Importance of looking beyond to hire the right person

This article is a submission by 20four7VA. 20four7VA is a trusted remote hiring company specializing in cost-effective, end-to-end offshore contract staffing solutions to all businesses worldwide. 

Picture this: you’re trying to fill an open position in your organization.

You follow your typical recruitment plan to a T — creating a job ad, screening resumes to weed out applicants outside your “priority schools,” and conducting run-of-the-mill interviews until you land on who you think is the best candidate. 

But after a few months or so, you notice something. The job fit is poor, and you’re not getting the results you were hoping for.

If this series of HR events feels familiar, then perhaps it’s time to reevaluate your hiring approach. Look beyond what seems good on paper, discover other ways to address your business’s needs, and hire the right person.

Why do you need to hire the right person?

Hiring the most suitable candidate for the position is crucial for your business. Here are the top reasons why:

Increased productivity

Someone who’s the right fit will be more productive than someone who’s not.

Your new hires will still require onboarding and training, but they are already equipped with the foundational skills and positive attitude to contribute to reaching your goals.

Lower turnover rates

When your new hires are a good fit for the roles and the company, they are more likely to stay. They understand and embrace their roles and have the right toolkit to meet their employer’s standards.

They’ll also feel more motivated to work with your company for longer, helping you reduce your turnover rates.

Boosts employee morale

Poor hiring is burdensome for all parties involved. Employers don’t get the results they need to reach their goals.

On the other end, employees feel dejected for not meeting their KPIs. This situation can even affect the morale of other workers.

Cost savings

While it may take a little more effort and time, hiring the right person can save you plenty of resources in the long run. Suitable talents are less likely to make costly errors and require less one-on-one coaching and training to do the basics of their role.

Excellent hiring also means getting it right the first time. You don’t need to always look for replacements, which will require additional recruitment costs and efforts.

Looking beyond to hire the right person

A great exercise for any business is to look beyond what you’re comfortable with. This digital age offers a lot of tools that can help you achieve your goals.

The same goes with hiring; you need to look beyond what you’re already used to to move forward and improve.

Look beyond prestigious names

Companies still make the mistake of prioritizing candidates from well-known schools. Some even include this requirement in their job ads, discouraging perfectly suitable jobseekers from lesser-known schools from throwing their hat in the ring.

Thinking that elite schools are the only ones that can produce high-performing employees is an outdated belief. It can cause you to miss out on talents that other schools have produced.

When crafting a job ad, use inclusive language and tone. Doing so allows you to attract more diverse talent.

Instead of using limitations that won’t necessarily translate to better quality talent, focus on providing a clear description of the scope of work as well as a small introduction about your organization’s culture.

These things can help you find the right job fit better than limiting your pool to select educational institutions. 

Look beyond technical skills

As the famous HR saying goes, “Skills can be taught; attitude cannot.” Technical skills are essential, especially for more specialized roles like web development and data analytics.

However, recruiters must look beyond technical skills or “hard skills.” They need to assess whether or not a candidate possesses the soft skills and qualities that align with the company’s values and culture.

You can train new hires to acquire the skills to help them perform better in their new role.

But you’ll be up for a bigger challenge when you hire someone whose attitude goes against your organization’s values (e.g., teamwork, respect for time, organization, etc.).

Changing someone’s perspective or something they’ve learned since their younger years will take plenty of time — something not all businesses may not have the benefit of investing.

Look beyond executing the same drill 

The recruitment process typically looks like this:

• Post job ads
• Screen resumes
• Interview candidates
• Create job offers
• Onboard new hires

There’s nothing wrong with this flow. However, it becomes less effective when you simply go through the motions just to tick your boxes.

You need to look beyond simply executing the same drill because it’s what you know.

For example, if you’re filling a technical position, consider testing the candidates’ skills through an assessment.

Reviewing resumes can be good when shortlisting, but testing applicants’ can prove to be helpful when choosing between shortlisted candidates.

This may be an extra step in the hiring process. But it can make the difference between a poor and excellent hire.

Look beyond traditional staffing

Today’s modern workplace provides various staffing options to businesses. You can look beyond the traditional recruitment approach to hire the right person for the role.

Because today’s technology makes telework possible, you can work with skilled talents residing not just outside of your city but all over the world through remote staffing.

By hiring remote workers, you have access to a wider talent pool. You don’t need to worry about geographical limits; you can simply focus on finding the best talent for the job regardless of where they’ll be working.

Another upside of an alternative staffing option, like hiring virtual assistants, is that it can be more cost-effective. You can work with top-tier remote talents who can provide the support you need at a fraction of the price.

Virtual assistant staffing means you don’t have to worry about bloating overhead costs.

Virtual assistants are independent contractors who work remotely, allowing you to save on transportation allowances, office equipment, and other costs related to hiring in-office employees.

Hire the right person to stay ahead 

Hiring the best person for the role is crucial. You must invest time and energy in the process, from creating the job ad to assessing candidates. 

It’s also important to actively try and look beyond what you’re used to doing. You can’t expect new results by doing the same thing over and over again.

Reassessing your current approach and rediscovering new routes can help take your business to the next level.

Your efforts to look beyond what’s comfortable or the status quo shouldn’t be limited to your hiring process.

Consider reevaluating your business’s other facets to identify and address gaps. This means continuous rediscovery and improvement, allowing you to keep your competitive edge.