In this six-part series, we explore some of the talent acquisition trends to expect in 2023. As you explore these trends, consider how you can adjust your company’s recruiting and hiring practices to adapt.
The job market has shifted, resulting in a trend known as “boomerang employees.” This term refers to employees who changed jobs or even retired early, only to realize the grass may not be greener on the other side. A changing economy has caused retirement accounts to shrink for many, along with feelings of uncertainty about the future.
Boomerang employees are part of a rapidly growing trend in the workforce as hiring managers are faced with the decision of whether to rehire team members who left. But assuming the employee left on good terms, why not bring them back onboard?
The Benefits of Returning Employees
Losing a good team member is often frustrating for managers and recruiters. You lose the skillset and knowledge of a strong employee, which can leave the department scrambling to fill their shoes. But if that individual wants to come back, and there’s an open position that aligns with their expertise, it makes sense to welcome them with open arms.
Returning employees come with an understanding of the organization, including the expectations and culture. Even if they’re moving into a different role from the one they left, the learning curve isn’t generally as steep as it would be with a brand-new hire. Most rehired employees can transition between roles easily, thanks to their foundational understanding of the company as a whole.
How to Support Employees who Want to Return
A strong offboarding process goes hand-in-hand with the trend of boomerang employees. It’s a trend that no organization can afford to ignore. If your company has little to no offboarding processes in place, now is the time to invest in developing relationships with those who choose to leave.
When employees resign to pursue other opportunities, they typically have reasons for leaving the organization. Tapping into those former team members as resources can help your business improve its culture and give employees what they want. A positive exit interview process can uncover insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your organization. You can find out why people are leaving, and what might encourage them to come back.
Additionally, it’s worth considering technology that can track former workers and figure out who might have the experience and skills needed when a role opens up. With the right software, your business can manage data on applicants and hired employees. If a position becomes available that aligns with their skills, their information is readily available, which may simplify the process of filling that particular role.
Don’t miss out on a potentially stellar hire simply because they already worked for the company in the past. As more people boomerang back to companies where they felt comfortable, it’s worth considering how your organization could encourage former employees to return.
Check out the other posts in our 2023 Talent Acquisition Trends series:
When a business needs to hire, it’s important to have the right tools at its disposal. An applicant tracking system is a must, regardless of company size. Explore this type of system and how it can benefit your organization’s recruitment efforts.
What Does an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Do?
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a type of software designed to manage an organization’s recruiting and hiring efforts. As the name suggests, its process involves tracking candidates who may be good fits for open positions. Additionally, an ATS houses data and often includes automated workflows to simplify tasks like:
Scheduling interviews
Notifying candidates of status updates
Issuing alerts
Sending messages to applicants and those involved in the hiring process
Benefits of an Applicant Tracking System
Many benefits come with using an applicant tracking system to find and bring on top talent. Review a few of these advantages and how they can benefit a small-to-midsized business.
Searches for keywords
While the description of an ATS may make such a system sound like a data organization tool, it can do much more. When seeking top candidates, recruiters, hiring managers, and others involved in the hiring process may struggle to locate talent. Sifting through countless resumés and applications takes a lot of time, and some may not be relevant to the open position.
An ATS can sift through data and make recommendations based on keyword searches, algorithms, and other tools that analyze applications and resumés. With an ATS in place, it becomes easier to review applicant data and select the right candidates to interview.
Posts jobs more efficiently
Another advantage of an ATS is integration with external job boards, which tend to be the most common tools for job seekers. Posting an open position individually on multiple boards can take a lot of time. Some organizations stick to just a few boards, which limits visibility. The ideal hire for a role may not even see a job ad if it’s not posted on the board they use regularly.
Using an ATS makes it easier to push a listing to many boards with a single click. By getting a job in front of additional people, a company will likely receive more applications. Hiring managers can choose from a wider selection of candidates to get the right fit, rather than choosing from a handful of semi-qualified individuals.
Maximizes productivity
Hiring managers and recruiters can easily spend hours looking for candidates manually. But this isn’t a good use of their time. Those involved in hiring can spend less time on these tasks without sacrificing candidate quality. Open roles get in front of the right people, but the automation side of the software saves time and effort.
Boosts company morale
A positive hiring and onboarding experience can make a big difference in the eyes of a candidate considering a new role. And when a business can get good people hired faster, there’s less of a burden on the existing employees to take on additional work. The result is improved company morale all the way around.
How Does an Applicant Tracking System Work?
With various systems available to organizations, it’s important to note that each will have its own list of features and functionality. However, programs within this category tend to share a few key steps to ensure a consistent and straightforward process.
Creating a job requisition
In most recruiting systems, the process begins with the creation of a job requisition. When a company needs to hire, the person responsible for recruiting requests approval for the creation of a new position or the filling of a vacated position. Upon approval, the requestor can create a job listing.
Creating a job listing
The next step is creating a job listing, or the description of the open position. A listing should include several key components:
Position title
Position location
Department
Salary range (if applicable)
Responsibilities/duties
Candidate requirements or qualifications
Description of work environment
Of course, a job description should be more than just a bulleted list of details about a role. In fact, it’s more important than ever to appeal to potential applicants and draw them in, encouraging them to apply.
The writing style for job descriptions differs from other business writing styles. Using engaging language can help a posting stand out in a sea of similar content.
It’s also important to consider the legal requirements of a job listing. Make sure to avoid language that could indicate discrimination or hiring preferences. Examples include gendered language (“The individual in this role will use his strength to lift heavy packages, 50+ pounds”) or phrases that may rule out members of a protected class.
Posting the job description
After creating an engaging description, the next step in the process of hiring with an ATS is posting it to various boards. There are hundreds of online job boards, each with its own niche and target audience. It’s helpful to consider which boards might yield the best results. For example, an entry-level tech job might get more responses if posted on a board that caters to recent graduates in the technology sector.
Explore different options, including industry-specific boards and those designed for members of a particular demographic. By posting a listing in the right places, an organization can improve its chances of attracting qualified applicants.
Receiving applications
The next phase in the applicant-tracking system is receiving applications from those with an interest in the role. Some systems can issue rankings to applicants based on specific data, including keywords on the resumés and in the answers to questions on the application.
You may be able to set up an automatic rejection process based on answers. For example, if knowledge of a specific coding language is a requirement for a developer role, any candidate who indicates that they don’t know that particular language would be automatically rejected.
