Hire Fast and Smart
Many of my clients have been holding off on hiring until the New Year, so it is full steam ahead to hire and on-board new talent. This may be a good time to refresh your hiring practices so you are positioned to compete for scarce talent and get new employees engaged and productive.
When you think about it, hiring is a pretty high-risk proposition. Making a great hiring decision can significantly improve your organization, and we know how a bad hire can spell disaster. So, why not invest the time to make high quality hiring decisions, just like you do with any other business decision?
You may not have a dedicated HR person in your organization, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have your hiring act together. Be creative by engaging your team in the process. The more people are included, the higher their commitment to the success of the new employee. Consider this:
- Appoint one or two employees to be “hiring coaches”. These individuals help hiring managers coordinate the hiring process and ensure the process moves along, quickly. This role is not a permanent assignment, rather is rotated among staff, as you deem appropriate. Example: assign a Sales Associate to support a Sales Manager in hiring new Sales Representatives. It’s a great way to engage the Associate and to assess their project management skills.
- Provide your hiring managers and coaches the tools they need to consistently and effectively manage the hiring process. Simple forms and guides can go a long way to creating a repeatable and defensible business process. Focus on being efficient, so you aren’t wasting time and missing out on great candidates.
- Protect your reputation by staying engaged with candidates. Take time to plan and track your hiring activities. Hold people accountable for meeting deadlines and executing on commitments. Don’t let your hiring process end up in a quagmire. You will lose great candidates and risk being and employer to avoid. It’s a “candidate’s market” and word gets around.
- Time is of the essence. Gone are the days when we can ask candidates to return for multiple interviews. I had a client who asked an Analyst candidate to interview with twelve (yes, 12) people before extending an offer. Needless to say, the candidate went elsewhere. In today’s market, candidate’s will not tolerate excessive interviewing, so be very clear about who needs to be involved in the interviewing process, so you can optimize the candidate’s time and beat the competition in hiring the best talent.
So take a few minutes to organize your hiring process, engage your team to help and move quickly. With just a few processes and tools in place you too can attract top quality talent you need to continue your success!
