Author: Reda HADDOU
Date of Publication: 28/06/2022
Hiring the right person is a driver of business success. That is why entrepreneurs should have a formal hiring process in place when recruiting their staff. In particular, by taking the time and effort to find and hire the right people, the chances of hiring the most successful employees will increase. On the other hand, the chances of making costly mistakes and regrettable hiring decisions will decrease.
Moreover, many entrepreneurs have an instinctive sense of whether a candidate is right for a job position or not. However, one should not depend exclusively on instincts. In fact, the recruitment process should be based on solid, objective factors.
Here is how you can make the recruitment process effective and hire the right person.
7 points on hiring the right person
1. Assess your company's culture
To recruit the best candidate, you first need to know what your company needs. What is its mission? What are its values? What type of people are you comfortable with? What is your preferred mindset?
Look at qualified potential candidates whose values are similar to those of your company and see how they fare.
2. Write detailed job descriptions
If you can't get a clear picture of what each job position entails and what employees are expected to do, then you'll have trouble hiring the right person. In fact, creating a job description for each position at your company is key. Also, make sure you communicate the job requirements to candidates during job interviews. These can include general responsibilities, skills and experiences you require.
3. Plan a well-structured interview process
Prepare an evaluation sheet that will allow you to score and compare the performance of candidates against a set of criteria. When it comes to interview questions, consider having more than one meeting with serious candidates and involve others. For example, it could be an HR representative and the manager to whom the new employee will report.
Use behavioral interview techniques. For instance, you could invite candidates to describe how they’ve handled particular challenges in the past or in previous job positions. Such an assessment of past performance can be useful in the prediction of one’s future job performance. Alternatively, you could present candidates with a scenario of a difficult situation and ask them how they would handle it.
4. Put candidates to the test
Another important part of the hiring process is to require applicants to perform a task that involves the skills needed for the job position. Why not ask a candidate to make a sales presentation if that is part of their job description? In addition to a candidate’s skills, an assessment of personality is needed. This is because one’s personality should also match the personality of the “ideal” candidate for each position.
5. Look beyond the resume
On paper, the most qualified candidates are not always the best for a job position. Hence, it is important to pay attention to applicants' interests, objectives, and priorities other than their qualifications. In some cases, candidates who aspire to work for a major corporation are not suitable for a position in a small corporation.
6. Ask for references
It is always beneficial to have references and to check them. Even though very few organizations give references on former workers, it remains the strongest source of information about prospects. Therefore, consider doing some personal inquiries. Ask the people who know your applicants or who have previously worked with them about their experience.
7. Make them part of your team members
Once you have recruited the ideal candidates, you need to encourage their full commitment. Research shows that a strong orientation program can increase the retention rate of new employees by up to 40%. While being patient during the training of the new employee, you may want to consider pairing them with an experienced employee or mentor.
Finally, keep in mind two simple principles: job relevance and consistency. Be sure to document every step of the interview process and provide solid, objective, evidence-based reasons for your decision to hire or not.