Engaging Applicants – New Economy New Rules

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It’s March in Indianapolis, Indiana. That means two things: wildly fluctuating temperatures (March 6: 2℉…March 11: 65 ℉); and basketball (this year will mark the 7th time since 1940 that Indy has hosted the NCAA Men’s Final Four). It’s through hosting events like the Final Four–and that spectacle in Speedway–that Indianapolis earned the nickname “Amateur Sports Capital of the World.” However, increasingly, the word “amateur” is becoming unnecessary.

Last week, I had the privilege of listening to three leaders in the Indianapolis professional sports scene. Rob Laycock of the Indiana Pacers, Dan Plumlee of the Indianapolis Colts, and Tom Dunmore of the Indy Eleven spoke at New Economy New Rules–a monthly event organized by TechPoint. The event seeks to introduce new ideas about how business is done today and how it will be done tomorrow, often with an emphasis on technology as a catalyst for change. Accordingly, the discussion topics at this event were less about on-field action and more about evolving technologies that enhance the fan experience and fill seats.

The talk was exciting for me in my career as a digital marketer–these guys have metrics on everything–and eye-opening from my perspective as a sports fan–who knew they could track bathroom traffic at stadiums in real-time?! But how can Human Resources departments–large and small–incorporate technology into their operations?

Start With A Clear Destination

Before adopting new technology, an organization should first have a clear understanding of its business objectives and goals.  From there, it’s a matter of exploring and selecting technologies that will provide employees with value-added assistance in meeting important objectives–those that will directly impact business goals.  In varying degrees and ways, each sports organization uses technology to meet important business objectives. However, all three emphasized the importance of using technology to engage the community, with the goal of cultivating passionate, loyal fans to fill their seats.

In the world of Human Resources, our organizations can use technology to engage job applicants and fill our “open seats” with passionate, loyal new hires too. Let’s explore how this can be done by taking a look at how these sports organizations engage and cultivate fans.

Engaging Applicants-More Than Filling Seats

A common theme throughout the conversation was that, yes, the goal is to fill the seats, but focusing on gross tickets sales as the sole indicator of success is a mistake. For these organizations, it’s more about building relationships with fans for the long haul. In fact, Mr. Laycock likened it to dating, wherein a team gradually develops a closer, stronger relationship with a fan; the end-goal is to gain and maintain a fan’s lifelong loyalty, which is hopefully expressed through annual ticket purchases.

For HR Departments, we are looking to find the right match for our organization too–although this is speed dating, and we have many significant others, and…well let’s just stop the metaphor there. The point is: we want to attract talented people to our organization who stay and become passionate brand ambassadors. These individuals will value both our organization and the relationship they have with it.

Does your hiring process seek to find, hire, and onboard individuals who will be passionate, loyal fans of your organization? If not, you’ll be looking to refill your seats real soon, and your organization will suffer for it. To avoid this, consider investing in an Applicant Tracking System that streamlines the hiring process and increases applicant engagement through  automated job postings to multiple job boards, integrated social media sharing, and timely, personalized applicant status updates and follow-up requests. By utilizing this technology, you’ll provide a more welcoming hiring process for the applicant and have more time to meaningful interact with job candidates–your future fans.

Engaging Applicants-Highlight Star Players

With the right perspective on what your hiring goal is (hiring passionate, loyal fans of your organization) and a strong foundation of hiring technology in place (a robust Applicant Tracking System), you will be ready to attract top talent to your team. To do this, you must impress job seekers with how awesome it is to be a part of your team. It’s important that you do this in a way that is–and is perceived to be–authentic. There’s no better way to do this than to highlight your star players.

Pat McAfee of the Indianapolis Colts has over 300,000 followers on Twitter. His tweets inform, entertain, and ultimately galvanize the Colts fan-base. The content isn’t always about his place of employment, but this works to the Colts’ advantage as it helps in reaching new fans–especially younger ones. Do members of your team have a platform from which to tell their story?

engaging applicants as fans

McAfee engages fans through Twitter.

Job seekers need to experience it to believe it. If your organization is only providing a list of “Why ‘ABC Corp.’ Is A Great Place To Work”, then you’re missing out on an opportunity to engage job seekers who are looking to bring their talents to a special place. Highlight your current employees via your website and social media to illustrate not just what your organization is about, but who it’s about. If you already employ passionate, loyal fans of your organization, then you’ll likely attract the same.

