Many mortgage brokers are working extra hours just to keep up with the recent strong demand for home loans. But, as Paula Taylor writes, brokers who know how to hire staff the right way can set themselves up for ongoing success.

“When it comes to the crunch, the staff you choose will be representing you and your business to your already hard-earned base of existing and potential clients and referrers”

“Employ the right people and they will take your business to the next level, employ the wrong people and you could risk everything”

“Without the clear direction provided by a job specification you open up the opportunity for employee/s, subcontractors to take advantage of the greyness of their duties and responsibilities”

“It is important to remember, you are not buying a product rather a human being who comes with their own set of values, ethics and character traits”

“As with any vital process within your business, the key to successful recruitment is research, planning and strategy”

Do you find yourself saying ‘there’s never enough time in the day’, ‘I can’t be everywhere at once’ or even better, 'I have more work than I can handle’? Then it could be time for you to look at employing staff.

If you want your business to grow and to develop, you will need to employ staff. It is one thing to be self-employed, but it is a different story all together to be an employer.

Before you commit yourself to employing staff, think carefully about the consequences. You will need to be prepared to devote a great deal of time, effort and money to ensure you employ and retain the best candidate/s. The total cost of employing an individual is much greater than their pay packet, so you will need to be savvy when analysing the cost of employment in relation to the value of the contribution an employee/sub contractor will make to your business.

Any mortgage business owner also needs to carefully consider exactly what type of staff, what attributes … and what skills sets and personalities would be best suited to their business. For when it comes to the crunch, the staff you choose will be representing you and your business to your already hard-earned base of existing and potential clients and referrers. The last thing you want to do is make a hiring decision that you later regret … and one that has a negative impact on these finely balanced relationships.

However, once you have made a commitment to employ, the greatest asset in your business will be the people who work for you. Employ the right people and they will take your business to the next level, employ the wrong people and you could risk everything!


STEPS TO SUCCESS

Now you have made the decision to recruit, let us look at the steps involved in the recruitment process.

Step 1 Prepare a job specification
Step 2 Write and place advertising
Step 3 Review applications
Step 4 Short list applicants
Step 5 Interview
Step 6 Obtain reference checks, confirm qualifications/accreditations
Step 7 Carry out psychological or other testing if required
Step 8 Make an offer of employment
Step 9 Prepare and arrange for contract of employment to be executed
Step 10 Arrange start date and prepare for employee induction

Though the above steps may sound simple, it is a common mistake to assume each step is as straightforward as it may appear, as each step can open up many variables and frustrations that can be hidden from the basic recruitment process. It is these hidden variables/frustrators that has seen the rise of the recruitment industry. Let us take a look at each step to gather further information on which of these variables, or frustrators, you will need to consider when recruiting.


STEP 1 – PREPARING A JOB SPECIFICATION

· If you do not prepare a job specification, how does your new employee know what responsibilities and duties are required of them? A lack of direction and purpose will result in frustrations from both parties and increases the risk of fallout.

· If you do not prepare a job specification, how will you begin to measure the performance of your new employee?

· Without clear direction provided by a job specification you open up the opportunity for employee/s, subcontractors to take advantage of the greyness of their duties and responsibilities.


STEP 2 – ADVERTISING THE JOB

· How do you know if you have written a job advertisement that will attract suitable applicants and complies with Anti Discrimination and Equal Opportunity of Employment legislation? Get it wrong and you could face a court case and a hefty fine.

· What happens if you write an advertisement that you believe to comply with all the legislation, however, a person reading the advert perceives it differently. Who is right? The law is likely to side with the other party as perception in advertising does reflect the view of the reader not the writer.

· Be prepared to place expensive advertising and not to receive many, if any, responses if the market is candidate short.

· How do you know if you have placed advertising in the right medium targeted to your candidate market?

· With so many job adverts being placed, how do you know the advert you place is written well enough to attract potential applicants over other advertising?


STEP 3 – REVIEWING APPLICATIONS

· What happens if you get a volume of responses to your advertising from unsuitable applicants? Do you have to respond to each one?

· What happens if you decline an applicant for a particular reason that they disagree with and come back to you for further validation of your reason/s? How will you handle this without creating yourself more work and time wasting?

· How do you let applicants down gently when you have a number of quality applicants but only have one job to fill and do not have the time to interview larger numbers of applicants?


STEP 4 – SHORT LISTING APPLICANTS

· How do you shortlist applicants if you have a number to choose from?

