Are you hiring the right people to help your organization succeed?
As we come to the end of the year, it’s evident that so much has changed and continues to change in the recruiting industry. Why, then, do employers insist on outdated recruiting methods?
Forbes magazine says that businesses, in particular, need to acknowledge that their stakeholders include a broad range of parties, including customers, employees, suppliers, the media and governments.
Here at Crawford Thomas Recruiting, we want to share three ways for employers to improve their hiring process.
Culture trumps technical skills
According to Forbes, almost two-thirds of business leaders (62%) still regard experience and technical skills as the most important considerations for new hires. This is despite the fact that almost nine in 10 leaders (87%) had found that in practice the most successful hires happened when they evaluated cultural fit – including congruent values, beliefs and outlook – as well as potential, during the hiring process. At Crawford Thomas Recruiting, we research our clients and their current employees. Sometimes, having the most experience in a particular industry is not always the best candidate. When we begin sourcing, we’re looking for a strong balance of experience, potential and culture fit.
Soft skills weigh heavily
It has been claimed that current recruiting processes are only looking for a safe hire. Going with the “safe hire” may sound like a good business move, but you’re losing out on tons of promising talent. Focus your recruiting efforts on candidate’s soft skills. These traits are intangible, like communication, eye contact, presentation, ability to think quickly and efficiently, and of course time management. While hiring a great looking resume may be your cup of tea, that person may only be efficient at writing a resume. Put your candidates through a short, yet thorough, interview process. Typically consisting of a phone interview, face to face interview, job shadow, and final/offer stage. Crawford Thomas Recruiting screens each candidate thoroughly before submitting to a client, to ensure that not only are they qualified on paper, they also meet a soft skills requirement as well.
Hire for potential, and then train to be the best
This is important. Hiring for potential is similar to recruiting athletes. Athletes have a resume of points, goals, assists, baskets, touchdowns, and many other ways to evaluate their history. Colleges and professional organizations draft these players based on their potential. They train these players to be the best. Forbes says businesses often underestimate the impact that good training and development can have with regard to helping employees develop the technical knowledge that will allow them to achieve their full potential. When looking to make your next hire, find the balance between personality and experience. For the record, Antonio Brown was drafted in the sixth round in 2010. He’s twice led the league in catches and has five-straight seasons bringing in 100 or more passes – an NFL record. As I said, this is important. If their potential outweighs their resume, it is worth it to hire and train that candidate!
Ultimately, there is always a risk involved with hiring on your own. Let Crawford Thomas Recruiting do the hard work for you. Culture, soft skills and potential are the modern day experience.
