Three-Step Guide to Win The War For The Best Talent
17 November, 2023
Make Hiring An Enjoyable & Lasting Experience - The Best Talent Will Follow
Before we get into the three-step process, the key thing to remember when hiring is to make the experience enjoyable and lasting for everyone involved. Most areas of the job market contain more roles than qualified talent so the experience is a key factor for anyone considering a new company or role.
Gone are the days where the hiring company grills any prospective candidates to see who ‘cracks’ and who can ‘withstand the pressure’. An interview is a two-way experience for both the hiring company and the candidate to evaluate if the role is right for them. Let the candidate into the company’s culture, its personality and the characters of the people they will be working with.
Create an engaging and inclusive hiring experience and word will spread, but create a poor hiring experience or a hostile environment and the word will spread even faster… just not in the way you would want.
Step 1: Define Clear Job Requirements and Criteria
The foundation of any successful hiring process lies in clearly defining the requirements of the position and the criteria for selecting the right candidate. Without a well-defined job description, your hiring team may waste time reviewing applications from candidates who don’t possess the necessary skills or qualifications. Tale a look at our ‘Crafting Job Adverts That Attract Candidates‘ article for more details and tips.
We know it’s not always possible but in most cases, a clear guide on the salary associated with the position should be highlighted. Remember that talent is in high demand so if someone isn’t able to gain an understanding of what they would be remunerated for, they’ll likely apply for another role that provides that key information. A job or career change is one of the biggest decisions that anyone will make – would you purchase a car or house without knowing the cost?
Key Actions:
Collaborate with Hiring Managers: Work closely with hiring managers to understand the specific needs of the team and the skills required for success in the role. This collaboration ensures that everyone is on the same page regarding the position’s responsibilities and expectations. Once finalised, gain approval and sign-off from the key stakeholders before publishing to ensure complete alignment.
Craft Detailed Job Descriptions: Develop comprehensive job descriptions that outline the key responsibilities, qualifications, and skills needed for the role. Be specific about the experience and education requirements, as well as any additional qualities that would contribute to success in the position. In Tech Recruitment specifically, make sure you include specific technology stacks that your company works with and what level of experience you would be looking for. Include the remuneration details such as base salary, bonus, shares etc but also include any additional perks you offer such as remote working, cycle to work scheme’s, gym memberships, pension contributions and health insurance, these all play a role in securing your perfect candidate.
Create a Scorecard: Develop a scorecard or evaluation matrix that outlines the criteria for assessing candidates. This tool helps hiring teams objectively evaluate candidates against predetermined standards, facilitating a more consistent and fair selection process. Sometimes it is difficult to decide between candidates and this method allows for an unbias, structured way of highlighting different strengths and weaknesses of suitable candidates.
Step 2: Implement an Efficient Screening Process
Once you have a clear understanding of the job requirements, it’s time to streamline the candidate screening process. An efficient screening process not only saves time but also ensures that only the most qualified candidates move forward in the hiring pipeline. But remember, make it enjoyable and a lasting experience, even for those candidates who weren’t quite right on this occasion.
Key Actions:
Utilise Technology: Leverage applicant tracking systems (ATS) and other relevant technology to automate the initial stages of the screening process. These tools can help filter applications based on predefined criteria, allowing hiring managers and recruiters to focus on the most promising candidates. Automated whilst also personalised rejections, additional information requests, interview confirmations and much more can be achieved with the correct technologies in place. Effective technologies and speedy response times also demonstrates your company is utilising modern technology and is forward-thinking.
Conduct Pre-screening Interviews: Possibly the key part of any interview process – the Pre-screening. Before anything else, you need to be comfortable that the person you are interviewing is going to be someone you and the team can work with. Typically this can be achieved through video calls or phone interviews rather than a face to face, to assess basic qualifications, communication skills, and cultural fit. This step helps identify candidates who align with the company’s values and are likely to succeed in the role.
Collaborate with Hiring Teams: Involve key team members in the screening process to gain diverse perspectives and ensure that the selected candidates meet the needs of the entire team. Collaboration also fosters a sense of shared responsibility for the hiring decision. Don’t overwhelm candidates with a panel of 10 people on the initial contact but make sure the key people that are able to determine the initial screening requirements are present. The process should be streamlined so if a key internal member isn’t able to make the screening, ask the candidate to rearrange for when everyone is available. The candidate will appreciate that more than attending two identical interviews – it also prevents leaving a sense of inefficiency with the candidate.
Step 3: Prioritise a Positive Candidate Experience
We mentioned this at the start and the end for a good reason… it’s the most important part! A positive candidate experience is crucial for attracting top talent and maintaining a strong employer brand. Candidates who have a positive experience during the hiring process are more likely to accept job offers and become long-term employees. A positive experience should also benefit from WOM (Word of Mouth) with friends, family, and co-workers, and eventually generate ongoing demand to work at your company building a long-term talent pipeline (check out our article on ‘It’s Time to Expand Your Talent Pool: Here’s Why‘).
Key Actions:
Communicate Clearly and Timely: Keep candidates informed about the status of their application at each stage of the process. Clear and timely communication demonstrates respect for the candidate’s time and interest in the position.
Streamline the Interview Process: Minimise delays by coordinating interviews efficiently. Schedule interviews in advance, provide all necessary information, and collect feedback promptly. A streamlined interview process helps prevent top candidates from losing interest due to a prolonged hiring timeline. This is the single highest loss of good talent we see. Companies that do not clearly communicate or take too long to feedback to candidates are the ones that lose the best talent. Candidates commit time and effort to interview because it is important to them. Providing them with clear timelines and tangible feedback should be a prerequisite for any company interviewing.
Gather and Implement Feedback: After the hiring process, collect feedback from both the hiring team and candidates. Use this feedback to identify areas for improvement in your hiring process continually. Continuous improvement ensures that your business remains agile and responsive to the evolving needs of the workforce.
That’s it… it really is as simple as that. The process itself isn’t and shouldn’t be overly complicated, it’s how you implement these key steps and measure your company against them that is important.
With over 15 years experience, Talented Recruitment Group partner with new and existing businesses to help them define, refine and execute their hiring process. If you would like to learn more about our hiring process planning, please get in touch.
Tags :
Share :
2 Responses