As a human resource professional, what does it take to hire the right talent to join your team? Well, research shows that getting the best person for a role in your organization requires more than just excellence in academia. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that a bad hire can cost you up to 30% of the employee’s first-year wages. So, you want to pick someone compatible with your company culture but they should also have the right skill set for the job. Here are few tips on how to find the best fit candidate for a position.
Define the job
By defining the position you are seeking to fill, you will be laying the foundation for recruiting and hiring. You need to ask yourself, “Why’m I hiring? Can an internal employee fill the role? What new expertise do I want to bring onboard?” Once you are clear with the role you want to hire for, you should conduct a job analysis. Here, you define the specific responsibilities that the prospective employee is supposed to execute.
A clear job description will be a useful tool to you as a hiring manager as it will:
- Provide a clear understanding to candidates of what their duties are
- Protect your organization legally as it can defend you for making the hiring decision
- Provide a consistent understanding across departments of the job position roles
- Help the employees to create goals for career advancements.
Once you have the right job description for the intended role clear, it is time to get your strategy right.
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Plan and envision the hiring process
Now, what should the recruitment look like? Who should do what? This is the step where you and your hiring team should come together and plan. Basically, you ought to develop a strategy that will allow you to execute the hiring process with ease and accuracy.
This involves determining where the job advertisement will be posted to onboarding the candidate. Besides, your team should determine who is responsible for each part of the process of hiring employees. This will ensure that the hiring process is executed with fewer mistakes and without wasting time and money. Your social media manager can be tasked with the role of posting the open role on social media platforms and collecting critical feedback that will be crucial in determining how to make the process even better.
A member of the team could be tasked with reconciling the applications and answering the application queries. When everyone has a sense of what they should do, the hiring process becomes easier to execute.
Do a thorough background check
Again, you should look at more than what meets the eye. You want to do the digging even though it can be a time-consuming process trying to figure out exactly how your potential employee has been doing in their previous employment or role. The vetting process involves not only verifying past employment history. It is also about getting a grasp of how they work and who they are as co-workers and employees. There are modern resume tips that highlight skillsets and will absolutely help you in reviewing candidates’ credentials efficiently.
You can use tools and services to help you screen the candidates before hiring them. For example, you can hire background check services to help you get rid of any doubts in the selection process. You want to get every bit of information on a candidate from verifying their credentials to credit checks, driving record checks, employment verification, and more. Getting help where you can afford you more time to focus on other aspects of the selection process.
Ask the right questions
Now that you have the candidate on board, it is crucial to ask questions that will tell you more about the candidate. The questions should also focus on seeking to reveal the character of the individual you are about to hire, whether the potential employee is committed to their future career or not. Some of the questions that hiring managers have agreed to be effective during the hiring process include the following:
- What is your natural strength? This question seeks to find out about a particular skill or ability that comes naturally to them. It is similar to asking which of their skills would be rated top five. You will get to learn about their inherent strengths and the potential they will be bringing to your organization.
- What are your ambitions? This is a crucial question that helps you as an employer understand the career goals and vision of the candidate. You will also get to find out if their vision aligns with your organization’s. Besides, it is important to know whether you are hiring progressive talents who will constantly seek to develop and equip themselves further.
- What kind of expectations do you have? You will get to hear from their side the responsibilities they hope you will meet to be comfortable. With that information, you can successfully determine a point of consensus once you hire them. You may also take the opportunity to guide their expectations.
Let the candidate interview you
Hurray! You are almost there! It is time to reverse the roles and get a 360-degree view of the hiring process. Let the interviewee ask you any questions that they might have regarding the position they are being hired. That way, you will get to see if they have a full understanding of the position and responsibilities that come along with the position. Besides, you will be able to get transparent with the candidate regarding the limits that your organization can go in regards to their expectations.
In a nutshell
Hiring is a crucial process for any organization that is worth its salt. Yes, your employees are a key factor in the success or failure of your organization. That is why you ought to make intentional efforts and be careful as you pick every candidate joining your team. Some of the factors you need to consider are the skills you need for the role. Once you have the right candidate, ensure to ask them the right questions so you can understand their vision and determine if that aligns with your organization’s goals.
