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How to generate enthusiasm for your hiring process
Designing a unique and effective hiring process may seem challenging, but the hard part actually begins after implementation. There are several principles to garner support from managers for your new system, and each one will lead you a step closer to a better reception and usage.
August 15, 2016 by Jennifer Yugo, Ph.D. — Principal Consultant, Engaging Business Communications
It takes months to design a hiring process that effectively pinpoints new team members that will enhance your brand and act as a coherent unit. A month after launching the new system there's a glaring problem: managers are not using the new tools.
Garnering enthusiastic support for your hiring process and not mandated compliance is difficult. It means managers are confident the system is supporting their success. There are a few ways you can increase excitement and willingness to use your hiring process – whether it's a mix of structured interviews, in-person tests, applications, and/or online assessments.
Involve managers and team members in the development process. To build an effective solution, you'll need to gather performance and metrics information from unit managers and team members. This may involve group or individual interviews, surveys, or on-the job observations (sometimes called job analysis) by members of your team or your chosen vendor. Including more people in the development process can help later on.
Actively seek feedback. Ask top performing managers to join an advisory group or board to give their input on how your hiring system is working. If you're using online assessments, questions may be asked about how results are reported and what they mean. Managers can point out confusing interview questions or report common performance concerns with new hires that could be better addressed by the assessments.
Consider ways you can give managers some autonomy, or control, of the hiring process. Let's say you have a guide of structured interview questions. Questions may be broken out by key areas of performance, sometimes called competencies. Research shows that giving people some flexibility or control over the questions asked can increase adherence to the system. Imagine you are a manager who is constantly frustrated with team members arriving late to work or calling in, but guide has only one question about dependability. By providing several questions for each area of performance, and encouraging managers to follow-up with their own probing questions, you can both improve the quality of the interview and likelihood that managers will use the tools you created.
If you use hiring assessments, give your managers several ways they can leverage those results in the interview process. This could include a list of probing questions to explore strengths and opportunities or suggestions for supporting the team member's success based on their results. For example: "If the candidate scored lower on Teamwork, coach them on ways they can make a significant contribution to the team in their first few days."
Share results.Training on the new hiring process should include evidence and reasons to use the new system. Provide proof showing the new system will save time, reduce turnover and increase performance. If your new system is unique to your enterprise, share the evidence you have supporting its success. What performance outcomes do you expect from candidates who excel opposed to those who do not? Communicate data and results from any validation or development research that was conducted to build the system. If your system is already underway, gather empirical and anecdotal evidence of its results. This type of data might include reductions in turnover in units that always hire by the system, increases in performance and sales and enthusiastic reports from managers who have saved time and improved their guest and team member experiences through using the tools.
In building or evaluating a hiring system, many objectives must be balanced. These include manager confidence and use of the tools, the candidate experience and most importantly a drive for meaningful results. Your hiring process can be one of the most influential tools you have for growth and financial success, but only if it is confidently used by managers.
About Jennifer Yugo, Ph.D.
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