Hiring Smart in 2008

Have you thought about how you will be handling your business demands this year? With the New Year underway, you have undoubtedly developed a plan for business growth and increased sales. But, are you appropriately prepared to meet those demands? Developing a hiring strategy for 2008 is the best way to ensure that you meet your goals, while not unloading too much of your profits into unnecessary hiring costs.

In order to reach maximum productivity, employers need to be sure they are hiring the right types of employees for their business needs. In the past you may have thought bringing on a full-time employee was the way to go - but, this year, why not create a hiring strategy that meets your specific business needs? Below are some guidelines that will help you do just that:

1. Match your hiring strategy to your business strategy. A company’s hiring strategy must coincide with its business strategy. For instance, if your business is customer or market driven, you need to figure out how to hire talented marketing personnel in order to maximize market share. To be effective in meeting company objectives, your hiring plan must mirror your future goals.
2. To hire or not to hire? One of the first steps when drafting a hiring plan is determining why you’re looking to hire. It may be because there is a temporary spike in business or because a valued employee is out on leave. But before placing job ads and spending countless hours recruiting and interviewing candidates, you will want to determine if there are other ways to meet business demands. Perhaps rearranging work schedules so that more staff is on during peak hours, assigning overtime hours, or reorganizing employee tasks to allow for more time spent on critical projects may help to minimize the need to bring on new personnel. Bottom line: weigh your options and make sure you are maximizing the use of your available resources.
3. Identify spikes in business. Identify patterns of increased demand, either certain times of the day or certain months of the year, that are particularly busy. For instance, sales in the retail industry spike drastically during the months of November and December. Employers are going to want to make sure they have enough staff on hand during these critical times. A good solution for busy times may be to hire temporary, part-time, or seasonal workers who can help out during the rush.
4. Evaluate your needs and available options. Once you are aware of exactly why you need to hire, look for the type of employee that best fits that need. If you need to bring on someone new to help fill a void left by someone out on leave, consider hiring a temporary worker. If you need to complete a specialized project, consider the expertise of an independent contractor. Just remember to always think about why you need the help and who can best fit your needs before jumping into the hiring process.
5. Identify critical positions. Identify the positions that need to be filled immediately. Target your recruiting efforts here before moving to the less critical positions. And to fill those less than critical positions, it may be more practical to use temporary or part-time workers, leaving the permanent full-time openings for the company’s core positions.
6. Determine the best method for recruiting. Another important consideration when hiring a new employee is the determination of who will be handling the recruiting. Typically, this decision is based on the type of employee you wish to bring on. Hiring temporary workers requires contracting with a contingency search firm and hiring for a very specialized type of position may require the expertise of a seasoned recruiting professional. But for lower-level positions, placing a job ad in the local newspaper or on an online job board may be all you need to find the right candidate.
7. Attract the right people. If you will be handling the recruiting internally, you will need to be sure to place job ads that will attract the types of employees you are looking for. For instance, if you’re looking to bring on a new IT person, the use of internet postings are going to be essential. You also want to be sure to clearly communicate job requirements, so that you don’t receive loads of inquiries from applicants that are under-qualified or those that are extremely over-qualified.
8. Identify critical competencies. When hiring for any position, it’s necessary to determine which competencies are needed for successful completion of one’s job duties. And sometimes these competencies aren’t position based, but company-specific values, such as customer service, teamwork, or innovation. Whatever knowledge, skills, and abilities are needed for the role, be sure to identify them prior to recruiting for the position so that you can find someone that will truly be able to meet your business goals.

By establishing a concrete hiring plan, you can be sure that your hiring efforts are appropriately directed toward meeting your business objectives. Poor planning when it comes to hiring can lead to an understaffed workforce; and sometimes even worse, an overstaffed one. By hiring smart for 2008 you’ll see a huge return on investment by maximizing your human capital.