How To Go About The Hiring Process

Avoid phantom job postings

Many times, companies will put up an advertisement for a job opening on their websites or third-party job sites. Once a candidate clicks on that and applies, they spend anywhere from a few days to a few weeks waiting for a response, only to find out it was already filled. Companies usually do this to collect a pool of resumes for future hires but this just leads to a lot of frustrated candidates and a poor reputation for the business.

Set realistic requirements

Everyone wants an all-rounder who can do everything. The reality is most candidates will be skilled in one section and maybe not so much in another. Set requirements that are attainable and narrow so that the quality of skills is present over the quantity. A compact list of requirements also encourages more candidates to apply as it seems less daunting.

How To Approach An Onboarding Program:

Creating the program

A lot of the work in the onboarding process happens before the employees even arrive at the company. The majority of the process starts internally, so with that said, here is what you need to get things rolling:

1. 1. 1. Have the paperwork ready to go – 

         Before bringing in fresh blood, the company needs to have all the proper documentation squared away. This includes non-disclosure forms, employment contracts, liability forms, banking forms, new residential addresses and so on. In today’s world, you can easily send all these through email, fax, or if you prefer, courier service. Point being, there are a myriad of options to get the paperwork done well in advance.

1. 1. 2. Set up the admin privileges – 

         Once new employees arrive you would need to get their training started immediately and give them a rundown of their workstation, the system login info, the WIFI password, internal communication tools and their very own company email ID. It helps to have all these things prepped and ready to go from the beginning.

1. 1. 3. Let everyone know –

         It is not just the new employees who need to be brought up-to-speed with a new work environment. You need to inform the concerned supervisor who that new employee would be reporting to as well. They also need to make preparations and adjust for the new team dynamic. Workload has to be managed without losing much momentum. It also helps to send out a company-wide email that lets all the employees know of the new arrival as well.

The first few days

It is true what they say about the first impressions being the best and this goes both ways. On the first day, the employee will form their impression of the company and work-style. Their first impression should not be, “Oh no, what did I get myself into?” In this time, old employees will also form their own opinions about the new arrivals as well as the change in workflow. The danger here is that if you do not set out a universally acceptable and clear outline of the new work dynamic, then everyone will end up resenting the management and the work. This does no one any good. So here is what you can do to make it a pleasant experience for everyone by minimising the growing pains.

1. 1. 1. Give them an office tour – 

         The best way to get someone used to a new work environment is to show it to them. Take new candidates on a thorough and detailed walk-through of the company and introduce them to all the management, and employees. It helps get them comfortable and makes the following days of work and communication that much easier.

1. 1. 2. Assign an orientation buddy to them –

         No matter where you go, school, college or work, there are always going to be groups and cliques. Assigning an orientation buddy to the new-comer will help break that barrier and get them acquainted with everyone on the team.

1. 1. 3. Introduce the company to the employee – 

         Coming back to the point about company culture, the new employees must get a sense of where the company started, what it means to work there, the mission and vision of the company and so on.

1. 1. 4. Getting them situated within the department –

         Regardless if they are a complete newbie or an expert in their field, it takes everyone some amount of time to learn the ropes and get used to the way a specific company operates. For example, you could have worked with the likes of Netflix as a producer or a writer, but this still does not mean you know how another production company operates internally. Everyone has their own system in place and you need to get the employee used to yours.

1. 1. 5. Define the goals and expectations – 

         Before the work process gets started, you need to give the new arrival some direction. That is to say, what you expect of them, how you expect them to achieve it and what the end goal is. Give them something to work towards rather than just shooting in the dark.

The first few months

Usually, within the first three to six months, you will come to know whether the employee is getting on well in the organisation or if they are struggling, whether they are going to stay or leave. This is why the first six months are crucial. At the end of every month, hold a review meeting to assess how they are getting on in their job role. Are they satisfied with the work and the management style?

This is also a good time to see if you as a business owner or manager find the employee’s work to be up to the mark. These follow-ups not only help measure the performance of the work; they also help identify any shortcomings in the onboarding process. Most companies follow the 90-day rule where they follow up 90 days after the employee was brought into the fold.

The first year

Though the first few months of follow-ups will give you a good idea of the employee’s performance, only at the end of the first year you will get the whole picture. Once you have all the data you can plan for further development. That is to say, you can start thinking about hiking up the payroll or promotions if things go well. If not, then maybe it is time to consider downsizing.

Different Types Of Training and Upskilling

On-boarding

Onboarding as a whole goes one step further and aims at training new employees in their specific roles in whatever area or department they may have been selected for. It could span over a number of days in the form of workshops or mentorships. This type of training is very narrow and targeted to a specific role so employees can get to work as soon as possible, in the most efficient way.

Orientation

Orientation actually falls under onboarding as one part of the process. Every company and even most institutions for that matter, have an orientation process. You may have heard of it on your first day at college where they told you all about the new curriculum and what classes to go to. That is quite similar to what you might expect in the industry. Usually conducted by the HR department during the intake process, the company seeks to educate employees on a wide range of topics.

The topics covered could include the organisational culture, the mission and vision of the company, the organisational structure, policies, office timings, admin detail distribution (logins and passwords), benefits and so on.

Technical skills

These are the skills employees will need for their jobs. They might already have them and find this training to be an opportunity to sharpen those skills. Think of them as the primary skills used on a day-to-day basis. For example, a coder might need to learn Python or Java computer languages in order to perform the task – that is a technical skill.

Soft skills

Remember those classes in high school and college about the importance of interpersonal communication? That is basically what soft skills boil down to. This type of training helps refine workplace-etiquette to enable employees to effectively communicate and work cohesively. The better the soft skills between employees, the better the corporate culture exists within that company.

Product/service training

Whenever you walk into a store to buy a new phone there is always someone who comes available to explain what that particular phone does. They explain the features, the price tag, the benefits of the device over others, warranty policies and so on. That person might even give you a demonstration of how certain features work.

This is what we call product and service training. It gives employees the skills to provide certain services to the customers including how to talk to them and it helps the employees gain a thorough knowledge of a product. This training is usually implemented in sales and during the launch of new campaigns.

Quality control

This training usually takes place in production-heavy businesses. It gives employees the skill to maintain a certain level of quality that is expected by the company or the industry. In some cases, employees will receive a quality control certification once they complete training.

Safety training

Similar to quality training, employees receive a certification once done, usually in hazardous work industries like construction sites, oil rigs, the foodservice industry and so on. The training aims to minimise work-related injuries and ensure a safe work environment for everyone.