Does Your Hiring Process Need a Tuneup? Try These 4 Ideas
The time comes when you need to hire more than five people at one time, which doesn’t seem too overwhelming until you start to think about how long it takes to hire just one person.
Consider how much is stacked against employers when it comes to hiring. First is the length of the process. Between preparing job descriptions, reading through resumes, interviewing and actually hiring, the average new-hire process has increased greatly over the last several years. The interview process alone averages 23 days in most states.
Meanwhile, the turnover rate in the United States averages around 15%, and ranges much higher in many industries. By defining a streamlined and accurate hiring system, employee retention will increase and overall job satisfaction will remain. Taking a deeper look into how your company runs, the satisfaction of current employees and the overall culture within the workplace, will assist in determining better hires in the future. Companies should also focus on where they went wrong with previous bad hires. Those that rocked their interview, or had a stacked resume, but ended up slacking off and causing more distress. Were there obvious signs based on their personality that they may cause a problem in the long run? The cost of a bad hire averages 30% of their first-year earning potential.
While the hiring process has not yet been passed off to robots, there are ways to use technology to create a streamlined process to gain more accurate hires from the start. If you haven’t yet, it is time to ditch the filing cabinet and start hiring the best employees for the job from the start. Instead of trying to mold the applicants you get into the perfect hire, or turn current employees into the employees you need them to be, develop a hiring process that ensures you get more great candidates in the first place. Here’s how:
Find an Applicant-Tracking System (ATS) that works for your company. Once you have created your job description, title, etc., you need to create the job to begin attracting applicants. An ATS will be the “home” for your applications and will make the rest of the hiring process easier and less time-consuming. In addition to being a time-saver for your HR or hiring department, save your company money. The ATS will also retain a database of applicants for filled positions in order to easily locate candidates if you need to hire again in the future. Doesn’t that sound better than sifting through endless folders trying to locate the right resume?
Have all applicants take a personality assessment. By understanding applicants’ personalities, you’ll gain insight into their values, preferences, and any risk that hiring them represents to your organization. You can also determine if the applicant will need undivided attention, or if they are a fast learner, which will help with training. This assessment won’t only benefit the applicant, but also the entire team. What is your team missing in skills and personality? What personality type will fit in most with your company culture? Personality assessments that are built into your application process or delivered upon completion will save time for your company and can provide immediate results.
Do your research. The applicant you are sitting down with isn’t the only one that should be well-prepared for the interview. Use their personality assessment to your advantage. Find their strengths and weaknesses and ask them relatable questions. This will save you time not asking “what is your greatest weakness” which is the most asked, yet most ineffective interview question around.
Standardize On-Boarding. The initial processes in place when bringing on a new hire should be similar, no matter the position. Start with an electronic method of collecting necessary paperwork, by emailing forms, the employee handbook, and other documents. This will both save time and allow for easier access in the future. The on-boarding process is a glimpse into how communication, systems, and preferences work within a company and will be the first impression on company standards.
In the end, the right personality fit for the job and company is essential to employees’ performance. To get there, assessments should always be used in conjunction with other hiring methods. Steve Jobs said it best, “A small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players.”
Reach out to discuss how you can ensure you have the right assessment program in place at your organization.
