The Process of Hiring
“For every one position we have open we interview 25 candidates”
That was a statement the owner of a company made as I sat across from him during a meeting.
I then ask, “what is the process you use to find the right one from the 25?”
Here is his response:
We only advertise our open positions through our website, no listing on job sites, LinkedIn or other social media.
The process starts from our website and we give ’specific’ instructions on how to apply, including a note that a specific word has to be used in the reply. If someone inquires without out using the ‘word’ they will not be considered. The reason, we are looking for detail oriented people who can follow direction.
If they make it past the inquiry then I (company owner/president) will call them. The goal for this initial call is to see how 'their story’ aligns with ‘our story.’ The majority of this call is asking questions and allowing the candidate to talk.
Making it to step four means the candidate is being considered and the company wants to know better their understanding of our industry and our understanding of their skills. We do this by giving them an assignment. (Note: this company’s focus is computer programing.)
Step five is with the senior management team where the candidate presents the completed assignment from step four. (Note: there is very little details giving by the company on how to complete the project. The senior management is looking for the candidate’s knowledge, creativity and communication skills.)
Getting past step five leads to the candidate having a phone conversation with two other members of the company. These are separate conversations and the current employee is seeking to understand the candidate's knowledge of skills needed but more important how they might fit culturally. (Note: if the current employee does not feel the candidate would fit, the person is no longer considered a candidate and the process stops.)
If the candidate gets past these six steps the company will then present a job offer. A unique process was presented for offering the job as both the president and one of his VPs stated the offer is communicated through a presentation to the candidate, laying out expectations, compensation and benefits.
It was great to hear the company is so intentional in establishing and carrying out a hiring process.
I have seen companies excel at creating repeatable systems to take care of the business: finance, purchasing, sales, but never see the importance of doing the same for interviewing and hiring.
Recently I read this statement in Monday Morning Leadership by David Cottrell.
“The most important asset in your company is having the RIGHT PEOPLE on your team. If you have the right people on your team you have a great chance to be successful.”
“The greatest liability in your company could be having the WRONG PEOPLE on your team. In fact, there is nothing any competitor can do to hurt your team as much as having the wrong person on the team.”
In other words, HIRE TOUGH. Ask tough questions, make it thorough and set in place a process that can be repeated by all areas of your company. The success of your business depends on it.