Engaging Applicants-A FANtastic Experience

FANtastic Experience
This is FANtastic!
Courtesy of totalprosports.com

 

We know that an Applicant Tracking System can provide an HR Department with the time and features needed to make a positive impression on job applicants. But what happens after you’ve hired and filled the open seat? What is the new hire’s experience?

Onboarding a new hire is equivalent to welcoming a new fan to their first game. The Pacers, Colts, and Indy Eleven don’t stop engaging fans once the ticket is sold. They continue strengthening their fan relationships with the goal of cultivating life-long fans. These organizations use technology to accomplish this where it makes sense, but these are simply tools to convey a sentiment: you belong and you are appreciated.

How does your organization provide a fantastic experience for new hires? This question, of course, is part of the larger topics of  “work culture” and “employer brand”. But a simple way to create a pleasant experience for your new employees is to provide them with a highly organized and personalized onboarding experience. And again, this can be accomplished with the help of technology…Onboarding Software.

Just as a new fan’s first-game experience should not be marred by long waits at the gate, concession stand, and restroom; a new hire’s first day should not be marked by completion of forms, redundant tasks, and an office supply scavenger hunt. Onboarding Software can streamline the common tasks associated with the onboarding process and eliminate the need for new hires to fill out stacks and stacks of forms.

When your organization’s new employees are not swamped with an endless number of mind-numbing tasks or confused about what form is needed next, they are free to interact with new colleagues and begin building a relationship with your organization. This also provides the organization with the opportunity to be creative with how it welcomes and orientates new employees. An onboarding like this will show appreciation for new hires, and it contributes to their sense of belonging.

New Economy New Rules

In today’s competitive economy, finding and hiring talented individuals to fill your open seats (and stay in them) is vital for an organization’s continued growth and profitability. Successful organizations like the Colts, Indy Eleven, and Pacers invest in technology to efficiently reach business objectives, HR departments can do the same by embracing technology as a tool to improve the hiring and onboarding processes. It’s important to know that an investment in hiring technology will certainly create efficiencies in operations; however, more importantly, it will support a powerfully engaging experience for applicants and new hires–one that will cultivate passionate, loyal employees–and fans–of your organization.

 

ExactHire offers hiring technology that helps small to medium sized organizations scale for growth. Our HireCentric Applicant Tracking System features social media and job board integration to maximize an organization’s recruitment operations. Additionally, our Onboarding Software helps ensure that new hires enjoy a FANtastic experience with your organization.  Learn more by contacting a member of our team today!

 

Image credit: Game Over by Andrew Malone (contact)

How Can I Improve My Background Checking Process? – Whiteboard [VIDEO]

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There are many things to consider when it comes to trying to improve the background checking process for your organization. In this video, Jeff Hallam discusses items such as the source of background check record data; the difference in court record reporting at the county vs. state level; the importance of having good legal counsel; having an awareness of EEOC guidelines; and, how to automate the background check process to improve the candidate experience and shorten the time involved with collecting candidate information.

SMB Pre-Employment Screening Guide Ebook

Video Transcript:

Hi, my name is Jeff Hallam, and we’re here today to talk about how you can improve your background check process. And, again, just a very quick disclosure up front…ExactHire…we are not a background check firm. Nor do we claim to be experts in this field, but because it is part of the hiring cycle, this does come up with pretty good frequency with clients and potential clients and it’s something that over the years, there have been changes to it, different things are happening out there…and so it does become something where people are asking about it frequently. And that’s kind of what led us to want to do this video.

One of the first things to understand about background checking is the data that’s out there is going to be pulled from the same sources predominantly by most all background check providers. At least those who are reputable. So, in other words, Background Checking Company A…vs. B vs. C…very rarely is going to have access to any proprietary data that the other two couldn’t. So really in most cases, unless there’s something very unusual going on, what you’re getting in terms of data should be the same from one provider to another. And that’s a nice transition into local data.

What a lot of folks don’t realize is things that are happening out there most often are recorded and kept for permanent record at the local level, usually at the county level. And roughly about 50% of counties out there nationwide are automated. So that means there’s about a 50/50 shot if I have an infraction of some sort in a neighboring state or a county where I don’t live, as to whether it’s ever going to be recorded and reported up reliably to the state level database. So where that becomes pertinent is, again if everybody’s checking the same data, and I as an employer only go down to the state level as far as my searches, because it’s a less expensive background check to do, I may potentially miss some things that are happening at the local level completely or there may be enough of a time lag in there where those things just aren’t made aware to me as somebody who would care about them as a potential employer.

