It’s never easy to find just the right person for a job. Someone could have all the qualifications on paper yet still be a disastrous fit for your company. It can also be challenging for small businesses to compete for top talent with larger organizations. This is one reason why we recommend that our clients develop a formal hiring strategy.
Start by Creating an Accurate Job Description
One of the simplest ways to attract the best people for your company’s open position is to write an accurate job description. While it should be concise and to the point, it needs to be long enough to include the critical aspects of the position. We recommend using this outline for every job description that your company publishes:
Heading: This should include the title of the position, pay range or grade, typical schedule, whether it requires weekend or overtime work, and the reporting relationship it would create.
Job summary: Here you want to include a general overview of the essential tasks associated with the position as well as the relationship the new employee would have with customers, suppliers, and co-workers.
Required qualifications: Indicate the minimum required education, experience, technical skills, and other training a person must have to apply for the position.
Specific responsibilities and job duties: In this section, discuss the tasks that will take up most of the new employee’s time. Start by listing the most time-consuming tasks along with what the employee would need to accomplish. Don’t go into too much detail at this point about how the employee would complete his or her main tasks.
Decide How You Want to Source Candidates
Once you feel confident in the job description you have created, the next step is to decide on the approaches you would like to use to find the ideal candidates. You have many options here, including an online or newspaper ad, job fairs, hiring a placement firm, internal job postings, and internal referrals. Some things to consider when choosing your methods include whether you need to fill the position immediately and your corporate budget.
If you have more to spend and the position is high-level, you might want to consider working with a recruitment firm. Be sure to use at least a few different options so you can determine which ones are the most effective for future hiring events.
Prepare for the Interview
To ensure a good interviewing experience for candidates, make sure that the location you choose is private, free from distractions, and as comfortable as possible. It’s also important to determine a structure for the interview in advance as well as who will be present for it. For example, do you plan to use the behavioral interview or focus solely on experience? In an interview with multiple people, decide who is going to ask questions at what time so the candidate doesn’t become overwhelmed. Make sure that all interviewers know which questions are illegal to ask under law, such as age or family status.
The above represent just three practical steps in creating a hiring strategy. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like additional input on this topic. Contact Palmetto Payroll for guidance or to learn more about the services we offer that can make running a business a whole lot easier.
