Employees are the foundation of an organization. They drive the company’s successes, and sometimes their failures. Therefore, selecting who will become a part of your organization is very important. The candidate selection process covers everything from the initial resume scan to the interviews, background checks, and ultimately the offer. It also looks at whether the employee can do the job, will do the job, and how well they fit in with your company values, culture, and work environment. Here are some tips on how to ensure you are selecting the right candidates:
Be efficient with your selection process
Finding the right candidates takes time. You will want to establish a thorough selection process so that you are confident you are hiring the best person for the job. Do not be afraid to conduct multiple interviews and ask for alternative information like work samples. Be mindful that the more you do throughout the selection process, the higher the cost; however, take the time to do research on which hiring practices are most effective. It may not be as important for a benefit’s administrator to provide a work sample as it would be for a software engineer.
Make sure your selection procedures are standardized Standardization is the process of making your selection procedures as uniform as possible across all applicants. This is especially important to maintain due to the legal implications that can occur if applicants are handled differently. Perfect standardization will never be achieved, but there are three main areas where consistency can be improved:
Content - Make sure the same information is being assessed across all applicants. This means that the interview questions should be relatively the same (you can find out more about conducting a good interview in this Apex blog post: How to Design an Effective Job Interview).
Administration – You should utilize the same procedures for collecting information from the applicants. Ensure that each candidate gets the same instructions and is given the same amount of time.
Rating - There should be the same interpretation of information across all candidates. Your hiring managers should utilize the same rating key across all applicants.
Communication is key It is important to over communicate with potential applicants throughout the selection process. Here are the main things to focus on:
Quality of Information – You want to have a good quality RJP (Realistic Job Preview) that shares realistic and fair information about the job. If it is not a good fit for a candidate than this information can help them self- select out of the selection process.
Accessibility – Make sure there is a point of contact for applicants to reach out to with any questions they may have throughout the selection process.
Timeliness – Being quick to respond is especially important because in today’s environment it is common for candidates to have multiple job offers.
Closing Thoughts
Overall, the selection process is very important when it comes to building continuous success in a company. Everyone wants the best employees, but to get those people in your offices you must know how to select them. It’s important to create a custom selection process for varied positions to accurately assess applicants.
If you’re interested in improving your selection process, Apex offers a wide array of services. We can help you create a specialized selection process that measures the competencies required for the job, and even provide training to hiring managers so they can design their own selection protocols. Contact us here and we’ll be in touch!