The Key to Effective Hiring



	Keys to effective hiring Performance based job descriptions Sourcing of Top Talent Consultant briefing versus CV/resume first Impulse Recruiting Pre Planned, Structured Interviews Well developed recruiting skills Consistently hiring Top Talent, people who go on to become super stars in your organisation, is not a matter of good luck, its using a defined set of hiring instruments and methodologies designed to deliver maximum decision making information. Most managers have hired people that did not deliver against expectation and in some cases a typical interview is hardly more accurate then flipping a coin. It’s possible to improve your hiring accuracy dramatically, save time and have a constant stream of market information and be seeing the best talent. Performance based job descriptions Building a job description that’s effective is the most important step in hiring top talent. It should serve to clarify your expectations, the deliverables, what the candidate must do to be successful. The job description should also delineate what the career path looks like and what the candidate would have to do to achieve promotion and in what space of time. This document should serve as an interview guideline, sales tools to attract top candidates, information document for HR and as a blue print to the recruitment consultant who is then properly briefed and can source and screen appropriate Top Talent against an indepth mandate. The research information your receive from your recruiter is also more likely to deliver market information relative to the position you want to fill. We’ve covered this subject in more depth in Build A Power Job Spec Sourcing of Top Talent You can’t hire the best if your not seeing candidates. An approach that combines networking, running ads and using a recruitment/ search organisation is far more effective then only running ads. Working effectively with a reputably recruitment/ search firm who have the facility to cover all of the best sourcing methods, networking, running ads, search and on line search is one of the most effective methods of ensuring a constant supply of the best in the market. As the consultant gets to know you and the candidates who work best for your organisation you should be kept in the know about who’s out there so that you have first choice every time. It is advisable to choose a firm which is a memeber of a recognised recruitment body such as APSO (in South Africa), NAPS in the USA and REC in the UK. This will help to ensure a hight level of service and ethics is maintained. Consultant briefing versus CV/resume first Ask your search consultant/ recruiter, telephonically or in person to describe the candidate, strengths, achievements, past performance, behavior and the reason for choosing this candidate to refer. The consultant has interviewed this candidate and if he/she is good at their job they have gathered a wealth of valuable information. This saves reading through CV’s that often can't describe the aspects that are most important to you. This conversation serves several purposes, you get information on the first interview, you get a professional opinion, you fine tune with the consultant and you set a time to interview all in the space of time it would probably take to read through one CV thoroughly. In this age of e- commerce the CV/resume could be e mailed while you’re on the phone with the consultant. Impulse Recruiting Watch for biases, first impressions, good talker, chemistry. The best person for the position may not be the most communicative in an interview situation, but if you’re looking for a top level programmer would that be an important criteria. It may well be in a sales manager. Be objective and use the job criteria to determine competence. Pre-Planned, Structured Interviews Study the material you have on hand prior to the interview, go through the CV, and make notes on area’s to probe, phone the consultant and gather more information if necessary. Compare the job spec with the information you already have and draw up performance based / behavior based question to elicit the information required to determine if this is the right candidate for the position. For more in-depth information on interviewing go to our section on Power Interviews Well developed recruiting skills Evaluating the full set of candidate information along with market information. Make an informed decision based on facts not emotion. Become good at getting the candidate to earn the position and know that its vital in this market to really sell the position but equally vital not to oversell. • High Impact Hiring : How to Interview...

Keys to effective hiring