National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO 30405:2023. It supersedes BS ISO 30405:2016, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee HCS/1/2, International Human Resource Management.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 30 June 2023.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 260, Human resource management.

This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 30405:2016), which has been technically revised.

The main changes are as follows:

document restructured to include a practical approach to create a positive candidate experience;
structure now follows the phases of the recruitment process within the hiring organization;
information about the relevance of describing requirements of a position included;
new Annex B on artificial intelligence added;
previous Annexes C and D deleted;
information on data protection and privacy advice added;
new Annex C added, presenting options for checking work eligibility and background information of candidates;
definition of the candidate experience broadened to include not only the best-fitting candidates in the final stages of the recruitment process but also all applicants, candidates and persons interacting with the organization during the recruitment process but not hired.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

0.1 General

Recruitment is one of the most impactful functions of human resource management. Recruitment is a dynamic, complex process which does not always fit a linear model. An open systems approach with continual learning will be as beneficial here as with other human resource management systems. This document focuses on the necessary activities an organization undertakes to attract, source, assess and employ people, including both internal and external candidates.

The impact of recruitment on organizational performance is known and was highlighted in a milestone survey of 4 288 executives from 102 countries conducted in 2012 by the World Federation of People Management Association (WFPMA), which showed that organizations ranked in the top 20 % in terms of ability to deliver on recruiting experienced up to 3,5 times the revenue growth and as much as twice the average profit margin of other organizations.^[¹⁷^]

More recently, the body of evidence which confirms the central role of hiring for success has been growing. Risks identified by leaders are increasingly directed to the availability of skills and talents to realize entrepreneurial goals.^[¹⁴^],[¹⁵^] Although the pandemic of 2020 and the following years changed the priorities of human resource management in organizations throughout the world, in the 2021 survey of WFPMA the critical importance of recruitment for organizations was confirmed.^[¹⁰^]

This document provides guidance on effective and efficient processes and practices for the recruitment of people that support the achievement of organizational and recruitment objectives. It also includes guidance on promoting a positive candidate experience and the link with the employer brand.

0.2 Relationship with human resource management in the context of the organization

The recruitment process is required when an organization identifies a need for skills, knowledge, capability or talent, often leading to a requisition. It includes phases to attract, source, assess and employ people.

Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary of the overall recruitment process with its phases from the starting point to the end point. It highlights the candidate experience as a dimension that is influenced by every single recruitment phase and that itself affects these.

Organizational needs, HR policies and objectives, and the legal and social environment, including labour relations and workforce planning, may contribute to the identification of the recruitment need and how the recruitment is carried out. This document outlines a process for successfully meeting the organization's recruitment needs.

For more in-depth information on workforce planning, see ISO 30409.

Anything an organization does can impact its employer brand and its attractiveness to candidates. In Figure 1, “Attract” refers to activities to attract candidates for identified vacancies.

0.3 Structure of the document

This document follows the phases of recruitment shown in Figure 1.

It provides recommendations throughout the recruitment process, including typical instances of interaction up to the new hire's start date.

This structure helps align organizational activities, processes and functions with the needs of the organization and all applicants and candidates.

1 Scope

This document provides guidance on how to attract, source, assess and employ people with the goal of meeting the organizational needs while fostering a positive candidate experience. It focuses on key processes and practices, including:

preparing and planning;
managing the different phases and stakeholders;
reviewing and learning.

This document can be used by any organization, regardless of type or size.

NOTE This document can be used by anyone managing or performing the recruitment function, whether this is a dedicated role within the organization or an additional task for someone with another role, as well as those who evaluate, teach or consult in recruitment.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Recruitment guidelines

4.1 General

4.2 Preparing and planning the recruitment process

4.3 Attract

4.4 Source

4.5 Assess

4.6 Decision-making

4.7 Pre-boarding

5 Learning and continual improvement

Bibliography

BS ISO 30405:2023

Human resource management. Guidelines on recruitment

Current

Published:

30 Jun 2023