New Year New Goals: Hiring with a Mission in 2020

The beginning of the new year is always a time of renewal, hoping to make positive changes and resolve things that you may have done wrong in the previous year. Just this morning on my way to work, I witnessed over a handful of commuters reading on the train… men and women, young and old, different races, all glued to their books that looked brand new and crisp. But come February, I wondered, would people begin to fall back on their mindless scrolling habits with their phones again?

Though most new year’s resolutions tend to fade away quickly, as research suggests that only 8% of people achieve their new year’s goals, coming up with proper objectives is still a worthwhile custom to have that will help point you in the right direction. Likewise, when searching for talents, hiring with a mission in mind is what keeps the momentum going. Whether it’s to hire faster, better, or more, here are three things any employer can do to fulfill your hiring resolutions.

Identify Your Company Goals

If you’ve been hiring just to fill in the gaps, chances are, you are one of the 74% of employers who have been affected by a bad hire. Hiring without a purpose isn’t going to get you very far. Before you put out that job posting, ask yourself what you’re trying to achieve with this new person on board. For example, is it to help increase sales? If so, are you looking to expand your sales team? Have you considered other types of talents such as marketing professionals and account managers to assist with the growth?

Recognize the Hard Skills Needed

Not every job can be done by just anyone. You can’t hire a web developer who doesn’t understand the programming language used, nor can you find an accountant who isn’t proficient with numbers. Recognize the hard skills you’ll need to get the job done, and utilize simulation testing tools to accurately predict the candidate’s proficiency in the role.

Discover Job and Culture Fit

Now that we’ve entered a new decade, I’m sure we can all agree that hiring a person who is smart and qualified is no longer enough. A successful hire is someone who is also a well-fit for the role, as well as the company’s culture. To understand how your candidate might react to certain situations at work, a pre-employment assessment suite measuring their cognitive skills, interests, and personality might just be what your company needs. If you wish to learn about the person’s compatibility with your team’s culture, go for a tool with the option to customize job-specific benchmarks. As Jim Blackburn of Surve Partners said,

“You want to be able to observe how the candidate responds when fatigued to the mental and emotional challenges of your workplace, as well as how they demonstrate possessing the organization’s core foundational values.”

With 2020 here, it is crucial to plan ahead for another year of the hiring rush. Perhaps we can help you with that. What are your new year’s resolutions?