Understand the Hiring Continuum

One of the most important factors in the success of a company is having good employees. Having good employees is achieved by making good hires. However, oftentimes the rapid pace of business means the hiring process is not as polished as it should be and only begins when a hole is left in the company that needs to be filled immediately. Doug Howard of Remodelers Advantage argues the key to improving the hiring process is understanding the hiring continuum—the entire scope of the process, which includes steps before and after the recruiting, interviewing, selection, and offer phases.

The Before
Prior to the recruiting and selection phase, there should be a “needs assessment and planning” phase. We know that successful companies are continuously assessing their hiring needs well in advance.

What positions will we need to fill in the next several years as we grow?
What should the next hire be in that sequence?
What positions create an issue if someone moves on or retires?
What positions are critical to the growth and success of the company?

These are some of the questions that can help a company assess their hiring needs in advance, develop a plan for hiring, create profiles for each position, and practice continuous recruiting. With this type of planning in place, companies can move quickly and effectively when an opening occurs, workload demands more staff, or it becomes clear that a change is needed.

The After
Once the interviewing, selection, offer and acceptance phases have been completed, there should be a well-executed onboarding phase that immediately follows. A strong onboarding process is one that clearly communicates company values, job responsibilities and expectations.

The first 60–90 days is critical in making sure your new hire becomes part of the team, understands what they need to be successful and gains confidence in the new company that they have just joined. You and your team must also use this time to fully assess if the new hire is a good fit, if they possess the skills needed and if the pace of work and learning meets the needs of the company. You should determine in advance what a new hire should know and what they should be able to do at certain milestones (30, 60, 90 days) into their onboarding process.