The ABC’s of Interviewing and Communication

Interviews are stressful, even when you’re the one hiring. Willory works with both sides of the interview process – and as a hiring agent for HR & payroll positions – you have your own stress to deal with. Whether you work with Willory or hire on your own, here are a few communication tips to make the interviewing process easier on you and help you find the talent you need:

Define Your Process
We’ve worked with clients that hire based on our recommendation and one interview as well as clients who have a rigorous, five-round process. Determine what works for you in your hiring process and stick to it. It will also help if you communicate that process not only internally, but also to candidates as they come in. Setting everyone’s expectations up front helps prevent misunderstandings, hard feelings, or bad hires.

Assess What You Need
Great, you have a requisition or permission to hire for a new job. Now what? There’s a lot to look at, including what the HR or payroll job will actually entail. The job duties can help you set expectations of experience and salary. Make a list of “must have,” “nice-to-have,” “can’t have,” and try to stick to those. Use it as a benchmark to analyze all HR and payroll candidates’ interviews. Don’t forget when setting up new roles and salaries to be aware of the DOL’s Final Rule on Overtime Compensation.

Communication Plan
Remember, 99% of your HR and payroll applicants won’t get the job. Most won’t get interviews. So, as a brand steward for your company (yes, even if you don’t realize it, you are a steward), you need to define how you will communicate with ALL candidates. How are you going to communicate with applicants? What will communication be like for those progressing to the next steps/who will they meet with? What about communication with rejected candidates? It’s best to have all of this planned out before hiring to keep the process on track.

Communicate as Much as Possible
We hate when good candidates become frustrated because they’re not updated on the process. Make sure you communicate with them about where they are in the interview process and what they can expect next.

Once you have your new hire, make sure you don’t leave them hanging and unsure of what’s going on. If it wasn’t part of the interview process, they should know who their HR contact person is, as well as any benefits they will be receiving. Additionally, handle your second choice with care because you never know if something will fall through before hiring of if they will end up being a poor fit. Set expectations before they walk in the door as an employee on their first day.