Hi Pragya,
I think as a recruiter the we should follow a transparent process right from the point of engaging with a potential employee till he/she comes on board.
1 : Be clear and explicit in the job description and the company's business and website etc. This is your sales kit.
2 : Be clear and explicit about the competencies, skills required and the level of proficiency required.
3: Get the experience requirements clear and communicate.
4: Communicate your budget(range) to the placement agency.
Make sure that points 1 to 3 are clearly documented and given to the consultant/placement agencies(if outsourced). Once 1-3 is done there is no going back unless hiring decision is withdrawn.
Ask the placement agency to commit themselves in fulfilling this requirement. They should not merely cut and paste your requirements and send as an email. They should not merely forward your emails. Because they are your ambassadors to the potential hire. Ask them to run through a checklist against 1-3. They should do the first level screening of the willingness/seriousness about the change. Most seasoned recruiters will find out this in 10-15 minutes of a phone call. Check with them on the candidates expectation on compensation and if it falls within range they should proceed with next steps.
4: Once the CV is shortlisted against 1-4 schedule an interview.
4: Once a mutually agreed date and time is scheduled for the interview, never reschedule this. Managers often cite lame excuses like telecons, customer visit, travel etc etc . Any rescheduling done by the company reflects poorly on the company's image.
5: The interview MUST start on time and end ON TIME. (Communicate the selection process a priori to the candidate). Don't select the interview panel when the candidate is waiting and reading magazines at your reception.
6: Make sure that the documents as in steps 1-3 are provided to the interview panel and the candidates CV is provided to the panel at least a day in advance to prepare them for interview. YES, preparation is required from the panel as well. This is the most overlooked step in most companies as most managers feel that they know it all. This will avoid the embarassing moment of reading the CV of the candidate in front of him. This cue is picked up by most smart people and they conclude that the company does not care about people.
7: Once the panel (Technical) shortlists, HR should interview and assess the fitment into the organisation. Also HR should find out if any promises were made during the earlier interviews and should cross check with the technical panel. Often candidates are promised onsite assignments just to get them into the organisation which is not correct. Make sure that this is vetted else communicate transparently to the candidate.
8: Once the offer is made and the offer is accepted, make sure that you get a signature as a token of acceptance on a copy of the letter. THis ensures that there is a MORAL binding on the candidate. It is also better to get the date of joining in this letter.
9: Subsequent to this the challenge starts and it is the job of all the stakeholders to ensure that the candidate joins. The methods that we follow are
1: Once in a week/fortnight the HR calls the candidate and check with him on the progress of his relieving from the current organisation.
2: The would be boss calls the candidate and gives some details(very minimal) on the kind of project he/she would be working on. This will create a sense of urgency in the candidate.
NEVER provide a second offer to the candidate just because some one else has offered more. You might lose the candidate but your are doing good for the industry in general. If every organisation follows this we will have some order in the chaotic atmosphere that prevails now. This will also ensures that a FAIR MARKET VALUE is arrived at the competencies that are available in the market. Otherwise we will go into auctioning mode and small time firms/ startups/Indian companies. will never be able to survive in this sector.
If we follow the above religiously I am sure you will be able to get the right fit for the vacancy.
Another channel of recruitment which is quite successful is employee referral. Here apart from the moral binding from the letter of acceptance, there is a moral binding from the employee who referred the person to ensure he joins. This is more often the true reflection of the perception of your company from outside. If the present employee is not advocating your company, I am not sure what is the motivation for a placement company to advocate apart from the money.
These are my personal experiences/methods which we employed when I joined a startup and helped HR to build the teams.
Regards
Srivathsa