Human Resource 4: Process to Select the Right Employees

This continues our series about human resource functions you may need in your business. We wish to credit Dr. Lori Wadsworth for much of the research on this post.

Human resource professionals provide excellent guidelines to help you select the right employee for your company. Business owners and decision maker’s first hire people they already know, like, and trust. Their second choice remains people referred to them by the people they know and respect.

Reasons to Select the Person You Hire

Your selection process identifies the person who most meets the following criteria. The person that will:

• Do the job that you want done
• Fit into your team or organization
• Return the most profit for your investment

So, you identify the details for each of the criteria. The better you define the job you want the person to do (good job description), how the person you hire will fit into and complement your business, and how much revenues or savings you expect them to generate.

Prepare for the Selection Process

Your selection process gathers the data from the applicants to verify which one meets your criteria. You can use the following tools to select the right person:

• Prepare for the selection process
  • Review job description
  • Identify job requirements: skills, abilities, education, experience, competencies
  • Prepare interview questions
  • Attract applicants validate yield ratios
• Review application forms, resumes, letters of recommendation

Interview effectively to

• Verify education, licensure, or certifications
• Verify experience and work history

• Follow effective interview processes
  • Pre-interview preparation of solid interview questions (see step 1)
  • Put the candidate at ease
  • Interview skills include
    • Effective questions techniques
    • Listen
    • Keep the interview on track
    • Keep the interview on track
  • Close the interview

Complete Post-Interview Evaluation and Follow-up

• Review applications
• Conduct background checks
  • You are responsible for back-ground checks
  • You, as the employer, are liable for employee’s unlawful acts
• Check references
• Avoid negligent hiring
• Make your selection
• Try to compensate for potential bias: compatibility error, halo effect, black mark or horns effect, and recency effect

Thursday we will continue by examining how to orient new employees & train existing ones