Employees are the most valuable asset of any business.
Hiring is one of the most important growth strategies a business can undertake. It is one of the most difficult and costly, if done wrong. Factors that you might find that could make good hiring difficult include inadequate time reviewing company needs, inaccurate job profiles/descriptions and assessing a shrinking pool of talent.
Costs such as recruitment fees and money spent on training are easily measurable; however the price of a bad hire to your organisation also includes those costs that are more difficult to quantify such as the impact on staff morale and turnover, productivity, reputation and delivery of client solutions.
When candidates are scarce, employers can be tempted to make hasty hires. While fast is sometimes necessary, if it leads to poor hiring decisions it can be very costly. If you have ever made a bad hire you may have not estimated the full financial impact of getting that recruitment wrong. When was the last time you reflected on your recruitment process and practices to ensure you made more good hires?
Here are some common hiring mistakes and how to help rectify them.
Identifying your needs and defining the role:
Common mistakes:
- Inadequate time spent reviewing company needs
- Writing inaccurate job profiles
- Focussing on competencies instead of potential
Take action:
- Align the candidate’s profile to the business objectives and vision – are they a good fit culturally?
- Clearly define the required skills and personal qualities when writing your job descriptions
Attracting candidate applications using internal and external methods:
Common mistakes:
- Accessing only a small pool of talent
- Using biased or inaccurate language in the job description
- Having a limited budget
Take action:
- Promote a flexible and inclusive workforce
- Use a range of platforms to advertise your vacancies
- Be diversity-conscious
The selection process:
Common mistakes:
- Filling the position too quickly
- Failure to verify skills and references
- Improper interviewing skills
- Unconscious biases
Take action:
- Determine your selection criteria and take your time over the hiring decision
- Improve your vetting process
- Successfully gauge a candidates’ abilities
- Implement soft skills assessment tools, ensuring your interviewers have proper skills to conduct competency-based interviews
- Provide training to recruiters to tackle discriminatory practices
Making the appointment and beyond:
Common mistakes:
- Insufficient training and integration of provided to new recruits
- Failure to motivate and respond to an individual’s career aspirations
Take action:
- Properly induct new recruits, explain their job requirements and the team dynamics – make sure that your onboard programme ensures that the staff member knows what is expected from them and is supported to be able to perform in the role to the best of their abilities
- Provide regular feedback and give your new recruit opportunity to voice any concerns or suggestions they may have – this is important at every level
- Offer training and career development opportunities
Hiring the best person for every job is crucial to the success of a business.
If you are currently looking to recruit across Bucks, Berks, Herts and beyond, Better Prospects can help. It’s easy to register your vacancies with us and we pride ourselves in building close, long term relationships with our clients to help you get the hiring process right every time.
Staff build businesses.