So, that’s something to consider, and likewise that’s a good segue into this notion of having a counsel that you can go to. And typically that’s going to be a labor and employment law attorney, somebody who doesn’t necessarily have any opinion, in terms of making dollars, as to what type of background check you have performed. So, ExactHire, your background check provider, etc. probably, while we might be able to weigh in a little bit…it’s always going to be much more reliable to go to a labor and employment attorney and make sure you understand from their perspective, legally, what are your minimums that you need to be doing and what things should you perhaps be made aware of that you don’t need to necessarily have done in those checks. That also ties in with the EEOC.

EEOC has come out with some guidelines over the last couple of years that are really designed to make sure that discrimination is not happening out there in the workforce from a hiring perspective. And, a lot of that is happening around the background check arena. So, there are times now today, as opposed to a few years ago, where actually doing a deeper check…believe it or not…can actually be punitive from your end. So, to avoid that, one of the things you’d want to do is make sure you’re getting good advice from your counsel as to, is this relevant to the job for which I’m hiring, is it going overboard, is it going deep enough, and then balancing that with cost.

And then finally, the notion of trying to automate. The background check process for many people is still very much a manual one. I have the person sign their FCRA notice, I get all their information on the form, I then take that form and I either key it in or I fax it to the background check provider…in either event there could be some lags in time there, and/or there’s a lot of effort wasted just in terms of getting that to the provider. So, anything you can do to inject automation into that, whether you embed it in your applicant tracking tool, or you set up an online process with your provider…any things where technology can be brought into  it to make that more of a streamlined process are certainly going to help

So, just remember…same data, might be necessary to go down to the local level to avoid any potential issues or missing things; make sure you’ve got a good legal counsel that you can go to for assistance; be aware of some of the things that are changing out there, which again can come from your attorneys; and then try to automate as much as you can. Following just these handful of simple tips should hopefully help make your process not only better, but also more efficient.

10 Pre-Employment Screening Best Practices for HR Department of One

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If you find yourself being the almighty HR department of one person for your organization, first off, let me congratulate you on your fortitude because that is a tough job. I’ve been in your shoes and when it is just you supporting the HR efforts of a one hundred- to two hundred- employee organization, you need to be efficient to survive and then thrive. Fortunately, there are many options for making your life easier when it comes to pre-employment screening activities. Are you using all ten of these best practices yet?

1 – Do an HR audit to uncover potential liabilities with your current pre-employment screening process

While an HR audit can be a lifesaver in terms of preventing future liability for all areas of human resources, it is especially critical when it comes to assessing the legality of your hiring process. Here are just a few points to cover:

  • Be aware of any “Ban the Box” laws that affect the geographic areas in which you hire employees, as they will regulate whether you may ask about criminal history on your employment application.
  • Make sure that a credit report is only used to screen applicants in consideration for positions that have a job-related necessity for someone with no credit blemishes. Moreover, for those positions that do warrant a credit check, be certain to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and obtain the employee’s written consent at the appropriate point in the process for your industry before seeking the report.
  • Examine your company’s use of social media in the screening process. That can be a slippery slope due to the type of information that can be uncovered about a person. However you approach social media screening, do it consistently across all applicants.
  • Ensure that you don’t ask any questions on the employment application that could reveal an applicant’s disability and violate the ADA.
  • Double check that your employment application doesn’t ask for any unnecessary information too early in the process…for example, Social Security Number. While it can be easier to collect information all at once, the truth is that you would only need that information later at the point of the conditional offer (unless you a have a specific industry exception). Applicants can be creeped out by sharing that in the beginning. Have a protocol for gathering this data electronically once you actually need it.

2 – Document your process and put it where upper management can find it

Especially if you are the only HR person! If something should happen to you, other select members of management should be able to step in to make sure things like SSN verification, background checks, education verification, etc. continue to be conducted on candidates for hire. They should have contact information for any vendors you use for these activities, as well. Have a documented plan of action explaining what happens when credit checks, reference checks and background checks come back with unfavorable news. Otherwise, upper management may not know that if you decide not to hire a person because of information in his/her credit report, for example, you have to give him/her a copy of the report and inform the candidate of the right to challenge the report under the FCRA.

3 – Tell your applicants what to expect from your recruiting process

Your careers website is the perfect place to add a link/page that discusses your entire recruiting and selection process. A short conversation during a preliminary phone interview will also be appreciated by candidates as it sets expectations with them for the probable length of the hiring process. As a result, some candidates that may have been a poor fit will self-select out of the process and save you time.

4 – Develop job-relevant job-specific screening questions

Proactively work with hiring managers…before you get slammed with eight new job postings in a day…to plan questions that will be relevant and that will elicit the types of answers that will help you make sound decisions earlier in the process. This exercise prevents the likelihood of wasting time reviewing unqualified applications later…time that you don’t have to waste.

