Hiring the best employees is the ultimate goal of every small business leader and recruitment manager. However, hiring the right candidate for your staffing franchises is harder than it looks. If you hired the wrong Mr. Or Ms. Right for the position, you would deter your company’s progress and waste money in hiring a replacement. Make sure to avoid these hiring errors so that you can find the perfect match in your next employee search:
1. Posting incomplete job advertisement
Your job advertisement is much like a “for sale” sign. Consumers read the sign and decide to buy the product if it meets their needs or budget. Just like buyers, prospective employees decide to apply if your job post matches their skills, qualities, and expectations. Thus, having a quality job description will help you attract the right applicants who are genuinely interested in the position. It also enables you to set realistic expectations and establish performance benchmarks.
Assess your hiring needs before posting a job advertisement. Consult everyone in the team about the character and skills that the potential hire should possess. Your job description should not only contain a fluffy list of responsibilities. Be honest about what the job entails and what it can offer to successful candidates. Your job post should contain these critical components:
- State job title, salary, schedule, and the possibility of working overtime, holiday, or weekend.
- Define the responsibilities and tasks, as well as the percentage of time that the employee will spend on performing the job duties.
- Specify your expected outcomes of their tasks.
- Communicate the qualifications, including training, work history, abilities, competencies, qualities, and technical skills.
- List particular demands that the job might require, such as prolonged standing, travel, heavy lifting, or exposure to extreme cold or heat.
- Indicate potential for growth, describe the work environment, and enumerate the benefits that the company offers.
2. Over-relying on academic credentials
A four-year college degree is a deal-breaker for some recruiters. They instantly disqualify applicants who do not meet their educational requirements. But papers can not forecast an applicant’s job success and do not reflect his real ability. You will be missing out on an incredible talent if you screen out passionate and talented people simply because they don’t have a college diploma.
3. Using the interview as the final stage of evaluation
Some job hunters are gifted with excellent interview skills, but it doesn’t mean that they are better than the other candidates. Many people are outstanding in creating a great first impression with a firm handshake, confident eye contact, and impressive responses. But remember that an excellent interviewee is not necessarily a good hire.
Discover how applicants respond to real-life situations. Do away with common interview questions because you will get well-rehearsed answers. Their responses in the interview are not credible indicators of their future performance. Give them a quick and unexpected assignment that will validate your impression and support their claims. Know their actual performance by asking them to do exercises that mirror the work that they will be doing in the job.
Even seasoned recruiters make bad hiring decisions. However, avoiding these mistakes will increase your chances of finding the right fit.
