How a Better Hiring Process Can Help You Retain Top Talent
With the current unemployment rate at a record low of 4.1%, employers are at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting and keeping top talent. Now that job seekers have the upper hand, companies are offering higher salaries and beefed up benefits in a bid to win new talent.
Unfortunately, not all companies can afford to compete on salary, which means they’re being forced to seek new solutions on how to retain employees. The good news is that while it’s logical more pay and other incentives can go far in attracting qualified talent, these expenses don’t always guarantee longevity.
If you want to recruit good people and keep them, the answer may lie in your hiring process.
The Hiring Process Goes Beyond Paperwork
Making a strong first impression can be the difference between a successful new hire and one that’s doomed to fail.
Studies show that 20% of a company’s turnover happens within the first 45 days. To put this another way, out of the next five people you hire, one of them is almost guaranteed to quit after a little more than a month.
When this happens in your organization, how much does it cost you? After recruiting fees, training and onboarding, background and reference checks, drug screening, and other associated expenses, you’re likely a few thousand dollars in the hole. This doesn’t include any productivity loss associated with having a vacant position or other intangible expenses.
Because of the expensive reality of turnover, the hiring process can no longer be viewed as the series of events leading up to the first day. If you drop the ball early (and many companies do), you can expect to find yourself in the same predicament you were in before you filled that vacancy.
Bottom line: Your organization will only be as successful as the people running it. That’s why it’s crucial you not only make strides in securing the best talent, but also knowing what it takes to keep them on your team.
How to Make Your Hiring Process a Competitive Advantage
Your hiring process has more to do with your candidate’s success than you might think. First impressions speak volumes about a company and may tell a candidate all they need to know to determine if they’re making a good career decision.
Studies show that employees who have a strong onboarding experience are 69% more likely to remain at the same company for at least three years. Here’s how you can ensure each candidate receives the best initial experience:
Integrate the Hiring Process Into Your Culture
Everything from how you handle the phone interview to the last day of onboarding and every step in between is shaping an employee’s perception of your company.
When developing or tweaking your hiring process, your company culture should be top of mind. This is your chance to show your candidates what your company is about and what makes you a great place to work. By letting your company’s personality show from the start, your candidates are better able to assess if they’ll be a good fit for you, which can save you time and trouble in the long run.
Get Your Existing Employees On Board
While HR may be primarily responsible for handling new hires, it’s everyone’s responsibility to help retain new hires once they start work. Set clear expectations with your existing employees on how to welcome newcomers. Make sure your team understands the importance of providing a good experience for new hires and how they can become involved.
In addition, you should prepare your current staff when you plan on bringing in a new face. Give them a heads up that someone else will be joining the group. Remind them how they can help make the new person’s transition easy and productive.
Anytime there’s a dynamic shift in the workplace, such as gaining a new team member, employees may experience additional stress or fear, both of which can kill productivity and spread to others.
Set Benchmarks for New Employees
Your hiring process isn’t finished once your candidate shows up for their first day. The first 90 days are critical in helping your new hires feel comfortable and competent in their new position.
Help them get started by setting goals throughout their onboarding period. 60% of companies admit they don’t set any specific goals during this time. Giving them something to work toward can help them feel more like part of the team, while also giving you a chance to recognize them in front of the team for their early contributions.
Communicate Frequently
To give them the best start, check in with them frequently during their onboarding phase. Ask them specific questions, such as how they’re feeling, if the job is meeting their expectations, or what could make their experience better. Listen to their answers, and use this information to make improvements to your hiring and onboarding process.
This gives you the best chance at sweetening any sour experiences that could have resulted in a turnover case.
Connect Them with Leaders
Help your new employees feel like part of the team by introducing them to your leadership. Whether spending an hour with your company’s leaders or connecting with them over lunch, speaking one-on-one with leaders can help your new employees feel like valued team members.
The Driving Success Behind Atlas Staffing’s Hiring Process
At Atlas Staffing, we’ve integrated the above practices into our own 12-step topgrading process to ensure your new hires will become long-time employees. Here’s how we find the best people who want to be challenged and grow:
#1 – Post the Job and Source Talent
We craft an in-depth job posting that details information about the company, what the job requires, and the characteristics that make up the ideal candidate. We post the job within our own network and those of our trusted partners to give every posting the best possible candidate pool.
#2 – Review the Resume and Conduct an Initial “Paper” Screen
Applicant information is reviewed as it is submitted. We pair each candidate against our quality checklist that looks for inconsistencies, professionalism, and eligibility standards. This stage serves as the first preliminary round, and not every candidate will advance in the process.
#3 – Perform a 30-minute Phone Screen Interview
Candidates who meet the initial screening will be contacted for a phone interview. Each phone interview lasts for no longer than 30 minutes. Our questions are designed to learn if a candidate is looking for a job or wants to invest in a career.
#4 – Proceed with a Deep Dive Interview
Our deep dive interview focuses more heavily on each candidate’s skills, personalities, and attributes. We ask questions to find out what they’re like as an employee, how previous supervisors view them, what they’re looking for in a career, and what they can bring to the company. If they talk poorly about past companies, job hop, or aren’t certain about their career, we’ll know about it after conducting this interview.
#5 – Follow Up with a Video Interview
Video interviews can be uncomfortable, which is why we’ve integrated them into our hiring process. We want to see how well candidates handle something that’s outside their comfort zone. In this interview, the words in their responses are just as important as their body language and how they answer each question.
#6 – Schedule Coffee with the Manager
A meeting over coffee is conducive to conversation. It provides a relaxed setting that helps candidates open up so that managers can get to know them.
#7 – Share Findings with the Team
At this point in the process, all notes and data collected during each stage is shared with the team. Team members evaluate each candidate and decide which ones will move on to the group interview.
#8 – Conduct a Group Interview
The group interview is another opportunity to take candidates outside of their comfort zone, but this time there are more eyes and ears involved. Not only will you see how well they interview in a group setting, but they’ll have to answer questions about their personal core values. Here, we’re looking for content in their answers and how well they handle being challenged on their responses.
#9 – Host a Two-Hour Office Job Shadow
A job shadow offers a glimpse into how well a candidate fits with your team and culture and how they might perform on the job. Are they checking their phone every ten minutes? Are they asking authentic questions about what they’re experiencing? Do they communicate well with the team? In other words, how bad do they really want this job?
#10 – Check References
Our reference-checking process offers a look into each candidate’s initiative. Each candidate is responsible for scheduling their references to call us, and then follow up to ensure we received the calls. Our process isn’t just a handover of information that puts the responsibility on someone else. They must take control of their own references and prove they’re personally invested in the process.
#11 – Meet with the President
This final gut-check moment will reaffirm that you’re hiring the right candidate. A meeting with the President will ensure the candidate aligns with what you’re doing as a business.
#12 – Make the Offer
This in-depth process gives you the best chance of making an offer to the right candidate.
You will self-select candidates at each step of the process, but in the end you are more likely to be left with the hard workers, the fighters, and those that are personally invested in their own career success.
How Atlas Staffing Can Help You Hone Your Hiring Process
As a professional staffing and employment agency, Atlas Staffing has access to some of the best talent in the country. But more importantly, we’ve built our foundation on helping you become a place people want to work.
Our professional talent search services help you put your best foot forward when hiring new candidates. We ensure every candidate gets a clear, consistent experience at each stage of the hiring process. As a result, your company is able to display a polished, professional image that will get your candidates excited to be part of your team.
Contact Atlas Staffing today to learn how we can help you transform your hiring process into your competitive advantage.
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