Evaluations on websites like Glassdoor.com don’t lie: a company’s hiring process may actually be much more onerous than they think. While hiring from within may not be the right fit for a company, and not managing performance appropriately and keeping below-par employees is a very common mistake in hiring, the entire hiring process is often overlooked. This can affect the company from top to bottom.
Every hiring process needs to have the same three steps as any other program: planning, implementation, and evaluation. Hiring is not different from any other program, whether it is initiated in the marketing department, product development department, or any other segment of the company. It requires a series of actions to achieve the desired end result.
The hiring process is one of the most crucial components of any company, as people are the foundation for a successful company. Evaluating the process helps companies figure out how well it is working and identify when and if mistakes are made when bringing on board new employees. Here are the steps required:
- Survey new hires. New hires, like customers who have just purchased goods online, have the process fresh in their memories. They can provide the best review of the company’s hiring process, from the initial application to the interview, decision-making, and orientation processes. This information can be used with anything found online to see how the company’s processes compare with others.
- View the process from the outside. The second step in evaluating the process is for the company to designate someone to pose as a job seeker. That person will search for a job on the company’s website and on a job search engine, like Indeed, and apply for the job. Things to note include how the autoresponder looks, as well as what it says; and how long it takes to hear back from the company to find out if the job seeker has an interview.
- Use the lessons learned for improvement. After reviewing survey results and the experience of the designated job seeker, companies need to use that information to improve their hiring processes. The weaknesses found there can be shored up to attract better talent to the company.
Hiring processes also are not static. Companies need to view them as living processes, continually surveying their new hires and testing the process from the outside to see if any weaknesses develop that could cost the company the best talent available. If an otherwise good fit for the company would be frustrated by the hiring process, it needs to be revised to keep up with changes in the hiring climate.
By regularly evaluating and refining processes, companies will be able to attract top-quality employees, which will in turn reduce turnover and increase profits.
