Click here to get this post in PDF
HR managers are under a lot of pressure to find the right recruits and get them trained and ready to do their jobs as soon as possible. While you do not want to rush through hiring someone new and picking the wrong person and you want to make sure they are properly trained, there are steps you can take to streamline both processes.
Whether you are just getting started with recruiting or you are stuck somewhere in the middle, streamlining both these processes can make you more efficient and can help new hires feel more comfortable in their new roles.
The good news is there are steps you can use to help streamline the recruiting process as well as the steps of onboarding. Some of the steps you can choose to use here to get the right candidates and make sure they are trained include:
How to Streamline Your Recruiting Process
When it comes to recruiting, you want to make sure that you find the very best. Some of the best ways to streamline the recruiting process include:
1. Assess Your Strategy
It is hard to make some changes in the recruitment process if you have no idea what is working and what does not work in your current methods.
Rather than just using a one size fits all approach to your recruiting, it is a good idea to think things through. For a highly specialized job, it may be wise to work with a recruitment agency to help do the outreach and limit the number of resumes you receive.
You can even consider hiring from within. Upskilling some of your existing employees is more cost-effective and improves employee morale in the process.
2. Invest in Innovation
Your recruiting process will become more efficient if you can adopt the right technology into your process. Using applicant tracking software, you will be able to consolidate and filter out the candidates based on what information they provide in their applications.
If you wish to use an online psychometric test or a personality profile, then you will find technology makes this possible and keeps improving daily. Using a psychometric test in recruitment will further narrow the recruits and make it much more manageable.
There are even free personality test websites, like Personality Data and similar. These will provide you with a good prediction of how well the candidate can cope with the job long-term. Innovation and technology will help with this.
3. Automate
Depending on the job, you could get hundreds of applications. Automating some parts of the process will save you a lot of time. Something as simple as prescreening can weed out some of the bad candidates and will kick out those who would not be a good fit.
4. Keep a Checklist Handy
It is important to know what you are looking for every step of the way. Keep a checklist of the characteristics and qualifications you want in a new hire. Look at this checklist often to make sure you stick with it.
How to Streamline Onboarding New Hires
Now that you have found the perfect candidate, it is time to start onboarding the new hires. Going through training and getting employees ready to take on their new tasks can take some time. The steps you can use to streamline this includes:
1. Use Tracking Process
There are different software applications that can help lead you and your team through the onboarding process as necessary. You can even use a platform that will integrate the payroll and software all in one area.
The more you can track during onboarding, the easier it is to provide a seamless experience for your company and the new hire. Finding a good program to help with it can help.
2. Get Some Feedback
If you are stuck on ideas to use to help streamline the onboarding process, then consider asking for feedback. Talking to employees and managers is key to this. Those who do the work of onboarding and handling all of the new hires may have some great suggestions you didn’t think about.
A good place to start here is to have an employee survey about the entire process. Ask employees who just finished onboarding to fill it out to see if they see areas that need improvement or if they see a clear path of growth in their career. Talk to managers and the HR team as well.
3. Set Your Common Standards
All onboarding programs need to maintain consistency throughout the organization and for each employee, no matter what level they enter. There can be some changes based on the area they work on, such as the receptionist getting different training than the marketing team, but there needs to still be common standards.
For example, your onboarding process needs to give all employees a basic understanding of the culture and history of the company, help new hires feel like they belong, and get them prepared for the new role. Set these standards early on to help all employees get the proper training.
4. Know Your Training Needs Early On
To add more efficiency to the process, make sure to think about the individual strengths and weaknesses of a new hire. If they already know how to do several processes, then do not waste time on those items. Focus on the skills an employee will need to start their new role.
Let the managers in charge of hiring lead the way with this since they will know the most about the new hire’s skill gaps. See if they can create a 30/60/90-day plan along with weekly meetings with the new hires to see how things are going.
Adjustments can be made as necessary, but having this training plan set out from the beginning can save time and a lot of hassle.
Getting Your New Hires Started
Recruiting and onboarding are important processes for any business that would like to bring someone new into the business. By making this process as efficient as possible, you will be able to bring in the right people while not wasting time on getting employees trained. Follow the simple steps above and see how easy both processes can be.
You may also like: Five tips to get recruitment right: hiring the right people is the key to growing your business
Image source: Pixabay.com
