Hiring is one of those essential business items that never seems to get enough attention. But whether a company is brand new or fully established, hiring new staff is key to culture, productivity, and overall success.
Now that the business world has undergone near-complete digital transformation, we’re eager to see how hiring managers and executives are handling the hiring situation. Here are some insights on the subject from business leaders on the front lines now.
Detailed Posts
If you’ve hopped on job board websites lately, you’ll notice that most posts are lacking in many ways. If you want the best applicants, create more comprehensive posts – simple.
“Add more detail to your job postings, because it probably isn’t offering enough information to potential employees,” said Darren Litt, Co-Founder of MarketerHire. “Top talent is highly discerning when applying for jobs, so raise the bar for your own presentation.”
It never hurts to add more detail to your listings, even if you think it’s a bit overboard.
Enjoy the Convo
Conducting an interview can be tense, and the person on the other end is feeling that pressure as well! Keep things focused but also lighthearted and fun.
“Interviews shouldn’t be grueling or difficult for either party if you’re doing them properly,” said Artie Baxter, CEO of Paperclip. “Instead, it should be an enjoyable process that teaches you more about the other person and the direction your company is headed.”
You can conduct an effective interview without being overly serious, so find that balance.
Designate Roles
When your business is starting out, it’s all hands on deck for hiring and building up your team as quickly as possible. Eventually, you can start to delegate tasks and create systems that work better for everyone.
“If your team is big enough, sourcers and recruiters should be separate roles,” said Roy Ferman, CEO of Seek Capital. “This way the sourcer can devote their attention to finding and qualifying the best new candidates. Then, the recruiter can swoop in and shoulder the responsibilities of processing the qualified candidates interested in furthering the hiring process. Appointing two different people to these positions helps clearly delineate the overall recruitment process and will help yield the highest quality leads.”
There’s not a perfect blueprint for HR and hiring, but you can take some tips from best practices and make tweaks as needed.
Segment Schedules
Unless you’re in a major rush to add new people to your staff, slow things down and make the most out of every interaction with your candidates – it’s worth the extra effort.
“Doing only a few interviews instead of a long row of meeting different people and teams saves everyone time and hassle,” said Bari Suzanne, COO of Stabili-Teeth.
The best applicants will not be in a rush either, so proceed at a pace that works for both parties.
Use Referrals
Some see referrals as old-school, but they’re definitely still relevant and effective. Plus, it takes some work off your plate when new candidates are brought right to your door.
“Create a referral system,” said Chris Caouette, Co-Founder of Gorilla Bow. “This will incentivize employees to refer viable candidates to the company in exchange for a bonus or a prize. It can be difficult to truly get to know someone just from an interview when they are obviously putting their best face forward, so referrals are really helpful because they ensure that someone at the company already has first-hand experience with a candidate.”
There’s a lot of flexibility when setting up referral systems, so design one that fits your needs.
Open New Doors
If the conventional channels of hiring aren’t giving you many leads, expand your reach and see what you can find through connections, conventions, programs, or other methods.
“Don’t be too attached to job boards or traditional methods of hiring these days,” said Sunny Mills, Design and Production Director at Yoga Club. “Those avenues can be useful, but there are so many other ways to find great talent in your field. Be open to new possibilities and don’t lock too many doors.”
Casting a wider net is never a bad idea, even if it takes some extra work upfront.
Diverse Backgrounds
Everyone in the business world is discussing the importance of diversity and inclusion, so you don’t want to be the odd one out. Do your part by switching up your hiring methods to be more inclusive.
“With civil unrest and social injustice surrounding us, diversity and inclusion should always be a vital pillar in our recruitment process,” said Benjamin Smith, Founder of Disco. “I believe a solid workforce is only complete with different backgrounds, generations, and varying degrees of experience. This gives our business priceless versatility because as unique as a brand might be, it is quite obvious when there is a rigid set of backgrounds providing perspectives. Working remotely has allowed us to scout to all different types of talent both across the nation and the world which has helped us seek out the qualified and high performing candidates. This unique approach to recruitment spreads our breadth and helps us stand out from the competition.”
Talk is cheap, but actually implementing a plan for inclusion is what matters most.
Personality Match
Clashing personalities can really disrupt a workplace, so avoid those conflicts by taking these key characteristics into account.
“I look for personality more than training, you can train a majority of people, but it is hard to fit personality to a team,” said Olivia Young, Head of Product Design at Conscious Items. “I personally meet with candidates to save everyone’s energy.”
You will know pretty early on if someone has the right personality for the job, so don’t write anyone off just because they aren’t perfect on paper.
Team Oriented
Your business is made up of teams that need to work side-by-side each day, even in a remote environment. Consider team dynamics when hiring and try to assess how someone will fit in with the current crew.
“I always wonder if someone is willing to learn and grow into a true team player, since I’m thinking three steps ahead for my business as a whole,” said Dr. Zachary Okhah, Founder and Chief Surgeon at PH-1 Miami. “It often comes down to intangibles like attitude and willingness to adapt to new things.”
A candidate might not have the ideal skill set at the moment, but if they’re ready to learn and grow, that’s a great sign.
