Developing A Successful Hiring Process
Hiring employees is one of the most vital aspects of running a company. Without quality employees, a business absolutely cannot meet its full potential. As any hiring manager knows, a job advertisement is met with hundreds of applications from potential employees. The problem arises in weeding through the applications to find the key people who will be an asset to the business. In order to be effective, the hiring process must be organized and efficient.
Identifying the need
The first step in a successful hiring process is to identify exactly what the potential employee needs to be capable of. Do they need to be proficient in Microsoft Office? Are “people-skills” required? What level of education should they have completed? These questions and more must be carefully identified before the job can even be posted.
The applications
Sorting through applications is a tedious job even for the most experienced hiring professional. Consider outsourcing this task to administrative assistants; ask them to look for specific qualities and scrap the applications that do not meet basic requirements. Once key applications have been identified, the interview process can begin.
The initial interview
The first step in hiring for a highly competitive position is to conduct phone interviews with the more qualified candidates. Once again, these can be delegated to assistants; develop a comprehensive list of questions and then assign a reasonable amount of applicants to each assistant. Based on the needs of the position, the phone interviewers should be on the lookout for specific skills and personality traits. Some training may be required for the assistants to know what to look for, but this training will pay off when the hiring manager is able to focus on only the most qualified candidates.
The in-person interview
This is the most critical part of the hiring process. An in-person interview allows the interviewer to get a full impression of the potential employee. On average, no more than twenty-five interviews should be conducted in person. While the interview process can be as traditional or creative as the hiring manager deems appropriate, there are questions that should always be avoided to keep from legal complications arising. Questions regarding personal family life, religion and family history are absolutely illegal to ask at any time, as they introduce the possibility of a discrimination claim.
The hiring decision
Once the interviews have been conducted and the applications fully processed, a hiring decision must be made. Hiring managers should weigh the different options carefully, looking at personality traits, former experience and their ability to successfully meet the requirements of the position. Although some bias cannot be avoided, hiring managers should do their best to be objective in their decisions.
When this process, or a similar one, is implemented and followed, a daunting hiring process can become much easier on everyone. The two most important aspects of the hiring process are teamwork and delegation; no one person should ever be solely responsible for choosing the newest employee on the company’s team.
