This article addresses primarily line managers tackling the task of hiring staff for their departments.
By Konstantin Borisov
While previous articles were focused on the means of building a career and finding an interesting job, the time has come to answer employers' questions.
This article deliberately refrains from addressing such issues as working effectively with recruiting agencies; but instead, analyzes widespread difficulties encountered and errors made by company executives in the hiring process. Comments and recommendations are based on extensive observation of oil and gas companies recruiting practices, and on companies' executives, HR managers\', as well as job applicants' complaints .
Firstly, the question of proper recruiting process organization importance and its effects on overall business efficiency or implementation of specific projects should be answered. A vacancy not promptly filled not only leads to a loss in profit or a project not implemented, but also places an additional unnecessary workload on existing staff, which dampens their motivation and causes them to «turn elsewhere» in search of better options. Besides, a poorly organized recruitment practice scares away promising and qualified candidates, gives a company a negative image on the job market, and finally cuts off the influx of competent workers, thereby limiting the choice to those few less qualified specialists who are willing to wait for three months for a decision and to undergo endless interviews.
Some examples of practical mistakes that employers can make in organizing the recruitment process are:
• Unable to differentiate the essential from the secondary, the executive is unsure about the experience they look for in a potential employee and the specific functions that are to be assigned to him/her. This is usually due to a poor institutional structure with hazily defined functions and areas of responsibility. For example, a certain company was looking for a specialist in investment project evaluation, deeply knowledgeable about both financial analysis of investment and oil refining technologies. Such specialists do not exist: they are either more on the finance side or on the engineering side. Eventually, the problem was solved by recruiting two specialists. Meanwhile, time was wasted, and several qualified applicants slipped through.
• Formal requirements that deman strict adherence are set. For instance, no less than five years of experience are required- job seekers with experience of four years and six months are not considered. However, it is better to hire someone who is 80 percent qualified, but motivated and promising, than someone who is 100 percent qualified - the latter will «outgrow» the position sooner, and new motivation will need to be found to make this person remain on the job. This rule certainly does not apply to project work when a quick result is needed. But when hiring permanently, it is better to hire someone «with room for improvement.» At the beggining of a search it is useful to draw up two profiles - that of an «ideal» candidate and that of a «suitable» one. Likewise, job seekers should be evaluated based not only on their age or experience, but also on such criteria as the ability to «pull it off. »
• Companies and their executives should not subject the applicants to too many interviews and put off making the final decision in hopes of coming across a «supercandidate.» Today, practically every operator or oilfield service company is hiring, meaning that candidates have many options and tend to choose the more dynamic companies. Indeed, a company's decision-making process to certain extent reflects the recruiting organization's lifestyle: if the process of getting hired at a company is lengthy and strenuous, working at that company is bound to involve numerous coordination efforts and delays, which is not an attractive work atmosphere for competent specialists.
• Frequently, in addition to interviews with the line manager and the HR specialist, companies not only have a background check on the applicant conducted by their security department (which is justified), but also have candidates take psychological tests, administered to potential employees of all levels. Our experience shows that such testing may in some cases be excessive. Psychological testing is very important when the work is unusually demanding or is to be performed in psychologically extraordinary conditions, such as solitary work accompanied by the suound of an engine running. Yet, for filling some rank-and-file positions, the testing and the results evaluation can be dilatory to the decision-making, having a negative effect on the company\'s image in the eyes of the applicant.
• Getting back to the question of time, waiting for a week or two when trying to fill a position, while having several fitting CVs (because there isn't enough time or expecting more people to reply to the vacancy), presents a risk of some applicants turning down an interview offer because they already found a job. Usually, these applicants turn out to be the ones you need. Thus, when embarking on a hiring mission, it should be prioritized. Ultimately, hiring qualified workers is one of the main responsibilities of any executive, no less important than meetings with a vice-president.
