Whether you have a startup or an established business, hiring new employees should be well-thought-out. There’s no excuse why you should not be able to formulate a plan on how to execute your hiring and recruitment process properly. But how do you hire new employees?
Below are some important things you need to know when hiring new employees:
Set a Clear Job Description
In any business, compliance with employment laws should be strictly implemented. Aside from being aware of employee inductions, you also need to set clear job descriptions to avoid facing legalities in the long run. By doing so, you’re able to set the right expectations even before a job applicant is hired, and it eliminates doubts, gaps, and hesitation from new hires.
A job description must contain the duties, tasks, responsibilities, and functions of a job position you’re trying to fill in your company. Make sure that the job description aligns with your vision and mission. Also, it should bear information about the type of work to be performed, how it should be completed, and the purpose and duration of work.
Here are the uses of a job description:
- It is used to determine salary levels.
- It is a great basis for performance review.
- The job description establishes pay grades and titles.
- Job descriptions help establish legal requirements.
- It’s very useful in training and career planning.
- It’s a great tool to measure if employees are able to meet job expectations.
Use a Checklist Keeps Track of Your Efforts
A hiring checklist contains all the activities you’ll perform whenever you find a need to open a new position or fill a vacant one. By using a checklist, you can keep track of all of your recruiting efforts. Also, it allows you to communicate the progress to your recruitment team. You’ll have a single basis for hiring and recruitment, eliminating guesswork, impulsive decision-making, or subjective recruiting.
Here’s a good example of a hiring checklist:
- Determine the immediate need for a replacement or filling in a new position. Meet your recruitment team and develop requirements, as well as a job description (including pay range), for the vacant position.
- Post the job vacancy in your bulletin board for internal recruitment. Make sure to also send emails to all of your employees to notify them about the open position to increase the likelihood of getting the best match within your company.
- If you can’t find a suitable internal candidate, you can start hiring externally by posting the job vacancy on various online channels, like your website, professional association websites, and social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. Attract a diverse pool of applicants by placing offline ads too, like newspaper ads, attending career fairs, and partnering with university career centers.
- Acknowledge receipt of a job application via email and start screening resumes. Create a shortlist after you have reviewed all applications. Conduct a phone screening by asking the candidates if they are good with your pay offer, and schedule qualified applicants who agreed with the offer.
- Interview the applicants and make sure to fill out an evaluation form for each candidate. Schedule another interview as required to explain the job description or roles of the position. Take advantage of a career test to analyse the personality traits of the candidates. You can also conduct additional testing as needed, like computer skills and technical expertise in handling special tasks by utilizing IT skills tests.
- Meet your HR team and reach a final decision regarding who among the screened candidates is the best to fill in the vacant position. Be sure that before you hire a new employee who passes a personality test for employment, the candidate is willing to undergo a background check, drug test, and sign a confidentiality agreement or non-compete agreement depending on the position. Negotiation is necessary if the applicant refuses. Whether the applicant accepts or refuses the offer, the candidate should be asked to sign an acceptance or refusal job offer form for your future reference.
- In the event they accept your offer, welcome the new employee to your company and schedule a start date. If you’re not able to hire one at this point, review the pool of screened applicants and assess the next qualified applicant.
Be Aware of Employment Laws
It’s important to be aware of employment laws, which can affect your hiring and recruitment process. Compliance with the law will avoid future issues between you and your new employees. Consult an experienced employment lawyer and your HR manager to keep yourself abreast with the changes in employment laws in your area.
Conclusion
Before hiring an employee, you should create a clear job description first, as well as a checklist that serves as a basis for your hiring and recruitment process. Make sure that your human resources team is aware of employment laws to avoid getting into trouble later on.
