A Recruiter’s Guide to Finding Your Next Great Hire

CEOs agree: finding the right talent remains one of their biggest challenges. See, a bad hire is costly. There’s the loss of dollars put toward recruitment and training, as well as revenue from having an open position. Surveys by The Predictive Index, XpertHR and Gartner, Inc. each present this challenge in different ways — illustrating the impact the current lack of available skilled talent has on CEOs’ sleep and overall risk a poorly staffed team can pose to a company’s bottom line.

It’s time to get smart about your investment. Lean on recruiting and staffing firms that have their finger on the pulse of the regional talent pool and know which professionals are ready to make a career move. Or, take the time to flesh out the role and type of candidate you envision being the perfect fit. Director of Client Services Jordan Wood shares the best early practices employers and hiring managers should follow to find that next great hire.

1. Appraise the position.

When Wood first starts working with a company, there are key questions he needs answered. The first: why is the position open? This not only gives Wood a better understanding of how to fill it, but is an opportunity for the employer to reflect on the role, as well. If this is a reactive situation and you’re replacing an employee, why did they leave? It’s also a chance for the hiring manager to consider the type of professional they see in the role. Do you want someone with a similar skill set to the previous worker or are you seeking something different? “It’s important to understand how they’re approaching this next hire,” he says. “It opens up a lot of avenues of where to go next.”

2. Establish a process.

Pinning down the hiring process is helpful to both the company and a third-party firm. Employers should know the number of interviews, people conducting the interviews and overall timeline. Temporary and permanent positions tend to dictate the speediness of the process, but should coincide with the ideal start date for either the type of roles.

3. Go beyond the job description.

Detailing the responsibilities of the role, requirements, type of position and salary are all concrete points that should be nailed out early on. But it’s just beyond that where you can really identify your true expectations. Wood refers to it as the must-haves and the nice-to-haves — the skills, credentials and experience that a desirable candidate must or should possess.

“I often ask if there’s anything else not listed on the job description that’s important for the role that they can share with me,” Wood says. Here’s a good place to figure in the company’s culture and work environment, he adds. “Is it fast-paced? Is the environment social or do they just put their heads down and work? That type of information helps us find the right candidate that can work in that specific environment.”

4. Take the call.

There are a few reasons why staffing and recruiting firms are a great solution for companies that find themselves strapped for talent. Staffing firms have access to candidates on a larger scale, knowing which professionals are available and have the background to address a specific employer’s needs. But it takes more than a bullet-point list to yield a successful outcome. In fact, a simple phone call can make all the difference.

“There’s only so much you can cover with a few notes passed back and forth,” Wood says. “I can hit those key points within a short conversation. Those 5-10 minutes can save you a half hour with a candidate that really wasn’t a good fit in the first place.”

Do you need help building your team? Check out our temporary and direct hire staffing services to learn more.