The application phase can remain open for as long as needed. The length of that period often depends on factors like the quantity of applications received and the need to fill the role within a specific timeframe.
Undergoing the review process
Anyone granted access can view applicant data and determine whether to move each candidate forward in the process. Moving someone to the next phase should be simple. A recruiter or hiring manager can select which candidates to interview and which to reject.
Upon interviewing each candidate, those involved in the process can take notes to reference when reviewing all candidates. Keeping those notes within the system makes it easier to recall what was discussed during the interview and whether to move forward.
Sending notifications and follow-up
It’s important to keep candidates in the loop throughout the process. But sending emails to everyone who applied isn’t a good use of your time. With an applicant tracking system, the hiring manager and recruiter don’t have to worry about notifications or follow-up messages. Automatic notifications keep candidates informed of their progress and whether they’re moving forward to the next phase.
For example, if you select a candidate to interview, the system can automatically send a notification requesting to schedule. If you decide not to move forward with a specific applicant, they can receive an email or even a text message informing them of the decision. Each company can establish the messaging for these notifications to adhere to its brand and voice.
Extending an offer
Upon selecting the best candidate, the final step in the recruiting process is extending an offer. Using an applicant tracking system even makes this step easier. You can tap into pre-built templates to ensure that offer letters are thorough and informative.
When your selected candidate accepts the job, their information remains in the system. You can flow it into your company’s HR system to minimize errors from manual data entry. Additionally, you can use this information to stay in contact with the applicant until their first day of work.
Managing candidate data
Of course, every individual who applies for a job with your company won’t get hired immediately. But if an applicant has skills or experience that make them a good fit for another role in the future, their data remains within the system. You can reach out if a job opens up that aligns with their skillset, rather than starting the entire process over again.
Creating an account/onboarding
Bringing a new hire on board is a key step in the hiring process. Doing so successfully could determine how the employee feels about their role and the organization overall.
According to a recent Gallup survey, approximately 12 percent of employees think their company did a good job onboarding them. With so much room for improvement, it makes sense for companies to invest in onboarding efforts. After all, a poor onboarding experience can be the difference between an engaged employee and one who bails out for another role.
Employee turnover can cost a company up to nine months of an employee’s salary to find and bring on a replacement. This is an expensive undertaking for any business. But for small companies, the cost could wreak serious havoc on the budget. Onboarding is something that no business can afford to ignore.
With an applicant tracking system, onboarding becomes more seamless and consistent. ApplicantStack Onboard makes it easy to:
Import hires from ApplicantStack Recruit
Upload new hire forms (W-4, I-9, etc.)
Create and assign tasks to track progress
Invite new hires to view documents, input their information, and complete paperwork
E-sign documentation
View and download reports to measure onboarding success
Not all applicant tracking systems include onboarding functionality. But given the importance of this process in employee retention and engagement, it’s essential to choose one that does.
FAQ about Applicant Tracking Software
Still have questions about applicant tracking? We answer a few of the frequently asked questions around these systems below.
What should you look for in an applicant tracking system?
Every business might have its own unique hiring and recruiting needs, but some of the best features to look for in an ATS include:
Integration with other systems (HR, payroll, benefits, etc.)
When should a business use an applicant tracking system?
An ATS can benefit any business that plans to hire. This software is designed to organize candidates to simplify the process of hiring. It can also filter out applicants who don’t meet the qualifications for a role or highlight those who might be a better fit based on skills and experience. If your company has employees (or will hire employees in the future), an ATS is beneficial.
ApplicantStack is the applicant tracking system that’s built for small business needs. It doesn’t skimp on features or functionality, but it’s priced to fit into the budget of just about any company. Still on the fence? Try it free today and find your next hire faster and more efficiently.
COVID I-9 Compliance Flexibility Extended to July 31, 2023
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) extended the verification flexibility related to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, due to continued precautions related to COVID-19. This temporary rule was set to expire October 31, 2022.
The temporary rule was first announced in March 2020 and has been extended several times since then as the pandemic has continued to impact workplaces. The temporary rule affects employees hired on or after April 1, 2021 who work exclusively in a remote setting due to COVID-19 related precautions. In such cases, the employer is temporarily exempt from I-9 physical inspection rules until the employee undertakes non-remote employment on a regular, consistent, or predictable basis, or the extension of the flexibilities related to such requirements is terminated, whichever is earlier. (ICE)
Which I-9 form should I use right now?
Until further notice, employers should keep using the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, though it was originally due to expire October 31, 2022. DHS will publish a Federal Register notice when the new version of the Form I-9 becomes available.
How can I verify employment eligibility remotely?
Remote verification options include: video link (Zoom, Teams), FaceTime, fax or email.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, USCIS has allowed employers to remotely review — by Zoom, video chat, FaceTime, fax, or other electronic means — the identity and work-authorization documents that are necessary for workers’ Forms I-9, during the hiring and re-verification process. Fisher Phillips
Can I do I-9 verification through ApplicantStack?
Yes! ApplicantStack integrates with Verified First, a full-service background check provider. Verified First provides all background check services including I-9 verification through Tracker-I-9.
Every U.S. employer must properly complete a Form I-9 for each new hire working in the United States prior to finalizing the onboarding process. This form is an important part of adding a new employee to your team, and it isn’t always straightforward. Simple inconsistencies or even neglecting to enter “N/A” where required can have big consequences. Paperwork or technical violations can potentially cost your business anywhere between $234 to $2,332 per employee. Verified First
Employers Must Document Their Onboarding Process
Employers who take advantage of the remote verification rule must provide documentation of their onboarding process and remote work policy. If you haven’t created a formal onboarding process, learn how here: The Onboarding Process – Steps and Checklist. The onboarding process should also be included in the employee handbook. For a complete guide to creating and updating your employee handbook (including a template with a sample remote work policy) see How to Write and Update Your Employee Handbook + Template.
We are excited to announce that Premium Texting is available in ApplicantStack Recruit & Onboard as well as WorkforceHub Plus.
What is Premium Texting?
Premium Texting includes everything in Basic Unlimited Texting (discussed ahead) plus Text-to-Apply and Workflow Embed.
Text-to-Apply
With text-to-apply, candidates can apply with their mobile device at the point of initial engagement. When the candidate clicks APPLY in the job posting, the system will text the candidate a link to a mobile friendly application.
Why is Text-to-Apply a Game Changer?
