Hire well and you’ll have a high-performing and happy team. Hire just one wrong person – sometimes called a “misfire hire” – and you’ll spend a lot of time, money and energy doing damage control.
Have the right process, with the right checks and balances in place. Select wisely to achieve business growth while providing a positive experience for everyone involved.
Know What You Want
Detail the specific job requirements and characteristics you are seeking in a new hire.
- Write a job description that depicts your ideal candidate. Interviews are time-consuming – and you can waste a lot of it talking to the wrong people unless you put a thorough and accurate job description on paper. This will help you envision what this person will be doing day to day, as well as what skills and experience are required for success in the role.
- Have a clear hiring policy. Just as you define your ideal candidate, fine tune your hiring policy before beginning your search. An unclear policy can confuse both hiring managers and candidates. At worst, it could lead to legal disagreements over such matters as contract workers and exempt versus nonexempt employees.
Assemble a Strong Team
Include as many key stakeholders as possible on your interview team. Take a 360-degree approach that encompasses not only the new hire’s prospective manager, but also peers, subordinates, senior leaders, and even clients, customers and vendors. In other words, tap into anyone the person would have to work well with in order to be successful. Everyone will add their own perspective, and you need their buy-in.
- Prep the team. Set up an interviewing strategy that uses everyone’s collective time to the fullest. This will create a better experience for both candidates and team members. Reflect on what you already know about a candidate, and then consider how you can use each individual’s strengths to remove any uncertainty and learn even more about the person.
- Gather feedback. Be very thoughtful when considering input from every member of your team. If anyone has any uncertainty, don’t hesitate to go back and conduct additional interviews or check references. It’s all about reducing risk. The entire team should feel confident about your final hiring decision.
Cast a Wide Net
A common hiring mistake is not having a diverse enough slate of candidates. Think of diversity of age, experience, background, race and gender. All of these bring diversity of thought, which keeps your organization progressive and growing.
- With a diversified workforce, you are more likely to attract different types of people who otherwise might not apply at your company. As an added bonus, an organization with a strong diversity program will have a good reputation, because it will be seen as having fair employment practices.
- Don’t limit your search to people who are exactly like you or the rest of your team. Bring in people who will challenge you. An outside perspective is often what is needed to move the needle forward at your company.
The staffing and talent management pros at PrideStaff Fresno can partner with your team as you develop best practices in hiring, interviewing, and building your employment brand image. Contact us today so we can tell you more!
