Careers

The Hugh J Ward & Co Solicitors recruitment process has been designed to find and attract the right potential candidates to fill roles within our organisation. The process provides an efficient way to identify vacancies, source potential candidates, and screen, interview and select the most suitable candidate for the role.

Planning

Vacancies are identified by the HR Team through the exit of a current employee, the need to increase team headcount, to undertake additional workload within a contract, or as a result of the promotion or movement of an existing resource. At the planning stage we will confirm:

• Number of positions to be filled
• Role description for the position
• Level of the vacant position, e.g., Legal Executive, etc.
• Eligibility requirements to be met by applicants, e.g., competencies, experience

We have a thorough profiling and interview process when recruiting. A role profile and job advertisement is prepared, as required. The role is advertised internally and externally via various online recruitment platforms. For specialised or management level staff, we approach our partner industry recruiters to attract suitable candidates. We also have an extensive contact network in the legal and credit management industries which we use to attract high-quality, experienced candidates.

Sourcing

We use a thorough recruiting process which begins with preparation of a role profile and job advertisement. We source our staff from numerous areas to maximise the selection of candidates available. Our recruitment resources include:

Employee referral: This always has been and will continue to be one of the best employee recruiting sources. We offer incentives to existing employees to recommend individuals they believe would be successful in our company. Upon the new employee passing the six-month probation period, we provide a tangible reward to the agent who recommended them.

• Recruitment firms: We use two types of recruitment firms to fill certain positions: contingency firms or head-hunters, and retained search firms. Retained firms are primarily used for executive positions.
• Competitors are a primary employee recruiting source for any business. We follow what is happening with our competitors and stay aware of changes in their business that might make talented people available
• Job fairs can be a very economical source of candidates and form part of our ongoing recruitment strategy. We attend job fairs organised by various educational institutions as well as those run by local chambers of commerce around the country.
• Networking is a very important source of talent. We have an extremely seasoned management team who have years of experience in credit control across multi-nationals, the health sector, property management and utilities, with a wealth of contacts from which we often recruit.
• Alumni groups can be a very effective and relatively inexpensive source of quality candidates. We encourage all employees to find out if their alumni groups have a newsletter or website where we could advertise our open positions.
• Online business fora: LinkedIn and similar online media can be a useful resource for advertising roles and targeting candidates.
• Our webpage is a great place to advertise that we have open roles and are looking for talented candidates. We also accept CV applications via our career portals

Once we make a decision on the best advertisement channel, we create an advertisement designed to attract the target profile, by describing the role and our expectations regarding experience and competencies.

Screening

The screening process starts the moment the application has been received. Our HR team review all applications received and select the candidates that match the role requirements. As experience can vary depending on the candidate’s background, the focus will be placed on previous experience in a comparable role, e.g. duration in previous roles to identify job-hopping and suitability for the role. Discreet background checks may also be carried out to determine the veracity or otherwise of information provided on a CV, or to check for particular competencies. Following the selection of the candidates our HR team will now move into the full new starter onboarding process.

Telephone screening is completed with all applicants who are potentially suitable. Our HR team confirm that the details on the application and CV are correct, they determine the candidate’s availability, general attitude, and ability to communicate and answer questions. If the HR team are satisfied, a face-to-face or initial MS Teams interview with the candidate will be scheduled.

• Prior to the interview the structure of the interview should be agreed on:

• Who will do the introduction, description of company etc?
• Who will describe the job?
• Who will go through candidate’s experience, etc.?
• Who will go through the next stages?

• Questions are prepared prior to the interview that will elicit information to assess suitability.
• Information from the application will be clarified, and any areas of concern will be noted.
• Immediately following the interview, detailed interview notes will be made on a candidate assessment sheet outlining how the candidate conducted themselves and summarising the interviewers’ views of the candidate’s overall suitability for the position.
• Any areas of concern are noted and discussed.

The face-to-face interview are conducted by two managers. The candidate is asked a series of interview questions aimed at determining whether the candidate has the required competencies and experience to the level required for the role. The managers evaluate the candidate’s suitability for the role following the interview, relative to the competencies required. If required, the candidate may be invited to attend an assessment centre to evaluate competencies in a test environment.

Offer and start

If a preferred candidate is selected, references are validated by the hiring manager. If references are satisfactory, an offer is made and, if accepted, a contract of employment is signed and a start date is confirmed. An IT access request for the new start to access Hugh J Ward & Co Solicitors’ systems is then logged with IT.

Evaluation

The new employee’s performance is reviewed during a probationary period to ensure their suitability for hire. Assuming a satisfactory performance, permanent employment is confirmed.

The hiring managers evaluate the recruitment process regarding the new employee’s performance and determine if there are any changes to the recruitment process required. They also look at the overall response to the recruitment process to see which channels generated the highest engagement for the role and the highest quality candidates. They also check for any particular trends, for example if the better candidates came from a particular source, e.g., one specific company.

At Hugh J Ward & Co Solicitors, our training plan focuses on both the immediate training of new starters and ongoing training of the experienced staff. We focus our training on achieving objectives to ensure the team understand and meet the requirements of our clients and Hugh J Ward & Co Solicitors. Through our regular performance reviews, we identify the needs and wants of our teams and ensure we can tailor our training to meet these.

Hugh J Ward & Co Solicitors brings variety to the training sessions through a mixture of training methods, including classroom instruction, hands-on exercises, interactive workshops and instructor-led material. People learn in different ways, and we provide various training formats and in some cases tailor to the individual’s needs so that new starts are comfortable and knowledgeable when they take on their first task.

In addition to role specific training we as a company assign regular e-learning mandatory course to be completed by staff through our HR and IT systems to ensures compliance with both company policies and procedures and legislation.

It is crucial to maintain a high staff retention rate, as high turnover can be costly and impact team moral. Effective retention involves competitive benefits, a positive work environment and growth opportunities.

Benefits we offer

• Competitive pay and salary pathways
• Tuition reimbursement
• Employee assistance program
• Cycle to work scheme
• Telecommuting option/Flexible working
• Paid time off
• Paid bank holidays
• Staff parking
• Employee recognition
• Large canteen with refreshments
• Social club
• Regular social events
• Business casual dress code
• Employee forum
• Regular performance reviews
• Ongoing training
• Mentor programs

Our positive workplace culture successfully creates a space where employees feel comfortable, trusted, valued and empowered in their work. Our culture is interwoven into everything we do, stand for and how we treat our employees.

We are passionate about great service, and from our agents to our managers, we strive to create a place that develops your career and rewards you for your contributions

Benefits we offer:

• Competitive pay and salary pathways
• Tuition reimbursement
• Employee assistance program
• Cycle to work scheme
• Telecommuting option/Flexible working
• Paid time off
• Paid bank holidays
• Staff parking
• Employee recognition
• Large canteen with refreshments
• Social club
• Regular social events
• Business casual dress code
• Employee forum
• Regular performance reviews
• Ongoing training
• Mentor programs