More and more people find a phone more convenient for online access than a laptop or desktop. In fact, most of us have our phone within arm’s reach day and night. Today’s job seeker uses their mobile device to search job boards, research companies, communicate with recruiters, and submit applications. Because of this, text-to-apply is critical for employers trying to attract more applicants or speed up their hiring process. Furthermore, companies competing in the same labor pool as their local Walmart or Amazon warehouse will have an uphill battle without providing text-to-apply.
With text-to-apply:
Candidates can apply immediately when they see your job posting on their mobile device
Applicants experience a modern, convenient candidate journey that reflects well on your company
You will have fewer abandoned applications because candidates can apply without delay
Add Automated Texting to Workflows
Automated texting makes it easy to engage with candidates as they move through the hiring process. With Premium Texting, you can embed SMS in workflows and trigger texts with hiring stage changes.
Advance applicants and inform them of next steps with automated personalized text messages
Speed up the hiring process and avoid slowdowns due to poor communication
Never accidentally ghost another candidate
Premium Texting is sold at the account level, which means that if you have both ApplicantStack Recruit and Onboard, you can use Premium Texting in both modules under the monthly price.
Basic Unlimited Texting
Basic Unlimited Texting has been available since 2019 and our users love it. It makes hiring faster, easier and more engaging for candidates. Just as important, it improves efficiency for hiring teams. With texting, our customers extract even more value from our hiring platform. ApplicantStack Basic Unlimited Texting, not surprisingly, lets you send as many texts as you want for one monthly fee. The software saves the conversations and several members of the hiring team can text as if from one person.
Send a text instead of an email any time you need to communicate with an applicant:
Confirm an interview appointment
Send a link to a screening questionnaire
Send a quick text as a follow-up to a call, email or interview
Send interview instructions – parking, building access, etc.
Answer candidates’ questions
Send a bulk text to a group of candidates
Improve the candidate journey with quick communication that keeps them engaged – applicants can respond immediately or at their convenience. Many top candidates are currently employed but looking for a better opportunity. With many job positions, the employee can communicate with text in situations where they couldn’t necessarily take a voice call. With texting, you can engage a larger hiring pool. This makes it quicker and easier to find the perfect hire for the job.
As with Premium Texting, if you have both ApplicantStack Recruit and Onboard, you can use Basic Unlimited texting in both platforms.
What is WorkforceHub Plus?
WorkforceHub Plus is the small business time and labor solution from Swipeclock. (ApplicantStack Recruit and Onboard are also part of the Swipeclock product suite.) WorkforceHub Plus includes Timekeeping, Scheduling, Hiring, PTO Management and Human Resources. The Applicant Tracking module in WorkforceHub Plus has similar functionality as standalone ApplicantStack Recruit. However, it syncs with additional functions in WorkforceHub Plus.
Over one million people use Swipeclock workforce management solutions every day. To schedule a demo, visit WorkforceHub Plus demo.
Collecting feedback from your hiring team is critical to making a good selection. But it can be challenge to compile and collect the feedback from each decision make. In this article, we’ll go over best practices for collecting feedback, and how to make the most of it.
What is a Hiring Team or Hiring Committee?
The hiring team includes everyone responsible for any part of the hiring process. In a very small org, it may be the hiring manager and business owner. In a larger company, it may include ten or more. This might include the hiring manager, director to which the hiring manager reports, and some members of the new hire’s team.
The hiring manager leads the hiring team. This is the person who requests to fill the position. Requesting a position is called a job requisition. It’s helpful to create a formal job requisition process.
Why is Having a Hiring Team or Hiring Committee Beneficial?
Companies that involve more than one decision maker have better hiring outcomes. Because each decision maker has a unique perspective, a collective evaluation is multi-dimensional. When several people in various roles participate in evaluating candidates, your process is more comprehensive.
A group decision is especially important for determining whether the applicant will work well with your team. Consider a scenario where the new hire will work closely with other team members but have less frequent contact with the manager. In this type of structure, it’s important that those who will work directly with the new hire evaluate the candidate.
You have to be careful when evaluating cultural fit, however. If members of the hiring committee use age, gender, or ethnicity in their decision, you’ll have difficulty building a diverse team–and increase the risk of a discrimination challenge. Decision makers should limit their evaluation to characteristics that aren’t discriminatory.
When assembling a hiring team, consider including people in your company who have a proven track record of picking winners.
The Challenges of Collecting Hiring Team Feedback
Once you’ve assembled your team, you can’t expect the process to work if you don’t standardize it. Unstructured evaluation processes are absurdly ineffective and inefficient. An unstructured process includes the following pitfalls:
Conversations dispersed among channels: face-to-face discussions, emails, texts, phone calls, inter-company apps like Slack
Failing to document hiring team collaboration: none of the evaluators has access to all evaluation discussions
No formal scoring system: each member of the team uses a different yardstick for evaluation, or none at all
Team members waste time duplicating processes: when the hiring manager fails to assign tasks like background and reference checking, assessments, interview scheduling, etc.
Losing track of applications: if the applicant database isn’t centralized, you can lose great candidates
Poor hiring outcomes: a haphazard system doesn’t take advantage of each evaluator’s unique expertise which downgrades the process
What is a Structured Feedback Process?
A structured process encompasses both administration and evaluation. Let’s look at each.
Hiring Workflows
A structured administrative process is also called a hiring workflow. The best practice here is for the talent acquisition or HR manager to design a hiring committee process. First, they identify necessary tasks. Secondly, each task is assigned to the appropriate member of the team. For example, the HR manager might contact references and the hiring manager maintains the interview calendar. Furthermore, there is a formal process for communication. For instance, some teams require all communication done through a group email sent to all decision makers.
In addition to electronic collaboration, make sure you have frequent in-person meetings to keep the process on track. The hiring manager can keep everyone updated on the process and remind members of any overdue tasks. Of course, in-person meetings are a challenge for remote teams, but at least hold meetings by video so the process isn’t completely asynchronous.
Hiring Stages
Identifying hiring stages allows the team to track each applicant’s status. This speeds up the process and prevents bottlenecks. Create folders (electronic or paper-based) to track applications–Schedule Phone Screen, Schedule First Round of Interviews, Do Not Pursue, Check References, Waiting for Background Check, etc.
Reducing time to fill improves the quality of talent for the simple fact that it is less likely the top candidates will be snapped up by a competing employer with a faster process.
