It’s expert round-up time again, and this time we’re looking at how to improve quality of hire. According to LinkedIn, quality of hire is still the most valued hiring metric by quite some distance, and yet it’s still one of the least understood.
Without further ado here are the best ten perspectives from around the web, looking at ways to measure, assess and improve quality of hire. For the best online recruitment software on the market, start using Recruiteze. Not only will help improve your hiring quality, but it will make recruiting easier and more efficient. Click here to start recruiting easier!
‘11 Ways To Improve Quality Of Hire’
Lou Adler
Lou Adler is a force to be reckoned with in the recruitment world, so his thoughts on how to improve quality of hire are well worth listening to.
Here goes.
- Define exceptional performance rather than an exceptional person
In other words, Lou recommends, write your job descriptions based on what candidates need to achieve, not what they need to have. In other words, not ‘must have 5 -8 years product marketing experience’ but ‘must launch new product line within 6 months targeting 20% market share in 2 years’.
- Don’t post internal job descriptions
“Starting with stronger candidates is one way to hire stronger people”, Lou writes, and this is self-explanatory. Broaden your hiring pool.
- Turn job descriptions into stories to attract stronger people
We’ve written before about writing stronger job descriptions, and Lou pulls out an important point. If you create a “compelling career story” you’ll get potential candidates excited, so you’ll be attracting a broader range of (more qualified) candidates.
- Embed skills into your career stories
Or, in other words, convert important skills into outcomes as part of your job descriptions. Avoid “must-have” requirements, Lou recommends, as these will “turn the best off”.
- Choose a catchy title for your job advert
If you want to attract the best candidates, you need the best candidates to notice your adverts. This is where a catchy title comes in.
- Create a pitch tweet
You already know how important social media is, so this one is self-explanatory. Plus, if you’re able to distil your value point into 140-characters, you have a really solid idea of what you offer and who you’re looking for.
- Screen on achiever terms
Hiring high achievers is a pretty good indication (although not foolproof) that you will improve quality of hire. When you’re screening, use Boolean search strings associated with high achievers, such as ‘award’, ‘honor’, ‘leader’ and so on to whittle down your candidate list.
- Engage in conversation
In other words, don’t try and hurry top candidates through your hiring funnel. Start conversations, get engaged, let the process take a little time. The best candidates tend not to jump ship in a hurry.
- Modify the job to fit your hire
Cookie-cutter job descriptions don’t work for everyone. If you’re looking for a candidate who truly stands out, you should be prepared to tailor a job description that really stands out to them. Engage your candidates and ask them what they want – and make changes to make your job more closely concord with that.
- Interview on past performance
“If the person has comparable accomplishments and is motivated to do the work required, he/she has exactly the skills and experiences required”… Or, put simply, when you’re interviewing you should be looking for comparable past achievements.
- Assess quality of hire pre- and post- hire
Lou recommends you assess quality of hire both before you hire and afterwards, in their performance on the job. The closer those two metrics are, the more efficient and effective your hiring process is.
For more from Lou Adler, you can read the original here.
‘Technologi es To Improve Quality Of Hire and Hiring’
Blogging4Jobs
Short n’ sweet, this piece from Blogging4Jobs offers three different ways to make sure your candidate shortlists are up to scratch, in order to improve quality of hire. Under each heading, the author offers various tools and technologies that could be useful too, making this piece super-practical, if a little low-brow next to Adler. Free, online recruitment software is technology that can make a huge impact on your efforts. Try Recruiteze today, for free!
- Better Test Your Candidates
Better testing your candidates during the pre-screening phrases is an obvious way to improve quality of hire. The author, Heather Huhman, recommends Smarterer, ShinyNeedle or HireArt as innovative websites allowing hiring managers to test candidates digital, social, critical, problem-solving and technical skills as a stage in the hiring process.
- Check Candidate Recommendations
This point rests on the principle of social proof, which should be as important to recruitment as it is to other marketing activities. Huhman recommends going beyond the LinkedIn recommendations feature and using sites like Recmnd.Me, Zao or Bright to find candidates who come with a dose of social proof attached.
- Try a One-Way Interview
Or, in other words, ask your candidates to submit a video interview as part of the hiring process. The hiring manager simply establishes a list of basic questions and the candidate films him or herself answering them. A great way to save time, although how much this improve quality of hire remains to be seen…
You can find the full piece here.
‘When It Comes To Quality Of Hire, Don’t Play The Blame Game’
Green Job Interview
