Quality Hiring: Are You Doing It Right?

Quality hiring is more than running ads, screening, interviewing and checking references. It is a series of specific procedures that can bring in top candidates or create bottlenecks and inefficiencies. Here are six ways to enhance the entire recruitment process.

Select the right sourcing method.
While the typical sourcing channels include in-house recruiters, employee referral programs, executive search firms, advertising, temporary staffing agencies, campus recruiting and, of course, the internet, not all will be appropriate for filling every position. Are you trying to hire dozens of hourly wage jobs or a senior executive? Each will require different hiring methods. One size does not fit all.

Map, flow-chart or diagram what you do.
First uncover delays and glitches that waste time, interfere with getting the job done right the first time and drive good job seekers away. Then identify areas that can be improved by eliminating, simplifying or combining tasks or that can be streamlined electronically for efficiency.

Develop realistic job profiles.
Studies have shown that 25 percent of companies don't take the crucial step of defining what they're looking for before they begin the hiring process. If competencies (skills, motivations, and behaviors) are not first identified, you will waste precious interview time asking the wrong questions. Because jobs change over time, review these competencies periodically to verify they are still valid.

Create partnerships between human resources and the hiring managers.
Remember that both are on the same team. Both are trying to attract and select the best people. Truly understanding the job to be filled requires good communication and cooperation. Jointly develop the job requirements, decide on the screening factors, plan the interviews, assign follow-up responsibilities, and establish selection criteria to make quality decisions.

Develop good metrics.
Are you getting the right people from your sourcing methods? Are you spending your recruitment budget wisely? To find out you need to evaluate the different sources based on the suitability of the candidates each source provides. Suitability can be measured by the percent of total applicants found to be qualified, the number of qualified applicants relative to the number of available positions, or the turnover rate of new hires overall. The ability to report metrics will allow you to make better use of your hiring resources.

Learn from your wins and your losses.
Use 'mystery candidates' to experience your entire recruitment process and provide feedback.. Do a survey of all new hires during orientation and ask them for their moments of impression. Find out what is working and what is not. Then, reinforce the positive factors and eliminate the negative ones. Finally, use your exit interviews to identify additional improvement areas.

The effectiveness of the recruitment process impacts the effectiveness of the organization. A new hire that does not fit the position will be difficult to develop, will perform poorly and more likely leave resulting in need to repeat the process. Only when recruitment is approached as a specific process with definable steps and measurable results can it be managed to ensure the hiring of quality people.

Marcia Zidle, the 'people smarts' coach, works with business leaders to quickly solve their people management headaches so they can concentrate on their #1 job ? to grow and increase profits. She offers free help through Leadership Briefing, a weekly e-newsletter with practical tips on leadership style, employee motivation, recruitment and retention and relationship management. Subscribe by going to http://leadershiphooks.com/ and get the bonus report "61 Leadership Time Savers and Life Savers". Marcia is the author of the What Really Works Handbooks ? resources for managers on the front line and the Power-by-the-Hour programs ? fast, convenient, real life, affordable courses for leadership and staff development. She is available for media interviews, conference presentations and panel discussions on the hottest issues affecting the workplace today. Contact Marcia at 800-971-7619.

---

If You Build It, Investors Will Come

When you begin to write your business plan or a section within it, you probably ask yourself, "What should I talk about? What key points should I bring out that are important to... Read More

Forget The Sandwich Technique

Do you remember being told to use the "sandwich" technique when you needed to reprimand someone? Let me give you an example:"Fred, I'm really pleased with how you've been progressing since you joined... Read More

Motivating Employees - Ten Ways to Start You Off

Yet there is a place for those external 'raft-build's', 'away days' and 'paintballing'! Just get them in context; there is work to do up front to leverage those experiences and get the best... Read More

Todays Employees and Their New Needs: What You Need to Know

Today's employees are not only interested in security or in pay and fringe benefits. They are often placing increased value on being recognized and involved in reaching personal growth goals. As a supervisor... Read More

People - You Cant Make Them What Theyre Not

Many business people and managers are spending too much time trying to change the underperforming people who work for them. They seem to believe that if they train people - tell them what... Read More

How Businesses Can Stop Wallowing in Bad Debt and Prevent It in the Future

"Become the Squeaky Wheel", a new book just published, explains that getting customers involves more than advertising. Michelle Dunn presents examples of credit procedures and policies to help creditors or business owners collect... Read More

Hire Winners: Avoid These 10 Interview No-No?s

Have you ever hired someone who did not live up to expectations? I'm sure many of us have at one time. The purpose of the interview is to obtain good information about an... Read More

It?s Not All About Cheese: The Missing Component in Employee Development (Part 2)

In part one of this article I told you about how perceptions are changing in the workplace. In part two, I want to tell you more about the "Merge Point Method" and how... Read More

Are You At The Mercy Of Computer Geeks?