Structured Evaluation
In addition–and this is super important–you use interview scorecards to rate candidates. Formalized evaluation combined with an efficient workflow gives you hiring superpowers. An interview scorecard addresses each necessary hard and soft skill required for the job. The evaluator assigns points based on how well the candidate meets the requirement. The scorecard can also address nice-to-have skills by using a lower point value.
The hiring manager should require decision makers to complete the scorecard during the interview or shortly thereafter. Then compare candidates by score.
Here is an example of a section of an interview scorecard:
The Benefits of a Structured Feedback Process
When you combine a great team with a structured process, you increase your odds of finding superstars. You can standardize everything–from team communication to candidate scoring. Let’s review the benefits of a structured process:
Helps each evaluator consider each skill and characteristic
Is faster because members of the team follow a checklist
Helps prevent bias because evaluators use a scorecard based on the job requirements
Standardized communication keeps everyone in the loop
Helps differentiate applicants with similar qualifications
ApplicantStack Automates Collecting Hiring Team Feedback
ApplicantStack is an affordable applicant tracking system for small to mid-size businesses. It automates the entire process, but in this article, we will only discuss collecting team feedback. In ApplicantStack, the hiring manager can create scorecards and send one to each hiring committee member. The scorecard also contains links to the candidate’s resume and completed application screening questionnaire.
ApplicantStack Calculates an Average Rating for Fast and Easy Comparison
As mentioned previously, each member of the hiring team completes the form during or after the interview. Then—voila!—ApplicantStack combines the forms and calculates an average rating.
When each applicant has a consolidated rating, it’s easy to compare candidates. The process is also less likely to be influenced by unconscious bias.
Auto Reminders Reduce Hiring Delays
Do you have a team member who habitually forgets to send interviewing feedback? ApplicantStack helps with that as well. If someone forgets to turn in their evaluation form, ApplicantStack nudges them with a reminder email. This takes the pressure off the hiring manager. (They won’t miss the awkward conversations.)
Centralized Applicant Management
The evaluation forms and candidate ratings are stored and managed in ApplicantStack. Forget printing evaluation forms. And nobody has to maintain applicant files or log ratings into spreadsheets.
Let’s recap the benefits of using ApplicantStack to collect hiring team feedback:
Electronic evaluation forms are stored and managed in the system
Create custom scoring criteria for each job posting
Team members rate candidates with the same scoring criteria
The evaluation form links to the applicant’s resume and questionnaire
ApplicantStack calculates an average rating from the collective scores
Easily compare candidates with formalized scoring criteria
This article is part of our hiring guide for small businesses.
At some point in your role as a hiring manager you’re going to be faced with the question of how to hire employees. Hiring an employee is one of the most critical functions you can fulfill as a hiring manager.
Hiring an employee is a lot like getting married; you’re going to spend a lot of time with this person. Employees who work in the same office spend over 2,000 hours together each year. You need to find the person who has the skills, work ethic, and fit for your culture.
How do you hire employees? More importantly, how do you hire the right employees? It’s a matter of knowing best practices for hiring and sticking to them.
This hiring guide will teach you all the essentials and some extras that will help ensure that the next time you hire a new employee it’s a match. Everyone wants the right employees. You have a much better chance of hiring them if you have an efficient process in place.
Before you rush headlong into hiring, take a moment to review your company’s needs. It’s a good idea to write a few things down as you get started. This will help you stay on track and address the needs that initiated hiring a new employee in the first place.
Here are some points to consider:
Is there really a need for a full-time employee?
Can the job be temporary, part-time, seasonal, or outsourced?
Does the new job affect your ACA status?
Where is the job in the organization?
How will the change affect the organization?
Is there a deadline for hiring?
Test Your Assumptions
Even if you feel that you know what your company needs, take the time to test your assumptions. Run through some scenarios as a sanity check. Check with other managers and interview employees.
Ask questions about the role you are considering. You’ll use this information to refine your understanding for the job role in the next step. Be wary of bias. Employees and even managers will craft their answers to get the extra help.
To avoid biased answers, ask direct questions about the specific functions the new employee will fulfill. Ask about expected outcomes, and how those outcomes will move the business forward.
Collect your notes and refine your written understanding of the business case for hiring a new employee. Now run a few scenarios to determine if your expected outcomes are viable, what it will take for the employee to meet those expected outcomes, and whether the outcome solves the original problem.
Resources for Knowing Your Company Needs a New Employee
Here are a few resources that can help you gather your thoughts on why you might need a new employee. Look for ideas to focus your hiring effort on solving your original need with a better understanding of your objectives for the new hire:
The first step of how to hire employees begins with writing a great job description. The job description serves many important purposes:
Defines the job responsibilities
Reduces the candidate pool to those who qualify
Introduces the applicant to the company and its culture
It’s important that your written job description includes all the components to communicate the right requirements. This will help you get to your most compatible hiring candidates faster than your competition.
The Components of a Great Job Description
Keep your job description simple and to the point. Be sure to include all the details that potential candidates need to know about the job. The job description is your first opportunity to attract qualified candidates and filter out the ones who aren’t a good fit.
The components of a good job description include:
Job location
Job title
List of job responsibilities
List of candidate requirements
List of desired new hire credentials
Statement about company and employee benefits
EEOC statement
Effective job descriptions avoid acronyms and jargon. They are clear and concise. They convey the company’s personality and make it easy for candidates to judge whether they want the job and if they qualify.
Be sure to choose and stick with a standard format for all of your job descriptions. This will make it easier to create new job descriptions and will present your company in the best light.
You can find plenty of examples of job descriptions by searching Google or visiting popular job sites like Indeed, LinkedIn, JuJu, and CareerBuilder. Use these examples to craft your own unique version. If you copy a template to get you started, be sure to rewrite the description so that it fits your company profile and prioritizes your key requirements.
Get Team Input on Job Descriptions
When you have your description drafted, get input from the team. This will help you refine priorities and get buy-in from your team on the kind of person you are seeking. This early input will assure you won’t have any surprises in later stages of the hiring process.
Share your job description with key team members and consider asking them the following questions for focused feedback:
Is it complete?
Is there a clear distinction between requirements and nice-to-have qualities?
Is this an accurate description of what the company needs?
Is the pay rate appropriate for the described position?
How does this description compare to jobs listed by the competition?
The job description is important both during the hiring process and as a clear yardstick for measuring performance. If you cannot evaluate an employee against this description, you should revise it.
