Companies today are experiencing difficulties attracting the better candidates they want to hire. As a result, great employees leave because of their frustration with the employer’s turnover, disruption of services and other issues. These issues can be easily avoided by using first-rate hiring systems and selection practices. The question is, are you doing all the right things to strategically improve your company’s results (regardless of the size and revenues of your company)?
Strategically Fine-Tune Your Systems for Better Hiring Results
Did you know that top talent is 3 to 6 times more productive than your average employee? Experiencing actual results and the positive difference great employees provide will have you wanting to hire more of them! Unfortunately, many companies today are failing to attract and select the right people because they rely on gimmicks, post poorly written job ads and use non-qualified assessments. It’s a costly problem that can be resolved by strategically reviewing how to attract better candidates and retain great employees.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Do You Know Your Numbers? Get real about the company’s numbers! Unfortunately, many companies do not effectively track the cost of turnover, administrative and training time, and the impact on their customers (to name a few of the tangible and intangible costs of bad hires). Believing you’ve done all you can do when your company’s turnover is less than the industry average is foolish. It only hurts your company’s bottom line and its ability to attract better candidates and retain great employees!
Who Are You Really Seeking? Clarity can help you attract and select better candidates. Focus on what you really need now and in the near future. Too often we simply dust off the job description when someone leaves. Take the time (it doesn’t need to be a long, drawn-out process) to brainstorm and uncover what the company really needs. Hire a facilitator and select a couple of top employees to objectively uncover the traits, job responsibilities and other competencies that will make a true difference in growing your business.
Do You Have the Right Online Presence? Take time to review third-party sites for postings about your company from former employees, then, address them. A company’s negative online reputation is often caused by disgruntled employees, bad bosses and non-competitive pay! This can limit the ability to attract better candidates!
Do You Use the Right ATS? Finding the right job candidates, including passive job seekers, requires that you do your homework. Not all automated tracking systems (ATS) are created equal (like anything else in life). Avoid bells and whistles (aka gimmicks), since they can actually inhibit better candidates from applying.
ATS enhancements you want to have:
- Use a fast and easy application process that works on mobile devices … if you lose applicants now, they rarely return.
- Use systems that push job ads to job boards and provide search engine optimization—do not rely on your company’s name and website to draw traffic to you.
- Better candidates want to know more about the company. Include quick and short bullet-point information about the company, very short (1- or 2-minute) product videos and video testimonials from great employees (remember, applicants today have shorter attention spans).
Are You Posting the Right Job Ads? Applicants today are attracted to on-the-job training, rapid advancement and a competitive salary, so include this information in all job ads. Candidates will overlook your company when job ad titles are misleading, boring or jargony—it’s why companies receive too many non-qualified applications. Remember, it’s important to use the company’s name and address, since blind ads do not attract potentially great employees.
Are You Using Qualified Assessments? Getting to know the real person is critical to hiring great employees who fit the job and company culture! While assessments have been around since the beginning of humankind, most are not compliant with the Department of Labor’s 13 requirements for pre-employment and promotion use. Relying on information from non-qualified assessments only shows you how candidates want to be seen NOT who they really are. When you use smoke and mirrors to hire, you cannot expect to hire top talent!
What Do You Talk About in Your Interviews? The purpose of job interviews is to talk about the job requirements, your company’s goals and the candidate’s ability to excel at the job and in your company. The biggest challenge is that many hiring bosses don’t take the time to improve their interviewing skills and rely on biases and inappropriate interview questions before making job offers. As a result, today’s top talent will simply say no to working for these bosses.
Is Your Due Diligence Thorough? Improving your hiring successes requires collecting the right objective data. While collecting public data from background checks is important, relying solely upon it creates avoidable hiring mistakes. Statistically, 75 percent of resumes and applications contain inaccurate information (and you only have about a 15 percent chance of discovering it during the interview). In addition to conducting background checks (these should include every state in which the applicant has worked), include qualified core value assessments (which measure values such as honesty and integrity), education and employment verifications, and employer and professional reference checks to uncover non-public information.
Remember, great employees are out there! Your success in attracting better candidates requires improving your company’s hiring systems and selection practices. Ask and answer the above questions so you can do the right things in a strategic and cost-effective manner.
©Jeannette Seibly, 2017
Does your company need a strategic review of your hiring systems and selection practices? Contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation regarding how to get the best answers to the above questions. With over 35 years of experience in hiring, she can pinpoint and resolve issues to positively impact your bottom line!
Jeannette Seibly is laser sharp at identifying the leverage points that will take a business and its team to the next level of performance and success. She has been a business advisor and executive coach for over 24 years; along the way, she’s guided the creation of three millionaires and million-dollar results for employers across the United States. Also, she is a PXT SelectTM Certified Professional and Authorized Partner. Check out her website, or contact Jeannette for a free confidential conversation.