10 Things to Consider Before Hiring an Employee

Hiring can be tough. Often there are a ton of applications, and distinguishing the right candidate from two similar backgrounds of experience is not for the faint of heart. In addition, the wrong candidate can prove to be an expensive mistake in terms of time and money.

On the other hand, a correctly hired employee becomes an invaluable asset. A new member that acclimates well to the environment adds character, morale, and productivity. Below we will go through some tips on how to hire for better results.

1. Know What the Job is Before Hiring

You need to have an up-to-date concept of what the job entails before finding an ideal candidate for it. Things like required duties, responsibilities, and expected outcomes must be laid thoroughly if you hope to find someone that can fulfill them.

It’s also a necessity to check and see if you need a human for the job at all. Things like bookkeeping and keeping track of invoices is something that can now be performed more effectively by a reliable AP Automation software or an inventory software.

2. Plan Recruitment Strategy

Once you have a clear structure for the job to be filled, set up a meeting with the key employees involved in hiring. Along with the hiring manager, select other people you feel are relevant to the hiring decision and come together to decide the recruiting strategy.

If you have a team that has been through this before, a traditional meeting may not be entirely necessary. If you trust that you can have a meeting through messages, a few emails may be all you need.

3. Have a Criteria

Having a formulaic approach in the evaluation process is always a good idea. Create a rubric or checklist for requisites or areas of interest for the job. This way, you can be sure the decisions made are objective and not affected by the rain or how much coffee you had that day. It also helps to keep everyone involved in the hiring process on the same page, and allows transferability of candidate information.

4. Build Talent Pool

To have your best chance at perfection, you want to have a large pool of potential workers lined up. There are many ways of doing this, especially with social media and hiring sites. Places like Monster and LinkedIn are great for building a gallery of potential hires. Even if you don’t have a job opening, it can still be a good idea to maintain some kind of connectivity to people of interest. That way if certain things transpire and a position opens you already know a person to fill it. After all, the less time with an empty position the better, when you consider that whenever a company isn’t firing on all cylinders, it means money lost.

5. Assess Credentials

Remember that a well-written job description sets the trajectory of reviewing applications, resumes, and cover letters. Be sure to screen all applicants against a thought out, logical set of characteristics. The time you take during this part of the process is well spent, and must not be overlooked.

6. Perform Prescreening

Performing an effective prescreen will save you interviewing time. Sometimes candidates may seem compelling on paper, but a prescreen can eliminate any lingering doubts or expose any red flags. This is also a appropriate time to get questions like salary out of the way, and whether the candidate would be an easy fit at the workplace culturally.

7. Ask the Right Questions

The interview itself is the meat of the hiring process, and for good reason. Deciding on good questions to ask will ensure that the interview does what it is intended to and shines light on any crucial details that have yet been unexposed in the hiring process.

The goal with interview questions should be to separate the average from the exceptionally fit candidates. This will ensure the team and culture in the workplace is thriving and healthy. The last thing you want is to ask questions that improperly vet the candidates, allowing unfit workers into the workplace and potentially lower morale and productivity.

8. Think Long Term

Constituting a large part of the population and soon to be a vast majority in the workplace, millennials are a valuable commodity. They hold great potential and are willing to learn new skills. Hiring a millennial is sometimes a better choice for a long-term prospect because an older employee may have accrued a collection of skills that make staying with your company an unlikely chance (depending on the nature of your business).

9. Perform Background/Reference Checks

After you have looked over all the credentials and qualifications of a candidate, generally one of the final steps is to check with references and backgrounds. This part of the process “seals the deal” and provides proof for any questionable past behaviors, or run ins with the law that could mean trouble for your company.

10. Take Your Time

Hiring a new employee isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Some companies prefer to hire within, or only hire people that they know. While there isn’t one right or wrong way to hire an employee, you want to be sure you’re giving all your candidates a fair shot.

Most eligible candidates are willing to train, work hard, and make changes to the way they work. If you end up hiring someone and it doesn’t work out, you can go through the process again and try to identify what went wrong the time before. This is not always preventable. Just ask the best questions and have a plan and you’ll be good to go.