Resources for Writing the Job Description
In addition to the advice in this section, there are many resources on the web to help guide you. I’ve gathered some of the more helpful job description resources and listed them here for you. These additional resources will help you write the description for your next hire:
With a great job description in hand you can expect to attract top talent. Before you post the job, spend time to identify the criteria you will use to determine which applicants deserve your attention.
It’s important to have this list together before you post your job so you are ready to handle incoming applications in a timely manner. Screening applicants will take more time if you aren’t prepared. When applications start coming in, you’ll want to screen them as quickly as possible so you don’t lose a candidate in the waiting.
Defining Your Screening Questions
Look at your list of requirements (…I told you they’d come in handy). For each one, think of a question that you can ask each applicant to determine if they are qualified. Sometimes this will be a yes/no question. For example, you might require that the applicant be authorized to work in the US. Or you might require that they be at least 21 years old. In these examples, the answer is clear cut. Ask a yes/no question.
Other qualifications are better posed as multiple-choice questions. For example, if you require a specific college degree or certification, you could ask their highest level of education and provide a list to choose from. Consider this example:
High School Degree
Associate Degree
Bachelor’s Degree
Master’s Degree
Similarly, you could ask for years of work experience and provide ranges. Remember, if you have ranges be sure they don’t overlap!
Be sure to include answers that fall outside your requirement range. In this example, “High School Degree.” This will allow candidates who don’t match your criteria to self-select for the wrong options. In this case, “High School Degree” becomes a knockout answer in your screening if you are looking for an associate degree or higher.
Prioritizing Your Screening Questions
Once you build your list of questions, consider which ones are appropriate during the initial screening. You want to be able to identify those applicants who are truly disqualified, but you don’t want to eliminate anyone that might be a good candidate for an exceptional reason.
For example, you may find a candidate that doesn’t have the right education level, but that does have an unusual breadth of experience.
Prepare for Screening Early
Take the time to create the screening tools now, rather than waiting until the first applications roll in. There are three great reasons for this:
You will have enough to do when your inbox fills up with applications.
You can still make changes to your description if necessary because you haven’t already posted it!
Once you begin the process, you are competing with other employers to find great new hires. Take the time up front so you don’t slow yourself down after the start.
Prepare to Watch For Keywords In Resume Reviews
Another element of defining your screening criteria comes through the resume.
Think about the keywords you expect to see in a resume that matches the job description. For example, if you are hiring a waitress you might expect the words restaurant, waitress, or server. If you are hiring a controller, you might look for CPA and MBA.
Make a list of the keywords you think will indicate a match. Think about the relative weight each word carries. In the financial officer case, perhaps CPA is more important than MBA.
Using an Applicant Tracking System for Automation
If you use an applicant tracking system (ATS), you may be able to use both the questions and keywords to auto-assess your candidates. This can save a tremendous amount of time.
Applicant tracking systems allow you to automate much of this process. Look for an applicant tracking system that can help you screen candidates automatically.
Even if you don’t have an applicant tracking system, identifying and quantifying your review criteria before you post your job is a good investment. Your competition may be looking for similar job candidates, and you don’t want to slow down the hiring process at this stage.
Be ready and refine your list of questions so that this early phase can go as quickly as possible.
Alert the Team
While you’re at it, make sure that you alert the people on your team who will be involved in the evaluation and selection processes. They need to know what the evaluation criteria are, what their roles and responsibilities are, how the process will work, and how to keep the process moving.
Advanced preparation and transparency are key to success.
Resources That Will Help You Prepare for the Screening Process
In addition to the advice in this section, you can find additional resources to help you prepare for prescreening your incoming job applicants. Here is a list of additional resources that will help you prepare for the screening process.
We’ve come a long way from the old days of placing job ads in print newspapers. In those days, if your best candidate didn’t read the employment section that day, you were out of luck.
You could turn to ‘head hunters’, but there is a hefty price to pay for that. If you have a storefront, you can post your ad in the window or on a bulletin board, but that only gets you as far as the foot traffic walking past your window.
These days, online posting is where it’s at. If you are serious about hiring a new job candidate, your options are online. The question is where to post, and how.
Here are your answers…
Where and How to Post a Job
When it comes to posting a job listing online, there are almost too many options. On the social network side there’s Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. All are important, but there’s more…
There are free job boards like Google for Jobs. There are paid job boards like CareerBuilder and Monster. There are hybrids where you can post free or enhance with a paid version like Indeed and LinkedIn. You can post to your own website and push to search engines or post on specialty boards like Craigslist. Your employees can post to their social media, too.
With all these choices, it can seem daunting. And the thought of a deluge of unqualified applicants can be depressing. Who has the time to post to a dozen sites and manage all the incoming applications?
…Not many busy professionals, but if you want to find the candidate in the shortest time, your best option is to post to as many job boards as possible.
Building Your Job Posting Strategy
You need to have a strategy for where you advertise your job and how you track the performance of each applicant source. To begin, keep it simple…
The first and most obvious source for candidates is your staff. Someone on your team may be qualified and want to apply for the job. Be sure to give them a way to apply. You may even want to give them a few days head start on the process. Hiring candidates from within the company is less expensive and provides an opportunity to hire experienced workers into more responsible positions. This strategy can be very effective and allows you to shift your hiring strategy to a more entry-level position if you are successful. Risk is lower, and you’ll save a lot of time and expense.
Your staff may also have people in their social network who can qualify for the job. Many companies provide incentives for referrals for just this reason. Social media has made it easy to reach friends of friends. Referrals can shorten your hiring timeline and increases your trust in the new employee. Make it easy for staff to alert their connections to the job opportunities at your company.
Another obvious place to put your job openings is on your own job board. If your company has a website, put it there. Make sure applicants can see the entire job description and have options to apply or refer a friend. The application process should include a way for the applicant to send their resume and provide contact information.
If you have an applicant tracking system, it may offer a custom job board for you. These can be handy because they have built-in search and display options that your own website may not support, and can be connected to your site through a “Jobs” link. They also typically provide a way to upload a resume and fill out an application. These handy options can reduce the time it takes to find a viable job candidate.
Commercial Job Boards
Free and paid job boards are essential for today’s job hiring environment for several reasons:
People seeking jobs routinely visit these sites.
Your posting is on equal footing with other postings, making small and mid-size companies more competitive for job applicants.
Filters and search criteria may identify your company as the best match for a qualified applicant that otherwise may not have thought to consider your position.
Job boards provide an easy mechanism to connect you with more job seekers. The more job seekers you can get in front of, the higher the chance you will find that next candidate. Job boards will also reduce the time it takes to find a candidate. This is critical in today’s competitive job environment. The faster you can find that job candidate, the quicker you can fulfill those job requirements we talked about in Step 0.
