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Tips for Improving your Hiring Process!

The majority of business owners I work with tell me that one of their biggest challenges to running a business isn’t cash flow, although important; government regulations, although daunting; not even quality, although the lifeblood of customer satisfaction. No, the biggest challenge that the owners with whom I work face is hiring the right person. You know, the one who actually shows up, does the job, fits within the culture and will stick around past a year or two. Funny, or not as the case may be, this hire doesn’t seem all that impressive … it almost seems like the bare minimum. So what can we do about it?

 

The key is to educate yourself on the subject and develop a process for hiring the best person for the job.

 

As manufacturers, we most likely have a purchasing process for raw materials for both quantities and timing. We probably have a good accounts receivable and payable system also. We definitely have a streamlined process to reduce scrap and rework, and maintain our rigid quality standards. So, if we have all of these processes and systems in place, why don’t we more readily have a hiring process or system in place?

 

Maybe you have an HR person or department, and you feel it is that person’s responsibility and they know what they’re doing … but has that worked? Or maybe you don’t feel your business is big enough for an HR component and you’re just too busy to really devote a lot of time to this whole recruitment and hiring process and these staffing agencies are giving you lousy candidates. Lastly, I’m often told that the reason that we can’t find good quality help is that young people just don’t know how to work; it’s the product that society is producing and we can’t do anything about it.

 

Let’s say that all of the above statements are correct … so now what, do we just give up? Well, of course not. If we have systems and processes that work so well for everything else, why not develop another for one of, if not the most, important pieces of business: hiring and recruiting?

 

Let me share with you a mnemonic device that will do two things for you. First, by reviewing it and thinking about it, it will help you to learn and remember your goal of recruiting and hiring, which is of course finding top talent, not just a warm body. Second, use the mnemonic device for your hiring process. So here it is: “I See A Quality Individual In Here, Oh Boy.

 

Let’s break it down:

 

 “I” for “Identify.” This may be what your HR person does exceedingly well – he or she writes up a job description. It is important to clearly identify the role you are looking to fill and the qualifications needed to fill it. However, a job description is just the beginning of the process.

 

“See” for “Source.” There are many ways that we can source candidates, depending upon the position: third party recruiters, LinkedIn or maybe you’re a pro and have a “people bank.” Try to cast a wide net to get more options.

 

 “A” for “Assess.” Now, when we talk about assessing, we don’t mean for personality, although it’s helpful, we mean for cognitive ability, strengths, weaknesses and hidden weaknesses. The problem with the way that most people hire is that they interview and like the candidate before they assess (if they assess) the candidate. Inevitably, even if the candidate assess poorly, we might blame a faulty assessment, because it clearly couldn’t be a faulty candidate since he or she interviewed so well. An honest assessment before the interview process is critical if we don’t want another hire who will eventually be “non-retained” in just a few months.

 

 “Quality” for “Qualify.” Once we find a candidate who assesses well, we want to have a brief telephone interview to determine if we should spend time with them in person.

 

 “Individual” for “Interview.” Those who make it through the screening process come in for a face-to-face interview.

 

 “In” for “Inventory.” Next, we take everything that we’ve learned from all available resources (resume/application, assessment, pre-screen, interview, social media, etc.) and objectively rank candidates using a scoring system.

 

 “Here” for “Hire.” Once we have determined the best candidate, we make an offer to hire them. Make sure you properly prepare the candidate by setting expectations that you won’t allow for him or her to pit you against other opportunities. That way you won’t lose out on the good candidates or have to increase your offer.

 

 “Oh Boy” for “On-boarding.” Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean “Oh boy, we’re done.” This is a critical phase for making sure you have a successful new hire. The on-boarding process is using a road map of success that you’ve developed to help shorten the time from initial hire to having a productive and profitable employee in as short a period of time as possible.

 

Clearly, there is a lot more that goes into each one of these steps, but by giving some thought to the principles outlined in this simple mnemonic device, and following it, you’ll have in place a consistent, measurable and reliable system for hiring your next superstar employee.

 

For more valuable information, request our sales guide, Why Salespeople Fail at www.peakperformance.sandler.com/ebook.

 

About the Author

Bryan Whittington is a Sales Process Expert Trainer & Consultant with Sandler Training, based in Pittsburgh, Pa., and can be reached at (412) 928-9933 or [email protected].