Hiring the right person for critical positions in an organisation is no easy feat. Recruitment teams face numerous challenges, from sifting through a mountain of resumes to vetting candidates’ backgrounds, in their quest for top talent. With the consequences of making poor hiring decisions leading to decreased productivity, lowered morale, and increased turnover costs, the hiring team must get the right people on board.
Is your business ready to hire new employees? What pre-employment screening strategies does your recruitment team currently use? Can you still make your process better? Let’s take a look at some of the best practices that can help you achieve hiring success:
Define Job Requirements Clearly
To eliminate random applicants, your recruitment team must start with a clearly defined job description or candidate profile. This should effectively narrow their search efforts and attract candidates who best fit the role. For instance, if your company is looking to hire a marketing manager, you might specify that the ideal candidate should have experience in integrated marketing communication and should have strong leadership skills and a creative mindset. With a clear direction and framework, your job description not only helps in attracting relevant candidates but also ensures that the hiring process is focused and efficient.
Also make sure to make full use of the resources available at your disposal. If you’re hiring from Singapore, for example, the GoBusiness platform might be particularly helpful. It’s a comprehensive online platform that connects business owners to various Government e-services and resources. Aside from giving entrepreneurs access to the GoBusiness licensing portal, GoBusiness also provides valuable information about the ins and outs of hiring local and foreign applicants, plus links to allied resources that can help businesses discover and assess candidates.
Screen Resumes Efficiently
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Depending on the industry, companies may end up with hundreds of resumes for a single position. To be fair to applicants and reduce the workload on the recruitment team, an efficient screening process needs to be established. Doing so saves time and resources while ensuring the hiring process remains focused and productive. What’s more, your hiring team can maintain momentum and prevent valuable candidates from slipping through the cracks.
Recruiters can efficiently screen resumes using various techniques and technologies. For starters, automated applicant tracking systems (ATS) can sift through resumes using predefined criteria, such as keywords or qualifications, to identify the most relevant candidates. A customer service role, for instance, should include relevant experience, communication skills, and proficiency in handling customer inquiries on their criteria. With the ATS doing most of the hard work, your recruiters can focus on the filtered resumes of the most qualified candidates.
Vet the Applicants Thoroughly
Conducting thorough background checks and reference checks is crucial for verifying candidates' credentials and ensuring they are a suitable fit for the role and the organisation. These checks offer insights into candidates’ work history, performance, and character. They help your recruiters make informed hiring decisions and reduce potential risks.
Your hiring team can efficiently check the character and past work history of an applicant by adopting a systematic approach. This may involve contacting previous employers to verify employment dates, job responsibilities, and performance feedback. Additionally, recruiters can reach out to professional references, such as former supervisors or colleagues. They can provide valuable insights into a candidate's work ethic, communication skills, and interpersonal abilities.
While your recruiters may call the given contact number to ask a few questions, a less intrusive way to vet an applicant is by emailing their character references and asking them to answer a brief questionnaire about the applicant. Through proper vetting, recruiters can ensure they are selecting candidates who align with the company's values and contribute positively to its success.
Use the Right Assessment Methods
Various assessment techniques, such as skills tests and behavioural assessments, offer valuable insights into candidates' capabilities and compatibility with the job and organisational culture.
Skills tests, such as coding challenges and article writing, allow recruiters to assess candidates' proficiency in specific areas relevant to the job. Meanwhile, behavioural assessments, such as personality tests or situational judgment tests, provide insights into candidates' work styles, communication preferences, and problem-solving approaches.
Your hiring team needs to select assessment methods that relate to the job requirements. For example, if an e-commerce company is hiring a product lister, they can ask the applicants to write product descriptions that incorporate search engine optimisation best practices. Having the applicants undergo these assessments will give recruiters more insight into the candidate’s potential for success in the role.
Conduct Video Interviews Online
Virtual online interviews offer several advantages over traditional in-person meetings, especially for accommodating overseas and remote work applicants. It saves time by eliminating travel requirements and providing flexibility in terms of scheduling.
To conduct a productive interview, your recruiters should prepare a structured format with relevant questions. During the interview, they should maintain a professional yet friendly demeanour and be mindful of time constraints. If the interview turns out to be longer than expected, the interviewer should ask the candidate if they are amenable to an extended interview.
While video interviews assess candidates' communication skills, professionalism, and adaptability to remote work, they also allow recruiters to evaluate candidates' comfort with technology, an essential part of remote work.
By implementing these suggested hiring strategies, your business can effectively select the ideal candidates, leading to streamlined processes, considerable time savings, and cost reductions in recruitment. With a clear direction guiding your hiring endeavors, your company is poised to make impactful and cost-effective hiring decisions.
