Tackling Misalignment in Recruitment

As a business, it’s important to make sure that your recruitment process is well-organised, thorough and leads to long-term hires. After all, with the time, money and energy involved, avoiding misalignment will serve the best interests of both your company and your applicants.

When it comes to competent hiring, however, you should also aim to be ethical as well as efficient. Recruitment isn’t just about scoring potential employees against a checklist to fulfil a vacancy. Instead, every new hire should be seen as an opportunity to advance the success of your business.

So how do you make sure you find the right person for the job? By aligning your job description to attract those candidates whose values match your company culture and brand identity.

Why Align a Job Description?

The working world has changed, and with it, the expectations of employees. The younger generation in particular have marked a shift in perspective, with a recent study revealing that 38 percent of ‘Gen Z’ workers seek an attractive work-life balance when deciding which companies to apply to.

Employers are well aware of job seekers’ changing requirements, too, with 94 percent of executives having identified company culture as ‘vital to workplace success’. Outlining your strategic goals and employees’ responsibilities is therefore crucial to positive, productive and permanent hires.

The Dangers of Misalignment

During the recruitment process, a job description should serve as much more than an introduction to the position and candidate requirements. It needs to be a flexible, ongoing account of an employee’s output that can be routinely measured as part of their continuing performance management.

By misaligning your expectations and values in a job description during recruitment, you run the risk of hiring a new member of staff that is unable or unwilling to integrate, and therefore more likely to leave. What’s more, a poor hire can also result in reduced morale among your existing teams.

You should also see your recruitment campaign as an advertisement for your company. In appealing to the right candidates for a role, you’re essentially showing why your business is the best to work for – and that should include representing your brand identity within your job descriptions.

Further Tips for Alignment

So as well as your company culture, organisational goals, and brand identity, what else should be included in an aligned job description? Expectation management is another key part that needs to be clearly communicated to candidates to avoid misunderstandings – and it works both ways.

Take the time to identify what your new employee expects from their role and from their manager. In doing so, you can ensure your company provides the support and opportunities they require for further development and success, which in turn will lead to higher productivity and retention rates.

An experienced ethical recruitment consultancy can also provide guidance on tackling misalignment. To find out how our team at Marmion can help, please call us on 0113 332 0678 or email hello@wearemarmion.com.