5 – Use scoring/disqualification filters on application questions

Set up screening question groups in your applicant tracking system to automatically score and/or disqualify applicants based on their answers to both job-specific and standard application multiple choice questions. Then, filter out candidates that fail to meet basic qualifications when you are ready to view applicants for a job.

6 – Use email templates to make communication to applicants quick and easy

Whether you have canned responses saved in your work Gmail account or you build email templates in your recruiting software, it’s a huge timesaver to have commonly used blocks of text ready to go when communicating with candidates. Not only does it reduce the possibility you will make mistakes (thanks to spell check and a restful state of mind when responses are created before they are needed), but it ensures that candidates stay engaged because you are actively communicating with them throughout the recruiting process. People will regard you as a hiring rock star even though there is only one of you in human resources!

7 – Consider pre-employment testing to improve quality of hire

Unfortunately, just because someone is a great interviewer doesn’t mean that he/she will be a great employee for your company. Using an employee assessment as one tool in your selection process toolbox will provide you and hiring managers with incredibly helpful information about the person’s motivations, cognitive abilities and/or job skills…depending on the type(s) of assessments used.

8- Order background checks that include local court criminal record searches

Don’t rely on just a national database check because you will be missing part of the criminal history picture for many applicants. Much of what is recorded at the local and county court level never makes it into the national database. Even though you are with a small organization and trying to keep hiring costs from escalating, don’t skimp on background checks. You could pay for it in negligent hiring claims later.

9 – Make the candidate accountable for quality reference information

The last thing for which you have time is chasing down references and trying to obtain actual quality feedback about your potential new employee. Affordable technology can take the headache out of reference checking and allow your candidate to take ownership with personalized reference invitations that appear to come directly from the candidate, and the ability for the candidate to monitor the responsiveness of his peers. Make sure that any reference check software platform that you use promotes objectivity and allows references to rate potential hires on your selected job-relevant competencies.

10 – Ask your vendor partner(s) for assistance

Even though you are undoubtedly a strong, HR army of one, you’d be crazy not to ask and accept help from your partners when you need it. While technology solution providers will obviously support you on the use of their software, don’t be shy about asking them for tips and best practices for HR processes. And for vendors who handle background checking, drug testing, and credit checks…they can keep you up to date when it comes to complying with regulations. Many providers will handle communication with candidates when unfavorable results arise, as well.

Do you have ideas for other pre-employment screening best practices? What obstacles do you face as an HR department of one? We encourage your comments and ideas, below.

ExactHire provides many hiring software solutions. For more information, please visit our resources page or contact us today.

SMB Pre-Employment Screening Guide Ebook

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Don’t Hire A Liar – Reference Check Tips

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Have you ever looked at a resume and wondered if it was too good to be true? Unfortunately, sometimes that is a legitimate question.

Honesty is always the best policy. This not only applies to personal life, but to professional life as well. Recruiters have limited time to review resumes, so applicants need to convey positive attributes and display themselves in the best light possible on that piece of paper; however, lying–or even exaggerating–is unacceptable. Applicants should be aware that we are all interconnected in this digital age, and verifying resume content is easier than ever through reference and background checking.

Last summer, CareerBuilder conducted a survey of over 2000 employers. Fifty-eight percent of those employers surveyed stated that they had identified one or more lies on a resume. According to the survey, here are the most common lies caught on resumes:

 

57%

Embellished Skill Set


55%

Embellished Responsibilities



42%

Dates of Employment



34%

Inaccurate Job Title

33%

Academic Degree



26%

Companies Worked For



18%

Accolades/Awards



View All Results

 

Looking at some of those points above…candidates need to realize it is not difficult to verify one’s academic degree. By simply calling the Registrar’s Office of the higher education institutions listed on the resume, a recruiter can receive verbal confirmation from the school’s employee that the candidate did or did not graduate with degree XYZ. This information is considered “Directory Information”, and sharing that information is compliant with the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

In some careers, particularly health professions careers, there are state and nationwide license verification websites that provide the initial date of certification, license expiration date, and any action taken against the individual’s professional license. All of this information is accessible to the public.

The Importance of Reference Checking

If you have moved through the channels with a candidate and seem impressed enough to prepare an offer, it is important to conduct thorough reference checks to get a better feel for the candidate from different perspectives. Reference checks provide a great opportunity to ask questions about a candidate and get feedback, ideally candid feedback, from other people who know the candidate. It is important to remember, though, that the references provided by the candidate are, in all likelihood, people who have agreed to give a glowing review. If possible, use your professional network to speak with other co-workers of the candidate to gain more in-depth perspectives. These individuals could give an entirely different view of the candidate.

Our ExactHire ATS employment application can be configured to include a section to acquire information from the candidate regarding his/her references. You can request any of the following items:  Reference’s Name, Reference’s Company, Reference’s Phone Number, Reference’s Email, Reference’s Relationship to Applicant, and the Number of Years the Reference has Known the Applicant. You can even designate the number of references you want the applicant to provide.

Making A Plan For Reference Checks

You want to be consistent with the questions you ask of references for all your candidates. Always find out why the candidate left the position listed on their resume, and then consider using this list to guide your discussion (courtesy of HCareers and Laura Smoliar via Inc.):

  • Verify the candidate’s dates of employment, title, and role.
  • Is the candidate eligible for rehire? Why or why not? What was his or her reason for leaving?
  • Determine the candidate’s advancement in the company.  Did the candidate receive any promotions or demotions, or did the candidate remain in the same role throughout her tenure?
  • What was the candidate’s beginning and ending salary? How often did the candidate receive salary increases?
  • What kind of duties and responsibilities were assigned to the candidate? Did the candidate complete them satisfactorily? Did the candidate go above and beyond what was required without being asked?
  • What were the candidate’s strengths as an employee? Would you describe the candidate a hard worker?
  • Ask the reference to evaluate the employee’s performance the tasks likely to be assigned in the new position.
  • Was the employee punctual? Were there any issues with tardiness or absenteeism?
  • Did the employee get along well with her peers? With managers? With customers?
  • Is there anything else I should take into consideration before I hire this candidate?
  • Tell me about a time when the candidate had a conflict with a co-worker. How did the situation unfold?
  • What kind of schedule did the candidate keep? Did co-workers ever have trouble working with the candidate because of schedule issues? Tell me about a time when this was a problem.
  • Tell me about a time when the candidate surprised you. What were the circumstances? What did the candidate do?
  • If you were to hire the candidate again, what role do you think would be ideal? What role would not be a good fit, and why?
  • We all get frustrated with each other from time to time. Tell me about a time you were really frustrated with the candidate.
  • In which situations does the candidate really shine? Tell me about an example.
  • What else you’d like me to know about this individual?

It can be challenging to reach references by phone. Often when you do make contact with references, they can be hesitant to say anything that could be negatively construed or bring legal ramifications. But it is important to have a plan when calling, so that when you do make contact, you can collect useful information that supports strong hiring decisions

LinkedIn Research

If you take a look at a candidate’s LinkedIn page, you might be able to verify information found on the candidate’s resume. Furthermore, if you have mutual LinkedIn connections, those connections might be able to give you another perspective on the candidate’s professional background. But be cautious when using social media to review an applicant; you cannot discriminate against a candidate because of disability, age, gender, family, religion, sexual orientation, military history, employment status, or other protected categories.

Bottom line: any information that falls into a protected category cannot be used as a determining factor in offering a job to a candidate.

The Perfect Fit

There is no way to know 100% that a particular candidate is the best fit for a position or organization. But no matter how you check a candidate’s references, thoroughly evaluate the perspectives given to you from others and cross-reference that with your team’s professional views on the candidate. After analysis, if you feel like the candidate is going to be a good fit for the position and your organization as a whole, then you have utilized the information acquired during the reference check process to make a valuable decision and ideally a successful return on your investment.

SMB Pre-Employment Screening Guide Ebook

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How to Assess Your Small Business’s Pre-Employment Screening Maturity

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A turnkey, effective pre-employment screening process is critical for today’s small business. We rely on pre-employment screening efforts to alert us of red flags with a candidate, verify the accuracy of one’s employment records, ensure the safety of existing employees, and explore whether one may thrive despite the demands of a position. And don’t forget the importance of saving time for busy HR Directors by reducing the chance of expensive turnover later.

There is a wide spectrum onto which companies may fall when it comes to pre-employment screening process maturity. Identify your small business’s place on this Bell curve as a first step toward improving your new hire screening, background checking, and reference checking methods.

Your Pre-Employment Screening Process Maturity Level

It’s time to get real. How do your company’s resources impact your placement on the maturity curve? Into which category does your company fall on the image below?

