Hiring the Right Employee: Strategies to Hire Top Talent

Hiring employees with the right combination of skills, mindset, and experience is crucial to your company’s bottom line. A study by the Society for Human Resources Management found a poor hire can cost up to five times that person’s annual salary. A mis-hire impacts productivity goals, as well as the morale of existing employees. This holds true whether you are seeking direct hires, or seasonal and temporary workers.

 

Hiring well is a constant challenge. Candidates with stellar resumés may turn out to be a poor cultural fit, or might not have the depth of experience required for the role. Alternatively, businesses may automatically pass over valuable candidates due to resumé gaps that are explainable. Read on to learn best practices for avoiding common hiring pitfalls and attracting employees who match your company’s needs.

 

Understand the Position

The skills required of a construction project manager differ from those required of a worksite welder. And valuable work experience for a line chef is distinct from that of a customer-facing food server. This may seem self-evident, but take time to identify all of the skills needed for the role. Study your top performing employees to better understand what qualities lead to success in the position. You may find it’s technical training and certification, real-world experience, or interpersonal skills. Finally, the required skill set should be known to everyone involved in the hiring process to minimize the risk of costly mis-hires.

 

Mindset Matters

In both high- and low-skill positions, workers will inevitably face challenges from ramp-ups in production or new training requirements, as well as from coworkers, managers, and customers. You want employees with the maturity to handle difficult situations, to ask for help when needed, and to take learning opportunities seriously, whatever their age. A thorough interview process should provide insights into prospective employees’ outlook on past work experiences, on their interpersonal skills, how they handle criticism and problems on the job, and whether they adapt well to change. If you are hiring for a retail position, ask prospective hires if they’ve dealt with irate customers and how they managed the situation. If it’s a manufacturing job, ask whether they were trained to use new equipment and how they dealt with technical issues.  

 

Establish an Onboarding Process

Create a clear onboarding process if your organization doesn’t already have one. Many companies lose quality employees in their first weeks because job expectations are unclear, and new hires don’t feel welcome or supported in their role. Make sure employees understand the parameters of the job and know whom to turn to with questions. They should also receive the proper tools and training needed to do the job well from the start. Then check back with these employees to see how they are adjusting, thank them for their work, and give them constructive feedback, if needed. Whether your employees are full-time or temporary, they will be more committed to their work if they sense they are valued.

 

Manage Your Company’s Employer Brand

Your employer brand is the value your company offers to employees, as opposed to the value they offer you. And it goes beyond competitive pay. Your employer brand is influenced by health benefits, flexible schedules, opportunities for advancement and training, workplace culture, and even how your organization gives back to the community. You want people to have positive feelings when they consider the prospect of working for your company. Prospective employees today do their research—gathering information from your company website and social media sites, such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn. Review your company’s website and social media home pages to make sure they are appealing, and monitor sites such as Glassdoor for negative reviews.

 

Every job candidate and employee, whether temporary or permanent, becomes a brand ambassador for your company. They will share stories with family and friends about their job experiences from the interview to onboarding through to the end of a temporary position. Being clear about the position from the start, creating a positive experience even for candidates you don’t hire, and supporting those you do hire throughout their tenure, will all contribute to building a strong workforce that helps your business thrive.