Improve Your Hiring Process With These Tips

If you're spending a great deal of time and energy on the hiring process only to end up with subpar workers or employees who only stick around for a few months, it may be time to rethink your strategies. Consider these 10 tips to change your hiring process and ensure you select quality candidates who bring value to the organization.

1. Update the Job Description

Make sure the job descriptions you're providing to applicants contain all the necessary information they need to know, including the job title, required skills and applicable job knowledge. Add some bullets that describe what the company can offer its employees, as well, such as opportunities for career growth and a positive work environment, and so you're sure to attract quality candidates.

2. Evaluate the Application

Look over the application you're using to make sure it collects all the adequate information, and eliminate any unnecessary questions. Be sure to include a statement that informs candidates on your organization's background check policies during the hiring process.

3. Take Advantage of Tech Trends

Create an electronic version of your application to make the hiring process easier for potential candidates and HR representatives. Since many job seekers use their smartphones to conduct job searches or complete applications, ensure your company's career website is mobile-friendly.

4. Perform Panel Interviews

Create an interview panel made up of a human resources representative and one or two employees who work in the same department as the vacant position. This allows you to gauge how candidates react to high-pressure situations and assess their rapport with potential future co-workers.

5. Make Use of Niche Interviews

In a niche interview, the HR representative relinquishes interviewing duties to the position's department manager, allowing the supervisor to choose a candidate who best suits his criteria.

6. Examine the Interview Questions

Be sure to ask in-depth questions that require more than a yes or no answer. Ask candidates to explain their greatest career achievement or discuss how they solved a problem at a previous position.

7. Test Their Skills

Set up a physical exam to make sure the candidate can perform the necessary functions of the position. For example, ask an prospective administrative assistant to take a typing test to determine her words per minute score, or have a delivery driver candidate demonstrate his ability to back into a loading dock.

8. Turn the Tables

Rather than asking all the questions in the interview, set aside some time for the candidate to grill you. This gives the potential employee an opportunity to determine whether she's a good fit for your organization and lets you learn what aspects of the job are most important to her.

9. Research Your Candidates

Don't be afraid to do some digging on social media to view a candidate's profiles. This gives you insight into the potential employee's personal side and helps you make an informed hiring decision.

10. Conduct Reference Checks

Before you finalize the hiring process, call references to find out how the candidates performed at their previous positions.

Recruiting, hiring and training employees who are underqualified or uncommitted to the organization's success wastes company resources and causes frustration for supervisors and co-workers. Revamp your hiring process to ensure you're making the best decisions about who to bring on board with your company.

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