Hiring Right from the Beginning

Making a good hire starts well before the interview stage.  Understanding the position you are hiring for and clearly communicating the role and requirements in a job posting are essential to hire the right person for the long term. 

A thorough job description should include the duties of the job as well as the technical skills the job requires, such as training or experience with tools, programs or techniques, and the performance skills required, like decision making or customer service.  A position profile is a compliment to a job description in that it further helps to understand why the role is important to the organization and what the measurable objectives or "Key Performance Indicators" (KPIs) are.  This document will be valuable in future performance reviews with the successful candidate.  The hiring manager should understand the corporate culture and the kind of person that will fit well in the organization.  Identifying and accommodating transferable skills over specific experience will attract more candidates. 

The job description then feeds the job posting.  A job posting advertises a position with the intent of attracting job applicants. It contains key parts of the job description, as well as information on the company. It is crucial to be clear that what is advertised matches what is expected for the position. For example, candidates may apply to a part-time position in order to get working, however, if they ultimately need full-time work they will keep looking for another job.  If you think you can accommodate full-time hours, make that clear so that it appeals to the right candidates.  Or if the company needs an administrative assistant and a bookkeeper, but only has enough work for part time of each, and they think combining the role would be most efficient.  These are two very different skills sets and the same person likely will not excel at both roles. You don't want to mislead applicants and you want to appeal to the right applicants, so make your job posting and expectations transparent. 

Next month we will look at the benefits and boundaries of background screening to solidify your hiring process.