Before your company can hire the right person for an open position, someone first needs to define that position and where it fits into the company’s budget and long-term goals. The process from job creation to hiring an employee can be easier when human resources personnel takes the time to define exactly what the company needs.
Create a Team to Define the Job
Performing a job analysis is critical in attracting the right people to apply for the open position. The benefit of a job analysis is that it allows the human resources team to gather information about the responsibilities, required skills, desired outcomes, and ideal work environment for a new or replacement position. Some specific questions the team should reflect on include:
- Does the work qualify as a short-term project or is it ongoing? This will determine whether to hire a temporary or permanent worker.
- What is the deadline for the work? If the company needs the work completed within the next few weeks, working with an independent contractor is usually a better plan. This allows them to bypass the long and often intense hiring process to get the work done right away. Hiring a permanent employee makes more sense when the work is less urgent but requires an ongoing commitment.
- What is the budget for a new employee’s salary? Human resource professionals understand that hiring needs must compete with several other needs that may be equally as pressing. The available budget will help them understand whether hiring a new full-time employee and paying him or her benefits is the best option versus hiring part-time employees or working with independent contractors.
With firm details about the job and ideal candidate in place, the team is ready to create a job description and plan a hiring strategy.
Tips for Planning an Employee Recruitment Strategy
After drafting the job description, the next step for the human resources team is to schedule a meeting to discuss the best strategies to recruit new employees. The company’s hiring manager should attend this meeting as should anyone else involved in the previous steps. Using a checklist with the following tasks can help to make the hiring process more efficient:
- Post the open position both internally and externally. Using a variety of sources such as newspaper ads, job boards, and LinkedIn can help attract the widest pool of qualified candidates.
- Review applications and decide who to contact for a phone interview.
- Narrow the list down further after phone interviews and then schedule in-person interviews with the most qualified candidates.
- Perform background checks and contact references for any applicant the company is considering hiring.
- Select the most qualified person for the job and begin the job offer and negotiation process.
Although the recruitment process ends at this point, it’s just as essential to have an excellent onboarding program. How welcomed an employee feels the first days on the job can make all the difference in whether he or she decides to stay.
Need More Human Resources Help?
Deciding when and how to hire an employee is just one of many functions of the modern human resources department. Palmetto Payroll offers everything from web-based storage for HR departments to full-scale support. We invite you to contact us to learn more about our services today.
