Hiring can be a daunting task, creating a job description that fits just right, posting, recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, and on and on. Once you look at everything needed to bring a new employee on, it seems overwhelming to do it right. Some businesses take shortcuts, hire based on desperation for help, or make mistakes like rejecting an applicant due to them being "overqualified." These mistakes mean you may miss your golden employee. Putting in place a structured process for hiring makes it easier to wade through the daunting process.
First, what do you need the employee for? What job do they need to perform? Is it a reasonable job to take on for the pay rate, and is it competitive? You need to complete a needs analysis to discover what you need the potential employee to do. After finding what you need, the next step is a job analysis to define a position that fills the need you discovered. Your job description needs to have the following to be effective:
Position Description
Title
FLSA Status
Pay rate
Direct Supervisor
General Duties
Essential Duties with position percent breakdown
Minimum Qualifications
Preferred Qualifications
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities needed for the position
Financial Responsibility (if any)
Physical requirements
Compliance requirements
Required education level
This position description not only helps the applicant know what the job is before applying, but it will also help you from beginning to end, so you will need to be as detailed as possible.
After posting your position, you will need to develop interview questions and an interview process. Will they be virtual, in person, or a phone interview? Will there need to be a series of interviews? Who needs to be present during each process? Your questions and method will depend on the position level you are hiring. The best process is a structured process. According to Corvirtus, there are four powerful advantages to structured interviews, "Effectiveness…Consistency…Fairness…[and] Legal protection." (corvirtus, 2021) Structured interviews have a higher level of effectiveness due to them creating a baseline to judge each applicant off on the same metrics being used, creating a level of fairness.
Having consistency in your interviews also creates a more substantial level of legal protection by treating each applicant the same regardless of who they are on a personal level.
Creating your structure is another task after you decide to follow that path. Do you need a hurdle approach? Does the applicant need to show they know what they are talking about in their interview through a demonstration, is a presentation required, or do they need to have a portfolio prepared? Whatever you decide, be sure that it is relevant to the job you are hiring for. Within the scope of duties and pay range, I have seen some entry-level positions require a panel interview, presentation, and demonstration for a job that's compensation was set at minimum wage. Be conscious of your method; you don't want overkill for the process. It wastes not just your time but also the applicant's time and will give the impression that you are not an efficient business damaging your reputation.
Ok, you have the position description, the job is posted, the interview structure was successful, and you found your perfect new employee…now what? You want to avoid the new hire turnover statistic that looms over the overall business. The first 45 days are crucial for all involved.
About 20% of employees leave before they reach the first 45 days. Here are some steps to help you alleviate some of the challenges you are now facing with your new hire:
Have an onboarding process
Paperwork is ready when they arrive on the first day.
Have needed technology/equipment ready for them when they arrive
Have keys ready
Introduce them to the rest of the team
Have the day planned to spend time with each team member (this is a good distraction if you have to wait for their first day to get them access to networks, email, etc.)
You want them to feel welcome and show that you are just as excited for them to be a part of your team as they are to be a part of it. If you want to read more about making the first day the best day check out our other blog post, The First Day: Stressful Chaos or a True Welcome.
Providing practical training and constructive feedback, allowing a learning curve, and encouraging questions will help your new hire feel like they have a fighting chance of performing well. We have all been there; you started a new job, and you know you're good at what you do, and that's why you were hired, but how does your new employer want it done? What are the little nuances that come with this job? Training your new hire will quickly alleviate these stressors and help them perform more effectively and efficiently. We will talk about training methods at a later time.
Make them feel valued. One of the biggest mistakes in today's workforce is treating a new employee as a number. The days of being hired, placing them in a cubicle, and ignoring the person by focusing purely on the output are gone. Employees are now at a higher level of Maslow's pyramid striving for belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. This doesn't necessarily mean you need to inflate any egos continually, but to appreciate the input, even if you disagree with it. If you can build that with your new employee, they will learn faster and begin to give a higher valued level of input. Treating an employee as a valued member of your team will always benefit your business by keeping it a well-oiled working machine.
If you have any questions about any of these steps or need help establishing any of these structures, give us a call at Higher Design, where we can help you today!