Talk to any small business owner you know and they will tell you that hiring employees is one of the biggest struggles they face. It’s hard trying to find the right people for the job, and you’re aware of how costly the whole process can be. Advertising the job and conducting interviews will cost money, not to mention the cost of actually hiring someone and paying their wages, etc.
Make the wrong choices, and you’re in a tricky situation where someone doesn’t fit your company and has basically been a waste of money. Your only options are to power through and hope they improve, or spending even more cash letting them go and hiring a replacement.
Consequently, you must improve your hiring process to ensure you always get the right people for the jobs. Here are some tips to help you achieve this:
Set essential criteria and don’t stray from them
Firstly, when advertising a job, set a list of essential criteria that all candidates must meet. If someone doesn’t meet all of the criteria, they shouldn’t be considered for the job. It sounds harsh, but the idea is that you pick things that are critical to the job role. If someone isn’t able to do or boast one of the criteria, it means they might not be able to perform to the highest standard. This is an easy way of instantly getting rid of unsuitable candidates.
Create an application assessment
Asking people to send in their CVs is a bit of a waste of time. Yes, you want to know their experience, and you can ask for it at a later date. Before this, you should set an application assessment to see how suitable the candidates are. Set them questions relating to the job so you understand how they might approach it and how they think. You’ll learn a lot from these applications – far more than through a CV alone.
Screen the best candidates
After the applications have been reviewed, and interviews have been conducted, you should have a selection of the best candidates for the job. Here, you should begin a screening process whereby you learn just how suitable they are. Things like pre employment medicals are a good idea, understanding the physical capacity of your candidate. Are they medically suitable for the role? Or will they be better off in a different position?
Background checks are also part of the screening process, letting you see if your candidate has been honest throughout the hiring process. Checking references on their CV is always a good way to screen them, so you can see what they were like in previous jobs.
With these three tips, you can streamline the hiring process and make better hires. All of these ideas are designed to help you narrow down your search and find the most suitable employees for your business. Naturally, you should also focus on advertising the jobs as far and wide as you can, ensuring you reach a wider talent pool. From here, the process begins!
