Hiring Great Talent Checklist

Determine Need for Hiring: Job Vacancy or Practice Growth

Panic vs. strategic hiring: NEVER make a hiring decision when you’re in a crunch situation!

1. Assess the Hiring Need

a. Is this the right job given our current goals?
b. What are the essential job functions of the position?
c. How will I ensure that our hiring process complies with employment laws?
d. What kinds of previous experience and skills do we need?

If the answers to these questions point to the need to fill an existing or add a new position, then proceed with creating a hiring plan.

Hiring Plan

1. Establish Interview Protocol

a. Clarify how the full hiring process will be conducted and documented.
b. Understand compliance areas and address protocols for ensuring compliance.
c. Determine the criteria for evaluating applicants.

2. Ensure Compliance

Get to know and understand your employment laws applicable to the hiring process including applicable federal and state employment laws. These employment laws exist to ensure that: an employer’s hiring process is nondiscriminatory and applicants are treated fairly in all hiring matters.

3. Create Job Description

a. List all tasks and responsibilities associated with this position.
b. Contain timelines for the tasks and responsibilities.
c. Determine whether this is a full-time or part-time position.
d. Determine whether this is a temporary or permanent position.
e. Establish salary range and benefits.

Having done all of your preplanning, you are now ready to begin the hiring process.

Hiring Process

An effective hiring process ensures that all activities in the process comply with employment laws. It has five major components:

1. Advertising
2. Screening
3. Interviewing: Telephone, In-person, Team, Working
4. Background Checks
5. Selecting: Presenting an Offer

Be sure to document each step of your hiring process and retain all documentation.

In the event that a job applicant or candidate logs a complaint with a regulatory agency and you are questioned about it, you will appreciate having this information handy.

Avoid Common Mistakes in the Hiring Process

1. Taking shortcuts in the hiring process.
2. Failure to conduct a needs assessment.
3. Comparing a candidate against another instead of against job-related criteria.
4. Inappropriate comments made during an interview.
5. Talking too much as an interviewer.