subject: Successful Hiring in the Modern Economy [print this page] Successful Hiring in the Modern Economy
As our economy grows ever more complex and competitive, employers, and human resource professionals must adjust their hiring methods to contend with rapid changes in training and skill set requirements. Today's Companies often seek very specialized technical knowledge and previous experience in multiple disciplines. The economic downturn has also added to the volume of applicants for open positions. These dynamic conditions have made it particularly challenging to make the right hire. It is not unusual for those responsible for attracting, hiring and retaining talent to be wearing several "hats" making it difficult to balance their current work load. Like any other business process, recruiting requires a series of steps and actions that will lead to a successful hire.
A successful strategy depends on clear goals, keen evaluation techniques and a well-conceived process. It is important to identify which steps in the process are slowing down or even stopping current hiring decisions. Is it taking an inordinately long time to open, approve and post a new job opening? Are qualified candidates sitting on a hiring manager's desk for review for extended periods? Are slow and cumbersome communications impeding action? Are good candidates being lost to competitors because of poor or ambiguous response to their queries?
Managers need to stay on top of talent and improve methods that recruit, retain, and mobilize human resources. Applicant tracking should be a fundamental part of the process as it will reduce administrative hours spent collecting and categorizing resumes and other pertinent applicant data. Tracking a candidate through the system prevents keeps the ball moving and provides a framework for matching, ranking and pre-screening the most interesting prospects. Document importing and resume parsing reduce the amount of data-entry required to make skills and experience searchable. Many of the preliminary questions and qualifications can be handled online in an automated fashion so that decision-makers can delve deeper into the interview and evaluation phases.
By creating an efficient way to store, review and manage resume data the information becomes a rich resource instead of a chaotic mess. Improving tools for internal communication within the system reduces duplicated efforts and assures legal compliance. Applicants have a digital "paper trail" through every milestone of the process.
Many companies share the responsibility of screening and hiring amongst several stakeholders (HR directors, department heads, hiring managers ,etc.). This makes it even more essential to share applicant information and collect reviews in one shared system. The entire history of an applicant should be instantly available including: status changes, emails, notes, assessments, reviews and questionnaire answers. Improving work flow and access accelerate approvals and filter out weaker candidates faster. Real-time reporting is another key applicant tracking feature that helps all stakeholders understand current trends and emerging hiring issues. This helps company staff make quick adjustments and plan ahead for future company needs.
Like many other business goals, hiring success depends on working smarter and constantly refining the tools and techniques involved as needs change. Companies that can effectively track human capital the with the same rigor and accuracy as their financial capital will be richly rewarded with better operations, higher performance and happier customers.
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