Hiring skills are far from universal. This is true even among the professionals tasked with doing most of the hiring. As we point out in our comprehensive eBook on the subject, a study found that 1 out of 5 managers admitted that they didn’t have the appropriate skills to interview and to hire people effectively.
Here, we’re going to outline how to avoid being that “one.”
It may seem surprising that 20% of managers fail at basic hiring skills. But managers have wide-ranging and complicated jobs. It’s difficult for them to excel at every aspect of the position. Great operational managers might falter at team building, and vice versa.
That fact puts more importance on the hiring process itself. By setting up a superior framework for recruiting, you create a strong support structure for your team-building efforts. Less weight falls on individual managers, making it easier to make the right decision every time.
Dangers of a Bad Hiring Process
First, it’s important to outline why robust hiring procedures are so central to your business. Recruitment is the first stage of your team-building process. Failure here trickles down to the rest of your business.
Selecting the Wrong Candidate
Bad hires are expensive. According to one estimate, they can drain the company’s finances by as much as 30% of the worker’s annual salary. Even if the hire isn’t awful, just below average, that means you are leaving a lot on the table in terms of team building. Your company will never reach its highest potential.
Let Top Talent Go to the Competition
Hiring has a zero-sum aspect to it. As outlined in our eBook, the best candidates are in demand, no matter what the market conditions. Good economy or wrong, the top talent will find a home. You just don’t want that home to be your competitor. Each wrong hiring decision opens up the possibility that the right hire will end up working for your biggest rival.
Limit Efficiency of Onboarding and Training
A bad recruiting process doesn’t just impact the hiring stage. In addition, the same underlying problems can affect the new employee’s early career at the company. The result: substandard hires slow the onboarding and training process, forcing you to invest additional resources early in their careers.
How to Hire the Right Person the First Time
So what can be done? Now that you know the dangers of being that “one” manager with the deficient hiring abilities, what can you do to avoid being that person?
Well, the key is to perfect your hiring process. By having the right procedures in place, you minimize the importance of individual skill. Here are a few steps you can take:
Precisely Define the Position
Going into the process, map out exactly what you need from your new employee—detail day-to-day responsibilities, as well as the soft skills you’d most like to find. The more precisely you define the job, the easier it will be to find a prospect who fits perfectly.
Involve Other People
A hiring decision shouldn’t represent a one-person show. Just like raising a child, it takes a village. Form a recruiting committee that includes a diverse group of people with different connections to the open position. The more perspectives you can include, the less likely it will be that bias will color the final decision.
Use Quantitative Analysis
Make your recruitment process as objective as possible. Determine quantitative measures that you can use to rank candidates. Include a practical skill test, if possible. That way, you can estimate how well an applicant can perform the basic duties of the job.
Recruitment is a complex task that even the best managers fail at a good portion of the time. It helps to have expert advice and support. By teaming with a strong staffing agency, like Recruiting In Motion, you maximize your chances of finding the right fit for your organization.
Contact Recruiting In Motion today to find out more and check out our in-depth eBook detailing the future of the recruiting industry.
