Hyrell Online Hiring Systems Blog

While we do find this comic funny, it also illustrates the truth about the thought-process of many applicants. Try Hyrell and let us show you how an online hiring system can give you a better picture of your applicants.

(Comic By: Steve Kelley & Jeff Parker - View Source Here)

It’s been said the average hiring manager gives about 15 seconds of their time to a resume before they decide if it is worth a follow-up. In those 15 seconds you are typically looking for an easy-to-read-format, verifying the qualifications are met and reviewing the applicants job history. Make sure that in your haste you aren’t bypassing these 5 red flags:

• Spelling, grammar and formatting errors. This may seem like a no-brainer but you’d be surprised at what you’re willing to overlook from someone with the right job title from a big name employer.

• Failure to follow directions. If you leave specific instructions on how to apply and they aren’t followed, alarm bells should be going off. This is the biggest sign that this person doesn’t care one bit about your requirements or goals as a company. Next!

• A career history that has plateaued or backtracked significantly. An applicant with a consistent history of regression or a long period of stagnation with no explanation is a warning sign. If you’re looking to fill a position with a lot of growth potential, don’t set your expectations too high that they will grow with it.

• Overqualified Applicants. It may be completely possible the applicant is just making some life changes and less responsibilities or a different career path fit into that but it’s also likely that your company could be being used as a stepping stone until something better comes along for them.

• Lack of customization for your position. When responses are customized it tells you that they understand your company, the position and what you are looking for in an employee. No customization says they really don’t care all that much.

Hyrell's innovative approach to hiring means you get to see your top applicants first and don't have to go diving through piles of resumes. We do the ranking and scoring for you before you even see the applicants.

For the 3rd straight year, the Hyrell Team had the opportunity to meet with many of the FASTSIGNS Franchise Partners at the 2013 FASTSIGNS Vendor Show in Dallas, Texas.

We are honored to be invited to this event each year and enjoy speaking with and learning from the FASTSIGNS community. The annual convention provides us a great opportunity to learn about the challenges that franchisees face and brainstorm on ways we can make the hiring process even easier.

This year, we took a brief poll of the convention attendees and wanted to pass along some of the (not surprising) results.

• 56% of all responders say that they “dread” hiring.

• 53% of people who DON’T use Hyrell said it took them a month or more to find their last hire.

• Top 3 Hyrell System Features that FASTSINGS Franchisees Love!

(1) Applicant Scoring
(2) Pre-Written Job Descriptions
(3) One Step Posting Process

As you can see, hiring is still one of the hardest business requirements for Franchisees and we often find similar results with our other franchise clients. But Hyrell offers real solutions to your hiring needs so that you can find the best people for your business.

Lastly, in our free time, we got to take in the local sites and go to see Kevin Durant play the Mavs! Jamie got us great seats that even had headrests (also known as the back wall!) Note: next time, Jamie doesn't book the tickets.

Possibility. Probability. Both terms are based in statistics. Both start with a “P.” And both have 11 letters. However, there is a large divide between the two.

According to Merriam-Webster, if an event is “possible” it is “within the limits of ability, capacity, or realization.” Yet possibility does not guarantee probability.

A possible event becomes “probable” if it is “likely to be or become true or real.” For example, in business, it is possible that one hiring decision could lead to a beneficial result for you company. But is it probable?

From a statistical standpoint, probability is a spectrum. The goal of any decision maker is to move an event from the low end of the spectrum to the high end – essentially increasing the probability that a decision is correct.

How is this accomplished? By learning to love data analysis.

Large corporations use teams of analysts and mountains of data to carefully craft each decision to maximize success. However, a small business can be just as successful as a large corporation if they have the right information and the best tools at their disposal.

In the hiring space, you need to maximize the probability that you have made the correct decisions – it is too expensive not too. But how can you maximize the probability? Collect more data. Intelligently score skills. And have a smart system to help you evaluate.

Deconstructing Data
In the information age, data is king. Yet analyzing hiring data can be a daunting and seemingly impossible task to many small businesses. However, rather than running from data, small businesses should embrace the potential knowledge that increases their probability of success

After all, data is simply unrefined information that can be easily converted, given the right tools. By tracking information such as hard and soft skills, years of experience, and educational requirements, hiring managers can compare applicants objectively and make the most informed decisions possible.

Scored to Perfection
In an ideal world, every awesome applicant would be easily identified. When an applicant walked through the door, they would have a large neon sign above their heads screaming: “I’m the best person for the job!” However, sometimes in the real world, the signs are not as easy to read.

By adding additional features to your hiring process, you can intelligently score applicants to find the best person possible for your position. For example, don’t just ask for a resume of past accolades, ask them what usable skills they bring to the table. If they already know and understand your project management software, give them a gold star. If they have an advanced degree, add another star. By asking more questions, and creating scoring system, you can accurately compare applicants and increase the probability of finding the right hire.

Savvy System Use
Once upon a time, hiring an applicant involved listing an ad in the newspaper, receiving resumes and cover letters via snail-mail, and scheduling interviews over the phone – all in the hope that the right applicant would miraculously arrive at your door. Thankfully, the internet and online hiring systems have made many of these outdated practices obsolete.