Pre-Employment Screening Process Maturity Curve

Manual

Companies lagging behind in this phase are resistant to technology in most areas of talent management. They are focused on manual activities such as using hard copy paper employment applications, collecting printed resumes at job fairs, and promoting the ability to apply in person (despite the absence of an on-site kiosk for electronic submission of applications). Businesses in this bucket may not even be doing background checks or reference checks on candidates who have received a conditional offer of employment. If the company has started to grow more quickly recently, putting these methods in place can be further delayed if nepotism is present and new hires frequently come from existing employee referrals.  Additionally, it is unlikely that the standard employment application offers the opportunity to incorporate well-planned screening questions that flesh out whether candidates meet at least the basic qualifications for a position. Lastly, you can assume that any web presence on behalf of human resources is completely managed by the IT department.

Disjointed

Companies in this bucket are often plagued by a lack of staff bandwidth (often an HR department of one trying to support too many employees) and poor buy-in from upper management. They launch isolated efforts to supplement the pre-employment screening process, but do not execute a universal, organization-wide strategy. For example, they utilize employee assessments for only some positions; use inconsistent techniques for reference checking and/or fail to train all hiring managers to follow the same protocol; inconsistently use social media to screen applicants (potentially a big liability); job-specific screening questions are underutilized and ultimately depend on the attentiveness of the hiring manager involved; and there is no automated way to group job candidates based on whether they satisfied basic qualifications. Additionally, these companies may still be collecting background check-related information (such as previous residences and Social Security number) on the employment application (without a compelling industry-related reason) because it is easier for them…neglecting the fact that it can disengage applicants and raise a red flag when the solicitation of that information is not connected with a conditional offer of employment.

Organizing & Conforming

Companies in this stage have the right structure in place for optimizing the pre-employment screening process – including an applicant tracking system and a means to collect employment references and electronic employment applications from applicants. While the integration of technology has advanced these companies into the “late majority” part of the cycle, activities such as reference checking are likely still handled inconsistently and may eat up the HR staff’s time. Though they probably have a go-to background checking vendor in place, they still may be collecting disclosures to run these checks in a cumbersome way (i.e. emailing candidates later in the process with a separate request form and then not having an automatic way for results for the check to flow back into an applicant tracking system). Upper management supports HR initiatives as it recognizes the need to put sound practices in place as the company grows, but the pace of growth is still outpacing the ability to get the right HR resources in place quickly enough. The HR department has a lot on its plate and needs to become even more efficient and strategic as pre-employment screening efforts have covered the tactical bases like background checking and reference checking, but still haven’t touched screening question development on a consistent basis.

Embracing & Engaging

For these companies, a strategic process is in place so that consistent screening techniques are used for every position in the organization and thoughtful job evaluation is used to create relevant and results-oriented job-specific screening questions. The right applicant tracking software technology is in place to allow human resource administrators the ability to quickly and easily view applicants that meet basic qualifications based on answers to questions…and those applicants that score particularly well are highlighted, accordingly. Success in hiring leads to further engagement from hiring managers to help develop job questions, respond about candidates quickly and utilize pre-employment testing tools. This partnership with hiring managers leads to opportunities to continuously re-evaluate and repeat success in the future.

Performance & Scaling

Scalability is of central concern for companies in this stage. They seek to further optimize their pre-screening efforts and are intimately attune with promoting a positive employment brand to both applicants and current employees. By regularly tracking key performance indicators such as time to hire and cost per hire, among others, HR personnel have already proven the business case for using technology to their CFO and company ownership. Many of these companies have undergone a significant spike in hiring recently, and have sought additional ways to leverage technology to avoid taking on more staff unnecessarily. Examples include bi-directional integration with background checking, behavioral and cognitive employee assessment tools and automated reference checking software in which the applicant is especially engaged to impact the responsiveness of his/her references. The HR department, whether comprised of one person or many individuals at this near-mastery level, is very agile, uses practical, easy-to-learn HR technology software and likely has enviable statistics when it comes to number of offers extended to accepted and turnover.

Talent Leader

These companies are completely passionate about attracting and hiring top talent…having employment brand ambassadors from entry-level employees all the way up to the CEO. The return on investment for pre-employment screening efforts has repeatedly been proven as well as scaled as the business expands (and expansion for small business can often mean a pretty drastic percentage increase in growth)…thanks in part to savvy reporting tools available in hiring software such as applicant tracking systems and online reference checking software. Other companies will look to this organization to mimic its hiring techniques and try to steal talent…but the latter attempt will often fail as the leading company has done a great job of pre-screening talent and engaging candidates and employees in the process. The talent leader will have little trouble fielding applicants for most job postings due to its reputation as a choice employer.

