Hiring Decisions

Identifying business goals and needs will enable an HR to determine the kinds of employees will be needed to complete a particular task. Hiring is a set of activities that enables employees to give outputs. An HR should be very careful before he hires any employees’. The guidelines discussed in this module should help you to make a report about hiring decision.
Hiring decisions are the most critical decisions for an organization because there will be cost involved in hiring people and also the employees who are hired should have a proper set of skills which are required for a particular post. The hiring decisions play a vital role because the person who has been hired should come out with a good outcome so that the company is free from the cost of bad hiring.
The following questions will help you in making a proper hiring decision to fulfill the business needs:

• Make a list of every duty that you feel someone else could do.
• Know the difference between what you need and what you want. Make sure you
• understand the skills – hard and soft - necessary to do the job.
• Estimate the time spent doing those duties. Could you hire a part-time employee?
• What new positions are opening up?
• Do you need a permanent employee or could you hire temporary help?
• What special skills (e.g. computer applications) will be needed?
• What work experience (e.g. in a particular area) will be required?
• Identify the job skills that are absolutely essential to do the job. Remember that skills are not likely found in a job description, which focuses more on areas of responsibility.
• When will new staff be needed?
• The number of employees that are to be hired?
• Do you have working space for an employee?
• Could the type of work be desirable for a student internship? Contact local community colleges or universities and ask about their internship programs.
• Can you hire an independent contractor to do the work on project basis or for set number of hours? This frees you from payroll taxes, but still gives you the flexibility of an on-site worker. Be careful that you don't misclassify a worker as an independent contractor. This can be costly. Check the IRS guidelines to help in determining the employee vs. independent contractor designation.
• Analyze all of the costs. Can you afford to pay someone? Remember you'll not only have the salary to pay, you'll also have benefits and tax issues to deal with.
• What would be the cost of bad hiring?
• When should hiring be scheduled to ensure a smooth transition?
• Don't just “wing” the interview. Write a structured interview question guide. The guide should include a minimum of two to four behavioral interview questions for each core skill. An automated online program like Interview Generator is easy to use and cost-effective.
  Ask open-ended questions that cannot be answered with “yes” or “no.” Open-ended questions allow the interviewer to probe how an applicant thinks and solves problems.
  Stay away from leading statements and follow-up questions. For instance, let's say you are evaluating the applicant's ability to cold call. Don't ask: "Do you like cold calling" or "This job requires a lot of cold calling. Do you mind doing that"?
• Do ask probing questions that dig deeper. Then dig some more. In fact, dig 3 times as in The Rule of 3's – You need to ask 3 questions to get to “truth”. Begin with "If we hire you, describe how you will bring in new business." Whatever he or she answers, follow with: "How has that worked for you in the past?" But don't stop now. Then ask “Tell me about another way you plan to bring in new business" or "What did you do when your marketing efforts didn't work?"
• Make sure applicants give job relevant information. A job applicant has access to an endless stream of on-line interview tips. Most applicants are well rehearsed for the interview and will anticipate standard questions. Don't accept a standard response. The interview is not a true-false test but an evaluation to see if the candidate can actually do the job for you.
  Does the hiring plan also provide for employee turnover and attrition?
• Finally, don't forget to account for your time spent recruiting, interviewing, training, and supervising an employee. Make sure you really will have some spare time left over!

By reading and learning how to make hiring decisions and how to effectively screen and interview applicants, an HR will waste less time and produce better results by hiring the right person at the right place and the right time. By learning the best questions to ask in an interview and avoiding employer mistakes and traps you will be able to find out the most suitable candidate to perform the duties.