Jen Chelini | October 23, 2023
By Jen Chelini
At Leap Solutions we believe in a partnership between our clients and us for recruiting the best-fit hires. When hiring an employee, we all want to get it right the first time around. In our newsletter this month, we share our “why” for your next great hire.
In this issue of our newsletter:
- Applications
- Reference Checks
- Background Checks
I believe we can all agree that when hiring an employee, we want to get it right the first time around. It is more effective to take the time ahead of hire to do a little more work to know/understand who someone is, rather than jump quickly to hire them only to find out they are not a cultural fit, leaving us to have to deal with a bad hire.
Why exactly do we want prospects to fill out applications? Why do we want to conduct reference checks? Why conduct background checks?
Here are some key points that highlight why the Candidate Discovery process is crucial to the hiring process:
Applications
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- Screening Candidates: Applications offer more detailed and structured information than resumes, enabling recruiters to assess whether candidates meet job qualifications.
- Legal Documents: Applications serve as legal agreements that authorize various checks and acknowledgments related to employment terms and attesting to the truth and accuracy of information by the applicant.
- Mitigating Discrimination: Standardized applications help prevent bias by presenting consistent information across candidates, reducing the potential for discriminatory judgments.
- Information Organization: Applications consolidate essential details for efficient candidate evaluation, saving time and effort during the hiring process.
- Compliance: For government contractors, applications aid in collecting required information like race, gender, ethnicity, disability, and military service for Affirmative Action Plans.
Reference Checks
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- Second Opinion: Reference checks offer insights from individuals who have worked closely with the candidate, providing additional perspectives beyond the candidate’s self-presentation.
- Job Fit Assessment: References can provide information about a candidate’s compatibility with the team, boss, and company culture.
- Verification of Information: References can confirm and clarify details on a candidate’s resume, ensuring accuracy and authenticity.
- Identifying Red Flags: Inconsistencies or negative indicators from references can alert recruiters to potential issues or exaggerations in the candidate’s background.
- Gauging Performance: References can provide examples of the candidate’s past accomplishments, teamwork abilities, leadership skills, and overall performance.
- Cultural Fit: Reference checks can reveal how well the candidate collaborated with others, adapted to changes, and contributed to team dynamics.
Background Checks
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- Ensuring Accuracy and Completeness: Applicants may not always provide accurate or complete information on their applications. Background checks verify the details provided, such as employment and education history.
- Hiring the Right People: Background checks help employers hire the most qualified candidates, leading to improved productivity and a stronger workforce.
- Holistic View: Background screenings provide a more comprehensive understanding of candidates by verifying their claims, and ensuring accurate and complete information.
- Enhancing Safety: Background checks help identify potential issues like criminal history, reducing risks related to theft, harassment, and safety concerns.
- Reputation Management: By uncovering relevant information, background checks help protect a company’s reputation and brand image.
- Risk Management: Negligent hiring or retention lawsuits can be prevented by conducting background checks to validate candidates’ suitability for risk-sensitive positions.
At Leap Solutions Group we believe in a partnership between our clients and us for accurate and best-fit hires and we highly recommend candidates complete applications, as we conduct reference and background checks. Breaking down the rationale behind these recruitment steps demonstrates the multifaceted benefits they bring to organizations. An in-depth understanding of these benefits can help HR professionals make informed decisions during the candidate discovery process, leading to better hires and more effective recruitment strategies, while also reducing the risk of potential liabilities and/or legal issues.
Are You Ready to Leap?
*****
Leap Solutions is a diverse group of highly skilled management, organizational development, and human resources, and executive search and recruitment professionals who have spent decades doing what we feel passionate about helping you feel passionate about what you do. Our HR specialists can help you get a handle on the ever-changing COVID-19 guidelines, programs, and legislation that may impact you and your employees. We are available to work with you to develop practical solutions and smart planning decisions for your organization’s immediate, near, and long-term needs.
