5 extra steps to add to your hiring process
Whether we are hiring for a Chief Revenue officer or Marketing Analyst we always have a high sense of urgency and strong business need to fill the role. Urgency and pressure can cause anyone to think and act with a higher emotional reaction than we normally would, as there is a lot at stake when these roles are vacant. We have all experienced the result of making a bad hire: lost time, lost revenue, lost opportunity and the countless hours in takes for us to deal with the situation.
Hiring is a mix of art and science, and the more scientific tools you can implement to help guide you in the right direction, the more your risk will be diminished. Here are 5 steps you can add today in your hiring process to help ensure you are hiring the right people.
- Measure cognitive ability. There are many personality tests offered in the market and this is a crucial aspect to measure, but just as important, measure a candidate’s cognitive ability.
“Cognitive abilities are brain-based skills we need to carry out any task from the simplest to the most complex. They have more to do with the mechanisms of how we learn, remember, problem-solve, and pay attention, rather than with any actual knowledge”
How people can problem solve is really a key reason you will hire them. Their experience is one thing but how they approach new situations and solve for them is something different.
- Require a presentation or case study to test knowledge, preparation skills and presentation skills. Many times we rely on conversation and straight interviewing to make a hiring decision. Put the burden of proving their skillset on the candidate by requiring them to prepare a case and present to your team. Examples can be:
- Chief Revenue Officer: 30-60-90/year plan, go-to-market, and scale
- Field Sales Executive: Play out the case study you provide to test solution selling techniques
- Marketing Manager: Test writing skills on the spot and ask for a product launch plan
- Multiple touch points. Meeting a candidate multiple times and having a variety of people give opinions on the candidate is the best way to ensure there are no quick judgements made either positively or negatively.
- Blind reference checks. This is a critical step in making a final decision. The old way of calling a person provided by the candidate to tell you how great they are is quickly going away. Online blind reference checking systems are finally giving references the ability to give truthful and helpful information regarding candidates.
- Sleep on it. “Hire slow” is a term that we hear a lot and sometimes hate because we need the person in place making an impact now. But remember, the cost of making a bad hire and the damage, sometimes irreparable, that can be done. Slow down, stop feeling, and think about this decision.
Adding even a couple of these strategies can guide you to making the right hiring decisions. It’s a process that needs refining over time. Remember, nobody can foresee the future when you hire but the more data points at your fingertips the less risk you will have and the less emotions needed to build your business with world class talent.
