Your employees are your company’s greatest asset. And when you need to hire new talent, it pays (literally) to hire the best.
But finding the best employees is getting tougher as companies compete to hire the cream of the crop.
And even if you receive hundreds of resumes, how can you be sure you’re getting the best applicants? What can you do to ensure you adding are A-list employees to your team?
Read more to discover eight smart tips on finding and hiring the right employees who will add value to your company.
1. Create a Recruitment Plan
Unless you’re utilizing a recruitment and staffing agency, you’re going to need a step-by-step plan for your hiring process. Incidentally, if you do want to use recruiters, you can learn more about that process here.
Get together with staffers who play significant roles in the hiring process. Outline the strategy you will implement to identify and hire the best candidate to your team.
Many companies develop a hiring checklist to systemize the process. Your checklist will help move things in the right direction. The checklist also serves as a quick progress report for the hiring team to know what task needs to be completed next.
2. Look at Past Candidates
A good place to identify qualified applicants is to refer back to previous applicants who were narrowly beaten out for a job.
Or perhaps you already interviewed a great prospect for a different position who you think is better suited for your current opening.
As you can see, it’s important to build relationships with every interviewee. It pays off when you add new people to your team. And you can circle back to outstanding candidates as new job openings occur.
3. Create a Detailed Job Description
At the core of your recruitment process is your job description. This is the first impression a prospect gets when they see your job opening.
Make sure you outline every important duty and responsibility that come with the job. Describe the job in great detail so there can be no confusion about what you are looking for.
After you post your job listing on job websites and various media, you’ll begin to get resumes and applications from interested applicants. Measure every application against the job description and eliminate unqualified candidates immediately.
That ensures the best use of your time since you are only spending time with qualified applicants.
4. Implement an Employee Referral Program
Good employees are usually friends with other people who will make good employees. Incentivize your current employees with an employee referral program to boost your applicant pool with capable professionals.
Hiring high-quality people recommended by your team is a great way to strengthen your company culture. Employees are excited to help their friends and these new hires are a welcome fit with their new co-workers.
By offering monetary bonuses and fun contests, you can create excitement with your team and motivate your staff to bring talented friends and colleagues to your company.
5. Use Social Media
Social media is an outstanding addition to your recruiting efforts. Social media goes beyond the typical online job listing by giving you the opportunity to share job openings with your personal network. Many people may not be interested in your current job offer but will refer someone they know who is a good fit.
You can also share behind-the-scenes photos and videos that give prospective applicants a peek into life at your office.
Your company needs a presence on most social media channels, especially LinkedIn.
6. Prescreen Applicants
Prescreening candidates is a fantastic way to save time during the hiring process. It also allows you a good way to separate your best applicants and those who merely look good on paper.
Prescreening interviews typically take place over the phone. They give you the chance to see a prospect’s personality so you know if they are a good fit with your team.
Of course, you will want to ask key questions about their qualifications to know if they are capable of excelling in the role for which they are seeking.
The prescreening process will help you narrow your list of qualified applicants. Thank everyone you talk to for their time and invite the best prospects to come in for a formal interview.
7. Ask the Right Interview Questions
By now you should have a qualified applicant pool of five to ten people. It’s time to interview applicants more comprehensively to single out the best person for the job.
You need answers to some important questions. For example, are they willing to stay long-term or is your job opening merely a stepping stone to another job? Can they successfully complete the duties of the job? Can they fit in with their colleagues and get along well with clients?
You also need to know if an applicant is self-motivated. Ask prospects to tell you about an idea they had and how they collaborated with co-workers to improve the company. Or you can ask them to describe a time when they exceeded management’s expectations? What do they do when they have extra time at work?
8. Check the Candidate’s Background
After all the interviews are complete, you should have a short list of three or four prospective employees to choose from.
In theory, your short list includes people who have excelled through each stage of the hiring process. You can genuinely see them as an outstanding addition to your company.
Before you extend an offer of employment to anyone, run background checks to make sure there are no skeletons in the closet. In short, you want to verify that all the information an applicant has given you is true and accurate. This includes their job history, education, credentials and so on.
It’s also a good idea to check their criminal history. You can even check their credit history is financial responsibility is required in the position they are seeking.
Final Thoughts on Hiring the Right Employees
The best way of hiring the right employees is to implement a plan and stick to it. Check off your hiring checklist as you complete each step.
You may get your best prospects from your current employees or from people you already interviewed for previous job openings.
Spend as much time as necessary to get it right by hiring the perfect person for the job. As Jim Collins says: “People are not your most important asset. The right people are.”
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