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Jen Chelini | April 25, 2023
Recruiting: Using a Third-Party Search Consultant
When you consider your options to hire new staff or find a candidate for a hard-to-fill position, it is wise to consider a third-party search consultant. What is a search consultant? At Leap Solutions Group, our search team is made up of experienced, career-long search consultants and recruiter professionals that help your company fill critical staffing needs. As an Executive Search Consultant, our team is an extension of your organization to find the best-fit candidates for your critical management positions. What is the value and benefit of working with a search consultant to find your next leaders and specialty employees? Let us take a look.
An internal hiring manager may be able to devote a portion of their days to search for the ideal candidates; however, with the many positions to fill, there may not be enough time or resources for a comprehensive, complex search for a key management position. To ensure finding the right person, third-party firms spend their time engaging with candidates, building their network of talent, actively sourcing, and researching the industry hiring trends. This building of the talent pipeline is core to what the Leap team does each day. On the other hand, a company hiring manager generally does not have the time to build a pipeline or cast a large net in the industry to find viable candidates. They can passively recruit and hope strong candidates come to them via the company careers page or from a posting on a job board. Their time is focused on the current role they are trying to fill. Building a pipeline can be difficult to do if you do not have a current opening. And most top candidates do not want to talk to hiring managers unless they have a current opening.
At the heart of the third-party search consulting firm is the database we continually build with a pipeline of qualified candidates. We foster relationships to build a strong network for use when the next opportunity strikes. A candidate’s profile will show up in our database search, and they may also come to mind based on previous interactions and the client’s current needs. We market the candidates to our client and test for cultural fit and relevance to the open position. With a solid understanding of both the client and the candidates’ offerings, we are able to make a timely introduction to the client and a potential candidate match.
Rather than posting a position and praying for applicants, successful third-party search consultants, in addition to their talent pipelines, have a cadre of passive candidates to explore for the client’s needs. Successful recruiters reach out to passive candidates, who often make the best candidate as they are currently in a position. These established relationships yield potential candidates and provide referral sources to colleagues and professional connections. The passive network brings active candidates to share with the client and allows third-party search consultants to be ready to find the right candidate for the role and move the candidates into the recruiting process. Statistically, a passive candidate is more likely to be highly qualified and does not need to seek a new position to improve their skill set or competencies. Recruiting passive candidates at Leap Solutions is a way of life. Since they are employed and not actively seeking a change, they seem to be more open about their career goals and typically, we move them to become more engaged in the process.
As your search partner, we inform and help candidates learn about why your company is a great opportunity. Key data points that you provide to us are shared with candidates, and this helps build enthusiasm for the position. As your representative, we consult with you as to why this candidate is the right one for you in this market.
We help you reality-check your requirements, timelines, compensation, and decision process by leveraging our strong understanding of both the recruitment process and the recruitment market. When competing for candidates, we make sense of what is going on in the market and realize how quickly candidates are snapped up as well as how fast other companies are making hire decisions. We dig deeper with candidates to know why they want a new role and when they are ready to make a move.
In both the short-term and long run, utilizing a third-party search consultant saves you time and money. Companies often receive hundreds of applications, and a search consultant is ready to sift through, sort, connect with, contact, and screen the right candidates for you. We conduct background and reference checks to ensure the candidate representations are accurate. We reconcile the candidates that not only look good on paper but are the right fit for you. The bottom line, we efficiently and effectively seek the right candidates to ensure your investment in a search consultant yields the ideal employee.
Are You Ready to Leap?
***
Leap Solutions is a diverse group of highly skilled management, organizational development, and human resources, and executive search and recruitment professionals who have spent decades doing what we feel passionate about helping you feel passionate about what you do. Our HR specialists can help you get a handle on the ever-changing COVID-19 guidelines, programs, and legislation that may impact you and your employees. We are available to work with you to develop practical solutions and smart planning decisions for your organization’s immediate, near, and long-term needs.
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