When hiring, pacing is key. Hire too quickly, and you risk under-analyzing candidates or forgetting to ask key questions, ultimately resulting in bad hires who leave after a few months or who are a poor fit with your organization. Hire too slowly, and you risk losing top candidates to job offers with competing companies.
With so much at stake, how can hiring managers find a balance? The key is preparation.
While it’s important not to make a reckless hiring decision, it’s equally important not to dwell so long on the details of hiring that top candidates fall out of your pool of options. By preparing for a search that locates quality candidates, you can move the process along expediently while still ensuring you find a candidate who offers a good fit for your organization’s needs and culture.
To strike the right balance between speed and deliberation in your company’s hiring process, consider the following tips:
- Define your company’s needs. The more clear you are on the job requirements, the easier it is for you and your staffing partner to find candidates who fit. Some questions to consider when defining your needs include:
- What skills and experience are required to fill the open position successfully?
- What tasks does the position require, and how should they be carried out?
- What personal traits – like communication skills, internal motivation, or a focus on detail – should the ideal candidate have?
- What will the job offer in terms of compensation?
- Set a deadline. An open-ended hiring process has the potential to drag on indefinitely – and many do. Eliminate this risk by setting a target date for hiring, then working backwards to schedule interviews, phone screenings, resume review, and other tasks.
- Use pre-screening. Initial phone interviews help you efficiently filter out unsuitable candidates and focus on suitable ones, providing valuable information while reducing the overall time for hiring. For some positions, screening tests may also be appropriate.
- Prepare thoroughly for interviews. Make sure hiring managers who conduct interviews know how to interview effectively and have the time and information they need to prepare. Review each candidate’s materials before the interview and note key questions to ask the candidate.
At Marquee Staffing, our skilled staffing professionals can help you find top talent in a timely fashion. To learn more, contact us today!