We recently recruited a chef who sounded great at the interview, with bags of experience, but when we put him in the kitchen he was hopeless. It turned out he didn't have the experience or half the qualifications and skills he said he had. In future when we're recruiting, how can I find out that a candidate is suitable and what they say they are without wasting lots of time on background checks?
The solutions
David Harrington, operations director, Admiral Group
Time spent on background checking a potential employee should never be considered a waste. While most companies talk about people being their most important asset, many still don't employ effective recruitment practices that avoid poor hiring decisions and which can ultimately affect their business and cost them money.
The UK catering market is desperately short of skilled people, particularly chefs, and some candidates may have found themselves progressed through tenure in a role rather than their real ability to manage a kitchen or produce fine cuisine. Some candidates will present a CV designed to "get them the job" as opposed to being an accurate record of their previous training and experience. If they can "talk the talk" in the interview too, they have a great chance of being hired if that is the end of the recruitment process.
As a minimum for skilled positions, any candidate should be able to provide at least two checkable references for previous experience, and written references should always be followed up by telephone to ensure they are genuine.
A simple way to check if a chef can "walk the talk" is to do a pre-offer trade test. Invite the chef to work with your team for a day and see what they can do first-hand, preferably during a busy service where they are put under pressure. Most chefs worth their money will expect this and have no issue with being invited in for a trial. Provided it is only one day, you will normally not have to pay them, although you might offer to do so if they are successful in being hired. If you don't have the resource in-house to do this, employ a reputable agency to work on your behalf - it will be worth the investment.
www.admiralgroup.com
Peter Done, managing director of employment law firm Peninsula
During the recruitment process it is always important to verify the information presented on an applicant's CV. Clarification and evidence in the form of certificates, qualifications and references is necessary so the applicant can back up how good they claim to be in the interview.
Recent evidence has shown that deception in CVs is on the rise as jobseekers seek to gain an upper hand in an increasingly competitive employment market. It's important when making an offer of employment to a successful candidate to make it conditional on receiving acceptable references and proof of qualifications that have been claimed in the CV.
Although it is not always practical and not always possible to wait until you receive the information before employing someone - there may be a pressing need to fill the role quickly due to business needs at the time - it would be wise to make it clear to the employee on their first day in the job that if they do not have satisfactory references or sufficient proof of qualifications they have claimed in the interview, they may be subject to conduct procedures and liable to be dismissed.
It should be made clear to all applicants during the recruitment process that deception or telling "white lies" in a CV or interview will not be looked at lightly, and all claims made by potential employees will have to be proven. To avoid a similar predicament in future you may want to analyse your recruiting procedures and introduce guidelines that would put more emphasis on checking up on applicant claims rather than relying on the applicant's word.
www.peninsula-uk.com
Simon Page, Director of Permanent Recruitment, Berkeley Scott Group
Many critical factors determine the success of a new hire at any level of an organisation. Recruitment agencies have a number of proven evaluation tools at their disposal to assess behaviours, professional competencies and the general "fit" of an individual with the demands of the role, the culture and the ethos of the hiring organisation. However, data gathered from techniques such as competency-based interviewing, psychometric evaluation and personality profiling will provide, at best, only a theoretical indication of the likely performance of a candidate.
Referencing moves a step closer to assessment based on factual evidence, although this is frequently conducted with referees nominated by the candidate, and can sometimes prove to be of little value. If a candidate is prepared to present bogus information on a CV, there is every likelihood that referees will also have been primed to verify embellishments or false claims. Referencing must be undertaken with referees who have experience of working with the candidate but who have not necessarily been approached by them. In the case of the individual in question, there was always the option of asking them to cook a meal for you in your own kitchen.
Attracting and recruiting high-quality people can be an expensive exercise, even when everything runs smoothly; and the costs associated with making the wrong decision can be prohibitive. Not only should the time invested in referencing a candidate never be considered "wasted", but there are often additional business benefits to be gained by speaking to referees operating in the same industry sector. Employers must take referencing seriously if they are to avoid a disaster in the kitchen.
www.berkeley-scott.co.uk