A recruitment policy is a framework for the recruitment and selection of staff based upon the principles outlined by the company and existing legislation.

Core Principles

  • Respect for diversity;
  • Ethical decision making;
  • Selection according to merit;
  • Equal treatment for all;
  • Procedural fairness.

Advantages to implementing a recruitment policy

Suitability

A good recruitment and selection policy would require well-written and accurate job descriptions, which in turn will bring the most suitable candidate for the job.

Consistency

An advantage to an existing recruitment and selection policy is the requirement for hiring managers to use pre-determined criteria at all stages of the recruitment process, thereby reducing the risk of subjective thinking or discrimination.

Recruitment policies also impose key selection criteria to be determined at the screening stage before the job description was advertised. Each candidate would then be evaluated according to the same criteria, being asked the same series of pre-determined questions and given equal time to respond.

In the same manner, references should be conducted in a consistent manner (e.g. asking similar questions of each candidate’s past experience).

Legality

Any recruitment process must be done according to existing legislation, particularly in the respect of the privacy and equal opportunity requirements. Therefore, it is forbidden to make any discrimination during any of the stages (advertisement, selection, interview) on criteria such as a person’s age, sex, marital status, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or disability.

Credibility

If an organization calls for certain application procedures to be followed, according to its own recruitment policy, candidates may feel more confident that the position they are applying is genuine and be an incentive to apply. In the other hand, there might be employers who advertise positions in order to develop a “talent pool” or not be prepared to offer an actual position at the end of the selection procedure.

If an organization is consistent in the practices they use in the recruitment policies, candidates will become more interested to apply and be part of that organization.

Transparency

By requiring transparent procedures at every step, the recruitment and selection policy ensures that all stakeholders in the recruitment process are able to follow the process and be confident of the outcome.

Candidates should be kept informed of the status of their application and notified if unsuccessful. Reasons for decisions made during the recruitment process should be documented and a transparent appeals process put in place if a candidate is unhappy with the outcome in order to satisfy the transparency requirement.