Three Steps to Improve Your Hiring Process

In January, my spouse and I made a spur of the moment decision to sell our house. It was exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time. It was hard to ignore the parallels between this experience and the hiring process. One lesson that stuck out was the fact that being prepared made all the difference. We could have just thrown the sign in the front yard but that would have increased the chance of the process falling spectacularly apart. Instead, we took time to fix up a few “to do” list items and make the house shine. Getting your agency’s house “market ready” is equally as necessary to ensure a successful hire. Don’t throw a posting out and let the chips fall where they may. Improve your interview process in three easy steps.

Step 1: Conduct Market Research to Finalize the Job Description

What type of employees do you want, and what type of employees can you get?

There are a lot of houses listed in my community, but once I finalized my requirements there were only a few that made the cut. You need to go through the same market analysis before advertising your job. Just because there are insurance people in town doesn’t mean they are prospects for you.

Step 2: Fix, Update and Enhance Your Process Before the First Interview

What will applicants think when they walk in our door?

There were a few fixer upper projects I had to do before our first showing. The same action applies to your interview process. Before you interview a candidate, take a minute to:

Step 3: Create a Checklist for Hiring Managers and Candidates

What if this process goes all the way to an offer? Are we all on the same page about what it takes to get there?

A checklist was hugely helpful in closing on our new house. I was able to make sure all my questions were answered and not a single piece of paperwork was missing. The same works for hiring a new employee. Communication is the easiest way to impress a candidate. Downstream the process and set timelines you can stick to. Here are examples of items that fall on the checklist: