The hiring game can be exhausting for everyone involved. You announce an opening, résumés flood in, and candidates begin showing up for interviews…and second-round interviews. As a leader, you’re faced with a tough decision that could mean something wonderful for your company — or endless headaches and lots of resources wasted on hiring and training the wrong person.
When you finally make your choice and announce the company’s newest hire, no one in the trenches is as excited as you are. It’s no wonder. Your employees are left wondering who this new person is, what you saw in him, and where they stand. Tension can run even higher when you bring on someone to manage current employees.
Sometimes, you find out very quickly that the candidate wasn’t as good a fit as you thought, and that’s a drain on company resources and morale.
It’s time to change the cycle. You can fill your team with talented, accomplished new hires who will gel with your company culture and stick around for the long haul, and you can do it without paying thousands of dollars for a corporate headhunter.
It’s just time to involve the great people you’ve already got.
Why You Should Get Your Employees’ Input on Hiring
If you don’t think it’s realistic to involve current employees in the hiring process, consider Amazon: The behemoth online retailer has 97,000 employees, and yet it still has current employees vet (and even scout) potential new hires. Here are some benefits to bringing your employees into the hiring process.
Your Employees Are the Ones in the Trenches
Your current employees are the best way to ensure the person you hire is a person who can do the job because they’re the ones who know what it takes. The people who will be working closest to this new hire are the ones who know what she will need to succeed in her new role.
Employee Involvement Builds Team Morale and Loyalty
The employees who know what the new hire’s role will entail are probably the ones who will be working closely with this person the most. It’s important that they believe in the new person’s abilities, and bringing them into the decision-making process will make them more loyal to the person you ultimately choose.
Giving these employees responsibility in the hiring process is a win-win. The process makes them invested both in your company and in this new person, which helps cultivate an atmosphere of loyalty and togetherness that leads to better business.
A More Thorough Interview Process Means More Committed Hires
If you want an employee who will stick around for the long haul, invest in the hiring process. H.Bloom, a fast-growing floral franchise, realized that the more its prospective hires were exposed to current employees and on-the-job training, the more committed its hires were in the long-term. It opted to add a full day of on-the-job training to its program to make sure each candidate was exposed to as many facets of the position as possible.
How to Transition into Employee-Led Hires
Incorporating current employees into the hiring process can transform your business if you take the time to do it right. Here are some tips to make the process as seamless (and fair) as possible.
1. Set clear hiring expectations.
At the start of the process, make it clear to employees what you’re looking for when it comes to skill set, experience, and attitude. Then, ask for their feedback. Bringing different perspectives together for a similar goal will provide a multi-faceted (and more insightful) interview.
2. Bring different employees to different interviews.
Variety is key. For your first interview, bring one of your employees into the interview, and bring a different employee into the second. Or, give the candidate a tour of the building and introduce him to several people he will potentially be working with. Introduce candidates with a little background information, and let them talk for a few minutes to get a sense of the group chemistry.
3. Get individual feedback.
After the interview, ask each employee what she thought of the applicant in private. Group dynamics can sometimes sway opinion, so it’s important to get this feedback individually. Ask for a gut reaction, and then for an explanation, including an analysis of the candidate’s key strengths and any instinctual reservations.
As the leader of your organization, the final call is still yours. But employee feedback and involvement can help you analyze your decision. If you make a choice your employees wouldn’t have made, providing an explanation will help them understand what value that candidate brings to the organization, increasing employee buy-in — regardless of the outcome.