It goes without saying that hiring the right people is crucial for any organization’s success. Any team is as good as the team members. This means that starting or maintaining a productive business starts with who you hire – and that comes down to the hiring process. An optimized, structured hiring process allows you to consistently bring top talent into your company. And given that it’s now January and a lot of upper managers will be telling middle that they have roles they needed filled in December, paired with the usual rush for applications, it’s a good time to fine tune your hiring process for the best result. Take a look at our tips to get started.
Define the role
It’s important for you and for any prospective employees to really know the role that needs filled. You need to clearly know what the role entails in order to fill it, and your applicants don’t need to question vague roles that they don’t think they’ll fit.
Clearly define the duties, responsibilities, required skills and qualifications for each open position. This provides focus for the entire hiring process and is a basic that too many employers miss. Just like you’re looking for buzzwords in an application, they are looking for buzzwords in your job description. If they don’t see enough, they are going to move on. The end result is that you have people applying that are in no way suited for the role due to the job description being too vague.
Additionally, you might want to update job descriptions regularly to reflect changes and ensure they align with current business needs.
Cast a wide net
There’s plenty of fish in the sea. Does this mean you’ll get a lot of tuna when you were looking for salmon? Sure. And you’ll get even more tuna with a wide net, but you might bag that prize salmon.
Use diverse channels as your source of candidates. Post your job description on your website, job boards, social media, employee referrals, recruiting agencies, and anywhere else you think might be relevant.
Make sure to emphasize your company culture and values as marketing your employer brand will help you to attract not only more applicants, but applicants that will fit into your company culture.
Screen and interview methodically
Use a structured approach to initially screen applicants against your criteria and requirements. Don’t rely on AI to filter out your applicants. All you’re going to know for sure from that is that your hire knows how to work the system. Develop a screening matrix with weighted qualifications – years of experience, key skills, education level, licensure etc. and rate applicants on each.
Develop a consistent interview process focused on competencies and standardized questions. And involve multiple team members in the interview process. More people in the room can pick up on problems or whether they will fit in. Include skills assessments or tests to complement interviews and gauge abilities.
Set realistic timeframes
Move rapidly to secure top talent. If you see the one you want, hire them ASAP. Slow hiring could cause you to lose candidates. However, that means only if you see the right person for the role. Don’t compromise on quality. Rushing decisions can lead to bad hires. Find the right balance.
Analyse and optimise
So once the role’s filled, is that the work over? We say not. Regularly review metrics on recruitment times, cost per hire, new hire retention etc., and identify areas for improvement. Refine your process based on feedback, results from data, and best practices. Ongoing optimization is key to keeping your hiring process the best it can be.