Every company needs great employees to succeed. However, finding them is easier said than done. Often, a job candidate who seemed fantastic during the hiring process can turn out to be a terrible fit as an employee.
In fact, a 2017 survey from SilkRoad found that 32 percent of HR leaders say their top concern is finding and retaining the right talent. So, how do you overcome this challenge?
One of the best ways to improve is to take a look at what today’s leading companies are doing.
Each year, Inc. releases its list of America’s fastest growing private companies. And a few of this year’s Inc. 5000 winners had some advice on how they learned to hire quickly and effectively.
Here’s how those companies are rocking the hiring process:
Testing for the right skills
At Perfect Search Media, a digital marketing firm that ranked No. 2984 on this year’s list, many of the positions they hire for involve doing analytical work. As a result, candidates go through a math skills test to determine early in the hiring process if the person has what it takes to succeed.
Although, this didn’t always work out.
“Most candidates who score below a 75 percent on this quiz are not moved forward in the screening process,” said Rachel Lehn, Perfect Search Media’s manager of business operations. “However, we had an overflow of candidates who passed the quiz — even getting 100 percent — but were poor written and verbal communicators.”
Since these candidates lacked communication skills, they had trouble working with a variety of clients. To fix this, Perfect Search Media added a grammar and reading comprehension quiz to their hiring process.
“Since implementation, the quality of candidates who pass the quiz has been much higher, and we have had fewer issues screening for communication skills,” said Lehn.
Making it a team effort
Many companies think that only hiring managers and senior leadership should be involved in the hiring process. But at Work & Co., a digital product agency that ranked No. 295 on this year’s list, they think things should be a little more democratic.
“We always involve four or more existing employees in any candidate interview process,” said Caitlin Lillie, the company’s director of talent “Rather than rushing to fill a spot, we’ve found that a careful and thoughtful process helps guarantee a good long-term fit.”
This has had a dramatic impact on their quality of hires. In fact, the company boasts an employee retention rate of nearly 97 percent.
Asking about their high school job
One of the hardest things to assess in the hiring process is a person’s work ethic. They can say all the right things, but then still end up underperforming. This is why it’s important to find a way to get better insights during the interview process.
Jennifer Mazzanti, the owner of eMazzanti Technologies, a retail technology consulting firm that ranked No. 4696 on this year’s list, thinks the best way to assess work ethic is to ask a simple question: Did you have a job in high school?
“I want them to reveal what their priorities have been, not what they say they will be in the future,” she said. “If work is not first or second, it’s not a good match.”
As a result, eMazzanti Technologies has a team of people who go above and beyond. They also have high employee retention and a customer satisfaction rating above 90 percent.
If you dream of one day being on the Inc. 5000 list, then be sure to take these tips to heart. By improving your hiring process and finding better talent, all aspects of your company will be positively impacted, from customer satisfaction to employee retention.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.