Recruiting, hiring and training new employees can be time-consuming, but it’s worth to make an extra effort to hire the right person in the first place, rather than waste time, money and resources to change the workforce every season. Hiring the right person the first time can make a huge difference between success and failure of a company or its division. Take a look at this step-by-step guide on how to hire the right employees the first time.
Step-by-Step Guide on How to Hire the Right Employees
1. Ultimate deadline
Making hiring decisions under the pressure of time can have dramatic effects on company’s welfare. Decide how much time you can actually devote to hunting down new talent. Creating a detailed timeline of hiring-related processes will help you avoid rush decisions and pitfalls of bringing unfit people on board.
2. Precise job description
The root cause of making wrong hiring decisions often lies in an incomprehensive job offer and description. In order to make your job offer reach the right people, you should avoid common ambiguities. Clearly describe the position you are hiring for and thoroughly state what the job entails. Double-check if the offer specifies employee’s duties and responsibilities. List character features and skills you are looking for in a prospective employee. And finally, be realistic about your expectations and requirements.
3. Selling point
The economy is rebounding, which forces the employers to try harder to get valuable employees, as they may already have plenty of job offers to choose from. Make your company stand out from the competition by offering something more than just a signing bonus and a steady paycheck. It can be anything from shopping discounts, free life insurance and tuition payments, to a comprehensive pension plan. Also, make sure to mention the ways a prospective employee can climb the career ladder within your company.
4. Scrupulous checklist
After you have posted your job offer, make a list of character features, skills, and professional background required to fulfill listed responsibilities. Determining your needs and setting your expectations will help you effectively pick up the right candidates from thousands of applications you may receive. A precise checklist will speed up the recruiting process.
5. Pre-selection
HR departments of popular companies receive hundreds applications a day. Basic pre-selection helps recruiting specialists determine if a particular candidate is the right fit for the company, regardless of the position they apply for. In hiring-related processes, the importance of pre-selection cannot be overstated. It is the first time you virtually meet the candidates and sometimes you instantly know they will be a perfect addition to your team.
6. Line of communication
Whether you are a CEO of an international corporation or a startup manager, you shouldmake hiring new employees your top priority. Consider investing a portion of your time to help your HR department with proper screening and detailed background check. You should also speak to the references in person to confirm the credibility of a candidate’s resume. Nowadays, many managers take over the task of pre-interviewing the candidates over the phone in order to find out if they will fit well with the team.
7. The interview
When it finally comes to the interview, make sure you have a list of questions you want to ask. Do remember that they should be relevant to the position you are offering. It is also the time to get to know each other better. During the interview, inform the candidates about thriving company culture and ask what valuable input they can provide.
8. Contract options
If you are still unsure which candidate you should choose, you can offer temp-to-permanent contract. Allow selected employees to prove they are perfect for a particular position. Although this step may take up to three months, it can save you loads of money-in the long run.
Making wrong hiring decisions can impair productivity and hurt team spirit. With proper preparation presented above you will hire the right employees the first time.
Monique Rivers is an Australian tech blogger who also loves good food and fashion. She works at ninefold.com. Ninefold is a company providing efficient and powerful virtual servers for all those occasions when a business needs to move their ideas into the cloud.
