Hiring Right the First Time
Cindy Free-Fetty
Partner and Senior Consultant
Does this sound like you?
“I need this person yesterday!”
“I know them (or someone referred them), so they are going to work out better than someone I don’t know.”
“Nobody will work for the wage we are offering.”
What are the other common myths for why we skip the hiring process? What is not a myth?
Average Cost-per-Hire for Companies is $4129, SHRM Survey Finds (August 2016)
When we skip the steps of the hiring process, it’s like expecting a hard-boiled egg, even though you’ve only cooked it for 2 minutes. What will you get in return? Runny eggs.
When you go through the steps of hiring, (and yes, your patience will be rewarded), you will end up with the following:
- You know what position you are hiring for and you know who you want to fill it;
- Employees “earn” the position and you get better information on the right fit for the role;
- You give yourself options – you fit the role with the best person for it;
- You take the necessary time to make a more objective decision – recruiting is expensive, so make sure and fill the position the first time;
- The company looks better to the candidate – there is a culture and values represented from the team that says, “we are intentional about who works here”;
- You can look around the corner – and really see the potential of this candidate within the needs of the company now and into the future;
- You will more likely Hire the Right Person the First Time.
A successful hiring process and finding the right person the first time begins with knowing what this person will be doing and what the company needs. Having a clear job description provides a baseline for writing job ads, developing interview questions, relaying job duty and performance expectations, designing compliant employment status, producing accurate wage ranges, and forecasting growth and training alignment with your candidates.
Most employees, new or otherwise, simply want to know what to do, how to do it, and that it’s meaningful.
Writing a job ad is to satisfy one purpose – to advertise an open position by communicating the needs and wants of a company to encourage strong applicants to apply for the position. The job posting should reflect your companies core products, services and culture as well as anything to attract talent – schedule and work environment, overview of job duties, special certifications or degrees, benefits and additional application instructions like resumes, supplemental questions and cover letters.
There are several ways to get the word out about open positions. In a world of platform technology, there are many companies that offer Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) integrated with the ability to post positions to various job boards and pull applicants into the ATS site – (we highly suggest this to manage both the applicant pool, communicate with candidates and maintain EEO compliance and retention guidelines). There are a lot of resources for increasing traction – Industry job boards/colleges and universities/traditional media/personal networking/word of mouth/employee referral programs/social media and other passive recruitment strategies.
Once you find the candidates, developing excellent interview questions in order to glean all the information you need is imperative. Don’t lean on the idea that a non-intentional interview outline will get you there – you are likely to miss out on relevant information needed to make final hiring decisions. Part of the interview is fact-finding. Who are they, what have they done, what skills do they currently have, and do they have the necessary credentials. Finding out if they are going to fit into your company culture and needs of the company in the long-run, will require more in-depth conversation.
Develop interview questions that get at the depth of the person you are meeting. Ask questions related to experiences vs. yes and no answers. Make sure the question is relevant to the answer you are hoping to hear. Make sure the questions are legal in nature. A couple of samples we love:
Who were you most excited to tell about this position and why them?
How will joining our company fit into your career goals; for instance, what are you hoping to learn here that you can’t learn in your current job?
As a leader, what is the area where you have developed the most in your career?
Depending on the culture of the company, develop questions that reveal a good cultural fit and expectations you have of those who work on your team. Other strategies that help hire the Right Person the First Time include working interviews, background checks, reference checks and personality assessments. Be sure and contact your HR consultant or department before conducting these to ensure you are complying with all laws applicable to these processes.
What if you aren’t getting enough applicants?
It’s necessary to refine the process you currently have and find alternative ways to find talent. Play with the ad and keep it fresh, especially if you have on-going positions regularly posted. You may need to conduct a wage and compensation analysis to make sure you are competitive in your market and industry. Participate in hiring fairs, or even host hiring events on-site if appropriate and logical. Consider the diversity of your workforce and source candidates from organizations that help find jobs for others – veterans, adults with developmental disabilities, apprenticeships, internships, and more.
Remember, hiring is a process and consistently using pre-established and intentional processes increases your chances of Hiring Right the First Time.
$349- HR Annie Consulting Recruiting Review and Recommendations Report
A deep dig into your current recruiting processes. We provide summaries, analytics, and recommendations to assess and provide you with an analysis of your recruiting strategy and recommendation to help you optimize your recruiting practices and maximize results.
The full detailed report includes an analysis and detailed assessment of:
Job descriptions/Ads, application forms, applicant traffic, company career page, and active-passive-social recruiting strategies.
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