Does your business fall into your preferred category when it comes pre-employment screening maturity? What resources can help you move ahead on the pre-employment screening process maturity curve? To find out, visit our ExactHire resources section or contact us today.

SMB Pre-Employment Screening Guide Ebook

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Fresh Eyes On Your Hiring Process

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How is your hiring process? Does it get the job done? Could it be better?

Several months ago, new owners took possession of our office complex. Since then, parking lots were re-surfaced, carpeting was replaced, signage was updated, entry foyers were completely remodeled, and many other improvements were made.

Before the purchase, I think that most visitors walking into our building–myself included–would have considered it to be a pretty nice place. It got the job done. But the new owners, by seeing things through fresh eyes, were able to identify things that needed improvement. And now, it is indeed markedly better.

This leads me to the topic of improving your hiring process. Is yours, like most, similar to how our building was–functional, but in need of some improvements?

If you’re not sure, below are some items to contemplate when looking at your hiring process with fresh eyes:

5 Areas of Your Hiring Process To  Review

  • Career Page — Do you have one?  Does it really help potential applicants get a sense of why they might enjoy working with your organization?  Does it match the current branding of the organization?  Is it easily found through your website?
  • Application/Resume Submittal — Is it applicant-friendly?  Does it take too much time or effort for the applicants to get their information to you?  Can applicants apply from a tablet or mobile device?  Are you and your hiring team able to get the information you need to properly screen applicants for further consideration?
  • Consistency and Flow — Are all applicants for given positions considered equally?  Are the same screening/interview questions asked of everyone for given positions?  How is feedback from hiring managers and others gathered?  How well is the overall process documented?  Are applicants moved along smoothly and as quickly as possible?  Is there easy access to assessment results, background check results, reference check results, etc?
  • Communication — Do all the internal staff involved in the hiring process receive updates regarding the status of open positions? Are applicants notified as they’re moved through or out of the process? Are applicants notified that positions in which they’re interested are closing?
  • Future Needs — Are good applicants earmarked for future openings?  Do you have a mechanism to easily identify those good applicants when certain opportunities come available in the future?  Is there solid documentation to help remind you and others why these applicants should be considered for other openings?

Taking a fresh look at your hiring process may help you identify important areas for improvement. In making these improvements, you should see better efficiency and improved hiring results.


To learn more about how ExactHire can help you in your “remodeling” efforts, visit our website to learn about our HireCentric ATS and other HR Solutions or contact us today!

Image credit: Eyes For You by Alan L (contact)

9 Horrific Hiring Mistakes

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Hiring is a science and an art if you approach the process properly. Here are 9 common mistakes made by large and small companies, and how you can avoid them.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS: Poorly written job descriptions will yield poor results. “Poorly written” could be defined as grammatical errors and misspellings, but I am referring to generic job descriptions or unspecific, misleading job descriptions. Investing time in the writing of accurate, unique job descriptions will help job-seekers determine if they are a job fit for the position.

 

INTERVIEW TEAM: Depending on your industry, the interview process will vary. Just remember: if the team of employees interviewing the candidates are not on the same page, the candidate will know, and you could lose the right candidate. Take time to prepare for the interviewing process as a team. This will keep everyone on the same page and ensure that necessary topics are discussed.

 

BAD BEHAVIOR: The interviewer must be on best behavior. The candidate’s time is important too. Don’t expect a highly qualified professional to wait an exorbitant amount of time for you–especially if they arrive early. The interviewer should be conscious not to: speak poorly of the company or other employees; take personal or professional calls during the interview; or multi-task in any fashion while conducting the interview. It is also important to dress appropriately for the interview and please, for the love of Human Resources, don’t eat lunch while interviewing potential employees.

 

FOLLOWING UP: It’s simple. If you are not following up with candidates, you are getting a bad reputation in the world of job-seekers. Applicant Tracking Systems like HireCentric make it easy to send a customized email to applicants that thanks them for their interest and lets them know if the position is a good fit for them.

 

RESPECT: Another simple thing that can easily be forgotten by interviewers is to respect others. Repeating the same questions can be monotonous,  a particular trait of the candidate could be one of your personal pet peeves, or perhaps you just have stress in your personal–none of that gives you the right to look down on candidates. Don’t treat candidates poorly. You will likely be interviewing some time again in your professional life, so remember the Golden Rule.

 

COMMUNICATION: During the pre-employment screening process, you may find yourself engaged in conversations via phone, email, or face-to-face. Use these opportunities to assess the candidate’s communication skills. You will likely discover how this person would fit your company culture–before the final hiring stage. Ignoring communication skills, or lack thereof, can be detrimental to your current work environment.

