Skip to content

Four Hiring Process Best Practices

From distributed teams to diversity and inclusion programming, the modern office is different from the workplace of a few years ago. Changes in how we work – location, environment, communication – require changes in how we hire. Hiring process best practices that worked before daily Zoom meetings became the norm may not identify the hires you need or give your candidates the experience you’d like.

We spoke to our own Jen Rifkin, Chief Customer Officer at Cangrade, for her insights on hiring process best practices. Including what makes good policies great and how smart companies have adapted traditional methods to leverage technology.

1. Prioritize the Candidate Experience

Jen’s number one suggestion? “Invest in tech, but not at the expense of human connection or the candidate experience.” While applicants appreciate an efficient hiring process, prioritizing speed over communication can leave candidates feeling confused or cold. Taking the time to ensure that applicants receive personal guidance about expectations, timelines, and processes not only helps prospective hires put their best face forward, but it also provides reassurance that they’re “more than just a number.” 

Even better? A hiring process that adds value for candidates. Take the Cangrade Applicant Report as an example. Anyone who completes a Cangrade Pre-Hire Assessment receives a summary of his or her results via email with their top strength, development priority, and career motivation that they can use to inform their job search.

2. Choose the Right Solutions for Your Organization

Deciding to bring on a new talent management solution can be overwhelming if you don’t take the time to consider what role your organization wants technology to play in hiring. Not every solution will fit every organization, and there’s no need to spend time or resources teaching your hiring managers to use solutions that don’t add value. According to Jen, a hiring or talent management solution should serve a specific purpose or solve a particular problem. Hiring process best practices require careful consideration of what works as well as what doesn’t in your current process so that you can choose the right tool to support your human resources team.

3. Let Machines Do What They Do Best

And leave the rest to your team. Hiring process best practices put humans at the center, focusing on the applicant experience and the needs of your hiring and recruitment team. Jen explains that AI and machine learning should free up your human resources team to focus on what they do best – not replace them. A data-driven talent management tool like Cangrade’s can identify the soft skills required for a role far more quickly and efficiently than a human can and reduce the risk of bias with structured video interviews. But leave tasks that involve skills like displaying empathy or building relationships to your team, not an algorithm.

4. Build Equity into Hiring

Hiring process best practices for the modern workplace prioritize equity and fairness in hiring. “Most of our customers are actively looking to increase diversity and see the business value in hiring from diverse backgrounds,” explains Jen. “This is one area where machines do much better than humans.” Research confirms this – machines can assess far larger populations of applicants than human hiring managers, and aren’t subject to unconscious bias or swayed by irrelevant credentials.

Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all hiring process for every organization. But whether you’re filling roles for a multinational organization or a lean startup, your hiring process best practices should put people first, with technology in a supporting role.

Ready to explore how Cangrade’s solutions can support your talent pipeline?