Planning Your Next Graduate Recruitment Program
Recruiting new staff is not an activity which should be entered into lightly, and in many cases (particularly if you are part of a large organisation) your recruitment activity will have a considerable degree of complexity. A plan that is designed to recruit 30 graduate recruits may have a time span of 18 months, involve perhaps 100 people in your organisation – and probably some outside too – and almost certainly cost thousands of dollars.
The complete process can be broken down into a discreet series of actions, each with start and end dates, cost breakdowns and links between activities which specify that one cannot begin until another is completed. Some of the responsibilities of the recruitment manager are to:
- predict what might go wrong
- put in place contingencies so that disturbances don't affect the overall outcome
- constantly monitor the process to ensure that objectives (of time, cost, recruitment numbers, etc.) are all met.
This is made considerably easier if the plan (in whatever initial form) is turned into a project plan, and monitored using a computerised project management system. Several packages are available for different platforms, and some can be purchased fairly cheaply. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you need the most complex package on the market. The extra time spent learning a complex system almost certainly doesn't pay dividends in the long run.
The facilities you do need include:
- easy data entry
- the ability to link activities so that the effects of slippage can be seen and accommodated for
- a mechanism for attaching costs to activities and noting variances
- the ability to specify individuals responsible for each stage
- a facility to display and print the project plan in a series of increasing levels of detail
- the ability to ask 'What if?' questions.
The advantages of using a computerised system are that:
- it is easy to make changes to your plan to accommodate failures or changing objectives without having to redraft the whole plan by hand – 'What happens if our advert doesn't go in on time?'
- you can predict what will happen – 'It will not cause a delay to our assessment centres.'
- you can foresee budget problems – 'What will happen to cash flow if we have to pay for the brochure two months early?' – and potential staffing problems – 'We will need to bring in a temp in 22 working days time for three days to help us respond to all these enquiries.'
- they provide an excellent means of 'one-off' communication with your manager, and also continuous communication with your recruitment team via a notice board display of current versus planned activity
- the plan for this year's recruitment exercise can rapidly be mapped onto the next year's process
- you not only look as though you're in control – you are in control.
|
|
|
