In previous articles, we’ve discussed what employers can do to keep current employees happy, productive and loyal. But the process should really start even before the employee comes on board — with recruiting that focuses on growth, not just fit.

Ending the cyclic nature of employee turnover helps build a more effective team, reduces recruiting and replacement costs and brings a greater return on your human capital investment. Take a look at your hiring process to see where you could collect the information needed to identify candidates with the best long-term potential within your company.

Testing & Assessments

A job applicant may look good on paper — as far as relevant experience or training goes — but none of that tells you how they will actually perform in your workplace. It’s becoming more common to include soft skills, personality and job simulation testing in the assessment phase for precisely this reason.

Formal testing gives you qualitative data on which to make a decision whether to proceed with a candidate. As well, it gives the candidate a better idea of what the job actually entails; they can self-eliminate from a job that’s a bad fit at an early stage, saving everyone time and money.

Interviews

Statistics can’t reveal the whole picture, though. The live interview is necessary for both you and the candidate to truly evaluate their suitability for your company culture. Formulate questions that provide insights into their attitudes, priorities and goals in work/life.

In addition, you’ll want to learn how they’ll adapt to their job duties and interact with supervisors and colleagues.

Data Analysis

Your company’s historic data is a gold mine of information on how others have succeeded in the role you’re hiring for. Predictive analytics can help weed out those, for example, whose qualifications don’t sufficiently meet the job requirements, have personality traits more likely to conflict with the team’s workflows, or change jobs frequently to achieve career growth.

If your system isn’t already set up to track these metrics — and others specific to your company and industry — there’s no time like the present to begin. Artificial intelligence is probably the biggest HR trend of the century so far, and will soon be a necessity for every organization who wants to stay competitive in the recruiting marketplace.

Communication

Of equal importance with identifying the best candidates is making sure they stay engaged in your hiring process. We believe that communication deserves much more attention than it often gets, considering how often failure to communicate is cited by candidates as their reason for abandoning the process.

An up-to-date applicant tracking system and customized communication apps will automate much of this for an overburdened HR department, while still making the messages seem personal and helping to build a relationship with the candidate.

Flexibility

Among the many things the COVID-19 pandemic taught us was the need to accommodate candidates’ circumstances. That may mean interviewing via Zoom, or after hours if the candidate is currently employed.

It will also affect how you present the company and the offer. You can no longer count on salary and benefits being candidates’ top priorities (though they still need to be competitive). For many of today’s employees, work/life balance, learning opportunities, meaningful work and even the jobsite’s location come first.

High employee engagement and productivity are the result of good recruitment practices. With the right team in place, both the company and its employees can grow together.

To learn more about Integrity’s hiring strategies and technologies for ensuring that the best candidate is matched to their best role, visit  our website ,  email us  or call 1.888.446.1300.

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