· How do you ensure your short list criteria is adequate enough to determine skill/competency matches to your requirements?

· How do you handle a complaint if two applicants who know each other, have the identical skill and experience, yet you decline one and shortlist the other?

· What happens if you send out decline letters before you have confirmed your short listed applicants are still available and all short listed applicants have sourced jobs elsewhere?


STEP 5 – THE INTERVIEW

· What questions should you ask and what questions can you not ask? Get this wrong and you could find yourself being taken to court for asking questions that contravene anti discrimination legislation. For example, if you asked someone their age and they did not get the job, they could say it was a direct result of them being too young or old because you asked the age question.

· How do you know if the questions you ask are going to allow you to assess whether the applicant/s could successfully perform the duties of the job?

· You have just spent an hour interviewing a potential applicant and realise you neglected to ask them some vital questions that could have an impact on whether you offer them the position? These could, for example, include the reasons they left their previous employment, or whether the remuneration package you are offering matches their expectations. Perhaps you failed to ask what notice they are required to give their current employer. You would be surprised at how many applicants still respond to jobs while seeking a higher remuneration with the hope of getting the salary increased. This can be a major time waster for all parties concerned.

· You really like an applicant but how do you know that you have sold them the benefits of the job to engage their strong interest? Remember, it’s not just you interviewing them for the job – they are also interviewing you and the company to determine if it is something they are interested in.


STEP 6 – REFERENCE CHECKING

· What questions can I ask and what should I not be asking to ensure that I comply with the Privacy Amendment Act?

· What happens if the referee the applicant elects, has since left the position, can you speak with someone else at the company?

· What happens if you make a call to someone you know who works at the same place as the applicant yet they are not one of the applicants elected referees? This is something the Privacy Amendment Act is determined to put a stop too. If the applicant finds out you have sourced information about them without their approval, especially if this information has prevented them from obtaining the position, you could face serious charges and fines.


STEP 7 – PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING/CONFIRMING QUALIFICATIONS

· How do you go about measuring the results of psych testing if you are not an HR person or qualified tester?

· How do you know if you elect to psych test, that the test you have chosen is the best one to accurately determine an applicant’s success in a job when there a hundreds of tests on the market?

· What is the validity rating of psych testing?

· What do you do when the interview/s have gone very well but your applicant scores really poorly on the psych test, do you still employ them?


STEP 8 – MAKING AN OFFER

· Be prepared – the applicant you have chosen may turn down the job offer and you may have to start the process from scratch again.

· How best do you handle the situation when the offer has been made and the applicant wants to negotiate on remuneration or conditions of employment that you were not expecting?

· What do you do if you go through the whole process and make an offer to your selected applicant and they have since found another job without informing you but you have already advised the other short listed applicants that they have been unsuccessful?


STEP 9 – ISSUING A CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

· Contracts of employment are legally binding documents. Make sure that you have prepared a sound contract which covers all the points required under employment legislation.

· Contracts that do not cover all aspects or add conditions that contravene employment legislation could possibly be seen as inadequate or null and void, resulting in you being required to pay out to a past employee if they take a case against you.


STEP 10 – SIGNING OF CONTRACT AND EMPLOYEE INDUCTION

· What do you do if everything is signed and just before your new employee is about to start they call to advise they will not be starting or just don't turn up on the agreed start date?

· If you do not provide an induction period for a new employee, you increase the risk of the employee resigning as they feel they have not fitted in, or they feel unsettled because they do not know the internal company processes, strategy, goals and so forth. This can be a major frustrator for both parties when a resignation comes within the probationary period.


As you can see from the points raised above, the recruitment process is far from simple. It is important to remember, you are not buying a product rather a human being who comes with their own set of values, ethics and character traits.

Try to keep the recruitment process as objective as possible. The greatest mistake an employer can make is to recruit subjectively and employ someone like themselves or because they really like the applicant/s personality rather than on their skill/experience and competency set.

Recruiting can be an enjoyable process if you are confident in your knowledge of employment law and ability to source, select and recruit effectively. Get the process wrong and you could see your budget being blown out by having to re-advertise and the further investment in your time and energy to recruit your ideal applicant. As with any vital process within your business, the key to successful recruitment is research, planning and strategy.

This article first appeared in Mortgage Professional Australia (MPA) magazine. To subscribe or find out more about the magazine, please visit www.mortgagemagazine.com.au or call MPA on (02) 9439 4566.

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