Demonstrating Passion
Have you ever interviewed someone with all the right credentials, but they just seemed to lack that spark of passion for what your company is aiming to accomplish?
“I think organizations focus a lot on hiring people with a certain level of advanced experiences so they can cut the time and cost of training,” said Randi Shinder, CEO of SBLA. “But, I look for people who are earnest and passionate about work. Not everyone has experience in the beauty industry, but their drive to learn about the industry is something that cannot be taught. I want to give people the opportunity to learn and expand their knowledge and expertise.”
In the long run, that passion is going to count for a lot more than credentials, and we all know this to be true.
Raise the Bar
Even if you think you’ve got the perfect applicant ready to jump into the fray, never skip ahead in the process until you’ve gone down the full list of criteria.
“To improve the hiring process, we only take the top talent that we are looking for,” said Guy Bar, Founder and CEO of Hygear. “It saves everyone time and limits the comparison time. If we have an idea of who would be the right fit, we try to make that decision quickly and act instead of thinking about it for longer. Action is key.”
You have high standards for every aspect of your business, and new hires are no exception.
Story Time
Tell a story to your interviewee or ask them to share one with you. Why? It’s fun, it’s interesting, and it will tell you a lot about a person in a short span of time.
“Our hiring is almost completely built around just going through someone’s life story, and we look for moments when they had to make important decisions, and we go deep on those,” said Tobias Lutke, Founder and CEO of Shopify.
You don’t need to learn every single fact about a person to get an idea of their philosophy and capabilities, so ask pointed questions and listen for the stories that matter most.
Filter by Keywords
Today’s job boards are so customizable and can give you exactly what you’re looking for in terms of quality candidates. Use all the tools available to narrow down your picks.
“Picking candidates whose experience that fits your keywords is a huge time saver to the process,” said Jason Wong, Founder and CEO of Doe Lashes. “It keeps the talent high and experience with what you are looking for.”
Switch up keywords and try new things to keep options open and avoid missing diamonds in the rough.
One at a Time
Rather than filling up your schedule with endless interviews and being crunched for time, space things out and take it slowly. This will take the pressure off and yield better results.
“I keep a limited spot for interviews, so we are not overrun with interviewing for days on end,” said Derin Oyekan, Founder and CEO of Reel Paper. “This helps us stay on a timeline to fill the spots we need and saves both parties time and energy.”
Respect your time and the time of others – that’s just good policy.
Offer Value
We’re often so preoccupied with what an applicant can bring to the table that we forget about the other side of the equation. Top talent will be analyzing you and your company as well, so bring some value to them as well.
“Focusing on what your company can do for potential employees is more likely to attract candidates who will better fit your company’s needs,” said Patrick Crane, CEO of Love Sew.
Hiring is a two-way street, so consider both sides at all times.
Improve the Process
Sometimes you just know when an interview missed the mark, but it’s not always the fault of the person being interviewed. Maybe look in the mirror to see what you can do better.
“We’ve all endured bad interviews, whether it’s due to awkward conversation, lack of direction, or just poor organization,” said Sean O’Brien, CMO of Modloft. “Identify the weak points in your interview process and aim to fix them ASAP.”
What can you do right now to make your interview process more effective and efficient?
Character Matters
There’s no foolproof way to gauge someone’s character, especially in a virtual interview setting. However, this is a key aspect to the interview process, and will have a major impact on your company over time.
“In determining the right people, the good-to-great companies placed greater weight on character attributes than on specific educational background, practical skills, specialized knowledge, or work experience,” said Author and Consultant Jim Collins.
The perfect candidate might not exist, but at least find someone who will gel with your team and make work life more enjoyable for everyone.
Sets of Three
Every hiring manager has a unique approach for the pacing and structure of interviews. Try a few different methods and see what works best for your teams and the applicants in the funnel.
“One great way to improve the hiring process is to have a set of 3 interviews,” said Kiran Gollakota, Co-Founder of Waltham Clinic. One over the phone with the hiring manager, one virtual over a video conference with the team lead, and one more with the team they may be a part of. This covers a majority of bases, and it saves everyone a lot of time and energy. It is also important to move quickly with a decision and to not leave people hanging.”
A professional and efficient interview process is so key, so don’t overlook the big picture.
Tech Focused
Now that nearly everything in business happens in a virtual setting, you want new applicants to be ready for the tech-centric environment you’ve built up.
“Being somewhat tech savvy is a prerequisite for employees nowadays, and it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in,” said Michael Scott Cohen, CEO of Harper and Scott. “Make sure applicants have some degree of tech literacy and are willing to learn if they don’t.”
Digital transformation will only advance from here, so make sure new hires are ready for what’s to come next.
Best Impressions
Every email you send, every voice message you leave – these are all small clues that share a bit more about your company and how things work within your ranks. Be aware of this during the interview process, because these small details don’t go unnoticed.
“Your hiring process is the first impression you have on new employees and a good indicator of how your business appears to the world in general,” said Aidan Cole, Co-Founder of TatBrow. “Be professional, streamline everything, and put your best foot forward every time.”
It’s not rocket science, but hiring comes with its own set of challenges for companies at any stage and at every size. Follow some of these useful tips to make the process stress-free and more beneficial for your company and the people you bring on board.
