Don't waste your time with graduates - 03/2001

Graduates - they have little or no experience but still cost a company more to hire than a skilled manager. Graduate recruitment is the most time consuming process in employment, taking approximately 90 days* and costing over 7,170 per graduate. But all of this could change through the use of generic Scorable Application Forms (SAFs) designed by SHL, a world-leading provider of HR services.

Utilising 15 years worth of experience in designing behaviour/competency based frameworks, SHL has developed an 'item bank' of generic questions which it uses to create tailored SAFs for any job description - quickly, efficiently and above all, cost effectively. Using SAFs in the graduate recruitment process therefore enables managers in any industry to sift through piles of applications quickly and short-list potential candidates objectively. This ensures the most suitable candidates for the job are identified and selected for further assessment.

The preparation that goes into developing a SAF is crucial. SHL works alongside its clients to define the key behaviours/competencies for the job in question, and tailors the questionnaire. Applicants are sent the easy to answer questionnaire to complete and return to the client who, without any training, can quickly compare the applicant's response against the job demands. Within seconds, suitable applicants can be identified objectively.

Hartwell plc, a wholly owned subsidiary, and third largest automobile dealership in the UK, have developed a SAF alongside SHL. In the highly competitive car sales environment, it needed to ensure that it recruited the right people as its car sales executives, fairly and objectively. So far, the results from Hartwell's completed SAF's suggest that candidates with scores in the top 25 per cent of the behavioural-based questionnaire would achieve 78,000 more in sales profit than those in the lowest quartile. Therefore proving that a 30-minute competency-based SAF could equate to 243 per cent increase per person in revenue generation.

Richard Rogers, HR manager of Hartwell plc has commented on their experience in using SAF by saying: This research has given us a clearer view of the behaviours that actually predict performance, allowing us to introduce a more standardised pre-screening process that will have a direct impact on bottom line performance.

Roy Davis of SHL summarises: Most people involved in graduate recruitment are already aware of just how expensive and lengthy the process can be. However, by using SHL SAFs not only makes a difference to the organisation's bottom line, it also gives more time back to the people carrying out the recruitment.

www.shlgroup.com