Here’s a common scenario for busy managers. A vacancy is posted on the web.  Some promising, skilled candidates apply–you interview, conduct a reference or two, make an offer and you’re done.

The new employee starts, will integrate with the new team, orient to their new role, learn your processes, and all will be well.  You setup their objectives and expect a great fit. Fast forward a few weeks and it’s obvious that the employee isn’t the skilled, motivated and reliable individual you thought you’d hired. This situation negatively impacts you, your team, and the business.

There are many complexities involved to hire top candidates.  Here are tips to start you in the  right direction to recruit skilled employees that integrate with the team and your culture.

• Scrutinize every vacancy   The easiest time to change a role is when it’s vacant. Assess if the required skills and knowledge have or will soon change. Today’s job skillsets are continuously evolving to meet your business’s needs.

Hire for the future; it’s almost here.

• What team are they joining? What are the skillset levels of employees in the team? Do you need a new hire that has advanced skills he/she can share with the team. Or, if the team is well developed, a newer graduate that can be groomed may be the best solution.

Think ‘team’, not just individual.

• What’s on your recruitment plan?  Who’s on this hiring team? How will you screen, interview, assess, and reference to ensure you select the best fit candidate?  Consider who in the organization has views that would be beneficial. With a clear plan you have increased your ability to hire the right candidate.

     Plan for this valuable asset.

Costly and Impactful
Recruiting talented employees is an important decision for managers. It’s a costly, impactful business decision. Only through talented employees can an organization meet and exceed business objectives.  Develop an organizational-wide recruiting strategy that covers processes from A to Z. You have a great organization; keep it that way.

Related to Are your hiring practices working?

• The Ball is in Your Court
• How to Measure the Quality of Hire
• Plantville: Gaming as a Recruiting Tool

The post Are your hiring practices working? appeared first on BC Jobs Blog.

Think back three short years when skilled candidates were scarce. Some businesses closing their doors for lack of employees; wages at Tim Horton’s in Alberta rose close to $20/hour, university students were working all summer, and even if you were fortunate enough to hire skilled employees, retaining them was another matter!  During the past 2 years organizations downsized while focusing to retain their most talented employees.  Today, many of the downsized individuals are still unemployed, and there’s been no uptake in new jobs.  In a short span of time we’ve gone from scarcity to an abundance of available workers. While this is good news for employers, your focus must stay the same – to hire candidates with the right skillset, motivation, attitude and fit with your culture.

Last week I posted two jobs on a job board and received 15 resumes within 20 minutes. These could be candidates applying for everything, and could also include those who are only applying for your type of role, location, or industry. Here’s how to navigate through an abundance of candidates:

• Look to your current top employees to see the skills, knowledge, experiences and attributes you need to replicate in a new hire.  Use that criteria for your hiring compass.
• Telephone potential candidates and ask key questions to determine their motivation, and to assess if they have the core skillset you are seeking.  Apply the same due diligence throughout your interviewing, assessing, and referencing process.

The ball is in the employer’s court right now. Hire the right candidates then focus on integrating, developing, and retaining them. Prepare for your future with an engaged productive workforce who have the skills your business needs; who knows what 2011 will bring. When the market opens up, the employees you’ve hired may want to stay and move your business forward. Tip the scale in your favor.
Related to The Ball is in Your Court:

• Company culture as a recruiting technique
• Is there really a talent shortage?
• Pre-screening job applicants

The post The Ball is in Your Court appeared first on BC Jobs Blog.