Recruitment Quality Standards

The recruitment and staffing process needs a proper recruitment measures to indicate the performance of the recruitment and staffing process. The recruitment quality standards are very important as the managers can easily complain about the performance of the recruitment process and when no quality standards are set, the managers are always right.

The recruitment quality standards have to be agreed with the target group of the recruitment and staffing process, the managers. The managers are very demanding and the HRM Function has to set the standard expectations from the recruitment process.

The recruitment quality standards have two main roles:

1. Manage the expectations of the managers
2. Identify the potential gaps for the improvement
3. Performance Review of the recruitment and staffing process

The recruitment quality standards are the mutual agreement of the HRM Function and the managers. The managers have to understand the basic rules of the recruitment process and that the steps in the recruitment process needs their time.

When the recruitment quality standards are not set, the managers can expect the delivery of the job candidate within several hours and for free. The recruitment quality standards are about a brief explanation of the recruitment process and setting key success factor for each essential step of the recruitment process.

The recruitment quality standards are not just about the tasks of the HR Recruiters. The quality standards divide the roles and responsibilities. The recruitment process has to be well balanced and the manager has a very important role in the whole recruitment process. The managers cannot perceive the recruitment and staffing process as the process owned and executed fully by the HRM Function. The managers have to be fully involved in the recruitment process and the recruitment quality standards are the good tool to make them recognize their important role.

The recruitment quality standards should be set during the workshops, when the HRM Function describes briefly the main steps of the recruitment process, the outcomes from  the recruitment process step and the expected involvement of the HR Recruiter and the manager. The managers should give their input into the step and the mutual agreement should be reached.

The recruitment quality standards help to avoid many useless discussions about the speed of the recruitment process and the number of final candidates delivered by the HR Recruiter. When the recruitment standards are defined, the HRM Function has a strong argument, when the exception is not agreed before the start of hiring new employee.

The recruitment quality standards should be defined for a longer time, but they should be revised every two or three years as the HRM Function can make sure, the standards are accepted and they do not generate the frustration among managers. When the managers start to complain about the quality standards, the HRM Function has to be open to discuss and adjust the recruitment quality standards.