Posted on 15-02-2010 at 08:30
Many organisations attempt to recruit staff themselves. What they fail to realise is the sheer volume of work required in recruiting for even the most seemingly simplest of jobs. I accept that the article below is an extreme case and that even the biggest agencies would have struggled to cope with the numbers involved.
However, all too often companies fail to realise just what is involved once they push the recruitment button. Telephone calls are one thing but there are significant amounts of work required long before you get to the calls stage!
If they have received 200,000 calls how many CV's will they get? Who is going to read them? grade them? reply to them? There are initial interviews to set up, perhaps testing to set up, letter to write, interviews to actually carry out, feedback to provide and blind alleys to explore.
Many people think recruitment is about placing an ad in the local paper and waiting for a couple of suitable responses a quick interview and hey presto. Recruitment is about much more and this example demonstrates it really well.
However, all too often companies fail to realise just what is involved once they push the recruitment button. Telephone calls are one thing but there are significant amounts of work required long before you get to the calls stage!
If they have received 200,000 calls how many CV's will they get? Who is going to read them? grade them? reply to them? There are initial interviews to set up, perhaps testing to set up, letter to write, interviews to actually carry out, feedback to provide and blind alleys to explore.
Many people think recruitment is about placing an ad in the local paper and waiting for a couple of suitable responses a quick interview and hey presto. Recruitment is about much more and this example demonstrates it really well.
Callers crash North Yorkshire Police recruitment line
More than 200,000 people have called a police recruitment hotline to inquire about 60 jobs.
North Yorkshire Police's phone line crashed on Monday, the first day of a campaign to recruit officers, when it received 20,000 calls.
A new number was issued and more than 200,000 people have since called. The line is open between 1700 and 2000 GMT.
The force, which employs about 1,500 officers, said the number of calls it had received was "incredible".
The demand was so great that senior officers, including Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell, Deputy Chief Constable Adam Briggs and Assistant Chief Constable Sue Cross, decided to chip in and take some calls.
'Massive' response
Mr Briggs said: "We have had an incredible response to the recruitment campaign and it was nice to be able get involved and lend a hand.
"I am very pleased to say that despite this massive number of calls there was no effect on the frontline services we provide."
Despite Monday's technical problems, Deputy Chief Constable Adam Briggs said: "Response to 999 calls and routine operational calls has not, and will not, be affected."
Staff from the force's IT department worked with BT to ensure that Monday's technical problems were not repeated.
A force spokesman said: "Regrettably, unforeseen technical difficulties occurred as a result of this unprecedented overwhelming demand.
