How much thought have you given lately to your hiring process? If things are humming along and you’re landing all your first-choice candidates without a hitch, that’s awesome. But even the best systems may need a little tweaking now and then.
Keep this guide in mind:
- Research.
Analyze your current workforce structure to determine if you need to reorganize teams or departments, or create new roles altogether. As you do so, develop the persona of an employee who would best fit your company and its culture.
- Look closely at what your desired candidates want from potential employers. Stay up to date on competitive salary ranges and benefit offerings.
- Perfect your job descriptions.
Each job description you issue should appeal to a broad, diverse pool of candidates while at the same time accurately defining role-specific requirements.
- To ensure diversity and mitigate unconscious hiring bias, avoid any non-inclusive language or attributes.
- In addition to highlighting attractive, attention-getting benefits, think salary transparency.
- Promote your openings.
Start with your company website and careers page. Make sure it’s as current and user-friendly as possible, including a direct links to each open position and to your application.
From here, make sure each of your jobs are posted on the right job boards and social platforms. Programmatic advertising is a strong option.
- Review applications and screen candidates.
This can become time consuming, and you don’t want to miss out on a great potential hire. To assist your HR team, consider an applicant tracking system (ATS) and other automated tools.
- For preliminary screens, conduct video or voice calls. This will verify if candidates meet the finer qualifications in your job description that automation tools might miss.
- Conduct interviews.
Prepare your entire team for optimal interviews. This includes a standardized list of questions. Then, as you schedule interviews, be sure to keep things moving at an efficient pace and provide candidates with all the necessary information, such as the exact day, time and location, interviewers’ names and roles, and the scope and estimated duration of this important meeting.
- Complete background and reference checks.
Once you’re narrowed the field to a few finalists, don’t overlook this step. It provides reassurance that your potential hire will be reliable, honest, and not pose any kind of threat to your company.
- On a related note: Check candidates’ social media and online presence to ensure they would represent your company well.
- Negotiate and hire candidates.
Start with a verbal offer – to get a possible read on whether a candidate is likely to accept. Don’t pressure people for an answer right away, but at the same time, be sure all parties understand your timeframe. Be prepared to negotiate the salary range you offer and arrive at something reasonably higher. You should expect give and take in the process of acquiring the best talent on the market.
Helping employers perfect and execute watertight hiring processes is part of what PrideStaff Northern Kentucky does best. We can assist with this, and with any and all aspects of growing your successful workforce.
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