Be vigilant and ensure that your team grows with the growth of your company.
Hiring is essential for the growth of a company, but at the same time, it is one of the biggest obstacles to the speed with which a company intends to grow. Ever wondered what can be the major pitfalls scaling companies need to take note of in the hiring process? How can you hire the right people without compromising the path of success of a growing company? Well, you need not worry for we’ve got you covered!
Here are the 8 most important points to consider while hiring
1. Centralise the hiring decision and go with the majority:
Interviewers fearing to hire a better person are sure to defeat the purpose of hiring altogether. In reality, the teams should actually try to hire people who are better than themselves. Thus, it becomes crucial to eradicating any possibility of prejudice. Centralising the hiring decision by giving the power of hiring to the hiring manager helps.
By centralising the hiring, the decisions will not be pushed down the ladder where people are risk evaders, are less experienced, and less confident to take major decisions impacting the company. Though the teams will still be a part of the recruitment process, they will have their definite role in the structured hiring loop.
2. Have an organised yet flexible recruitment process:
Having an organised recruitment structure keeps everyone’s expectations intact. A typical recruitment process consists of a pre-interview, interview and post-interview loop.
The flexibility of the team is vital for successful recruitment. Imagine a candidate coming all the way from Maine to Boston for the first interview. So, should you expect this candidate to come again for another interview as your recruitment structure requires two separate interview rounds? Well, the answer is a big NO!
According to the 2018 Yello Recruiting Study, “60% of respondents said the application and interviewing process are the deciding factors behind accepting a job.”
This is where Flexibility plays a major role. Flexibility refers to fast-tracking and completing the interview process in one day so that you do not end up losing good candidates in the name of the recruitment procedure.
3. Make sure that the process is quick:
Having a speedy hiring process is another important tip to hire the right team members. As per the 2018 Yellow Recruiting Study, “Almost 50% of applicants have multiple offers to consider.” This clearly indicates that you may lose candidates if you do not speed up the process and take more time to decide. Centralising hiring decisions reduces this problem to a great extent. Since the hiring decisions need to be backed up by anyone, they can be made more quickly.
Speeding the hiring process also signifies that the offer letter is rolled up as soon as the candidate is finalized. While some hiring managers might find it a bit premature and might not be very much comfortable with this idea, this tip can provide the company an edge over its competitors. Moreover, you can always cancel the offer, if necessary, or mention the clause that the offer is subject to successful background and reference check.
4. Empower for exceptions:
No matter what policy a company has in place, with respect to hiring, there has to be a room for certain exceptions. We strongly advocate that every hiring should have the power to make the following two exceptions to the standard hiring process.
a. C-suite:
The process might take a bit longer but still should be carried out with speed.
b. Ability to make an on the spot offer:
Job transitions are often both logical and emotional decisions. If the hiring manager is able to find a candidate who is upset at where he is and excited about where he can be, that is the right time to release the offer.
5. Accept the fact that a bad hire is inevitable:
Involving more than one teams in hiring results in searching for perfection. The prospect of a bad hire tempts the teams to introduce multiple checks, people and steps into the process. As a result, the recruitment process will slow down and give your competitors the perfect opportunity to grab the candidate.
According to a study by Leadership IQ, “46% of newly-hired employees will fail within 18 months, while only 19% will achieve unequivocal success.”
Thus, the companies must accept the fact that a bad hire is inevitable. So, instead of compromising the recruitment process in fear of a bad hire, companies must have processes in place to resolve such issues at the earliest, as and when they occur.
6. Beware of these three red flags exhibited by every bad hire:
Watch out for these three red flags during an interview. Though these might not show in the interview, but if they do, they surely are signs of a bad hire and should be taken seriously:
- Is the candidate solely motivated with money?
- Do they seem arrogant?
- Do they sound negative, unprofessional, or just difficult to work with in general?
7. Hire someone who can work towards the success of the customers:
The purpose of a company is to bring success to its customers. Thus, make sure that every person you hire is capable of achieving this goal. Keeping customers as the utmost priority should be a regular process and should not be constrained to everyday operations only. Hire the candidates who seem to be capable enough of serving the customer in the best possible manner.
8. Keep the search going:
Many companies ignore the process of hiring and don’t hire new talent because of either the budget issues or prioritizing other tasks. This probably is the biggest mistake such companies can ever make. Hiring is as important as running the business. A company should always try to bring in new people, new talent to continue running on the part of growth and success. It’s vital to keep searching and building teams – the success is sure to follow!
