New Hire, Who This?

You’re nearly there! The finish line is near but before you start slowing down, here are three things you need to make sure you’ve got organised before you even think of onboarding a new candidate.

Setting expectations

After the interview, let the candidate know what to expect. It’s the courteous thing to do and that way they will know what will be coming going forwards in the process. If you just assume they will wait around the phone to hear your call, think again. They might be interviewing with other companies and if that company gets to them first because they haven’t heard from you, then you could lose them. It’s a competitive market out there so setting expectations is a simple, sure-fire way to make sure that you keep them engaged. 

References 

Sure, reference checks are good to confirm that the candidate has the experience and qualifications they claim but they can actually provide far more value than just that. They can help uncover how a candidate performs in the workplace and the management style that will help them achieve the best results which can provide invaluable insight. It means that you won’t have to start from scratch and can learn how they work best from their previous colleagues. 

We suggest doing them over the phone where possible as you get more of an opportunity to feel it out and find the edges as compared to a form. Make sure you also listen in-between the lines as what’s not said can be quite telling. For example, if you asked, “will you hire them again, given an opportunity in the future?” and you’re met with hesitations, that’s an opportunity to dig around that and find out why are they hesitating.

• For a junior to mid role, we’d suggest checking out two references, preferably from their last few roles.

• For a senior leadership/management role, we’d suggest doing a 360 reference check. That means getting a reference from someone who was previously their line manager, someone who worked with them and someone who reported into them. That way you get a holistic understanding of who they are and how they operate. 

Try to get references from their latest and most up to date role as people change over time, so getting a reference from 5 years ago may not be a true reflection of how they operate. 

Dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s. 

Make sure you get all the final approvals organised as soon as you make the decision post interview. People get busy, tasks arise and things get delayed so the sooner you get onto it, the quicker the entire process will be. Again, time is of the essence when it comes to hiring the candidate! 

As long as you nail this checklist in a timely manner, you’ll have no problems with getting the candidate onboard. We see time and time again, that long and drawn out processes turn candidates away so make sure you get into these tasks as soon as the interview stage is over. Good luck and happy hiring!