Time on the front-end will save time and money later…Part Deux

So it has been about a week since my last post, which is slightly unusual, but believe me when I say there is good reason.  Some of the reasons have been somewhat negative, such as acquiring some type of stomach bug that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy and taking almost 3 days to recover.  Other reasons have been more positive, such as working on my Cultural Anthropology class and being inundated by interview requests.  As it is after the first of the year, I had a reasonable expectation that interviewing would increase.  With that being said, I think it’s important to add some further detail to my last post.

While it is certainly important to spend the time and money upfront to ensure that you are getting the right talent, and the process that you follow in achieving this is important, keep in mind that each time you conduct the process there are certain judgment calls that must be made.  In other words the process should have a certain amount of dynamics to it; it doesn’t need to be a static “do-it-just-because” process.  As you are going through the process and interviewing potential candidates and you begin make filter decisions of who goes to the next round, it’s helpful also to keep in mind the candidates who are going through the process.  I speak from personal experience when I say that if you think it is exhausting for you to conduct the process, imagine what it is for the person coming back for fifth and sixth interviews or having to wait weeks to get a decision.

As with anything in business you should be evaluating and re-evaluating your talent acquisition process on a constant basis.  This means before, during, and after.  As I discussed in my last posting, there is obviously quite a bit of work that should go into the acquisition process before even beginning, so let’s talk about making changes during and after.  Part of the process prior to beginning should be setting certain criteria that if met during the acquisition process, will stop the process and therefore have an identified candidate.  Having these criteria will help your process to have a certain amount of dynamic flow to it, and can save all parties involved from an unnecessarily lengthy process.

Something that generally gets bypassed is talking to new hire’s about the interview process after they begin.  When was the last time you can remember being asked about your opinion on the interview process?  What about the last time that you can remember asking anyone about the process?  This type of qualitative data is definitely necessary to continue to grow, develop, and refine your process.  Was it too long?  Too many interviews?  Unrelated skill testing?  How applicable were the questions asked?  These are all things that you can collect quite effectively by simply conducting a post-hire survey, discussion, or (dare I say it) interview.  Imagine what type of precedence this sets with a new hire as well; from the very first day you are saying that you value their opinion and experience, as well as open and complete honesty.  I have to believe that this does noting but pave the road to success.

Hopefully with these things in mind, you can create your own successful talent acquisition process and make things quicker and easier for both you, and those whom you are working to bring into your organization, while not sacrificing the ability to get the best quality and best matching candidate.

The long and short of it.

As I think about why I decided to start a blog, it occurs to me that at it’s simplest it comes down to one thing: I have something to say.  I have been given the opportunity to experience quite a few different things in life, and continue to search out new experiences on a regular basis.  These can be experiences in food, business, family, friends, nature, art, music…practically anything.  So what do you do with these experiences?  You share them!

Ultimately, that’s what I hope to do here is share where I’ve been, where I am, what I’m thinking, and where I’m going.  Believe me when I say that there is plenty going on now, and that has happened already, for me to share about.  Even as I am typing this, my not-quite-two-year-old son is climbing on my lap to see what I am typing, as well as climbing on everything else, my wife of just over a year is at work, I’m listening to Slacker Radio (currently Breakeven by The Script on the Alternative channel) and wondering if I’ll hear from one of the 200 jobs that I have applied to in the last 60 days (I wish that I could say that I was being facetious), while working on my new blog and getting ready to read more of “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell (which has definitely given me some ideas to post here!).

So hopefully this doesn’t scare anyone away, and hopefully you enjoy what may come!  I know I certainly will.