Professional job boards are critical. Use them.
Which Job Boards to Choose
Now comes the complicated part: choosing the job boards that are right for you and the job at hand.
You may find that paid listings are worthwhile when there is a lot of competition for applicants. Paid listings get a higher profile on the site. You may also find that for some jobs, you have better success with niche job boards.
Free listings are a no-brainer. Post your job to as many free job boards as possible. This will take some time, but you can reduce that time if you have followed the advice in the first three sections of our process:
You know your organizational needs.
You have a solid job description ready to cut and paste.
You have your prescreening questions ready to go.
Paid job boards are essential if you are competing with other national companies, have specific skill requirements that are unique, or have highly specialized requirements. Paid job boards can be important, too, if you are hiring for a highly competitive job role or need a candidate fast.
Paid job boards will highlight your listing based on a higher level of criteria. They will also use featured tools to match your job description with candidate skills. You may find that paid listings offer more advanced tools that can help you solve your hiring needs faster, and with a more candidate.
Tracking Your Job Applicants
Whichever you choose, or if you choose all the above, be sure to track the source of all applicants so you can tell which ones are delivering good candidates. Remember that results may vary based on the particulars of the job description, so track that too.
Variables that might affect the quantity and quality of responses from any given job board and posting include job location, job type, education level, years of experience, hours, and physical requirements.
Of course, time is the gating factor in doing this kind of analysis. If you are doing all this by hand, you may find that you are quickly overwhelmed. An ATS system can be very handy in reducing the amount of effort you have to apply to track applicants. Applicant tracking software will also help you generate important data that can make your next hire even more competitive, quick and easy.
Setting Up Your Job Boards
Each job board has its own setup requirements. Try to keep your company and contact information similar across the boards. This will help you minimize maintenance activities.
Keep your login information secure but easily accessible for when you do your posting. Schedule time to post each job to the boards you choose. Be ready on the receiving side to field the applications as they come in. If you are doing this by hand, you’ll need to plan time to watch for email notifications or login to view new applications. Respond to them as quickly as you can.
Don’t Forget Social Media
Remember that social media can be an effective channel for job posting as well. Create company accounts for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to cover the major bases. Make posting to these channels part of your regular job posting routine.
It’s easy to forget your social networks. You’ll want to plan time each day to check each social network for new applications, comments, shares and likes. Don’t forget to check your inbox for questions or private messages; social networks offer a wide range of communication options. You need to keep an eye on each of them.
Applicant Tracking Software Can Help
Applicant tracking systems can be a big help in the job posting process. Doing all this by hand is possible, but applicant tracking software will reduce the time required by a significant amount. It can also help you find that job candidate a lot quicker. You’ll beat the competition to the better candidate and fill your job needs faster.
Applicant tracking and recruiting software can provide many efficiencies, letting you:
Post to all job boards at one time.
Manage your credentials for each job board so you don’t have to login separately.
Automatically track application sources and job applicant details.
Post to social media and track responses automatically.
Generate unique links for posting to niche job boards or email.
Create and maintain an internal job board.
Automate screening of candidates based on your criteria.
Automatically receive and store applications and resumes.
If you are serious about hiring or have a high turnover in your business, consider an applicant tracking system to help you optimize your hiring process.
Resources to Find the Right Job Boards for Your Next Job Opening
Here are some additional resources you can look to for advice on which job boards to post to. Many job boards provide niche opportunities or special features that may be specific to your industry. Do a little research before you decide, make a list, and post to as many as you can:
Now comes the fun part! Once you’ve defined and advertised your job, get ready to field applications.
The beginning of this step in the process should be an email from you to your applicant that acknowledges receipt of their application. You’ll want to communicate to your applicants as soon as possible to let them know they are in the running. This will keep their attention on your company and tune them into responding quickly.
Set this up as an automated task so that you:
Save time otherwise spent sending individual responses.
Appear interested and responsive.
Avoid phone and email calls from applicants seeking status.
Present a consistent and timely message to all applicants.
Buy a little time for screening.
Focus Your Candidate Screening
The first level of screening should focus on 2 objectives:
Eliminate the clearly unqualified
Highlight the top candidates
You can save your team a lot of time by removing candidates that do not make the grade for the job.
At the same time, though, be careful not to knockout a candidate that might be exceptionally qualified. For example, if you have a job that requires an undergraduate degree in computer science, anyone without it might be considered unqualified. However, you might have a candidate that has extraordinary experience that makes them worth hiring (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg were all college dropouts).
Use the questions and keywords list you devised in step 2 to help you do a quick evaluation and sort the applications. You may want to do this in batches or at the end of the job opening window to save time. However, this may come at the cost of losing top talent to time.
Sorting Out Top Job Candidates
After the quick sort, go through each candidate in detail starting with the top candidate. Double check the knockouts. Then decide which ones deserve to go to the next level.
For those not moving on, consider whether they should be retained in the pool of potential future candidates. For example, if the applicant is a student who will graduate the following year, perhaps they could be a candidate for an internship in the summer or an entry-level position in the future.
Keep Communicating with Job Candidates
It’s a good idea at this point to send another email to all candidates. Give them a status update. For candidates moving on, let them know that they will be scheduled for a phone or in-person interview. For the rest, let them know that they were not chosen for the position.
Be sure to follow company guidelines and HR best practices for the content of these emails.
Watch for Bottlenecks in Your Screening Process
The initial screening can be a painful process for all involved. There can be a great deal of inefficiency, particularly if you have a high response rate. This step in the process can be fraught with danger.
You can miss great candidates because knockouts are too restrictive. You can lose other great candidates because they are snatched up by others before you finish your process. You can waste precious time wading through unqualified applications.
If you find the screening process to be a bottleneck for your organization, consider an applicant tracking system. An ATS can automate many of the tasks associated with this important first touch with applicants. For example, you can set up automated emails for each step in your process.
You can also typically have the applications go directly to the ATS (instead of your email) and scored against your criteria. This allows you to skip right to reviewing candidates in priority order. It is much easier to review candidates when you see them in context of each other and can go to details quickly and easily without jumping back and forth between files or pieces of paper.
Resources to Help You Screen Your Job Applicants
Here are additional resources to help you screen your job applicants. This is a critical stage of your hiring process, and it makes sense to have a good grasp of what you’ll be dealing with. Applicants will respond to your communications in a variety of ways, some positive and some with frustration.
