There are 4 key principles to remember when recruiting:
- Attract a large pool of applicants and you’re more likely to get the right person
- Implement multiple levels of screening and you’ll waste less time in lengthy interviews with under-qualified candidates.
- Observe a short list of applicants performing the essentials of the position in real time and you’re less likely to be surprised on their first day.
- Assess your short list of applicants to make sure that you’re making an appropriate match. e.g. DISC behavioural profiling.
Here’s a PROVEN 6 Step Recruitment Process:

1: Develop a Clear Job Description
- Get total clarity on the values/character traits of your ideal candidate along with the key responsibilities, tasks & skills required
- Hours required
- Pay range

2: Write Advert For Position
- Follow the AIDA formula – Attention, Interest, Desire, Action
- Include a good headline that’s easy to understand – (longer ones work better than short ones)
- The headline should be a question
- Focus on the benefits of the job
- Be specific and exciting
- Qualify the reader
- Get to the point as soon as possible
- Include a call to action
NB Watch out for government regulations on discriminatory language

3: Generate Leads For Position
- Look within your organisation first
- Place advert online, Indeed.com works very well these days
- You could contact landscape related colleges and send them your advert
- Create a financial reward for existing team members for successful introductions of a new team member
- If absolutely necessary, you could use a specialist recruitment agency
- Rate candidates A-D by comparing CVs to job description
A - has necessary qualifications plus other qualities
B - has the necessary qualifications
C - missing some elements but interesting candidate (maybe of interest for a different job or another time)
D - not even close

4: Phone Screening of Leads
- Set up a dedicated voicemail for phone screening
- Write a script & record a voicemail greeting, including 3 qualifying questions
- Instruct qualifying candidates to phone the number
- Listen to responses & de-select unsuitable candidates
- Phone interesting candidates for a 10-minute screening call
- Develop a short list of candidates, A ratings or A and B ratings

5: Arrange individual interviews from short list
- Prepare your company history/story and its Vision / Values / Purpose
- Develop questions to uncover actual past experience pertaining to skill set and tasks required for position
- Use same set of questions for all interviewees
- Open-ended vs. closed: “what have you... how have you...”
- DISC profile preferred candidates
- Negotiate salary and make offer, subject to references!

6: Making the job offer
- Initially by phone or face to face
- Do this QUICKLY and tell them why you think they would fit in. You are selling to them. Do it warmly, sincerely and as fast as possible!
- General principle is to recruit slowly but hire fast when great candidates show up!