Create A Mature Hiring Process - Lesson Learned

Create A Mature Hiring Process - Lessons Learned, Episode 46

Like most companies, we started hiring people well before we had a process. My first employee was someone who contacted me and asked if he could tag along and he would only charge me if he produced billable labor. He wanted experience in the field and I was happy to assist.

My next employee was my first attempt at hiring someone full-time. It didn't work out. (I tell the full story in Episode 21. See https://blog.smallbizthoughts.com/2025/03/trying-to-get-that-first-employee-take.html.)

Eventually, I figured out how to hire people effectively. And, eventually, we went from just finding "someone" to a clear and consistent hiring process. This was fine-tuned over the years as we grew to five and ten and more employees. I think we topped out at sixteen.

Through all that I learned the elements of a Mature Hiring Process. What's that? A mature hiring process is one that fits holistically with all of the processes and branding of your company. That includes:

• Well defined job descriptions. These are drawn from the always-changing list of talents and knowledge you need in your business. 

• Draft job advertisements that are 95% ready to go. These are drawn from the job descriptions and highlight the skills you need.

• An interview process, which should include more than one interview and should engage a variety of existing employees who will work with or manage the new hire.

• Draft of interview questions for each stage of the interview process that are 90% ready to go. These should be opened ended as much as possible and should draw out the candidate's knowledge of the skills outlined in the job description.

• Draft of candidate evaluation forms to be filled out by all interviewers that are 90% ready to go. Evaluations for focus on assessments about skills defined above as well as impressions of whether this person would be a good team fit with company culture.

• Optional: You may wish to ask finalist candidates to fill out DISC profiles or other personality profile assessments.

• A process for offering the job, agreeing on salary, and defining start date.

• An onboarding process that includes preparing for the new hire (create accounts, assign desk, etc.) as well as a schedule for what they will do in the first day, first week, and first month. All of these are designed to welcome them into your culture and help them to become comfortable with your employees, clients, and procedures.

• A goal-setting process for the remainder of the calendar quarter that is 90% ready to go. This helps to focus the employee's attention on the things you need them to learn and achieve. Most of these criteria should be based on the job requirements and job description above.

• A draft of the employee's quarterly evaluation based on the quarterly goals. Again, 90% complete before the hire begins. This will be updated and flow directly from the employee's personal quarterly written goals.

I know that sounds like a lot, but remember: You're already doing all of this already (or almost all). You might do it haphazardly, without focus, and without drawing lines that flow from skills needed to job descriptions, interviews, and all the way to evaluations, but you do something. Start by documenting that.

One of the best ways to standardize and use a fairly long, complicated process is to start with where you are. That gives you a written process to edit and update. Then, with each hire, update the job descriptions, update the job ads, update the screening process, and so forth. 

Again, you're going to go through all those steps anyway. Beginning with your second hire, you will begin saving labor and improving your hiring process because you won't have to "start over" or "recreate" it with every hire. You'll fine-tune those questions, and evaluations, and first-day agenda.

A mature hiring process helps you to onboard employees effectively by finding people who meet your needs and fit with your team/culture. It also teaches them the importance of your processes and puts them on the path to learning your processes.

Most importantly, in the big picture, a mature hiring process helps build your brand by helping you to hire people who will effectively represent how you want to be seen by clients and assuring that they use your processes consistently. Branding is not your logo; branding is every single thing you do. And that certainly includes how you hire and outcomes of your hiring process.

Eventually, our hiring process evolved to include about three hours of interviews in one day, followed by a lunch with as many staff as were available. When we followed all of steps consistently, we hired really good people who were a really good fit with our culture and who represented us well. 

When we (I) hired outside this process, which happened exactly three times, we got disappointing results, including one person who just didn't work out, and one person who is the only employee I ever fired for cause. Some days I want to hire him back just so I can fire him again.

What's your experience?

All comments welcome.

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Episode 46

This Episode is part of the ongoing Lessons Learned series. For all the information, and an index of Lessons Learned episodes, go to the Lessons Learned Page. 

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