How to Create The Ultimate Hiring Roadmap for Your Business

Have you ever spent weeks or even months searching for the perfect candidate to fill a job opening only to learn that the candidate you selected was a dud?

You probably looked through dozens of applications … interviewed some exciting prospects … put together an enticing offer… and dreamed of how productive and successful that new hire would be.

Then… thud. A complete failure.

We believe HR should not only stand for Human Resources but also for Hiring Right.  Experience shows us that business owners make the mistake of hiring for skills and firing for attitude. They hire too quickly and fire too slowly.

So how is a business owner to know what the best process is to hire the right person for the job?

We suggest a four-step process. That's something you can implement yourself without having to spend a whole lot of money on a recruiter. Here are the steps:

1. Prepare 

• As with all things in life, when you want a great outcome preparation is key. The first step is to create a great job ad. This does not mean simply taking the job description and posting it online.  You need to write the ad in the first person, using the word “you” as often as possible. You want them to clearly see themselves in this position. That means you need to include all the great reasons to work for your company, a few key responsibilities, and a little bit about your company and the good things it is doing.

• Make sure your website reflects your culture and your future vision. It’s there to sell to prospects and applicants.

• You should also look at your LinkedIn profile and those profiles of key people in your company to ensure they reflect the culture of your business. Don't forget to review the company page on LinkedIn and if you don't have one, create one.

• There are many software assessments that can help you benchmark the behaviors, driving forces and soft skills which the position requires. While this may require you to spend a little money, it is a one-time expense for a position and in the case of the assessments we use at EffectiveHiring®, it also will provide behavioral interview questions to make sure you are hiring for attitude as well as skills.

2. Use an applicant tracking system (ATS)

• Applicant Tracking Systems have many benefits. Many of them can be used at little or no charge. Things you should look for in an applicant tracking system are:

  • Postings to multiple job sites

  • Linking to your social media sites

  • Connecting to your website

  • Ability to screen within resumes or use automation to narrow the number of candidates

  • The ability to share candidates with hiring managers within your organization

  • Have automation that will automatically send emails when you move candidates from stage to stage

  • Interviewing guides that are customizable for your organization and by position

3. Passive Recruiting

Passive recruiting is finding candidates who are not actively looking for a position. Some of the ways that you can do this include

• Doing LinkedIn searches

• Using talent pool databases from Indeed or ZipRecruiter

• Posting to any groups you belong to talking about what you're looking for

• Actively calling into companies who compete with you or are ancillary such as a window company looking at a siding company for employees

• There are also companies that offer programmatic recruiting which is a great passive candidate option

4. Interview & Assess

• Make sure that your people are trained in interviewing and spend 20% of their time talking and 80% of their time listening to the candidate. The Harvard Business Review has stated that interviews are only a 14% accurate predictor of success. You must become very skilled at not using happy ears when you listen to a candidate but actually look for clues as to why they are not going to be a good fit. When you find them, listen to your gut.

• Use behavioral-type interview questions. You can search online for many examples, and customize them to your position’s requirements.

• Consider using behavioral assessments especially if you are not a good interviewer.  These will help you pinpoint the problems you might see in the future.

• Do hard skill tests. You can create these on your own by giving the candidate a task they should be able to complete within a specified period of time. These might be things like creating an excel spreadsheet, editing a document, or reviewing a part for accuracy of manufacture.

These are the four really important hiring steps you should include in your hiring process. Once hired, don't forget onboarding; new hires need training and to be made to feel like their part of your team.

Want some great onboarding tips? Check out this list of onboarding ideas from real-world employers.