes plays in addressing the challenges posed by the labor market.
By training line managers in search and selection best practices, the Company has been able to seize the dual opportunity to:
- To be able to reduce the process time and choose candidates to hire with more conviction
- be able to improve corporate reputation from the excellent candidate experience of the people
interviewed.
The same path, applicable to all sectors and management levels, will be replicated for middle managers and their teams.
