How to Streamline Your Hiring Process in 6 Steps

Hiring new staff is an exciting step for managers and business owners. In most cases, bringing on new employees signals that your business is growing or at the very least, maintaining its stamina. Plus, welcoming a new member to your team is a great way to reset, collect unique ideas, and form new and improved dynamics. But in addition to the benefits of hiring, it can also be a point of stress for many managers. For one, the process of finding a new hire can take a long time and it doesn’t always turn out the way you’d hope it would. Sometimes you end up with a hire that has less experience than you thought and other times you end up with an employee who’s downright unreliable.

If your hiring typically looks like the latter, you may need to rethink your process and find ways to streamline and improve it. In this article, we’ll discuss 6 steps in which to set your hiring process up for success!

1. Find a job posting site that makes sense for you

Once you get the hiring go-ahead from your executives, your next step in the hiring process is to post an open role on the appropriate channels. For most businesses nowadays, using online posting sites is the primary, if not only, avenue for listing job openings. But finding the job posting platform that works with your process isn’t always so easy.

If you’re on a tight budget, you might opt for free posting sites, but you might limit your candidates this way. And if you choose a paid subscription service, you could blow your hiring and training budgets. Before you commit to one or another, compare job posting sites to determine which features are most important to you and which is most likely to draw in quality candidates.

2. Write a clear, informative job description

Your job description is likely the first impression your candidates have of your organization, so it’s important to make sure you invest the time to create one that’s well-written, informative, and reflective of your company culture.

In addition to making the job and your organization sound appealing, a transparent job description can help ensure that there are little to no surprises down the road. For example, if you list out the role and responsibilities, the new hire won’t be blindsided or disappointed that the job isn’t what they thought it would be.

Here are some things experts say you should include on a job description:

  • Roles & responsibilities
  • Overview of qualifications
  • Information about company culture & benefits
  • Instructions to apply

In addition to these, you might need to include legal disclaimers on your document, so be sure to work with your HR representative to ensure you’re abiding by hiring laws.

3. Screen applicants beforehand

As we mentioned before, the hiring process can take a long time to complete, especially if you’re looking to hire someone that’s a good long-term fit. What does a drawn out hiring process mean for your business? More time spent interviewing employees and reviewing resumes means less productivity and efficiency.

Before you get your entire team involved in the interview process, take the time to do a quick screening of your prospective candidates first. You can conduct a preliminary screening over the phone or via video conference. If you find that the applicant has the right skills and seems like a good fit, invite them for an on-site interview.

4. Keep an inventory of previous candidates

To cut down on reading through resumes or recruiting new talent, look to past applicants that you liked but couldn’t hire initially. A quick phone call or email asking if they’re still looking for a job opportunity can help you save time and reduce the risk of interviewing candidates that aren’t suited for the available position.

5. Refine your interview strategy

Whether you’re the interviewer or the interviewee, job interviews are awkward and sometimes they’re not as insightful as you might have hoped. Before you step into an interview, set a meeting with your team to come up with a list of your top priorities and qualities that you’re looking for. Do you want someone with years of experience, or would you rather hire a candidate that you can mold and train along the way?

Once you have these things in mind, come up with a list of questions that will help you evaluate how the candidate aligns with what you’re looking for. Then, delegate these questions to different people on the interview panel.

6. Save bad hire headaches with background checks

Finding trustworthy, reliable employees isn’t always easy and hiring people who aren’t right for the job can be financially risky. Background checks are one tool you can use to increase your odds of hiring a quality applicant. How long does it take for a background check? It depends how thorough the check is, so it could take a few minutes or a few weeks, but it is likely to save you time and turnover in the long run.

Final notes

Use these tips to streamline your hiring process and get your business growing!