Looking for a better way to hire the best and brightest Middle Tennessee has to offer?
Who isn’t? With the “Great Recession” finally in our rear view mirror, and hiring on the upswing, developing a cost-effective method for consistently selecting top performers is high on the list of today’s HR professionals.
A few months back, I posted Ready to Hire? Improve Your Hiring Process with These Ideas to get you started. As promised in that post, here are a few more strategies to help you eliminate interviewing biases, inconsistencies and inefficiencies – and ultimately hire better:
- Minimize interviewer inconsistency. If you can’t personally conduct every interview, you should train interviewers to enhance consistency. Interviewing styles and effectiveness vary greatly, depending on personality, confidence and amount of formal training. Some interviewers excel at asking questions; some are great ambassadors for your company; some are very detail-oriented and systematically process responses. But unfortunately, few are strong in all these areas. To improve consistency, require interviewers to cite specific candidate statements to back-up their evaluations and/or conclusions. Train them to support their ratings with examples – rather than recording opinions, impressions or hunches.
- Ask the recruit why he wants the job. Our current job market is flooded with the type of applicant who indiscriminately shoots off résumés in response to any posting that matches his keyword search – all in desperate hope of landing any type of interview. If a recruit can’t tell you why he wants to work for your organization, you probably don’t want him on your team.
- Make a good first impression on the candidate. While you are evaluating a candidate, the candidate will be sizing up you and your company. Increase the likelihood that a top performer will accept your job offer by making a positive first impression: respect the candidate’s time by being on-time and prepared for the interview; supplement the interview with written or on-line information about the company and/or position; allow time for follow-up questions (a candidate needs to learn about your organization, culture and the available position at the same time you’re learning about him).
- Plan multiple interviews. Always conduct at least two interviews (three for higher level positions). Why? Recruits may be able to fool you in one interview, but the chances of them misrepresenting themselves successfully across multiple interviews are greatly diminished. In addition, a more rigorous process will help weed out those candidates who are apathetic and/or unreliable.
- Hold a post-interview review meeting. Establish a formal process for finalizing the interview process and making a hiring decision. Provide a form interviewers can use to summarize each candidate’s interpersonal skills, cultural fit, competency evaluation and technical knowledge. Give each interviewer equal time to share feedback and make recommendations. The primary decision maker/hiring manager should give the last report, after which you can begin open discussions about a hiring decision.
Incorporate these suggestions with the tips in my last post, and you’ll be well on your way to better hires in 2012.
Ensure Great Hires with Wood Personnel
If you lack the time, resources or desire to hire on your own, Wood Personnel is here to listen and help. Our direct placement service quickly and cost-effectively delivers candidates with skills, experience and behavioral traits to succeed in your organization.
Wood’s direct placement service is offered to client companies on a contingency-fee basis; in other words, you will not be charged until you hire the right person for your company. Contact us today to ensure your next hire is a great one.
