Employers have a tremendous opportunity during this recession to fill job positions with great employees.  Due to the downsizing of many companies, unemployment is up across the nation which means there are many qualified people looking for work these days.  And with the ongoing recession having no end in sight, this is really an employer’s market rather than a candidate’s market.  This is truly a time to add great talent to your workforce.  Make sure you take advantage of the opportunity as this will only strengthen your company and you’ll be even more prepared for when the business upturn happens.

So let’s briefly review the hiring process in order to identify and hire great employees.

 Four steps:

• 1) Understand the job position and know what you really want to hire
• 2) Take your time
• 3) Interview and ask the right questions
• 4) Getting started with your new employee

Understand the job position and know what your really want to hire:   In the 20 years I have been advising CEOs, company presidents and business owners, I have found that many businesses operate without clearly defined job descriptions.  Every position within your company should have a written, detailed job description.  One of the biggest complaints employees have is being hired to do one job only to find out it’s not at all what they expected or were hired for.  You can prevent this from happening at your company by including the job description as part of the interview process with each candidate.  The job description will clearly define the role and responsibility of each person in your company.  Do not start the job hiring process without having the job description.  This also includes salary range and other compensation package details such as medical benefits.

Take your time:  Never hire when you are desperate.  You’ll usually make the wrong choice.  Which is bad for you, your company and the person you hired – and it’s costly because you’ll have to start the hiring process all over again when that person quits or you have to let them go because “it just didn’t work out”.   In addition, with all the emphasis on cost these days due to the recession, you will want to make certain, as much as you can, that you did select the right person for the job.  The right person in the right job will be productive which will be good for your company’s bottom line.  Set a time table for the hiring process.  Work within those time frames but yet be flexible as the process moves along in order to find and bring this new person on board.

Interview and ask the right questions:  Depending upon the job position level, it may be worthwhile, once resumes are reviewed, to start with phone interviews or phone screenings.  This is a time saver for both you and the candidates.  A phone screening will, within a short period of time, allow you to quickly weed out those who are not suitable for the job.  And when you find a candidate you’re interested in you can immediately go to the next step of inviting the candidate to your business for a face-to-face interview.  Usually two or more face-to-face interviews are necessary in the hiring process before making a job offer to a candidate.  With each interview phase make sure you have a standard set of questions to ask each candidate.  Ask lots of questions – open questions (which require more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer) and questions based on various situations the candidate may come up against if hired.  Don’t paint only a positive picture of the company and the available job.  Tell the not-so-positive too, such as -  ‘everyone in the company is expected to work long hours or company profits haven’t been up to expectation lately or there are challenges within the department you’ll be hired for’.  Be open, honest, candid about the job and the company.  Answer all the candidate’s questions.  When you find the right candidate and you want to make an offer, don’t waste any time.  Regardless of the job market, good candidates don’t stay on the market long.  Your competitor may snatch your ideal candidate.  And then what?  You’ll have to start all over again or go with your second choice.  Don’t cut any corners with reference checks or any other new hire checks or tests the candidate may need to take.  Move the process along as smoothly and as efficiently as possible so that you can hire the candidate of your choice.

Getting started with your new employee:  Once the hiring process is complete, it’s now time to think about the orientation and training process for the new employee.  Many companies want and expect their new employees to “hit the ground running” from day one.  But realistically, every new employee requires an orientation and training period. 

There should be a detailed, outlined initial plan with goals included to keep the new employee on track and enjoying their new job.  Training doesn’t stop with job orientation. Training is on going process.  Make sure you train and motivate employees at all levels throughout the year.

Employees are your company.  Make sure that you are making every effort to have an effective hiring and training program.  The better trained the employee and the more they understand what is expected of them, the more productive they will be.  This will translate into satisfied customers and ultimately, a more profitable bottom line.