Making Better Hiring Decisions: What Hiring Managers Should Do

As a hiring manager, you know the basics of the position you're hiring for, but you may or may not be familiar with all of the specific requirements. With The Big Quit, the rules of the game are constantly changing when it comes to attracting and retaining talent. Having a vacant position can be exciting and stressful for companies, especially for their hiring managers. Finding a new employee can be a great opportunity to bring energy to the team, but it can also create problems if the wrong person is hired.

According to a CareerBuilder survey, 74% of employers said they hired the wrong candidate for the vacant position. If you don't want to burn out and have all the candidates mixed up in your head, be sure to limit the number of in-person interviews to no more than eight candidates. Another way to choose the right candidate is to schedule a 10 to 20 minute phone call asking them to explain their resume. Ask them to start early in their career so that you can understand why they have made certain professional changes or why they work in a particular company.

As a general rule, it's recommended that you spend only 20% of your preparation time researching the company in question and 80% of your time focusing on yourself and your relevant skills and experience. As the future manager of the new hire, the hiring manager is the main stakeholder of the hiring process and the ultimate decision maker. However, if you're a marketing manager hiring for a designer position, you might not have the same depth of understanding for the position. But the challenge remains: who do you decide to hire? Well, the hiring decision process begins long before the time when the job offer is extended, with multiple people participating at every step of the hiring process. This means that you run the risk of favoring a candidate for the wrong reasons, and that can easily lead to bad hiring that will eventually cost a lot of money. All of the above guide is intended to illustrate how good decision-making is made even before the hiring process begins, so that the hiring manager can focus throughout the process and have full confidence in every hiring decision.

Strategically defining and prioritizing the attributes needed to be successful in a position will allow you to make more informed decisions about who to hire. Involving your team members is also helpful; they tend to know the requirements of the position you're hiring for and will work closely with new employees. Look for companies with similar work cultures, or if your company has already hired someone from another company who has made a smooth transition to work and who is excelling, consider reaching out to other employees from that company who might be a good fit. Start today by requesting a demo or posting a job for free to discover how Workable can help you find and hire great people.