 

IGNORING WARNING SIGNS: Similar to ignoring queues on communication skills, ignoring a candidate’s negative tone or personality traits can ruin your work environment. During the prescreening process, you should take notes on personality traits that will enhance or spoil your current environment. A candidate with less education and experience may be a better fit than an experienced “Mr. Negativity”. Job-shadowing in the final stage can also help to ensure that you hire the right person.

 

REFERENCES: Not checking references may be a time-saver today, but it could prove to be a costly mistake. Checking references will verify the dates of employment and daily tasks indicated by the candidate on their resume. Getting insight on work ethic, weaknesses, and attendance can also be helpful when making a final decision between a few, seemingly great, candidates. References that don’t say much versus a reference that raves over a past employee can be a tell-tale sign of who you want on your team.

 

SKILLS TESTING: Making good hiring decisions is all about having the best data. From cognitive and skills-based assessments to behavioral and interest-based evaluations, hiring managers can gather enough data to get a strong sense of an applicant before they even meet for an interview. Applicants fill out these assessments on their own, and the software automatically scores and evaluates the assessments, providing an in-depth picture of every candidate without adding any work on the shoulders of hiring staff. Assessments can be administered as part of the application process to serve as an early round of evaluation. This can help flag potential employees who may be a poor fit and identify “good fit” candidates based on criteria not typically gathered through a traditional application.

 

Image credit: Panama Bussiness 2 (desaturated) by Think Panama (contact)

5 Steps to Zip-Line Talent – Applicant Tracking System

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Ever zip-lined? If not, you should. It’s fast, fun, and–thankfully–safe.

This fall, the ExactHire team took to the treetops of Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis for a Go Ape! zip-line adventure. Over 2,300 feet of cable tied between 39 waypoints  provided thrilling “zips” across heights of more than 40 feet. The trip was part of ExactHire’s incentive program that rewards our team for meeting quarterly performance goals. Now that’s a nice benefit!

And since we’re in the business of helping small- to medium-sized companies leverage technology to hire top talent, we can’t help but draw some inspiration from our adventure. So what can you take away from a zip-line adventure that can be applied to tracking job applicants?

Well, with a little bit of reflection–and some admittedly forced metaphors–here are five steps to “zip-lining” your talent through the hiring process.

HireCentric Applicant Tracking System

5 Steps to Zip-Line Talent

 

1. Safely get them hooked up.

You may be wary of embracing a digital storage solution. But ExactHire’s HireCentric applicant tracking system ensures that you’re in compliance with EEOC and other Federal employment regulations. Additionally, all personally identifiable information is stored on a separate server and hosted on Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) pages. HR administrators may access applicant information on these SSL encrypted pages only after logging in with a unique username and password. Learn More About Our Security

2. Clearly tell them where they’re going.

HireCentric gives you the capability to pre-screen applicants by customizing minimum criteria for each open position. If applicants don’t meet that criteria, they can be filtered out from consideration, leaving you with a more manageable list. But more importantly, applicants–qualified and unqualified–can now quickly receive an update on their status.  Learn More About Pre-Screening

3. Quickly send them down the line.

All of your applicants are safe and secure inside your database. You have quickly filtered out the unqualified applicants and notified them of their status. Now you’re focused on only qualified applicants. But great talent won’t wait around forever, so you need to quickly zero in on your ideal candidates. HireCentric makes it easy to share candidate information with other stakeholders at each stage in the selection process. This leads to quicker, more informed decisions and, ultimately, better hires. Learn More About Sharing Candidate Information

4. Kindly prepare them for the landing.

Your hiring team has come to a consensus on the top candidates. You’ve completed phone interviews, and perhaps the candidate has even completed an online assessment. Now you’re ready to bring the top candidates in for an interview. Through the use of customizable email templates and status codes, you can ensure that all candidates are up-to-date and engaged at every point in your hiring process. This means that no candidates slip through the cracks and that every applicant feels informed and appreciated. Learn More About Applicant Management

5. Leave them smiling.

By using HireCentric, you have effectively “zipped” your pool of applicants through your hiring process. With branded online applications and email communications, your company has provided a personalized look. With efficient management of your candidates through the hiring process, you have lent a personalized touch. You’ve avoided the “black hole” experience that so many other companies leave with applicants, and though you could only hire one candidate, they all walk away with the impression that they were treated with fairness and respect. And if there’s an opening in the future, you now have a strong applicant pool to re-engage. Request a Full Demo of HireCentric applicant tracking system