Question: We”™re looking to add to our staff, and we want to make sure we have the right person for the job. We”™ve had a couple people who we liked, and when we got back to them they had already taken other offers. Any suggestions on how to best manage the hiring process?
Thoughts of the day: Hire candidates to meet short- and long-term needs. Know that the job market is tightening and people have more options. The best candidates know they want to work for your company. Building a list of future candidates to keep track of and a way to keep in touch with them will help in the future.
Hire the right candidate by understanding the job you”™re filling. Model job descriptions around people who have been successful in the past. Be ready to jump on candidates who demonstrate ambition, drive and commitment to grow skills your company will need in the future.
As unemployment drops it does get tougher to identify and hang onto good candidates. Companies compete to offer opportunity for growth, income and benefits. Positioning your company as a good employer with a bright future becomes a competitive leverage in the candidate search.
Find hidden gems by looking for people who are already employed, doing similar work. Use networking conversations to find people who are ready for a change of scenery. Continuously ask for referrals to people who are good at what they do and looking for a chance to grow.
Know that candidates are likely to get more offers, faster. Shorten your time between interactions. Candidates make assumptions. If too much time goes by, they assume the company isn”™t interested and move on to pursue other leads.
Send out an immediate response when a resume comes in. Invite the person to share more information about themselves and what they”™re looking for. Be friendly and look for candidates who are interested enough to communicate.
Tell candidates what steps to expect in the interview process. Provide regular updates on what comes next. Let candidates know where they stand and when they should hear back. Be predictable in order to build trust.
In the first interview, give out details about the job. Include not just the tasks but also the hours, the pay and the opportunity for growth. Remind candidates that it”™s a process to get through interviews and that you would only continue talking with them if you were serious about them.
If candidates look good, tell them that. Reassure top candidates that the job could be theirs. You may even tell really strong candidates to get back to you before seriously looking at other offers.
Stay in touch by providing informational updates on the company. Introduce strong candidates to people they could be working with. Encourage questions. Watch what candidates do with the openings you provide. See who goes above and beyond at showing interest in your company.
Plan out who your company will need to hire in the future. Will you grow people from the bottom up? That”™s often the easiest and most affordable way to grow talent. If so, you”™re going to need a steady stream of people coming in at the entry level.
Figure out where the next class of employees could come from and build connections to those resources. Often that”™s recent graduates who are looking to get started. Target a list of schools teaching the skills your company needs.
Know you”™re going to need a particular piece of expertise that doesn”™t exist in the company today? Many employers will start with an independent contractor or consulting company to learn more without paying for someone to be on board full time. It”™s often the fastest was to get started. And some of those suppliers may be interested in full-time employment down the road, while others may know where to find full-time candidates when you”™re ready.
Looking for a good book? Try “Building a Magnetic Culture: How to Attract and Retain Top Talent to Create an Engaged, Productive Workforce” by Kevin Sheridan.
Andi Gray is president of Strategy Leaders Inc., strategyleaders.com, a business-consulting firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurial firms grow. She can be reached by phone at 877-238-3535. Do you have a question for Andi? Send it via email to AskAndi@strategyleaders. Visit AskAndi.com for an entire library of Ask Andi articles.
