For some, the hiring process feels like a roll of the dice. Let’s try our luck and hope that we land a winning candidate. But hiring doesn’t have to be a gamble. When a business is struggling with employee hiring and subsequent turnover, the first areas we examine are their hiring and on-boarding practices. From the content of the job posting to the first day the employee arrives, each step is important to the long-term success of new employees. Here are eight hiring practices to review:
1. Job posting as a marketing and screening tool. Not only should your job posting contain enough information to provide the applicant with details about the job, it should also sell them on working for your business. Like it or not, it’s an employee’s market. Jobs are plentiful; qualified applicants are not. So the more you can sell applicants on your workplace, the more likely you will gain their interest. Further, the posting can be a screening tool. For example, if you conduct pre-employment criminal background checks, be sure to list this in your job posting. It will screen out applicants who know their background won’t pass muster.
2. Employment application vs. resume. Many companies don’t use employment applications as part of their hiring process. They believe a resume provides the information they need. While a resume can provide valuable information, it is also a marketing tool for the applicant. The applicant is trying to sell you on why to interview him or her. By using an employment application, the applicant is signing off on a statement saying he or she acknowledges the information presented in the application is true, something a resume alone does not provide.
3. Resume red flags. It used to be that job hopping was unthinkable. Now, not only are the recent generations redefining longevity, companies themselves are too. Downsizing, rightsizing and the like are also decreasing the duration and likelihood that someone will be employed with just one company for a substantial period of time. So don’t make a snap judgment about what you see on paper. If the applicant’s skill set aligns with your needs, ask why he or she is no longer at a company.
4. Interview for Core Values. The primary reason given for employees being terminated is they weren’t a fit. Until you can determine what a good fit looks like, and then interview candidates for that fit, turnover will continue. It may be that teamwork is paramount. So develop questions like, “Tell me about a project at a prior job where you had to work in a team. Walk me through the project, the role you played and some of the challenges the team faced.”
5. Train your interview team. Often those involved in the interview process have never received training. Interview training goes beyond avoiding forbidden questions. For example, training should include things like how to build rapport, how to get the applicant talking (applicants should talk 80 percent of the interview) and asking open-ended and follow-up questions. When we conduct this training we find even those who have been interviewing for years often discover they can improve.
6. Interview signs. When interviewing, it can be easy to overlook some signs the applicant may not be the right fit. Here are a few things to look out for:
• They arrive late to the interview and do not call to notify you.
• They are not dressed appropriately.
• They do not have any questions for you about the job, workplace or culture.
• They focus only on what’s in it for them rather than focusing on how they can add value to your workplace.
7. References. This is yet another reason to use an employment application. The application lists the individual’s prior supervisors and their contact information. Resumes are often accompanied by a list of references provided by the candidate, which is a list of people he or she knows will say nice things. Employers sometimes don’t realize they can dictate the reference process. While more businesses will tell you they can only confirm the person worked there, talking to the person’s direct supervisor is often the most fruitful.
8. Employee’s first day. Even with an improved hiring process, some companies find themselves ill prepared to deal with a new hire’s first day on the job. A computer has not been set up, and there is no one, or no manual, with information about how to use the phone system or access the company intranet. A new hire is excited to begin the new job, and this is your opportunity to make a solid first impression, so be prepared.
Improving the hiring process and onboarding will move you away from the hiring roulette wheel and increase the chance of winning at the hiring game.
Delise West is president and founder of Human Resource Partners in Concord and Dover. She can be reached at 603-749-8989 or through www.h-rpartners.com.
Current Issue - April 2024