Hiring Employees: 8 Tips to Help You Find the Right People

Hiring the right employees is crucial for any business. Getting the employee selection process wrong can be expensive and disruptive. But, when faced with a mountain of resumes, how do you go about picking the right person for the job? Here are eight tips that will help you hire the right employee every time.

1. Start with a Clearly Defined Job Specification

The first stage of the recruitment process should be defining the job. A job analysis should include the duties and responsibilities of the role and the skills that will be needed to complete the relevant tasks. The job analysis will provide the information you need to write a job description and identify the type of person that you will need to recruit.

Related: Hiring Advice from the World’s Most Successful Business Leaders

2. Review Applications Carefully

Recruitment can take up a lot of time, but rushing the process may lead to recruiting the wrong person. And, ultimately, not spending enough time vetting applicants will waste more time in the long term. Take your time reviewing job applications. Check the skills of each person against your job description. Filtering out unsuitable candidates at this early stage will save you a lot of time later.

3. Screen Applicants with a Telephone Interview

To further shorten the shortlist of candidates, you should pre-screen applicants with a telephone interview. A telephone interview will allow you to gauge how well the candidate might fit in with your business culture. It will also allow you to confirm the candidates’ qualifications and salary expectations.

4. Plan Your Interviews

Decide in advance what questions you are going to ask candidates at an interview. Your questions should test the candidates’ suitability for the role and verify how well the individual will fit in with the business culture. The job interview is the primary way that you will be able to separate the average candidates form the ideal ones. Planning your questions will ensure that you get all the information you need for your selection process.

5. Follow Up with Second Interviews

Use the first interviews to create a shortlist of applicants. Then, invite successful candidates back for a second interview. In the first interview, you will be able to confirm the skills of the applicant will meet your requirements. The second interview is likely to be more relaxed, so you will be better able to assess how well the candidate will fit in with the culture of your business. A second interview will also allow you to question the candidate further on anything that you were unsure about in the first interview.

Related: Recruitment: Three Tips Using Social Media to Recruit

6. Always Follow Up References and Credentials

Don’t take it for granted that every candidate will be telling the truth. Even an honest person might get tempted to exaggerate their work experience if they think it will help them win a job. The only way that you can confirm a person’s qualifications and work experience is to obtain third-party confirmation. So, always ask for references from a candidate’s previous employers and ask for proof of professional qualifications. In some roles, you may also need to carry out personal background checks.

7. Look for Motivation and Work Ethic as Well as Skills

It can be challenging to see the real person at an interview. But you should be able to get an idea of what drives an individual by asking the right questions. The best employees are those that are driven by more than financial rewards. If they are to add anything to the business, an employee must also be motivated to their best and to succeed. The right type of motivation is essential, whatever the level of the role. 

8. Trust Your Instincts

Ticking the boxes against skills and experience is only one part of finding the best employee for the job. You and the rest of the team must also be able to work with the individual. Even if, on paper, a candidate looks like the perfect fit, if you don’t think that their personality fits, you might be better off going with the second-placed candidate.

Conclusion

The best way to ensure that you are hiring the right employees is to take your time with the recruitment process. Planning the process and going through all the stages above may look like it will take up a lot of time. Even so, it will not be as time-consuming or as costly as employing the wrong person for the job.

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