Finding the Right Fit When Hiring
March 9, 2023
By Sarah Bridges
When creating a team for your business, it can be difficult to find someone who feels like “the right fit beyond just the job description. Here are some best practices you can utilize in your hiring process to help you on the journey to find that person.
1. Assess your Company’s Culture
To ensure you bring on the right person for the job, it is important that you first assess your company’s culture. What is your vision and values? It is important to define this formally or informally as this is the foundation to finding someone who will be the right fit for your business.
2. Look beyond the CV
There are many people out there who look good on paper and are equally capable of the job. However, “the right fit” goes beyond meeting the needs of a job description. Getting to know a candidate and asking the right questions to understand if they can align with a company’s vision, culture and values is important for ensuring longevity in an employee’s time with your business. Many skills can be taught or sharpened but teaching someone to believe in a company cause or vision can be much more difficult.
3. Create clear and detailed job descriptions
A vague job description is something job seekers tend to avoid. Where possible, a clear definition of expectations of the role is best. This is not just a clear definition of tasks but a clear definition of expectations and skills. If the job requires someone with the utmost communication skills, or a high ability to work in a collaborative environment it is important to define this clearly. If you don’t, you may spend time interviewing a candidate who do not posses these skills or are not interested in working within a role with these set expectations.
4. Onboarding
Research indicates that retention rate of new employees can be increased by as much as 40% with a structured onboarding plan. Instead of short-term training, try to set up scheduled opportunities for your employee to get to know other staff and their roles while also shadowing and training in their own role. A check-in during and after this process is also a good idea, as the first few months at a new job can feel overwhelming, and reassurance can combat those feelings.