Be prepared to handle the task by learning all you can in this area. Here are some great resources to help you build on this advice:
Once you’ve eliminated the unqualified, it is time to go to the next level. Interviews.
Typically this is either a phone interview (as a second screening) or an in-person interview. Either way, the candidate and one or more of your staff need to agree on a date and time for the interview.
Scheduling seems like a simple task but rarely is. It can be particularly frustrating when calendars are constantly filling up. Another issue is how the substance of the interview is shared with others. As much as possible, try to move the process quickly and efficiently so that valuable time is not wasted.
Scheduling Interviews
On the scheduling side, use a scheduling tool that can access the calendars of all your staff involved in the interview. You can then set a date and time for the interview and communicate it to your candidate.
Even better, set a window for the candidate to select a date/time combination that also works for them. This is particularly important if you have multiple candidates and multiple interviewers.
For example, if you have 10 candidates that appear qualified based on their applications, you should conduct an initial phone interview with each prior to an in-person interview. This will give you a chance to reduce the number of people you have come into the office for team interviews.
You’ll save a lot of time if you can send an automatic email to each job candidate. Invite them to choose an interview date and time based on your calendar. Offer a selection of times, or use a tool such as Calendly to offer a range of times with automated scheduling. Even better, use your ATS system to manage everyone’s schedule.
As each of the 10 candidates in our example follow the link, they see the combinations still available to them. Once each chooses an interview slot, the pool of available times goes down by one.
Include Team Scheduling to Optimize Time
In another example, let’s say you are hiring 10 seasonal waitresses. You have 20 applicants that seem qualified so you want to schedule them for an in-person interview with you and several team members.
In this case, you’ll want to schedule time with your team and announce a speed-date interview session to each of your candidates. Scheduling specific times won’t be necessary if you block out a time and receive candidates as they come in. Candidates won’t mind waiting a few minutes to get started, and you can round-robin your team so that everyone is conducting an interview at the same time.
Send an automated email inviting the candidates to come at a specific date/time that fits your team’s schedule. Receive candidates as they come in.
You may even want to do a series of phone and in-person interviews in a similar round-robin format where you hand off to the next teammate after each 15-minute call. Whichever method you choose, scheduling is going to be a big part of the process.
Everyone Involved, from candidate to hiring manager, needs to be looped in as efficiently as possible. Fortunately, most people now use either Google or Outlook calendars, so coordination should be possible.
Resources for Scheduling Interviews and Managing Time
Here are some interviewing related resources that will help prepare you for interviewing new job candidates.
Let’s discuss how to conduct an interview the right way. Like anything, good interviewing requires preparation. How should the interviewer prepare for an interview? Notice that steps 1-6 all take place before the candidate arrives. If you follow the steps and prepare well, the actual interview will go smoothly. By all means, the things you do to prepare are just as important as what you do when you are conducting the interview.
Understand the Job Description
If you wrote the job description, you have a good idea what the position entails. But take it a step further by talking to managers. Ask them about soft skills. Also, talk to employees in the same (or similar) job role. When you have a deeper understanding, update the job description.
Write an Interview Script
An unstructured interview prevents good evaluation. Fortunately, it’s not hard to write structured interview scripts. We cover this in detail in: Why Structured Interviews Are Critical. Follow the steps to create structured interviews as part of your hiring process.
It’s helpful to organize questions in three categories: questions about job specifics (hard skills), soft skills (behavioral) and situational. Hard skills are also called technical skills and are job-specific capabilities or knowledge necessary for the job role. They are acquired through on-the-job training, experience or formal education. Therefore, hard skills can be quantified. For example, an ability to write code in JavaScript, measure blood pressure or speak Spanish.
Conversely, soft skills are behavioral attributes that help an employee succeed in their work. Working well with team members, problem-solving and effective time management are examples of soft skills that would help with any job. Soft skills are also called interpersonal skills, non-technical skills and essential skills. Situational questions relate to soft skills as well.
Job role-specific: What experience and certifications do you have in the [INDUSTRY] field?
Soft skills or behavioral: What if you had to solve a difficult problem and your manager was away?
Situational questions: How would you respond to an angry customer?
The Importance of Standardized Scoring
It’s key to understand that to improve interviewing, you need to improve evaluation. To do this, standardize candidate scoring. An interview scorecard is the easiest way to do this. Use the job qualifications to create the scorecard. It doesn’t need to be complex, but each person on the interview team must use it. When everyone is working from the same playbook, it’s easier to compare candidates. It also helps to remove “gut feelings” from the process.
Share Your Mission and Values
The job seeker has the power in today’s employment dynamic. Moreover, it’s clear that job seekers care about what your company stands for. Certainly, the applicant is scrutinizing you as carefully as you are scrutinizing them. For this reason, write an Employment Value Proposition and practice sharing it. In a great interview, you showcase your culture and values.
Group vs. Individual Interview
If you’re doing high volume hiring, it may work to do a group interview. For example, if you need to quickly hire multiple candidates for the same job position, a group interview (in person or a virtual interview) may work for your company.
Group interviews are most effective when hiring for positions that require excellent people skills, especially when the job regularly deals with consumers or the public. Group interviews are also effective when teamwork is an integral part of the job. The group interview allows an employer to observe behaviors that are reflective of success on the job before the employer actually invests time and money into hiring a candidate.The Society for Human Resource Management
Know Hiring Laws Inside and Out
Business owners, recruiting and hiring managers make mistakes all the time. Therefore, protect your company by learning the do’s and don’ts of legal hiring. Additionally, if you have legal counsel, have them sign off on your interview questions.
Review the Candidate’s Application
The more familiar you are with the candidate’s resume, the better. First, it gives you important context. Secondly, it will help you maintain eye contact and put the candidate at ease.
Schedule the Interview Location in Advance
You don’t want to wander around looking for a conference room with the applicant in tow. If possible, use a private room with comfy chairs. A glass-windowed room can make an introverted candidate uncomfortable.
In the past two years, video interviews have become commonplace. If you conduct virtual interviews, ensure the tech is ready to go. Indeed, nothing lowers your confidence (and company image) like tech glitches.
Don’t Crowd Your Interview Calendar
Schedule enough time for the interviewee to elaborate where necessary. Add a 15-minute buffer between interviews so you never have to rush a candidate-or make the next one wait.
