Timelines: 

We touched on this above, timelines are crucial to your strategy. As a business owner you need a strategy to cover your immediate business needs while you recruit your vacancy. If someone has resigned, you may need a current employee to take on some of the duties or consider hiring a temporary staff member to bridge the gap.

If your recruitment is required for other reasons such as seasonal, project work or growth timelines may not be as tight.

Timelines will differ depending on your unique requirements, but as a general guide let’s rough out a plan taking into consideration the recruitment stage, the average time and the PN Personnel streamlined service:

Advertising (2 – 4 weeks): write a targeted job advertisement, post to relevant sites and network the position to showcase your vacancy to a wide talent pool (including people not currently looking for work)

PN Personnel can write a targeted ad on our website and across social media in a matter of hours, we use video to maximise and further attract applicants to your position.

Screening (1 week): effective screening, asking the right questions to capture if someone is truly interested in the position and your business. There is a knack to this, progressing to interview with the first three applicants who apply will not secure the best person for your team.
PN Personnel consider applicants as they apply and will work with your timelines to advise of our shortlist. We promote your business reputation and brand, offering the reasons “why” to the applicant. We are experienced in asking the right questions to fully determine motivation and suitability for your position.

Interviews (1 – 2 weeks): scheduling suitable time for yourself, other team members if applicable and the applicant.
Before we send an applicant to you PN Personnel interview them ourselves.  We do this within days of our initial chat, via face to face communication ideally in person, or via an online meeting if face to face is impossible. As part of this we will conduct computer testing, police check and any other relevant checks.

Second interviews (1 – 2 weeks): if applicable
Within days of presenting our shortlist, PN Personnel will organise interviews and liaise with yourself and applicants regarding thoughts and feedback. 

Reference checking (1 week): reference checking is an essential part of the process, easily overlooked because you have not been able to get a hold of the contact or they are currently unavailable. The PN Personnel team do find on occasion a reference which highlights areas for concern, some which rule the applicant out entirely and others which need further verification.

PN Personnel prioritise our time to complete robust references for all our applicants so the employer is assured their potential new employee has the skills, abilities and attitude to fit their team.
Our short list of recommended applicants are referenced by us prior to your interviews so you are in the position to make an offer immediately. 

Job offer and notice period (0 – 4+ weeks): for your offer to be considered, accepted and for any relevant notice period (which can range from none to 2 – 4 weeks as a standard and occasionally longer).
PN Personnel follow up on your job offer and negotiate any sticky points in the offer immediately along with notice periods so you secure your employee as soon as possible.

As your local recruitment agency PN Personnel can assist you to streamline these timelines and secure someone in half the time it would take you to recruit alone. Working with our Recruitment Specialists we can manage your business timelines to your needs, dedicating our time to the process to fill your role effectively.

Once you have your new employee, consider your process for retaining their talent and skills, your onboarding process and their reception and integration within your business – Step 3 is the final important step to successful staffing.