Talent Matching - 5 Steps To Great Hires

Talent Matching is a service we provide our clients. But what does it mean?

Until recently, the way you bring talent into your organization has been pretty much the same. Post a job opening, see who replies, look at the candidates qualifications, do a phone interview, do in person interviews, make a decision, send an offer letter. Some organizations add background checks or other qualifying processes. Historically the success rate in the United States for a successful hire using this methodology is less than 50%. Basically the flip of a coin.

Some organizations use an assessment or have better "nets" to bring in more candidates. The success rate stays the same.

I was sitting with a business owner recently who asked me if their hiring practices were good. Here is the conversation:

Me: Tell me about your hiring practice.

Owner: Well, we post an opening, get candidates, then bring them in for an interview if their resume looks good.

Me: Great start. What else do you do?

Owner: (looking at me a bit puzzled) That is our hiring process.

Me: OH....umm...how successful is your hiring effort?

Owner: Not very.

Me: (biting my tongue and thinking of how to diplomatically approach this) Would you like to see improvement?

Owner: Of course I would! But hiring is such a drain on our resources.

Even in today's world of technology and instant access, most organizations hiring practices are not leveraging everything available to them.

 5 Steps To Great Hires

1. Target. Create a realistic Selection Criteria. What does the ideal candidate bring to the table. Use that as a guide to qualify candidates. This brings clarity and consensus to everyone involved in the hiring process. Two things that will accelerate the accomplishment of the desired outcomes.
2. Sourcing candidates. This is a huge issue right now. I have been in the search and recruiting business for 35+ years. I have been and still am a hiring manager. Good talent is not easy to find. Especially right now. The "active candidate" pool (those people actively seeking new employment) is smaller and seems to be shrinking. The key to finding top talent is "passive candidate" sourcing (reaching out to people who might be interested in looking at an opportunity, but not actively seeking new employment). Only about 30% of people are actively seeking new employment, but 90% are open to looking at an opportunity. We have been doing this for many years but recently have added some new tools that vastly expand our reach. When sourcing candidates...if you want the best talent, remember that it is not about you or the organization. You need to sell them on why working with your organization is a good thing for them. The WIIFM. Think opportunity announcement, not job posting. 
3. Assess. Assessing takes many forms in the hiring process. Comparing resumes to Selection Criteria, doing social media searches, interviews, and yes...using assessments. You may have heard this from me before...PLEASE do not use just one assessment. A package of assessments that are role specific is the best way to go. Too many organizations fall in love with their assessment and that is risky. Assessments that are truly validated have a specific use. There is no magic bullet assessment. Better yet, consult with a certified assessment professional and develop a truly effective assessment process.
4. Challenge. This is a proprietary step that we have developed. Start challenging (in a good way) early in the candidate's connection with you. On the resume, don't tell me your responsibilities, tell me what you accomplished. Asked good behavioral questions in interviews. "Tell me about a time when...what happened...what did you learn?" "What was the most challenging situation you have been in at work? What did you do? What would you do differently now?" Then we provide the candidate with an actual challenge..."Sales Manager candidate, please come up with a 90 day plan to present to us with the following goals..." "Leader candidate, create a plan to increase engagement levels with employees. Include the following..." "Project Manager candidate, we would like you to outline your ideal project steps and timeline and include all of the following..." This challenge approach will have huge benefits in better understanding a candidate's skills in critical thinking, problem solving, planning, leadership, and other critical success factors.
5. 90 day orientation. The first 90 days of a new hire is what we call the "last part of the selection process." This is when they are actually doing the job. Learning. Collaborating. Leading. Selling. Influencing. There is no substitute for this time frame. However, most organizations miss the opportunity to take advantage of this window of time. This is the time for clarity about expectations, onboarding, and learning the organizational values and way of doing business.

When we employ these 5 steps for our clients, the successful hire rate doubles the national average. Would you like a success rate in hiring above 85%? Do you want to be the organization top talent WANTS to work for?

This is what we mean by Talent Matching. It is far more than recruiting or hiring. It is truly understanding the needs of the role, the team, the organization, the culture...and then Finding Ideal Talent that is the right FIT.

Copyright © 2022 EQFIT® - Author: Steven Goodner All rights reserved. No portion of this material may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact: [email protected]