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Entrepreneurs: a Good Hiring Process

by Miki Saxon

https://www.flickr.com/photos/designandtechnologydepartment/4085338873/

Last Friday I shared my response to a founder who was having difficulties closing desirable candidates and touched on the need for a good hiring process; here is the information needed to create one for you company.

Key points to remember,

  • process is good;
  • bureaucracy is bad;
  • authentic, transparent communications are the basis of good process

While a good hiring process is necessary, it is often one of the first to ossify into bureaucracy.

A good hiring process is

  • transparent and painless for the candidate, and
  • simple, easy to use and painless for the hiring manager.

But why a process? Why take the chance on creating something that so often turns into a bureaucratic nightmare? Why not just grab ‘em when you find ‘em?

Because you need a repeatable procedure that allows for the orderly acquisition of people, so the company can plan for and support its growth and, more importantly, land the candidates you want.

A good hiring process removes chaos and allows speed in staffing.

The best hiring process is flexible and, although based on a set of fixed principles, constantly re-invents itself based on changes in the real world.

Speed is the key.

Without question speed is the most effective, least expensive of all hiring practices.

This means there must be speed at all points of the process—any delays should originate only from the candidate.

Speed is key because people tend to judge what it will be like to work for a company/manager by how they are hired.

If the process is fast, smooth, and enjoyable, they will assume that decisions are made speedily, the company has little bureaucracy, and that working there will be fun—and they are usually right.

And vice versa.

Here are the basics of a good hiring process:

  • The company’s operating plan and budget are the basis of the staffing plan.
  • Know exactly what the job entails, what authority it has, and how it interacts with the team and outside departments, customers, vendors, etc.
  • Based on number two, write a complete req and hire the first person who meets its minimum requirements (see Req or Wreck in the right frame).
  • Be flexible and creative when sourcing.
  • Involve your people.
  • Interviews should be as culturally-relevant as they are work-relevant.
  • Always sell the meat (projects, growth opportunities, chance to contribute and make a difference) as opposed to focusing on dessert (perks, money)

Do’s:

  1. Do create a positive experience for both the hire-ees and hire-ers.
  2. Do use multiple interviewers—they are harder to con
  3. Do have a well-understood set of components including: media spending, recruiter use, relocation, sourcing, resume evaluation, scheduling, interviewing, negotiating, cutting and extending offers, closing candidates, deflecting counter offers, and pre-start actions in your hiring process as well as a flexible way to deal with each.
  4. Do make sure that sourcing and headhunter policies reflect both company needs and the current labor market.

Don’ts:

  1. Don’t “figure out” what you need by interviewing multiple candidates.
  2. Don’t keep interviewing candidates in the hopes of finding one who embodies your entire wish list.
  3. Don’t assume using a headhunter will automatically reduce your time and work.
  4. Don’t have a start and stop hiring process—whether from whimsy or human bottlenecks.
  5. Don’t buy people; those who join only for the money/perks/stock will leave for more money/perks/stock.

When all is said and done, the true purpose of a hiring process is to help the company compete for talent, which, in turn, allows the company to compete for customers.

Image credit: Jordanhill School D&T Dept

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