As the new year approaches, most companies will be ramping up their recruitment campaigns to ensure they start the year off strong with the right people in the right positions. While recruiting can be time-consuming, a thorough and effective process for advertising open positions, vetting applicants, and onboarding employees will set your company on the right path to a strong team. Here are some recruiting resolutions you should consider.
Resolution #1: Post Effective Job Openings
The first step to hiring the right people is to make sure your job description accurately describes the job. Don’t assume applicants will know what the job entails just because it has a common job title like receptionist or maintenance technician. A good job description should include a summary of what the job entails, a list of essential functions and responsibilities, requirements of the job (such as experience, education, or certification/license requirements), and physical requirements.
In your job postings, you should also highlight the benefits offered by your company. This typically includes health, dental, vision, and 401(k) but consider also highlighting other perks such as PTO, flexible scheduling, and anything else that may draw in candidates. Also listing your pay range for the position can attract candidates as well. Knowing up front what the pay may be will help avoid candidates whose expectations are not in line with your company and, depending on your location, it may be a requirement.
Resolution #2: Thoroughly Vet Applicants
Once you have a good selection of applicants to review, now the process of selecting the appropriate ones to move through the interviewing process begins. The first step is reviewing applications and resumes to ensure the applicants meet the requirements of the position. Do they have the appropriate education, experience, certification, or even a combination that would make them a good fit for the job and the company?
Once you have selected your top applicants, you’ll start the interviewing process. Consider the types of interviews you want to conduct as well as who should be involved in the interviewing process. Typically, a phone interview is the first step in order to gauge interest from both you and the applicant followed by an in-person or video interview to dig deeper into the applicant’s qualifications, history, and fit for the position. While the interviewing process may have multiple steps and involve multiple people, you should strive to keep the process efficient so as not to lose out on top candidates that can get swooped up by another company.
For jobs that require certain skills, you may also want to perform applicable assessments to determine if their skillset is at the level required. For instance, an executive assistant would most likely need strong skills in typing and using various Microsoft Office products so testing a candidate’s typing speed and proficiency with Microsoft Excel may help single out the candidate with the best skillset. For welders, having candidates perform a practical welding test can give you a chance to see if their welding techniques and knowledge of different types of welds meet your business needs. Just keep in mind that “working interviews” should be carefully administered so as to not run afoul of the FLSA if the work they are performing could be considered compensable.
Resolution #3: Use an Appropriate Pre-Employment Process
Once you have found the candidate you want to hire, you should provide a written offer letter; keep in mind this is different from an employment agreement, which is considered a legal contract and affects employment-at-will. An offer letter should include the pay rate, job title, if the position is exempt or nonexempt, benefits (if applicable), and an expected start date. If the position includes commission, it is a good idea to also include how commission is calculated and when it is paid.
Once the candidate accepts the position and signs the offer letter, you can conduct any necessary screenings; these should not be conducted prior to making an official offer as a best practice and many states and cities have laws that explicitly prohibit certain screenings before an offer is made. These screenings may include criminal background checks, drug screenings, Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) reports, employment verifications, and education/license verifications. When using these screenings, make sure they are being used appropriately. For instance, an MVR should be conducted for a CDL driver hired to drive regularly for the company but should not be done on a receptionist who is not expected to drive as part of their job duties.
Resolution #4: Onboard New Employees Like a Pro
Once you’ve hired your new employees, set them up for success with a great onboarding experience. Day one is more than just filling out paperwork. Develop an engaging orientation that will get employees excited to start with your company. While you should highlight important policies and complete recommended or required training, such as anti-harassment and industry-specific training, you should also take this time to showcase the great organization they have joined.
After orientation, introduce the new employee to the team they will be working with. Fostering camaraderie from the beginning will go a long way in ensuring you have a well-functioning team. You may also want to consider pairing the new employee with a mentor so they have someone they know they can go to with questions that may arise.
Finally, something as simple as having the employee’s workspace prepared or their email account set up can go a long way in showing that not only are you organized and prepared for them joining the team but that they are part of the team. Nobody wants to stand around on their first, second, or third day waiting for their desk to become available or for their toolset to arrive.
When done correctly, having a strong recruiting process will help build a strong an effective workforce. Even though it can take time, it is worth it in the end and can save you and your company time and money. Need some help? Reach out to your HR Consultant to assist with job descriptions, job offer letters, or questions about hiring best practices and compliance. Need help with background checks, MVRs, employment verifications, and education/certification verifications? Reach out to BackGroundChecks@frankcrum.com. Want to really let go of the stress of recruiting? Reach out to FrankCrum Staffing, where they can assist with direct hire or temp to hire and will handle everything from posting job ads, conducting interviews, administering job-specific assessments, and even completing pre-employment checks.