Many business owners are sabotaging their business without even realizing it. They are completely out of the loop when it comes to all technology aspects of their operation such as websites, computers and... Read More

Team Motivation - Tough Enough to Care

Sir Alex Ferguson has just celebrated his 1000 game in charge of Manchester United, probably the world's most successful soccer team.I have a great deal of respect for Sir Alex as a man... Read More

Multiple Channels, Multiple Times

I've just been reading about the frustrations of a Human Resources manager. He's tired of having to answer the same questions about benefits over and over again.I understand that, having been on both... Read More

Humor in Business

With the advancement of computer simulators, anybody can repeat all the business routines before he goes to the field, and have the opportunity of relaxing from the tedious work with numbers. The businessman... Read More

Are You Prepared for a Disaster?

Yesterday I look at my calendar and saw that my newsletter was on my calendar for today. I wondered what I would write about. By the end of the day, I had my... Read More

Workplace Security Plan: Does Your Company Have One?

Consultant's Perspective...The threat of violence whether it emanates from a disgruntled employee or the threat of terrorism require both a concerted and an individual response. Terrorism in any form is terrorism. Having been... Read More

How To Manage A Difficult Employee

Having to manage a difficult employee is never fun and can be the most challenging part of your responsibilities as a business owner/executive. While never easy, this article will address a step-by-step way... Read More

Think Time... Its Now Or Never

I recently read an article published in the June, 2005 issue of Fast Co. magazine. Linda Tischler wrote an essay entitled "Death to the Cubicle!" In it, she says 'Collaboration is great, but... Read More

Productive Meetings: How to Make Your Meetings More Productive

There's one simple secret to effective meetings: set an agenda and stick to it. The agenda drives the content and outcomes of the meeting and, where appropriate, should reflect the needs of all... Read More

ISO 9001 and Total Quality Management

Total Quality ManagementTotal Quality Management, or TQM, has become one of the most frequently discussed topics in current business literature. Because of the competitive pressures created by Japanese companies, quality became a competitive... Read More

Magnificent Meetings - 5 Tips for Success

Your impact at meetings will determine in a big way how well you do in your career. In other words you will rise as high as your communication skills will let you. Ability... Read More

How Can A Communications Audit Help You?

Organizations communicate in two directions: internally to staff and externally to clients, customers, shareholders, stakeholders, the media. Faulty internal communications can lead to mistakes, discouraged and unhappy staff, employees leaving the company. Poor... Read More

Manage Your Time - Save Your Business.

If you work from home, chances are you already know that you're really pulling "double duty". You probably work on your business while doing the laundry, corralling the kids, or fixing dinner... and... Read More

Data Delivers Credibility

Over the past couple of days I've been setting up visitor counters, so people in another organization can accurately count the number of people who visit their event.They got the idea (and the... Read More

Think Before You Talk

What you say to other people can make or break you and it can happen without you even knowing about it. That old saying "loose lips sink ships" is oh so true in... Read More

Sweet Parting Of Ways

Why settle for bad feelings when your employee leaves the firm? Human resource managers can help to sweeten the occasion during the exit interview, and get valuable information to help the company in... Read More

Directed Introspection

One of the greatest obstacles to progress can often be our awareness of past failures. If we tried something a couple of years ago and fell flat on our faces (and especially if... Read More

Five Defining Characteristics of Great CEOs

1. Personal insight. Great CEOs are great leaders. They know themselves and what they stand for. They have been called on all their lives as problem solvers because others know them to be... Read More

Which ITIL Process Should We Implement First?

The following question is usually debated a lot amongst IT managers. "With which process should we start when implementing ITIL?" Everybody has their own views, but here are my takes on it.Some consultants... Read More

Preventative Maintenance of Company Delivery Vehicles

If you have company delivery vehicles at your small or medium sized business you should have a preventative maintenance schedule and procedures for employees who are drivers of these vehicles. When discussing preventative... Read More

Human Resource Employee Risk Profile - Management Risks Explained

Human Resource Employee Risk ProfileIs your business at risk? Do you want peace of mind?Please answer the following question honestly by drawing a circle around or shading in the column. If you can... Read More