Ten Keys to Hiring a Great Employee

The human resources department has one of the most important tasks in the entire organization: hiring employees. If you are new to human resources or filling in for someone during the hiring process, here are keys to hiring great employees.

1. Write a Detailed Job Description

If you write a short job description that doesn't include every skill or ability required for the job, you may end up hiring employees who don't meet your expectations. Make sure every description you write includes the job title and a full list of the knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform the job well.

2. Use the Right Application

Before you start hiring employees, overhaul your company's employment application. If it's one page and it needs to be two, add a second page. The application should also have a clause allowing you to conduct a background check. Consider switching to an electronic application process to make hiring employees easier on your entire department.

3. Conduct Niche Interviews

For best results when hiring employees, have a department manager conduct interviews rather than a recruiter or an HR representative. Department managers know what it takes to do the job day in and day out, so they tend to have better insight into whether a candidate is qualified for the position.

4. Ask the Right Questions

Avoid simple yes-or-no questions during the interview process. To get the right information from candidates, use the STAR method, which requires interviewees to describe a past work situation and detail the steps taken to solve the problem.

5. Conduct Skills Tests

Conducting a skills test during the hiring process helps identify the best candidates for the job. If you are hiring for a warehouse worker, for example, you might test each candidate to see if he can lift more than 50 pounds.

6. Try Panel Interviews

Panel interviews give department members and candidates a chance to see if they would work well together while allowing you to gauge how each candidate reacts to a high-pressure group interview.

7. Discuss Company Culture

Talk with your top candidates about your organization's culture. Doing this during the interview process can help you avoid hiring employees who are not a good fit for your company.

8. Check References

Don't make an employment offer without checking references. Doing a reference check is a good way to verify the information in a resume and find out if the candidate works well with other people.

9. Impress Your Top Candidates

Once you identify your top two candidates for the job, you need to impress them if you want one of them to work for your company. Talk about your organization's work-life balance, employee initiatives and other available benefits.

10. Require Drug Testing

After you make an offer, require the potential employee to take a pre-employment drug test. This is especially important when you are hiring employees to operate heavy machinery.

Taking the time to overhaul your application and interviewing process can yield positive results when it comes to hiring employees. If you need a new employee, follow these tips to make a great hire.

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