The recruitment process is a step-by-step process for finding, recruiting, and hiring new employees. Having a good hiring process will help you attract and retain high-quality employees who are in line with your brand. Although each company’s hiring process is unique, there are general steps that can be followed by every business to attract and hire qualified candidates.
What steps are involved in the hiring process?
Even though the steps in your hiring process should be unique to your company (and sometimes even to the open position you are hiring for), there are 10 basic steps that most hiring processes follow.
Ensure your job description reflects your hiring needs accurately.
You can think of a job description as the first interaction a potential employee has with your company. Ensure that your job descriptions accurately reflect your brand and the position for which you are hiring.
It’s important to be specific about the responsibilities and requirements, as well as use some brand-specific language that gives the applicant a sense of your company’s culture. Let them know what you need from them and what they can expect from you.
Check references and the background of the applicant.
Conducting a pre-employment background check and contacting references are important steps in the hiring process. There are many great background check companies that can help you run legally compliant background checks.
You should not discriminate against candidates based on their background check results; however, a background check is intended to ensure they are legally qualified for the position. An employer may refuse to hire a candidate with multiple traffic violations if the position is for a truck driver, but it does not apply to a marketing position.
Decide whether to hire someone.
Make a final decision about who to hire based on the information you have gathered about job candidates throughout the hiring process. Make an informed decision by consulting all parties who spoke with each candidate. Consider cultural fit and qualifications, but don’t make decisions based on bias or discrimination.
Hire based on experience instead of gut instinct, Curtis told Business News Daily. “Use a structured interview process to verify qualifications. Conduct background checks such as contacting references.”
Make an offer of employment.
Once you know who you are going to hire, extend the job offer as soon as possible. High-quality candidates rarely stay on the market for long. Make sure to include information regarding salary and benefits, and be prepared to negotiate.
Promote the position and recruit candidates.
Following the creation of your job description, the next step is to advertise it and recruit for the open position. You can post it in multiple places, such as your careers page, job boards, job fairs, and social media. You can also encourage your employees to contact their contacts for the job.
According to Zuraida Curtis, editor of XpertHR, companies that want to create a good recruitment strategy should follow the following tips:
- Analysis. Analyze your business needs and goals.
- Determine. Identify your long-term plans for expansion or reduction in staff, critical roles in the company, and any gaps that need to be filled. Keep an eye out for seasonal fluctuations that may affect your staffing needs.
- Decide. Decide which recruitment method works best for your company. You could target candidates with specific skills using social media, for example, because job searches through social media are on the rise.
- Safe. Make sure your company offers competitive salaries and growth opportunities. Citation surveyed employers and found that 13% said salary is the most important factor in employee retention.
- Organize. Identify and implement a method to measure results and determine the effectiveness of your strategy. Set up a training budget to develop and enhance the skills of your employees.
Review resumes, applications, and cover letters.
The process for reviewing applications must be in place as soon as applications start flowing in. Reviewing applications and narrowing down your viable candidates can be handled by one or more persons. Recruiting software, such as an applicant tracking system (ATS), can also be used.
In addition to analyzing candidates, ATS search for flaws in the hiring process. Employers and recruiters can view an applicant’s performance because it filters candidates according to hiring needs. However, the software does simplify relevant keywords in a resume, aligning candidates with your business’s needs and wants.
Obtain an initial screening by phone.
Conduct a phone interview with each top candidate after narrowing down the pool of job applicants. It takes between 15 and 30 minutes for a phone interview. Maintain uniformity when screening calls. Inquire about their skills and experience as well as their interest in the position and company. Interviewing the candidate should give you a sense of who they are and what their soft skills are. Read more about illegal interview questions here.
When conducting phone screenings, look out for negative behaviors, lack of preparedness, lack of curiosity, or a bad fit culturally.
Interview candidates in the final round.
Candidates should narrow down by phone interviews. If you are recruiting remotely, conduct in-person interviews with the remaining candidates. You will be able to select your top candidates during these interviews. Multiple people should participate in these interviews to get a better idea of how well each candidate will fit within the organization and the role.
Employers should ask job applicants to perform applicable assessments.
You may want applicants to take appropriate assessments based on the role they are applying for. As an example, you may ask a candidate to perform an editing exercise if you are hiring for a copyediting role. A company hiring for a sales position might ask the candidate to give a sample sales pitch based on one of the products the company sells.
Onboard and hire the new employee.
How successful your new hire is during the onboarding process can make a big difference in the success of your organization. The first step is to send them the paperwork they will need to sign. Most recruiting software comes with e-signature capabilities, so new employees can accept offers and complete onboarding paperwork remotely.
Complete onboarding programs automate the entire process and provide all the training and materials your new employees need. As a result, the employee will not only be more likely to succeed but also be more likely to remain in the company.
