What Factors Would You Consider Most Important in Recruiting Employees?

The overriding critical factor in recruiting is hiring employees likely to succeed and stick around. The hiring and selection process is one of the most important strategic areas for a company. Hiring employees that are the best fit leads to stronger performance and retention. Certain technical factors are important for specific jobs, but general factors including abilities match, cultural fit and interest level apply to virtually every job.

In general, companies need to recruit employees that are most likely to produce the best results in a given position. This requires careful and strategic planning including job analysis, so the recruiter knows what to look for. Bad hires are costly to replace. Common recruiting tools are useful, such as job fairs, open interviews and classified ads. However, many top hires come through networking and finding successful workers already working within your industry.

Matching employee abilities, cultural values and interests to your company and job are equally critical. Lacking any a match in any one could lead to employee dissatisfaction and employer disappointment. If an employee cannot do the job he will not succeed. Therefore, consideration of abilities regarding technical and soft skills outlined in the job description is important. Technical skills relate to a recruit's ability to competently perform the work. Soft skills are transferable skills such as communication, integrity and responsibilities, which are valued in most jobs. Misalignment on abilities could mean hiring someone unable to optimally perform his job.

Cultural fit is important both to the company and employee prospects. Organizations have unique cultures based on shared values and common ways of doing things. Though it is tempting for recruiters to hide potential values conflicts from recruits, this only delays their discovery and increases the likelihood of wasted resources in hiring someone who will not pan out. Openness and disclosure helps assure both sides are on the same cultural page.

Another area in which recruiters are tempted is trying to press otherwise good prospects to become interested in a company or job when they are not. Similar to selling, if you have to manipulate rather than effectively persuade someone to work for you, the likelihood that he will become a satisfied and highly productive worker is minimal. Additionally, dissatisfied workers can negatively influence others around them that are interested in the work.