THE narrow recruitment process has widened in recent years with a number of companies developing services that add value to the selection process.

They include Liverpool-based assessment and coaching firm Iceberg Consulting and talent consultants Augment, in the Wirral.

Iceberg’s managing director, Simon Kerevan, said: “It’s a candidate-rich environment out there, so you need to understand what you are looking for and putting a process in place to manage that.

“How can you tell which is the most appropriate for your company. What are you looking for? Do you know what you are looking for? Can you take that into the selection process?

“Agencies will send you who they have got. You make the decision.

“I am a real advocate that you look at behaviour, cognitive ability.

“Treat the interview as a performance management review – rather than do I like the guy’s tie? Do we support the same football team? Has he worked for someone I know?” Kevin Chappell, managing director of Augment, said: “Bright and capable organisations look at the process in a different way. Many others don’t – so they shouldn’t be surprised that they get the same result as last time.”

He added: “Companies are going through tried and tested methods, but they are tried and tested to deliver failure.”

Mr Chappell argues that, as organisations begin to rebuild and grow, now is the time to look at how they manage, assess and recruit people.

“Companies focus only on how much they spend at the point of transaction, rather than the impact cost of getting it wrong,” he said.

“They have got a real opportunity to use a thought-out process, but instead they tend to limit the process.

“The whole journey needs to be a well-thought-out process, the whole life cycle.

“The good news is that the strong agencies that deliver value want to be a part of that process.”