Finding and hiring staff – video transcript

In this finding and hiring staff video, understand the overview of the recruitment process and how you can attract, select and employ the right staff for your business.

Finding and hiring staff

Having the right number and profile of staff is critical to your business’s ability to operate and grow.

But it’s important to be both strategic and compliant with legislation, when you look to bring on new staff through a recruitment process.

Finding and hiring staff will be different for each business, but these 8 steps will help to guide you through the process.

Before you start recruiting, it’s important to assess your current staffing situation. Why have you decided to recruit?

Workforce planning can help you work out how many and what type of staff you’ll need now and in the future.

Information about how to conduct workforce planning is available on the Business Queensland website.

To find the right person for the job, it's essential to prepare a clear position description that defines the role you are recruiting for.

You can use our free position description template to help you prepare.

Once you’ve prepared your position description, use it to help you develop your selection criteria so you can fairly and consistently assess applicants in areas such as experience, qualifications and their fit with workplace culture and values.

The Business Queensland website has guidelines you can use to develop selection criteria.

A well-written and well-placed job advertisement will attract the best candidates. There are many different channels through which you can advertise the position.

Wherever you choose to advertise, make sure the ad includes a description of your company and the position, instructions on how to apply (including a deadline), and contact details. Consider whether you want to include wage or salary details.

Before you advertise, consider giving your current staff an opportunity to apply first.

Now that you have received applications, it’s time to start screening and shortlisting the potential candidates that you want to interview.

You can create a simple evaluation template to shortlist candidates using the guidelines on our ‘Finding and hiring staff page’ to help you. Consider adding a short phone screening as part of the shortlisting process.

Once you’ve decided on the shortlist of applicants you would like to interview, contact them to organise a suitable time.

When you organise an interview, make sure you give candidates information to help them prepare. Let them know how long the interview will be, what to bring, and who will be there.

You’ll also need to do some prep work yourself, reviewing the applications, organising the interview structure, and preparing questions.

The Business Queensland website has plenty of tips for conducting interviews, including what questions to ask – and which ones you should or must avoid.

A candidate’s CV or resume shows them in their best light. But it can leave out information or be false. Interviews may also not reveal everything you need to know about a candidate. That’s why, after you’ve completed all the interviews, it’s important to contact referees before you make an offer to your preferred candidate.

When conducting reference checks, there are some legal requirements you must follow.

You can use our free reference check template and advice to help you through this process.

Once you’ve decided on your preferred candidate, reach out to them as soon as possible.

Be prepared to extend the offer to a second or third choice candidate if the initial offer isn’t accepted or doesn’t work out. But in some cases, you may need to start the process again.

Make sure you support and onboard your new starter into your business so they can make a positive contribution as soon as possible.

Remember to consider all the possible sources of new employees as part of your workforce planning and recruitment.

You can find many resources on the Business Queensland website to help you.

Watch the finding and hiring staff video.