Hiring Policy

The recruitment process should be a seamless experience for both the recruitment teams as well as the candidates. The policy defines processes applicable to the HR department, recruitment team, internal or external stakeholders and talent vendors. It also lays guidelines compliant to statutory and regulatory requirements especially when hiring contractors/casual workers. This policy template is available for download in Word format.

Hiring Policy

Objective

The Objective of the Employment Hiring Policy is to set forth criteria, acceptable standards & procedures for the hiring of new employees within the organisation. The Employment Hiring Policy aims to source and hire the best and most appropriate talent for the organisation's success.

Scope & Applicability

The policy applies to Hiring Managers and Talent Acquisition teams entrusted with sourcing suitable candidates for the organisation. The Hiring policy applies to all the positions for which resources are required on a timely basis.

Policy / Process

Policy Definition

The Hiring policy shall serve as a catalyst in an Organization's talent-hiring efforts and initiatives by explicitly stating the procedures to be followed during the hiring process. The policy aims to speed up decision-making by laying down guidelines and expectations for hiring the right talent.

Procedures

Company Hiring Procedure

The Hiring Procedure defines the methodology for Hiring talent within the organisation. It also shares the company hiring philosophy & practice, company hiring standards, and vision.

Company Hiring Vision-Philosophy

The Company Hiring philosophy & practice is aimed toward sourcing and hiring the best talent, serves as a guiding principle towards extending equal employment opportunities to deserving individuals and serves as a solid framework to avoid discrimination in terms of Hiring for different positions within the organisation.

Company Hiring Standard

The Company Hiring Standard defines the “type of employment contract” for hiring employees. All hires will be required to enter into fixed-term employment contracts for three years minimum at the time of hiring, as required under UAE labour law.

The Hiring procedure for the organization is as follows:

Stage 1 - Request for Hire or Personnel Requisition

The extension of Request for Hiring or Personnel Requisition by Business Heads or Team Leaders and/or Department Heads via the “Request for Hire Form” (RFHF) OR “Personnel Requisition form” (PRF) to the HR Department should be extended. The RFHF or PRF should be approved by the Business Head or by the highest position in the job hierarchy of the department or Business unit, and subsequently, the same should be extended to the HR department. The RFHF or PRF should contain the following:

• Reporting Manager
• Department / Function
• Reporting Manager Location
• Name of the position
• Location or unit of the position
• Level/Grade of the position
• Number of resources required
• Qualification and Years of Experience
• Industry Preference/Exposure (if any)
• Key Competencies – System and Functional Competencies

Stage 2 - Intake Meeting

• The JDs for the position to be hired should be mutually agreed between the Business Heads and Team Leaders and Department Heads and the HR.
• The Requestor should reach out to HR for assistance in developing Job Descriptions. - HR to reach out to the Requestor to gain deeper insights on the role description and necessity of the role along with the defined timelines for closure of the Hiring process for the position.
• The Requestor's responsibility is to extend the approved JDs to HR for Job Posting and subsequent initiation of the Hiring Process.
• The Hiring Strategy to be discussed between the Requestor and HR.

Stage 3 – Job Posting

The job posting shall be done by HR Internally or Externally or both.

Internal Job Posting (IJP)

The job shall be posted internally by HR on the organisation’s portal of communication or Career’s page of the organisation that can be viewed only by current employees for inviting applications from them. The HR may also communicate the IJP via e-mail communication within the organisation with employees for the invitation of applications. While posting the IJP, HR should explicitly state the following:

• Duration of employment with the organisation: (In years)
• Employment Type: Confirmed/On Probation
• JD of the role.

All applications for the posted job shall be considered based on the applicant’s qualifications and ability to perform the job successfully. The HR department will notify internal applicants who are not selected.

External Job Posting

The Job shall be posted by HR externally with external channel partners to invite talent from outside the organisation The HR shall post the job externally with recruiting partners or Online Hiring portals. The HR shall post the job on the website’s Career page so that the talent can reach out from outside the organisation. Applicants from the external channel partners who are selected or not selected shall be notified by HR appropriately.

Stage 4 – Interview Process

The candidates selected through IJP or external job postings shall be informed regarding the selection process. The interview process could be different for each position in the hierarchy levels of the organisation.

