April Fools! Your New Hire Stinks!

Your company has recently made a new hire. Unfortunately, the person is not working out. He may be falling short of performance standards, or maybe he is having difficulty adjusting to the new environment and people.

This is obviously a situation you want to avoid. Bad hires are costly in time and lost productivity, as well as money. What can you do to prevent this from happening? Here are a few ideas.

Standardize the hiring process.

Begin by looking at your hiring process to make sure it is effective, efficient and consistent. Hiring managers all need to work from the same template for the hiring process. It needs to have a framework that is understood by everyone and used the same way for each job candidate.

It all begins with the mission and goals of the company. Leadership needs to decide exactly what kind of people they are looking for: People who will fit with the culture and help the company achieve its goals. What qualities does the company value? Is it creativity, or more analytical thinking? In addition to standardizing the format, develop a basic framework for ranking candidates, so they all are evaluated using the same criteria and the same scale.

Be clear about what you want.

Even before beginning the hiring process, be clear about exactly what skills, experience and behaviors you are looking for. They need to be spelled out so everyone agrees on them.

Moreover, communication is very important. Everyone involved in the hiring process needs to be on the same page so the company can sort out the best candidates more quickly.

The time frame is also very important. You don’t want the process to take too long because you could lose good candidates. On the other hand, don’t subvert the hiring process by doing quick interviews.

Review and reevaluate.

To make sure the hiring process remains effective, you need to constantly evaluate it. To do that you need to collect information – you cannot manage what you cannot measure. Gather information about all of the positions you post. How many people have applied for each position, and how long did it take to fill each position? What are the trends, and how does it compare to the industry average?

How long did each part of the hiring process take? What is your retention rate? How have the people hired performed in their jobs? All of this information will help you assess the process and spot areas that need improvement.

If your company is looking for qualified, reliable insurance professionals, contact Insurance Relief™ today. We are one of the best in the business, winning a Best in Staffing award for our accomplishments. At Insurance Relief™, we thoroughly evaluate each person so you get only the best. Give us a call today.