Hiring Slow

3 THINGS THE PROS DO

I think we’ve all at one time or another been on the side of the recruiting process where it felt like a hurry up and wait game.  Applying for a job and jumping through the hoops to get it always seems to be a mind-numbingly slow process.  Even in my days as a recruiter, I often became frustrated with the slow process, particularly when I had a candidate that was perfect for a job and I was anxious to hire him or her.

Despite the snails pace of hiring that can become frustrating, I was reminded at the Alabama SHRM conference about the importance of hiring slow, not because you’re taking too long, but because you have the right processes in place to select the best people.  Dawn Hrdlica-Burke with Daxko spoke about employee engagement, and emphasized that at Daxko, they hire slow which leads to more a more engaged workforce.  They take their time making sure they have the right candidate.

At Daxko, they do three things as a part of their slow hiring process:

Give candidates homework that relates to the job

What I like about this:  It is an exercise in: 1) Do they have the skills for the job? 2) Do they have initiative and follow-through (which is necessary for almost every job out there)? and 3) It is gives them a realistic job preview of the work they are going to do, which connects to hiring for fit.  They may perform the homework, and screen themselves out because they don’t like the task assigned.

Conduct a peer-to-peer interviews

What I like about this:  Oftentimes peers can see positive or negative characteristics in a candidate that hiring managers don’t see.  It also assesses ability to work with others, which again, what job doesn’t require these days?

Want to combine both #1 and #2 with one exercise?   You might enjoy reading this earlier post on hiring.

Hire for fit.

What I like about this:  First, hiring for fit implies that you have defined your company culture in ways that connects to competences you are looking for in candidates.   This leads to the expectation that 1)  People will further your company values and culture and 2) They will stay because their values are aligned with company values.   Want more info on this?  You may find this guest post I did for upstartHR post useful.

What’s your best selection tip to lead to an engaged employee?