Hiring the Best Candidates

Hiring the right candidate is vital for any organisation if they are to thrive. Here are some important tips to help you attract and select the best candidates.

•    Select an appropriate interviewing team.

Senior managers and experienced employers should be involved in the interviewing and hiring process, however it is also good practice to involve the people who will be working alongside the selected candidate .Present employees who are engaged in similar roles within the company will be able to relate to the candidate and encourage them to feel more compatible and involved with the organisation.

•    Prepare fully for the interview.

Relevant questions and criteria should be prepared ahead of time. It is also helpful to determine the interview structure and style before you begin interviewing candidates. You should try to ensure that the candidate talks 70% of the interview and the interviewer only talks for 30% of the time. The interview questions should be based on the job requirements and should not discriminate on grounds of sex or race.

•     Develop an accurate job description.

It is easy to overlook the job description, however in many cases, an applicant can be attracted to a job exclusively because of how the position is communicated. If the job description is not clear enough, it can fail to attract candidates with the right qualifications and abilities.

•    Fully explain the job.

It is important to fully explain the job to the candidate and make sure that they understand what is expected of them. If a candidate is hired into a position they don’t fully understand and their expectations do not match the job, it is likely they will leave soon after being hired. This will mean that you will have to begin the whole recruitment process again.

•     Communicate often.

Make sure to communicate with all applicants frequently throughout the recruitment process. Inform the candidates who are selected, as well as the ones who aren’t, as soon as possible.
When someone applies for a job within your company they are also forming their first impression of you and your organisation and what it may be like to work there.

•      Select a broad range of candidates.

If you shortlist too severely you can end up with only one or two candidates left to interview. You should always have a minimum of three to four candidates left for the final interview. This will ensure that if you do not get your top candidate you will still be left with a few good choices.

•    Follow up.

Once the successful applicant has accepted the position, follow up straight away with the necessary paperwork. Make sure that the salary, probation periods and benefits have been discussed throughout the recruitment process so there are no unexpected surprises for the candidate.

•    Start with a probation period.

Starting a candidate’s position with a probation period allows the manager a chance to test the employee’s skills and talents and gives both parties a way out if the employee is not performing or the job is not what they had expected. Probation periods vary in length but are commonly around 6 months .You may choose to start the employee on a slightly lower pay rate or withhold giving full employee benefits until they have fulfilled their probation period.

Real Life Case Study - What is your 'Person Profile'?

I have recently been working with 2 clients whereby the recruitment of a senior person didn’t work out as planned.  In both cases the person was not a culture fit for the business, however were in key roles. 

Both candidates had been working in large corporate environments, they really didn’t fit into a mid sized business.  This resulted in both candidates being let go, which created a lot of stress for the owners, the candidates, and the staff left in the business.  

It is important when recruiting into a business to build a “person profile”  before looking at job descriptions, advertising, talking to people.  You can do this with online tools, however the most effective way is to sit and plan who the person will be interacting with, what kind of personality works with the business, are they able to be flexible and work in unstructured changing environments, are they still interested in being hands on. 

Once the planning has been done, then a job description can be created and the advertising can be written to reflect the person profile.  Taking extra time at the start to think about who you need in a business will reduce angst down the track when they don’t meet expectations and are let go.    In both cases and all recruitment that I conduct, I work with the business owners on the person profile before any action is taken to find a person.