Mastering the Art of Hiring

Well-structured hiring and onboarding processes are essential for any company as they help in identifying and retaining the right talent. Mastering them is crucial for building strong teams and ensuring organizational stability. Companies must skillfully implement and manage these processes to achieve long-term success.

The basics of the hiring process

A company’s hiring process involves the owners, managers, and employers communicating and clearly discussing the parameters for job candidates. In order to stop the revolving door of employees, first take an honest look at your hiring process.

You can assess your hiring process by answering these questions:

Who is involved in the process? Who should be involved?
How are the individuals from question one showing up? Are they welcoming or clinical? Are they energetic or laid back?
How do they treat job candidates?

A smooth hiring process requires a coherent job description with clear expectations. It ensures that the employee who lands the job is completely aligned with the company’s culture and values. Too often, businesses miss out on star candidates because they draft descriptions that filter out applicants rather than draw them in.

Every job posting should articulate why the role would be an exceptional opportunity.

Job candidates will avoid responding to announcements that reveal internal disorganization. Establish a hiring process that showcases efficient management, which includes drafting a clear job description that includes the benefits of working with your company.

Human beings thrive on connection

The very best of the talent pool is looking not only to land a great salary at a reputable company but also to join a community. Firms across the globe, like Apple® and Google®, offer compensation to employees who want to earn a master’s degree. These companies also provide in-house meals, team nurturing activities, and more. If your hiring process is doing what it should, candidates come away seeing not just numbers, but also a brighter future.

Remember that potential employee interviews go both ways. They’re reviewing your business and evaluating your culture. Your core values become their most valuable indicator, and the candidate sees them the moment they walk through the door, either physically or virtually. Before you hire your next staff member, make sure everyone on your team is on the same page regarding core values, pay, and the hiring process.

The value of the onboarding process

Finding and hiring a good candidate is only part of achieving success. Then, you need to successfully onboard the new employee.

A successful onboarding process takes time, energy, and clarity. A new employee will not be completely up to speed in a week, and if they think they are, I would double-check their timesheets. Many companies have a ninety-day trial period, but I recommend investing a full year into a new employee’s growth so they can be onboarded properly and understand.

You may not need a year to communicate your company’s culture and ensure that a new hire understands what success looks like in their particular role. Well-crafted onboarding materials paired with short-term goals and regular reviews can help accomplish this. Nonetheless, give yourself a year to ensure they feel comfortable, cared for, and fulfilled. On day one, new talent should meet with their direct manager, and this should continue on a regular basis for their first twelve months and beyond.

Onboarding is not equivalent to just training

I’ve heard from many individuals over the years who believe onboarding is training. Onboarding an employee needs to be more than simply training. Rather, it’s creating a brand-new space for them within your organization. According to Gallup, only 12 percent of employees say their company does a good job at onboarding, and nearly one in five employees either report that their most recent onboarding was poor or that they received no onboarding at all. An effective onboarding experience can make a world of difference regarding accomplishing tasks, getting results, and seeing success.

New staff members crave human connection as well. They want to know where the people around them live if they have families nearby, and so on. Cultural values play a role as well. Remember, you are working with human beings, not human doings. Acting with understanding and compassion creates a better onboarding process as new employees learn what employers value and why. Cultural immersion is a cornerstone of successful onboarding. New hires need to understand the company’s vision, mission, and core values to determine how best they can contribute.

Each boss and employee should have a clear, succinct idea of what success looks like for themselves and each other. This is why performance reviews and meeting KPIs are also critical. Feeling a sense of accomplishment is second only to a sense of belonging in terms of basic human needs.

Well-executed hiring and onboarding strategies are fundamental pillars that contribute to the sustained growth and success of any organization. Investing in these practices not only strengthens a company’s workforce but also enhances its ability to adapt and thrive in a competitive market.

Molly McGrath

Molly McGrath is the Founder of Hiring & Empowering Solutions and the author of Amazon’s #1 Best Seller, “Fix My Boss: The Simple Plan to Cultivate Respect, Risk Courageous Conversations, and Increase the Bottom Line.” With over 20+ years of experience in the legal and CEO space, Molly is a nationally renowned thought leader. Since the late nineties, she has coached, consulted, and guided presidents and founders of national organizations and over 5,000 law firms in executive-level leadership, continuous improvement, and team empowerment initiatives.