Unlocking Potential: Maximizing the Hiring Process to Uncover Top Talent
- Zoran Vidovic
- Nov 27, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Nov 29, 2024
Hiring a perfect individual for the job might seem simple, but it turns out to be a labor-intensive and delicate task.
Why is that the case?
Because it needs to be thought through and aligned with the company's standard for the particular job.
Table of contents
What is the hiring process?
It is a list of activities completed by the company in pursuit of hiring the right candidate for the job. We can split it into two parts; Recruitment and Hiring.
Recruitment would be the initial phase of a search for the right candidates and narrowing down the list of potential candidates.
Hiring would be the actual phase of vetting the candidates and finding the right candidate for the job.
We are going to look at the whole process as a hiring process, as it embeds both processes.
At first glance, it might seem fairly simple and straightforward, but it is just the tip of the iceberg. For a company to come to this stage, there are steps that need to be taken first and should not be avoided.
We need to identify:
What job are we hiring for?
Why are we hiring for this position? Is it an existing job position, or is it newly created? It is important to understand this to tailor the hiring process for the new position. We need to capture all important information during the hiring process to identify potential candidates even if their strengths have not been emphasized in their application.
What is the job description?
This is important information as it will serve both ends, the employer and the candidate.
- The employer needs to be realistic about the job description to determine basic and advanced skills required for the job completion.
- The candidate needs a clear and unambiguous job description and disclosed working conditions to be able to decide whether they have the motivation, stamina, and right skills for it.
What are the responsibilities of an employee?
Responsibilities must to be clear and transparent to avoid confusion and disappointment once the candidate becomes an employee. This prevents the disengagement of an employee and subsequently faster turnaround.
What is the preferred background for the suitable candidate?
We need to be clear about this to narrow down potential candidates, although this will depend on the number of applicants. We need to be clear whether this is going to eliminate or disadvantage candidates lacking preferred backgrounds. Obviously, supply and demand will greatly influence this aspect.
What is the preferred education level for the suitable candidate?
We need to determine if the education level can be substituted by a relevant background for this position. We need to be realistic about it and require a certain level of education only when needed for the job.
What are the working conditions?
This needs to be clear and transparent to attract candidates who are ready to commit to such working conditions for the advertised employment package.
What is the salary?
The most important information is the salary. There are instances when companies decide not to disclose the salary range for various reasons. It is mostly to give them flexibility in adjusting the salary depending on the number of candidates and their backgrounds and qualifications.
What are the perks?
What is being offered in addition to the basic salary? Is this consistent with or above the industry standard?
Once we have answered all the questions above, we need to look into the actual hiring process and how to execute it.
Most of the hiring processes consist of:
Publishing job opening
Where are we going to do this and how? Is it going to be outsourced or completed by us? Which marketing tools are we going to utilize? Which platforms are we going to publish on? Which candidates are we aiming to attract? Are we going to tailor our approach to attract selected candidates? What information are we going to share? How long will the application process be?
Application screening
Is this going to be completed in-house or outsourced? If outsourced, are we comfortable with the process, and have we conveyed our standards and expectations about the candidates?
Feedback on applications
Is it going to be outsourced or provided by us? Are we going to deliver feedback for all candidates or just for those in the last round of the selection process?
It is important to remember that our applicants are humans with desires, feelings, and aspirations, and feedback can provide valuable learning opportunities for all those who did not make the cut.
Background check
How deep are we going to check? Is it going to be completed by us or outsourced? What are we going to check? Previous employment, education, criminal record, certificates, etc.? This will obviously depend on the applicable laws and regulations as well as the job specifics.
Interview process
Are we going to have interviews conducted virtually or in person? Is this going to be outsourced or competed by us? How many interview stages do we plan to have and why? Who is going to interview candidates for each stage? Are there going to be any assessments included in the interview process?
Hiring
Is this going to be completed upon the successful interview process? If so, by whom? Are we going to have provisional hiring until the completion of the medical examination and necessary initial trainings?
Pre-employment medical examination
Level of examination needed? Are any medical interventions conditioned for the job position? Such as the removal of the appendix and wisdom teeth as a precautionary measure due to the nature of the job and its remote location.
Initial training information
Are we going to condition employment with necessary initial trainings and examinations or demonstration of specific performance abilities needed for the job position?
Company joining instructions
Are we going to have these delivered upon completion of all the required steps above? Is it going to include instructions and the process of obtaining the required travel documents and visas if applicable?
Contract
Is it going to be signed in person or electronically? Are we going to use this opportunity to provide the orientation company tour or introduction to selected departments and facilities for a better understanding of the company products, services, mission, and vision?
Considerations for the hiring process?
The most important decision is whether the hiring process is going to be outsourced and to what extent.
This will greatly influence the approach to delivering it.
The two most important steps are:
To identify job descriptions in line with the company mission, vision, and standard.
For this, we need to understand the individual and group tasks required for the job, as discussed in one of our previous posts. They are going to make the core of the job description in line with the company's mission, vision, and standards.
To decide on the hiring process: in-house or outsourced.
In-house hiring
The whole process from advertising to hiring is completed by us. This has its advantages and disadvantages.
- An advantage is first-hand information about the preferred profile of a candidate based on the in-depth knowledge of the job description, working conditions, and required skill set for the job. Also, we have the opportunity to interview potential candidates in-house and get a personalized evaluation with potentially a good "gut" feeling.
- A disadvantage is the time and labor that needs to be put into the hiring process. We need to take into consideration the number of applications that need to be vetted and the number of interviews that need to be completed to find the right candidate. This is then not the guarantee that the candidate is going to be hired, as they might not find the job package appealing.
Outsourced hiring
We can outsource the hiring process fully or partially.
Fully outsourced is a hiring process completed by the outside agency on our behalf.
- An advantage is the ability to remove ourselves from the process and focus on everyday tasks while the hiring process is being completed on our behalf. It saves us time, effort, and resources.
- A disadvantage is the inability to participate in some aspects of the process that we might be interested in closely monitoring, such as the actual interviews. We need to hire the right agency with the right background to avoid missing the right candidate due to them not fully understanding what the job nuances are and what we are looking for from our candidates. There is a process that needs to be completed prior to outsourcing, as we need to make sure all our needs have been understood by the hiring agents.
Partially outsourced is a hiring process completed partially by the outside agency on our behalf.
- An advantage is the ability to outsource the parts of the hiring process we consider less important for our participation and focus on handling the part that we consider critical, such as interviews.
- A disadvantage is the possibility of watering down the process and not getting what we are looking for due to an unsynchronized and disjointed partnership with the hired recruiting agency.
Whatever we choose to do, we need to remember that all our candidates are humans with personal goals, desires, and aspirations.
We need to keep in mind that rejection is an inevitable result of the hiring process, but it needs to be tailored in a way to empower and motivate candidates for future development and provide constructive feedback inspiring growth and pursuit of future engagements.
This way we might have previously rejected a candidate as our future prime candidate.
Remember, the best advertisement is word of mouth, and we do not want our candidates to be the advocates against our company, as they might actually grow to the status of influence in the industry or the particular market we are engaged with.
We need to maintain a level of respect and integrity that will resonate with all our candidates, including those who did not make the cut, and make them our advocates in enhancing our company's appeal.
Just remember we are all humans, not robots.
