Recruitment decisions

Why do we make so many poor decisions when it comes to recruiting people in the building product sector? asks Steve Rogan

Recruitment doesn’t always get the attention it deserves and can be seen as a distraction from the “more important” day-to-day running of a merchant or a manufacturer of building products.

Selecting the right person is vital for future success and especially in the current climate with sales of building materials so volatile. With these factors in mind, why do many not invest enough time in this process and often end up with the wrong person?

Lack of time spent understanding what is expected of the candidate

If the employer does not really know this, then how can the candidate? And how can they be expected to achieve the goals set? Time spent getting this right at the outset, with a clear and considered understanding of their duties, responsibilities and goals, will focus the mind of the employer on what they really need and, therefore, attract the most suitable people.

Ability to find suitable candidates

Suppliers and manufacturers of building materials can often have real difficulty in finding the right person, or have not got the time and expertise to search. Recruiting is a full-time job, requires specific skills and knowledge, as well as a long-term approach in order to reap the rewards. It is vital that an employer doesn’t fill a position with the best of a bad bunch, crossing their fingers that it will work out – it usually doesn’t.

Thinking that the ‘appointment’ is the end of the process

It is important to remember that there is rarely an “off the peg, select and forget” solution, even with a candidate that has been poached from another merchant or manufacturer. Employers cannot expect someone to perform miracles immediately, especially if they are just left to their own devices – but the candidate should grow into the “perfect choice”. The employer has a responsibility to invest their time to develop the individual – as this is an investment in the company’s future.

Lack of specialist advice

When you consider the lifetime cost of employing someone, you begin to realise how much of an investment an employer is making. Companies shouldn’t feel that they have to go it alone – with any other type of investment of this size, expert specialist advice would be sought and the necessary time allocated to the decision-making process.

We can all be experts in our own roles, but try doing someone else’s job for a week – it’s tough and you can feel lost. However, when you are working alongside that person in your everyday job, you add real value to each other and success follows. The same should be applied to recruitment: the appointment of a specialist recruitment agency to work with the employer should give real benefits and ensure that they maximise their chances of finding and developing the employee that they deserve.

Steve Rogan is managing director of Pinnacle Consulting , specialist recruitment consultants for the building products industry.