How to Hire Winners in 4 Easy Steps
August 3rd, 2010Ever hired a candidate, only to find out later that the person was not the star performer you thought they were? As an experienced Northwest recruiting and staffing firm, we hear this from clients all too often. A candidate looked great on paper, sounded even better during an interview, and turned out to be a major under-performer.
The good news is that there are steps you can take to help you hire the winners – and turn away the losers. Here are the top four:
Step #1: Get referrals.
Your best employees probably hang around with other high achievers. Therefore, asking them for referrals is a great way to source candidates.
Step #2: Test candidates.
Pre-employment testing can help you uncover the true skills of a candidate, and better predict on-the-job performance. There are a variety of tests you can give candidates, including behavior tests, abilities tests, and character tests. Whichever test you decide on, be sure to conduct a benchmark study first. Give the test to some of your top-performing employees as a way to find out how they perform. This way, you can compare candidates’ scores to the scores of your star employees.
Step #3: Use your best employees as your guide.
Take a look at the backgrounds of your best employees. What do they have in common in terms of work experience or education? For instance, do your star performers all have excellent customer service skills? Do they all hold MBAs? Do they all have a track record of overcoming challenges? Once you’ve found the commonalities, look for those same traits and experiences in candidates.
Step #4: Offer candidates a realistic job preview.
Turnover of new hires can occur quickly when they are unpleasantly surprised by an aspect of their job. Therefore, it’s important to offer a realistic job preview. These are meant to provide candidates with information on both positive – and negative – aspects of the job.
If you need help hiring winners for your company, contact Provisional. As a leading Northwest recruiting and staffing firm, we can help you source, screen, test, and hire star talent for your company.