Download our free eBook: The Interview: The Step-by-Step Guide to Exemplary Hiring Practices.
Step Up Your Communication Skills
Now that you’ve prepared well, it’s time for the actual interview.
Turn off your phone or have your assistant hold your calls
Offer the candidate something to drink
Speak slowly
Listen intently
Stick with the script-even if you have an urge to stray!
One of the hardest steps on the path to hiring can be quantifying feedback. If the process is working right, unqualified candidates were eliminated early, so there can be a risk of feedback becoming very subjective.
Start with Hiring Criteria
To help ensure that all of your staff evaluates candidates in a consistent manner, start with the hiring criteria.
Make sure everyone is on board with the qualification list and what constitutes a good match. Create a feedback form that everyone uses so that you can compare all perspectives. Make it as quantitative as possible, then give some room for opinion. Let everyone weigh in, and then combine the data for easy review.
Collecting Feedback from your Team
Make sure you include instructions for providing feedback. Instructions can include the interview criteria themselves. Also include the method for providing feedback, whether by email or printed form. Let your team know when the feedback is due, and be wary that this process can take a lot of time.
To shorten the time, ask for feedback immediately. This will keep the interview process as short as possible. You’ll also get fresh feedback that doesn’t rely on memory.
Share Feedback to Your Team
After the interviews are complete and all the evaluations are in, make them available to the team so they can do a final assessment on which candidates are top contenders. Make it as easy for them as possible, presenting all assessments for each candidate, and a roll-up for all candidates.
It’s a good idea to provide a summary survey that each team member can complete. This summary survey can ask them questions about their final analysis including which candidate they felt was the most for the job.
Have each team member name their top three candidates in order of priority to make it easier to match the best job candidates.
Make it as easy as possible to narrow the field.
Resource on How to Assess Job Candidates
You can learn more about interviewing and assessing candidates from this resource.
At this point, you should be down to only a few candidates for the position.
It’s time to check references and do background checks.
Checking References of Job Candidates
You may have collected references at the very beginning of the process or may do it now. In any case, this is usually the point where you invest time talking to previous employers and looking for any issues that were not already uncovered.
Try to automate this process as much as you can. For example, send an automated email to the references asking them to fill out a linked questionnaire. To speed this step, call references and fill out the questionnaire yourself. Either way, try to gather information in a consistent manner from each reference for each final candidate.
To save time, you can begin checking references during the interview process. Create a checklist and ask a team member to conduct phone interviews while candidates are being interviewed.
Performing Background Checks on Job Candidates
There are many organizations that can conduct a background check and other specialized checks that you might require such as drug testing and driver history. Notify the candidates to let them know you are conducting the checks.
Background checks are best handled by a professional company that specializes in background checks. Note that there may be regulations to navigate. Be careful not to ask for information that may be protected either federally or by state law.
If you are conducting background checks, make sure your job candidates know up front. There is likely paperwork and agreements to sign before background checks can be initiated.
Let everyone know what the criteria are for the background checks, and provide candidates the opportunity to opt out if they have concerns.
Making a Selection
Once the checks are complete, it is time to make a selection. Give the selection team access to all candidate information (unless it is confidential) and make it easy to compare candidates if there are more than one still standing. There are tools available to speed this process and make it easier to review all candidate and reviewer information.
Resources to Help You Make a New Hire Selection
Here are some additional resources that can help you make a selection. This is the most nerve-wracking part of the hiring process, and it deserves some additional know-how. Learn as much as you can about selecting your next new hire and get comfortable with the stresses of selecting candidates.
Now that a decision has been made by you and your company, it is time for the applicant to weigh in. If everything has gone well, the candidate is excited about the job and wants to join your company. If everything has gone fast, the candidate is still available for hire.
Send an Offer Letter
Send an offer letter that states clearly the key information about the offer, including wage, location and start date. You might also want to include where and when to report and any other details that are specific to the offer.
Give the candidate a signature line and send it out.
Get to this process as quickly as you can. Remember you have competition out there. Now that you have identified this person as the ideal candidate, you can be certain that others have, too.
It helps to have a job offer ready to go before you start the process. Begin with a template…
Use a Job Offer Template
Use an offer letter template to make this a speedy and consistent process. Create the template in advance and have it ready to go for this and your next hire.
Include your company logo, standard text and merge fields where you can easily add the details for the specific offer. Keep this template on hand for future job offers so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. It helps to save time, too.
The offer step is important to execute as quickly as possible, so it helps to have the tools standing by to get the job done fast.
Resources to Help You Formulate Your Job Offer
Here are some samples and resources that can be useful in defining your offer.
Congratulations! You have crossed the goal line and have successfully filled the job.
But just as in football, there is still work to do after the touchdown. Time to go for the extra point—onboarding your new hire now, before they report to work.
Onboarding Your New Hire
Onboarding is a topic for another day, but suffice it to say that there is a huge upside to tackling onboarding ahead of the first day. It makes day one more productive and less painful for everyone from the new hire to hiring manager and colleagues.
It also helps establish your new hire faster and more productively. Onboarding can save you months of ramp-up time and helps build company loyalty in your new employee. Statistics show that employees who experience a thorough onboarding process are more likely to spend more time at the company, and will be more productive, faster.
Onboarding typically includes a lot of paperwork. Instead of having new hires spend hours in the new workplace filling out forms, give them the power to do the work at their convenience before reporting to work. Employee self-serve portals, online documentation, digital employee handbooks and a personal digital file cabinet are all part of the onboarding process.
With onboarding, employees have the opportunity to complete tasks before they come to work. Then when they come to work, they are ready to work.
The Components of Onboarding
The onboarding process is specific to every company, so it’s hard to determine a standard. However, there are common onboarding processes that you will want to consider.
Here are some common components of onboarding:
Tax forms
WOTC forms
ACA forms
Benefits enrollment
Direct deposit and payroll details
Emergency contact information
Employee handbook review
Policies and procedures
Safety instructions
Timekeeping instructions
There is a great deal of efficiency to be had for all involved simply by moving these processes off paper and online. There are plenty of tools available to help you make that happen and make everyone involved jazzed about getting down to business on day one.
Resources for Onboarding Your Next Employee
Here are some resources that can be useful in understanding the scope of onboarding and ways you can streamline the process.
So there you go. If you’ve made it this far, you should have a solid understanding of the hiring process. Use this guide to plan your next hire. You’ll find the steps in this guide to be invaluable to knowing how to find new applicants and how to hire employees.
