How You Can Improve Your Hiring Process

Your people are one of the most important aspects of your business. So how do you bring in great people? It starts with a solid hiring process.

Whether you’re a business owner, a recruiter within your HR department or a hiring manager looking to fill a position on your team, it is essential to have an efficient, streamlined hiring process. The Great Resignation following the Covid-19 pandemic left many businesses scrambling for workers, while also giving employees a clearer vision of what they want in their careers. In the rush to fill vacant spots, employers and hiring managers may be tempted to “panic hire”, but this would be a mistake. A 2016 survey by American firm CareerBuilder found that one bad hire can cost a business nearly US$17,000.

The key to finding good people is setting up a solid hiring process – methodical, organised, efficient, and not leaving anything to chance. Here are some steps you can take to improve your process.

Write a clean, accurate, attractive job description

Use straightforward titles and avoid cheesy terms such as “wizard” or “guru”. Keep the list of the position’s responsibilities and requirements concise. In fact, an experiment by US and Canadian researchers found that a long laundry list of requirements ended up being offputting to the more talented individuals that an organisation seeks. Instead, turn your job description into an advertisement of what your company can do for a prospective employee.

Shout about the perks and benefits you can offer. Since the pandemic, a large number of employees are seeking hybrid, flexible, or even fully virtual work arrangements. If the position allows for such arrangements, make sure to include them in your job description. Remember also to include pertinent information such as a salary range, required academic levels, or professional skills. 

Build a strong brand for the hiring process

There are some companies that almost everyone would dream of working for. That’s the power of the brand and its excellent employee experience. Good brand equity and reputation not only reduce employee turnover but may bring a higher calibre of people knocking at your door.

A large pool of employees are “passive candidates” – already employed, not actively looking for a job but are open to opportunities. In fact, this group accounts for a whopping 75% of the workforce. Having a strong employer brand will attract these passive candidates to your company over others.

Maintain an active and updated careers page on your company website. Be transparent about your company’s culture and values. Share photos, videos, and testimonies of why your company would be a great place to build a fulfilling career. So think about what makes your company stand out, and then make sure everyone knows it.

Build talent pipelines into the hiring process

Get creative with how you source candidates. In a competitive hiring market, it is not enough to simply take out an advertisement for your position and leave it drifting in the wind. Employers have many places to look: colleges and universities, career fairs, and even industry networking events. Online, there are numerous career sites and job boards. Make sure to leverage the power of social media channels too.

Here’s another resource that some organisations overlook: your employees. Rope your employees into your recruitment process by developing an employee referral programme. With employees, you will have a built-in candidate filter because your staff will be expected to vouch for the person he or she is recommending.

Finally, remember that there is always internal promotion or recruitment. There are a number of benefits to looking within your own organisation. Chief among them: you already know the candidate, which reduces the risk that comes from an external hire. Likewise, the candidate knows the company and its people. It will certainly reduce time and cost in terms of reduced paperwork, less time onboarding, and so on.

Conduct effective interviews

The interview is an important part of your hiring process. Here is where employer and candidate meet face to face, likely for the first time, and where decisions may subconsciously be made, so try to keep interviews fair and consistent. Respect the candidate by coming prepared. Study their resumé and highlight the points you would like to know more about. Define your position and expectations and find out how the candidate will meet them. Ask the right questions. Enquire about hard skills and soft skills as both are equally important. If you’d like to delve deeper into a job seeker’s behaviour or emotional characteristics, you are welcome to download our “Ultimate Interview Questions to Discover Behavioural Fit“.

Take notes during the interview; after talking with a number of candidates, their answers are bound to get jumbled. Remember to also review a candidate’s work samples. In addition, you may want to set a trial assignment to evaluate a candidate’s skills or knowledge.

Perform background checks in the hiring process

While background screening and checks can be time-consuming, they provide a level of security for your organisation, employees, and customers. It is also another way to improve the quality of your hires. Remember to also check references; if a job applicant is unable to provide references, it may be a red flag. Here is another area where social media platforms come in handy. While applicants who do their homework will peruse your organisation’s website and social media channels, savvy hiring managers will do the same to potential employees. Just remember to comply with data privacy laws.

Act with speed

A lengthy hiring and recruitment process should not be mistaken for a quality process. According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), the average hiring process is 42 days. However, the best candidates can be snatched up in as little as 10 days. So if you are interested in a candidate but are not ready to make a decision, be sure to keep in touch, update the candidate and answer queries quickly.

Keeping candidates informed is always a good practice, even if it is a rejection. All candidates whom you have interviewed should be given the courtesy of an answer. If possible, provide feedback on why the candidate was not shortlisted or selected.

Collect feedback from candidates

Toward the end of your hiring process, it’s a good idea to gather feedback from all the candidates. The insights will help you improve and enhance the candidate experience. You can use a candidate experience survey for this purpose. Include questions about the interview, clarity of the job description or advertisement, speed of the recruitment process, and so on. Improving your recruitment process will help improve your employer’s brand. 

What’s Next

Using these tips, review your hiring process from time to time, identify any bottlenecks and continually seek to improve. You may want to study your company reviews on reputable job sites. Ask current employees what they thought of your hiring process. You could also seek the assistance of a seasoned, qualified recruiter who can not only lead you to good candidates but advise on how to enhance your hiring and recruitment process. Give us a call to see how we can help you.