For Senior level positions

The interview process is as follows: The selection process consists of three rounds of interview for the senior level positions, they are as follows:

• Pre-Screening Level stage Interview Process – The Pre-screenings Level stage Interview Process consists of an interview of the selected applicants with the HR team and panel members selected from within the organization for the initial screening round. The general competencies of the applicants are assessed in this stage.
• Mid-Level stage Interview Process - The Mid-Level stage Interview Process consists of interview of the shortlisted applicants from the Pre-Screening Level stage Interview Process, with one member from the HR team and 2 representatives from the department or the Business unit for which the Hiring is being done. The subject matter expertise and a list of defined competencies are deemed as mandatory for the job for which Hiring is being done are assessed.
• Final Round of Interview Process - The Final Round of the Interview Process consists of interviews of the shortlisted applicants from the Mid-Level stage Interview Process with the Business Head HR and Business Head of the segment for which the hiring is being done. Along with the Vice president of the Business segment or with the person holding the highest position in the business hierarchy.

For Mid-level positions

The interview Process is as follows:

• Pre-Screening Level stage Interview Process – The Pre Screening Level stage interview consists of the interview of the selected applicants with one representative from the HR team and panel members, consisting of two representatives from the Business segment for which the Hiring is being made. The General competencies for the job role for which the Hiring is being done are assessed.
• Final Round of Interview Process - The Final Round of the Interview Process consists of an interview of the shortlisted applicants from the Pre-Screening Level stage Interview Process with the Business Head, HR and the Second-in-command personnel to the highest level in the job hierarchy of Business segment for which the hiring is being done.

For Entry Level positions

The interview Process is as follows:

• One & Final Interview – The interview process for the entry level position consists of only one round of interview i.e. Interview with the Business Head HR and one selected representative member from the business unit for which the hiring is being done.
• Applicants making to the final round of Interviews, however not being selected for the final job offer shall be communicated via a regret letter by the HR Department.

Stage 5 – Selection and Job Offer (Along with details of Compensation)

The last and final stage consists of communication to the shortlisted candidate regarding the confirmation of selection by the HR Head or any member of the hiring department. In this stage, compensation is also offered to the selected candidate. The candidate is also informed about the minimum timeline until when the offer is available and when the candidate needs to accept the offer. If the selected candidate rejects the offer, HR, in consultation with the Business Head of the segment for which the hiring is being done, shall offer the job to the next suitable candidate shortlisted in the interview process. The proposed date of joining of the selected candidate shall be decided and confirmed by the Business Head or HR for which the hiring is being done.

HR Department and Business Head Responsibilities

• The responsibility of the Business Head and HR is to compile a list of hiring that need to be done for the organisation.
• One selected resource from the talent department should be assigned for conducting the execution and coordination of the interview process.
• The Business Head of the Business segment for which the hiring is being done should extend the JDs for which the hiring is being done.
• The HR department or the selected representative from the HR department should receive the approved JDs by the Business Heads, Team Leaders or Department Heads before the job is posted for the hiring process.
• Conducting the interview process is the responsibility of the Business HR
• The Business HR should propose a schedule for conducting the interview process to the respective panel members required for the interview process beforehand, at least a week in advance so that the panel members shall make themselves available for the interview process.
• The panel members, for the interview process, should make themselves available once Business HR reaches out to them.

Non-compliance and Consequences

• Non- Compliance in the interview process can be reported by any of the members present in the hiring process to the HR Head or Management Committee or CEO of the organisation.
• In the event of discrimination made in terms of extending equal employment opportunity to the talent that has applied for the position.
• In the event of not conducting the interview process in an unbiased manner.
• In the event the hired talent is not extended a fixed-term employment contract for a maximum period of three years at the time of hiring as the same is mandatory as per the UAE Labor Law.
• An investigation committee shall be formulated for an unbiased investigation of the complaint submitted about the interview process.
• In the event of Non-Compliance with the Hiring Policy, the following consequences shall have to be borne by the Business Head/ HR department involved in the respective interview process:
• Show Cause Notice: Show-Cause notice shall be issued to all the parties involved in the hiring process to explain the non-compliance to the Hiring Policy. If the response to the Show Cause notice by the parties is not considered valid by the Management Committee, then an investigation committee shall be formulated. Suspension until investigation – All the parties, except the party that submitted the non-compliance complaint, shall be suspended until the investigation is conducted and completed by the investigation committee

Special Circumstances and Exceptions

In the event, any of the representatives selected as the panel member is unable to make it to the interview process due to personal reasons related personal health, injury and/or due to health issues related to the immediate family member, then the selected representative shall not be questioned for the absence.

In the event an employee within the organisation loses his/her life, then one member from the respective family of the employee shall be hired, keeping in view the credentials and approval of the Management Committee of the organisation.