With the right tools at your disposal, you can streamline your hiring process to funnel the strongest applicants through your online hiring system. Applicants can be tracked, coded and classified via a stylish, user-friendly interface – ultimately allowing you to hire the best person for the job in half the time.

In business, and in life, the key to success is to understand the distinction between possibility and probability. The goal is to increase the probability that you decisions are not just possibly – but likely correct. Will you make the right decision every time? Possibly - but probably not. However, you can increase the probability of success simply by focusing on good data, properly scoring skills and using smart decision making systems.

To run and grow a successful small business you need two things; the right product or service and great people. What many small business owners fail to realize is just how important the people part of the equation is. If a Walmart makes a bad hire, it’s not that great. But if a small shop with 10 employees makes a bad hire the costs could be devastating.

While the process of hiring, from advertising the position to the new hire’s first day, can seem like a daunting task, here are five tips to help any small business hire the best person for the job.

1. Have a Formal Hiring Process

This may seem like a no brainer but for many small and growing businesses hiring a new employee is an inconsistent process. How many times have you walked into an interview with a potential employee with a million other things on your mind and forgot to ask an important question? It happens. Outlining a specific process from beginning to end is imperative.

2. Follow Your Hiring Process

Seems like another no-brainer but as we know, you get busy. Stuff happens. Maybe you think you don’t have time and you skip a step or two to get there quicker. The ends do not justify the means when it comes to the cost of a bad hire. =

3. Look Beyond Past Performance

While past performance should never be overlooked, it’s simply not enough to put all your eggs in that basket. One big accomplishment on a resume is not enough to assume the breakthrough will be repeated for you. Just because someone sold $10M in product for General does not mean they will be able to repeat that for a small company with little to no brand recognition.

4. Pay Attention to Applicant Attitude and Company Culture

Hiring someone that doesn’t quite fit or won’t get along with fellow employees is a slow killer of small business. You want your business to run like a well-oiled machine. Hiring someone who doesn’t “get” how that machine is fueled will be of no benefit to you.

5. Always Check References

It might come as a surprise to you but people fudge the truth sometimes. Just because it’s on a resume doesn’t mean it’s true. Just because someone is charming in an interview doesn’t mean they aren’t hiding something. A person that twists the truth on a resume will likely take advantage of workplace rules as well. Checking references may seem laborious, but it’s small potatoes to the cost of hiring someone you need to fire after two months.

Remember, taking short-cuts to get someone behind a desk can ease immediate growing pains but can very likely create regrets in the long-term.

The key is to understand that hiring the right candidate takes time. Be patient. Do your due diligence and remember a bad hire can destroy everything you worked so hard for.

The Harvard Business Review recently wrote a thought-provoking article about efficiency. There was one particular paragraph that summarized the article and caught our attention:

“Too much efficiency can be just as deadly as too little, if it leaves an organization unable to cope with change — either because it's too fragile to survive a crisis or too rigid to adapt to industry changes. So the goal should not be greater efficiency, but rather efficiency where it makes sense.”

We all focus on efficiency all of the time, but there is an important distinction to be made between too much efficiency and the proper blend of efficiency that generates results.

Naturally, this distinction also applies to the hiring arena.

If you are using a recruiting management or applicant tracking system, many will screen out just about every applicant if your criteria are too stringent (“sorry you can’t apply – you only have 23 of the 24 characteristics we are looking for in our next hire – auto rejection!”). It turns out that efforts to be as efficient as possible may turn out to be deadly, just like the HBR article suggests.

How can it be deadly? Simple. If you are too strict on the applicants you that consider, the odds increase that you will miss out on potentially great applicants. You may want 5 years of experience but there is an otherwise perfect applicant with 4 years experience at a first rate organization that you are missing out on. If your software-managed filters are too strict, that applicant won’t make it through for evaluation.

Just like most business decisions, there is a happy medium. Certain qualifications very well may be go/no-go decisions (Certifications, Licenses, Permits, etc.). But many qualifications can be learned on the job. Often, these hungry applicants may be the best fit for your company. So use your system to guide you through the hiring process and highlight the best applicants; then evaluate applicants on what matters most to you. Be efficient but not too rigid. Your company will be better off.

This year, my wife’s birthday fell on Black Friday. She has been asking for a new camera for about six years now so I finally succumbed. I don’t deal well with holiday shopping crowds so I always default to online first. I did my research but I am not a camera expert. I wanted to play with them a bit before my final purchase. So, because I’m a good husband, I went to the store on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving; which, as you are aware, is three full days before Black Friday. I pulled into Best Buy parking lot and noticed there were already people camped out for Black Friday. Again, this was Tuesday. A sort of Black Tuesday, I guess you could say.

Since I tend to think in terms of productivity. I couldn’t figure this one out. My first logical question was, “What is that group’s time worth?” Is 96 hours of your time plus Thanksgiving turkey in a parking lot worth it? Do they realize you aren’t getting things for free on Black Friday – you are getting just a percentage off what you spend? So, let’s get this straight: you spend 3 days in line, camp out in a parking lot, miss a holiday, possibly miss time with loved ones, all for the ‘privilege’ of spending your hard earned money on some subpar quality TV that you may have to fight off a handbag-wielding grandma for?

