Today, Australia’s hiring boom has led to a surplus of skilled employees in the job market, making it essential to hire the best candidates for your business. However, selecting the right employee can be challenging and has a significant impact on the success of your business. A positive employee who grows with the business can drive it forward, while a negative employee can damage office morale. To help you find the right fit for your company, we have put together seven key tips for hiring the right employee.
1) Conduct a more casual interview
The normal interview setting is usually the office. The candidate is dressed up nicely, there is a quiet office with a table between you, a jug of water, freshly printed resumes. Consider taking the candidate out of a normal interview setting to see how they interact in different environments. Depending on the role or which round of interviews it is, you could try mixing it up.Depending as well on your work environment, it might be even worth it to do a walking job interview and have some contextual questions ready for different parts of the workplace.
Pay attention – does the candidate ask good questions about the workplace? Do they take an interest in the environment around them? How do they treat the people they meet?
2) Set specific job expectations for all roles
It’s important to have a clear job definition for each position. Clear intentions for the role will attract high-quality candidates, and it will be easier to discard applications that don’t match your criteria. A clear job definition also helps to understand the roles of your company and identify any gaps in staffing roles.
3) Consider Internal Aspects
It’s essential to look internally for suitable candidates. You may have an existing employee who knows the job, the company culture, and shares your values. You have a chance to expand a current employee’s skill set, help them find more value in their work, or build a career. Yes, you might have to hire for the position just left vacant, but you have someone to do the handover and onboarding already.
This approach can save recruitment costs and inspire long-term loyalty from your team.
4) Provide a challenging task to evaluate their problem-solving skills
Offering candidates a problem to solve is a great way to assess their critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, and how well these skills align with the demands of the job. The test need not be conducted in a live setting, but it can quickly reveal whether a candidate is suitable for the position. It’s important to strike a balance between being creative and challenging, as you don’t want the problem to be too easy or too difficult to solve. The problem can be incorporated into the job application process and discussed during the interview, providing an opportunity for feedback.
Evaluating how well a candidate accepts and incorporates feedback is another valuable way to gauge whether they are the right fit for the job.
5) Get to know the candidate on a personal level
While it may seem unexpected, asking personal questions can be a great way to get to know candidates on a deeper level. By inquiring about their passions, motivations, and personal achievements, you may uncover a side of them that wouldn’t come out through standard interview questions. Look for the enthusiasm in their eyes when they talk about something they love. Personal questions can provide valuable insights and help you see beyond rehearsed responses.
6) Arrange a team introduction for the candidate
Inviting candidates to meet with key members of your team can reveal a lot about their social skills and personality. Observe how they interact with your team, do they show respect or condescend to others? Can they communicate effectively with team members?
In addition, allowing your team to ask questions of the candidate can provide a number of benefits. It gives your team members a sense of involvement in the hiring process and they may come up with questions you hadn’t considered. If the candidate will be working closely with your team, it’s fair for them to ask questions as well.
It’s important to review and approve the questions before they are asked to ensure they are appropriate and aligned with the goals of the hiring process.
7) Verify their references
Take the time to check references. While it may be highly unlikely to get anything negative, you still have a chance to ask questions to these people to find out more about the pending candidate. You may find gaps in stories or job history that could be a red flag.
The recruitment process can be daunting, and selecting the right employee is crucial for the growth and success of your business. Want to know more about this please reach out to Tom Hitchcock, tom@purplepatchconsulting.com.