Planning key to delivering the goods

OVERALL, THE key lesson learnt from the KLM project was the importance of good organisation, an effective structure and having a schedule.

'As a manager, the important thing to do is to plan and plan. If you can commit to those deliverables, then you should be OK,' said Trevor Sunderland, Manpower Hong Kong's permanent and executive selection services manager.

Communicating on a regular basis with the client, the candidates and the recruitment consultants is another must. 'If there are any questions whatsoever, never wing it. Always go back to your client, discuss what needs to be done and what the issue is,' Mr Sunderland said.

At various points in a recruitment engagement, operatives should also look at what they have accomplished and where they are - and re-evaluate.

Ultimately, specialists preparing for a large-scale recruitment project, or one with rigid deadlines, need to plan ahead and have contingency arrangements in place.

Other advantages include having good people on the ground and excellent client co-operation. While Manpower was fortunate that KLM had already carried out similar projects, the Hong Kong recruitment exercise was the first time KLM had done it locally, so good client relations were essential.

'We had KLM's support. It was quite flexible and willing to listen to our ideas and rely on our experience in the Hong Kong market,' Mr Sunderland said.

Building a good rapport with candidates and understanding what makes them tick also pays dividends.

'Candidates are the best people to tell you if they're suited to a job by the way they behave. [You should] develop a good candidate relationship quickly, so they trust you as they go down the finishing line to working in the cabin.'