This sounds a lot like the human resources department of many companies.

How? Most businesses spend money (on some sort of ads) to increase their workload (by reading through an avalanche of incoming resumes), all to wonder if they are getting the best applicants. The best applicants have the most companies interested in them – you’re fighting off grandmas in the form of other companies for them. But if you miss your chance because you’re too caught up working through the junk queue, you’re out of luck. (And Christmas Day will be ruined!!)

The same questions I had for the group at Best Buy applies to many people at small businesses involved with hiring - what is your time worth? Is this really the most effective way to get the most desired result?

Small businesses, unlike the Black Friday fanatics, can’t afford to waste resources. Especially when it comes to hiring!

So eat your turkey at home. And get a quality hiring tool.

Patrick Clark is Hyrell's Director of Business Development.

Anyone who has applied for a job recently knows that Applicant Tracking Systems that just take your resume and search for certain keywords are pretty much the worst thing ever created.

Applicants know that the hiring manager on the other end probably isn't reading it and is, instead, just letting the system scan it for keyword matches. Ultimately, the system spits out a list of a few candidates that have 90% of the correct keywords.

Now, from the hiring manager’s perspective, these systems are just as bad. You, as the hiring manager, are trying to manage the overwhelming flood off resumes and applicants but suspect you're often missing very qualified applicants.

Missing qualified applicants is the reason that we at Hyrell created an online hiring system that does not rely solely on the resume for the application process. In doing so, we've created a better way to ensure you're finding the right applicants.

Using custom sets of Yes/No questions that each company can create, the Hyrell system automatically ranks and scores the incoming applicants based on your most important criteria (i.e. "Do you have at least 3 years of experience in our field?”).

Then you can choose to further analyze the applicants that truly meet your needs by using our powerful Virtual Interview process. This allows you to see applicants’ long-form answers to relevant questions that you choose (i.e. “We are looking for upbeat, talented and focused individuals to help continue our growth. Please tell us why you are a good fit for this position.")

Of course, you still get to view education, past work experience and a list of references in their applicant file. And yes, you can also view the applicant’s resume as well, but at this point in the process, you have all of the background you need to make an informed decision on any applicant.

Sure, this process takes applicants a few extra minutes to complete compared to the ‘upload resume here’ button. But we view that as a positive – companies get a more complete picture of the applicant and applicants get a chance to provide more than a standard resume and cover letter. Don't you want someone that REALLY wants the job and isn't just sending their resume to every position available? Remember - just because you know Microsoft Paint, doesn't make you a designer!

We're not suggesting you go resume-free but we do know one thing for sure - There's a Better Way to Hire!

The team at Hyrell is constantly striving to improve our application and pass along valuable and time saving features. We are happy to note the following enhancements to the system that are included in our May 2012 Release.

Background and Response Tip

In the Virtual Interview response section of the Applicant’s file, Hiring officials can now see the Background and Response Tip in addition to the Virtual Interview question (and applicant’s answer to the question). Prior to this release, and for the sake of brevity, hiring officials were only presented with the virtual interview question and applicant’s response. Now, the hiring official is provided the full context of each virtual interview question.

Forward File Identifier

Up until this release, the name of the originator of a forwarded file did not appear in the automatic Forward File email signature element. The assumption was that the originator of the forwarded file would identify him/herself in the comments section of the communication – not always so. At times, files have been forwarded without comment which masked the identity of the sender. With this release, the name of the sender will now automatically appear in the sender’s signature element of the forwarded file email.

Search Enhancement in Library Positions Tab

The system has been modified with better search functionality in the Positions tab of the Library. Now, you may search using any word or component of the position title.

EEO Page Enhancements

The EEO page now includes the following:

• A header statement that informs the reader that EEO is a federally-mandated, voluntary step of the job application process
• A means to self-identify the race of an individual who is of two or more races
• A Veterans identifier selection
• A Disabled Applicant identifier selection

Many departments within small and medium businesses (SMBs) have adopted technology to gain efficiencies. To save time. To become more productive. To increase profits.

However, one area of a company that often lags in technology adoption is recruiting and hiring.

Which is both ironic and unfortunate.

It is ironic because human resources and their hiring activities were early adopters of technology within the SMB world. The HR world was online when clouds only related to weather and they have been posting openings on internet job boards going back to the 1990s.

More than a decade ago, hiring officials knew they could use technology to help attract applicants. Yet, today many are still using the same methods. Receiving emails with resumes attached isn’t cutting edge (or efficient) any longer. It's now merely just the beginning of a cumbersome and manual process.

This is also unfortunate because there is a new breed of technology that can dramatically increase the probability of finding the right hire. Simply posting to a job board isn’t enough.

There is now a solution that attracts, and more importantly, highlights, best-fit applicants. The needle can now be pulled from the haystack without hours and hours of wasted time.

So we urge you, human resources, take back the lead in technology adoption!

There is a better way to hire.