Hate Hiring? Remove Barriers With these 5 Easy Tips

Hiring the right talent for your organization is difficult under normal conditions. It may feel impossible during worldwide events like pandemics and economic recessions. Changes in the talent supply and demand create many challenges. One minute there are more applicants than there are jobs. The next, there are more jobs than there are qualified applicants. One survey found that about 2/3rds of companies are struggling to hire the needed talent (see this link). This only adds to your workforce’s burden. Pandemics and recessions aren’t necessarily in your control though. So what can you do?

Thankfully, all is not lost. The basics of your employee selection process are the secret. I have another blog post where I talk about those basics (check it out here). But if you have done those things and are still struggling to find the right talent, I have a 5-item checklist to jump start your employee selection process.

Upon Further Review…

Review the things that are actually required. If you are asking for 5 years of experience and cannot seem to find the talent to match the position, maybe the available talent doesn’t have that level of experience. Could you have a less experienced person take on the role?

Look at required characteristics and level of skill you are asking for as well. Some of those “Required Characteristics” may be changed to “Desired Characteristics”. And you can lower the required level of skill from advanced to proficient or beginner. Here is my suggestion to do that.

Defining the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) required for a job is called a job analysis. It is the foundation of all talent processes. Ask subject matter experts (SMEs) a few key questions:

– Which of your KSAOs are necessary for someone to be successful as a new hire?
– How about success for someone a year into the job?
– Are any characteristics missing or need to be removed from the list?

If you don’t have an existing analysis, use SMEs to create a list of characteristics and definitions. Thoughtfully adjust those requirements so that you don’t end up hiring someone who isn’t a good fit. In fact, your review may find that you don’t have to make any changes at all. It’s good to know that before advertising a job though.

Widening your applicant pool will allow more willing and able people to apply. Here is one resource to help you get started with characteristics and definitions: O*NET.

Be an Attractive Employer

No, not like that. Good recruiting means that you are building a good applicant pool. One part of that is having clear expectations, like I mentioned above. Another piece to that is attracting the people who meet those criteria. That may take some effort to do.

Employees expect organizations to take care of the company and its people. Offer the most generous perks that you can. This includes work family integration, benefits, signing bonuses, diversity initiatives, and development opportunities among others. Then tell people about the things that make your organization great. Also make it easier for applicants to apply to your job postings. If you ensure the best user experience possible at every stage, it will increase the chances that people will complete applications.

Jobs and careers are more than salaries for most people these days. Be a company that people want to be a part of, and the people will come. After all, applicants are trying to put their best foot forward. Shouldn’t the organization do the same?

Measure the Right Things Well

What would happen if you tried to weigh yourself using a food scale? Or tried to measure the dimensions of a large room with a ruler? Or used the corner of a piece of paper to measure angles instead of a protractor?

Having the right tools makes a huge difference in the accuracy and efficiency of measurement. Employee selection is no different. Use the characteristics and definitions you created from your job analysis. Then ask questions that give applicants the chance to show that they have those skills. If possible, find metrics that demonstrate the effectiveness of hiring people with those characteristics (e.g., performance ratings, tenure with the company, team metrics, etc.) so you know how to evaluate new hires once they come on board.

Research repeatedly shows that good measures of applicant characteristics improve things for the applicant and the organization. Make sure this step is a priority!

Create or Tweak Your Communication Plan

As cliché as this is, if you want a well-rounded selection system then you can’t do this one half-heartedly. Know when and how you will add a personal touch to the process. It allows you and applicants to have common expectations for the process. Hopefully, it can allow everyone involved to focus more fully on the evaluation of applicants. Your plan might also involve getting feedback from and listening to applicants so that there are can be a continual feedback process.

With good communication, applicants exit the applicant stage with a more positive view of your organization. And that is always a plus for you.

On the Job Training

You should always have some idea of how people will progress in your organization. So, if you have not done this, then the first step would be to establish those developmental functions (see the job analysis section above).

If you do have training and development protocol established, changes in the skill level of new employees may require some tweaking to your programs. Mentoring, apprenticeship, shadowing, and other on the job training options can make up for hiring people who may have less expertise than you originally planned. And although I highly recommend getting those skills through employee selection first, this might be an option that works for you given rapid changes in talent availability. But only if you’re prepared to do so.

Final Thoughts

Employee selection is easy to get wrong in the best of circumstances. It can feel insurmountable in volatile hiring environments. Despite that, there is still plenty that you can control. Be prepared with updated job analyses and by offering your best to applicants. Have accurate measurement tools and effective communication strategies. Make on-the-job training programs better. Although these steps will not solve every issue, every single one of these suggestions will improve your selection system and is within your control right now.

As always, thanks for reading!

–Brandon
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