5 Mistakes Employers Make in Berkshire County When Trying to Hire

If you're an employer looking to hire a new employee, then you know that the process can be tough. It's important not to make any mistakes during this time or else your company could end up with a bad hire on their hands. In this post, we'll discuss five common mistakes employers make when trying to find a new employee.

1.  Not Planning Ahead

It is always important to try your best to plan ahead when it comes to hiring for a new position. Trying to hire last-minute or fill a position too quickly will lead to skipping steps and cutting corners along the way.

Not planning ahead is probably one of the most common mistakes employers make when trying to find a new employee, but it also directly ties into another mistake that commonly occurs during this process - not giving the hiring process enough time. Making sure you do your due diligence in finding potential employees can take up quite a bit of time. If you try rushing through things by speeding through interviews, for example, then there's no telling what kind of employee you'll end up with onboard at your company.

The best thing an employer can do here is to be patient and take their time to find the best possible candidate.

2.  Not Casting a Wide Enough Net

It is important to cast a wide net when trying to find candidates for a particular position. This means you want to utilize: employee referrals, job boards, staffing agencies, your companies website, social media, networking events, and much more to find as many high-quality candidates.

While it may be tempting to use only your employees or the company's website when looking for candidates, this is not a good idea because you're limiting yourself.

Using many different avenues will allow employers to see a greater number of potential new hires and therefore increase their chances of finding someone who would make a great addition to the team. Using all these sources also helps give employers access to more diverse talent pools which can help open up some opportunities as well as provide them with more options for applicants they might hire from if needed down the road.

3.  Using the Job Description for the Job Posting

Having a detailed job description is crucial when hiring a new employee. However, when you are trying to attract potential candidates to apply, it is really important that your job posting attempts to sell them on the position.

If you are just using the job description for your posting, then it may turn off many potential applicants who see that they don't exactly have all of the qualifications listed or might not think there is much room to grow within this role.

You want to make sure you use language in your postings that will both attract qualified applicants as well as sell them on what a great position it would be if hired. This means being clear about responsibilities and expectations but also demonstrating how these opportunities could help someone advance their career over time. You can even go into more detail here about things like salary ranges, benefits packages, company culture, or whatever else makes your organization stand out from others!

4.  Not Following a Structured Interview Process

Having a structured interview process is important for employers to get the most out of their interviews. This means having an agenda and following it, not taking too long with each candidate, asking questions that demonstrate how they would do in specific areas if hired, and making sure to communicate clearly what you are looking for from applicants during the meeting itself.

While this might sound like common sense, many companies end up deviating from these guidelines when trying to schedule meetings or conduct them because they're simply rushing through things. If you want your hiring team members (or yourself!) to be fully prepared throughout all parts of the interviewing process then make sure everyone knows exactly who will be doing what well ahead of time so there's no confusion down the road!

5.  Skipping Reference Checks

One of the most important steps when hiring a new employee is to make sure you check their references. This needs to be done as carefully and systematically as possible so that employers don't miss anything critical about potential applicants.

When checking references, we recommend taking them one by one rather than rushing through them all in one day. You also want your teams checking these references in different ways such as by phone, email, Skype, etc., depending on what those contacts prefer! If at any point during the process it seems like an applicant was not completely honest with you then follow up accordingly and/or consider looking elsewhere. 

The importance of reference checking cannot be overstated. By taking the time to check references, employers can gather important information about what a potential candidate is like and whether or not they would fit well within their organization.

Conclusion

Finding the perfect candidate is never easy.  However, if you want to increase your chances of success then we recommend making sure that everyone on the hiring team is well prepared for the process. 

Regardless of the size of your business or company, utilizing a staffing service is a great way to increase the probability of finding the right employee for your business. At TEC Staffing Services in Berkshire County Massachusetts, we pride ourselves in successfully working with businesses to find a candidate for them that not only has the qualifications for the position but also fits their company's culture.

Better Talent. Smarter Hires.

Contact TEC Staffing today to learn more about how we can help you find your next great employee in Berkshire County! Call us at (413) 347-4871.