9 Basic Steps for Employers to Choose the Best Employee
Hiring the best people to help you in achieving your goals for your business is crucial. Of course, every employer is after for the applicant that is most-skilled, goal-oriented, and versatile in various tasks and responsibilities that are given. According to statistics, 50 percent of businesses fail after four years of operating. Among the leading reasons why businesses don’t work are incompetence and lack of experience of employees.
There are billions of applicants in the pool. It is very important that an employer is keen and strategic in choosing the best people who will be part of the company. Here are the 9 basic steps in choosing the right employee:
Identify the job vacancies
The first step of the recruitment process is simply identifying the job positions that are vacant. Vacancy happens when there are new functions in the company or simply because an employee vacated the position. Most vacancies are entry-level positions as internal hiring normally happens for senior positions.
Plan for the job recruitment
After identifying all the vacant positions, it’s time to plan the recruitment phase. Basically, you need a human resource management team to do this. This involves the people who will draft the job description or specification; interview the applicants; choose who to hire; and the people who will organize the venue for the recruitment.
Publicize the job hiring
After finalizing everything, it’s time to announce the company’s search for brilliant employees. There are a lot of avenues to publicize the job hiring. The most common is through posting on newspapers’ classified ads. On the other hand, the digital era has paved the way to LinkedIn and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to make it easier to reach applicants. Some companies also connect with schools and organizations to outsource applicants.
Review applications
You will know that your call for new employees is effective when your HR email is full of applications. Basically, applicants will initially send you a resume or a CV, and a cover letter. As HR manager or employer, it is your responsibility to review applications.
According to Glassdoor, a job opening attracts over 250 applications. On the other hand, only 4 to 6 candidates will be interviewed, and one will get the job. With this number of applications, a recruiter can only scan a resume for about 6 seconds, according to TheLadders report. Moreover, 87% of the recruiters will also check the LinkedIn profile of the selected candidates.
Choose the most qualified
After reviewing all the applications, choose the candidates who will go to the interview phase. These selected applicants will initially undergo a phone interview. The phone interview’s purpose is to save the recruiter’s staff and time by eliminating candidates. The most qualified ones will receive a notification, either by phone or e-mail that they will be scheduled for a face-to-face interview.
Check the background
The interview proper is basically performed between the applicant and the HR manager or the chief executive, herself. In this phase, the employer will ask about the candidate’s experiences, strengths and weaknesses, achievements, accomplishments, awards, and basically everything about the applicant’s background.
Make the job offer
After much deliberation and judgment, choose the best candidate that stands out among the rest. Notify the applicant about the decision and see him or her again. This time, make the job offer and discuss the details of salary, benefits, privileges, nature of work, job specifications, and the start date of service, among others.
Notify the unsuccessful candidates
Part of the recruitment process is informing the other candidates about their applications. Notify them politely about the company’s decision. Don’t leave them hanging. It is a bad impression for the company to just ignore the other applicants. In your notification letter, tell them to apply for the company’s other job vacancies or tell them that you will inform them in case the position they applied for is again vacant.
Welcome the new member
The last phase of the recruitment process is apparently welcoming him or her to the company. Basically, the new hire will be brought to the department where he or she will work. The leader or the manager of the department will dedicate time to knowing the new hire. The manager will then introduce the new member to the other employees. The manager shall also brief the new hire about department rules, some facilities, utilities, specific tasks, goals, etc.
The recruitment process is never easy. You do not want to waste time and money for the wrong person. As per the side of the recruiter, you should also be mindful of the proper way of choosing the employee. Here are some of our tips:
Avoid biases and prejudices
Do not bring your biases and prejudices to the table. Physical appearance, color, sexual orientation, or even hair color are never the primary qualifications for choosing an employee. Do not judge immediately. These things do not tell about the applicant’s skills and expertise. As long as they do not violate the company’s standards, they are considered as a candidate.
Probationary period is alright
Some companies are providing a probationary period for their employees before hiring them full-time. Basically, new hires under probationary period are not entitled to benefits and privileges. Probationary period provides you an opportunity to know more about the new member if he or she is really deserving of the work. On the other hand, it is not just to prolong the probationary period for any under-the-table reasons.
Invest in behavioral tests
Some companies are really strict about behavior. As a matter of fact, personality matters. Some companies invest in supplementary behavioral screen procedures. This includes handwriting analysis, skill and aptitude tests, lie detector tests, and psychological testing. This will help greatly in selecting the best job candidates.
This is how the hiring and recruitment process takes place. Again, companies should invest time in looking for the best candidate. Avoid any rush. Remember, your people are vital to the business’ growth and success. It is best to settle for the best!