Selection Process: 7 Steps & Best Practices To Hire Top Talent
74% of employers have hired the wrong candidate. Regrettably, it cost them an average of $17,000 per bad hire. You can reduce the possibility of this problem happening at your organization by revving up your employee selection process.
A systematic selection process is key in finding talent and forms the backbone for effective talent management. However, employee selection has its challenges. For instance, 69% of organizations struggle to fill individual contributor roles. Your recruitment and selection process must be as comprehensive as possible to successfully attract and recognize the best candidates.
In this article, we will take a closer look at the selection process for hiring and share some best practices for designing one that will help you find top-quality employees while also delivering a good candidate experience.
Contents
What is the selection process?
Importance of a strategic selection process
7 selection process steps
Metrics used in the selection process
How to improve the recruitment and selection process: Best practices
FAQ
What is the selection process?
The selection process involves evaluating job candidates’ skills, competencies, and experience to identify the most qualified individuals for the role and the organization.
The selection starts once a job opening is advertised and candidates flow in. The process follows a funnel structure, starting with multiple applicants and progressively narrowing down the candidate pool through interviews and assessments until the best fit for the role is found.
It typically includes the following seven stages, which we will cover in more detail later:
- Application
- Screening & pre-selection
- Interview
- Assessment
- References and background check
- Decision
- Job offer & contract
Importance of a strategic selection process
Organizations usually have some type of hiring procedures in place that they may or may not consistently follow. However, having a well-thought-out strategy for the process helps you not just fill each vacancy but also contribute to the lasting success of the business.
A strategic selection process offers the following advantages:
- Supporting long-term organizational goals: Incorporating strategic objectives into candidate selection systems puts the focus on finding individuals with the skills, experience, and mindset to carry out what the organization is aiming for currently and in the future. For example, a company that is rapidly growing or facing a merger can look for candidates with attributes such as resilience and adaptability, which indicate the ability to successfully navigate change and uncertainty.
- Creating a positive candidate experience: A structured, consistent selection process helps candidates know what to expect. You can inform them of the forthcoming steps, so they feel in the loop and gauge what’s coming next. Holding candidates’ interest and providing a positive experience can make all the difference in convincing top talent to work for you. According to a PwC study, 49% of job seekers in highly competitive fields claimed to have rejected a job offer due to a bad experience in the hiring process.
- Ensuring job and culture fit: Evaluating candidates on more than just their knowledge and specialized skills helps identify who will thrive in the position and work environment. For instance, someone with the ideal technical expertise yet prefers to work alone may not do well in an organization that functions in teams with shared tasks and constant collaboration.
Starbucks provides a clear picture of its culture and values on its career page. This gives potential employees a better idea of what Starbucks would expect from them and the type of atmosphere they’d be working in. - Boosting employee performance and satisfaction and reducing turnover rates: Effective candidate vetting and selection produces a stronger likelihood that new hires will be the right fit, perform well, and find contentment in their positions. Not only will they be productive and contribute to business success, but they are also apt to stay with the company longer.
- Building a competitive advantage: A thorough and strategic selection process can support an organization’s competitive advantage by bringing in the most qualified and productive employees for improved business outcomes. It also creates a better candidate experience which, in turn, improves your employer brand. This earns you a wider and higher quality applicant pool for every job opening.
7 selection process steps
Although the specifics differ according to each organization and position, the selection process happens in a series of steps that candidates move through.
Let’s take a closer look at each step:
1. Application
Once you’ve published a job advert, candidates begin to apply. That’s the first step in your selection process. However, the number, quality, and diversity of applications will vary. Here’s what you need to about the different aspects of the application stage:
Application process
The application process itself is crucial. Is it mobile-friendly and quick? Or do you require candidates to manually fill in all the info from their CVs into your system? Requiring applicants to create a profile on your career site but failing to optimize the site for mobile are practical elements of web design can hinder HR’s success in the candidate selection process.
Test your application process yourself to understand where applicants might struggle. That way, you can ensure you’re providing a smooth application experience that won’t turn away potential employees.
Advertising channels and tools
Where you post and promote your job ads matters too. Here are the five most popular sources for jobseekers:
- Online sites: Job boards, such as Indeed, and postings on social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook.
- Company websites/career pages: If you work in HR for a large enterprise, such as Walmart in the U.S. or the NHS in Britain, many people will come directly to your site. For smaller companies, job seekers may not target your website for job announcements. However, they may refer to the website once they learn about the opening elsewhere.
- Recruitment agencies and sites: Jobhunters may register with one or several recruitment agencies or seek out field-specific recruitment sites.
- University and college career departments: Consider holding promotion and recruitment events at local, national, or international educational institutions. In Britain, the Civil Service and armed forces host many events like this, often visiting campuses with more socially and ethnically diverse populations.
- Word of mouth: Many people will ask their family and friends for advice on where to apply and for any leads on job openings.
Optimizing job ads
Digital tools can create more efficient job postings that bring in diverse applicants. Textio uses data and AI machine learning to help companies optimize their job adverts. The tool makes sure the text reflects not only what your business is looking for in a candidate, but also what culture and values matter to your company.
According to Michaela Schütt, SVP and Head of Global Talent Acquisition Ecosystem at Siemens, Textio has had a positive impact on their talent attraction efforts. At an HR tech event, Schütt mentioned that job ads with high Textio scores, meaning they follow inclusive language guidelines, brought the company 23% more qualified applicants and 11 days faster hiring times.
Why does inclusivity matter? To increase the diversity of your workforce, you must take concrete steps to expand inclusivity. Diversity matters not just from an idealist or moral perspective but also for maximum success and profit. A report published by McKinsey & Company found that ethnically diverse companies were 39% more likely to outperform competitors.
Other factors impacting the number and quality of applicants
The size of an application pool is influenced by many factors, including the following:
- External issues: These are the matters taking place outside the organization and beyond HR’s scope. Namely, the economic climate, unemployment rates, demographic trends, and social and cultural factors.
- Industry conditions: An organization’s industry also impacts the size of its applicant pool. For instance, if you’re trying to recruit candidates with specific qualifications like teachers, law enforcement, or hospital nurses, your recruiting department’s role will be more challenging than those that hire for less specialized roles.
- Internal factors: The size of an organization and its employer brand will draw in varying numbers of applicants. Google, for example, receives around 3 million applications a year. This means that, on average, more than 400 people apply per job opening. What an organization offers in the form of pay, benefits, and opportunities for progression has a considerable impact as well.
- Sourcing strategy: The number and quality of applicants also depend on a compelling job posting and where you publish it. How informative, engaging, and widely appealing it is directly impacts who you will attract. Job adverts should always use gender-neutral and inclusive language.
- Your requirements: For example, you can also assess whether higher education is a necessity for certain positions. If it’s not, you’ll increase the number of available candidates. The recent SHRM State of the Workplace report found that 28% of HR departments are relaxing their education/degree requirements. For example, The Spectator is a widely read British weekly magazine. The publication does not require a university degree or even a CV for its internships.
2. Screening & pre-selection
The goal of the initial screening phase is to reduce the pool of candidates from a large number to a manageable group of between 3-10 people who are eligible for an interview. This can be done in various ways, such as the following:
Resume screening
The most commonly known technique is resume or CV screening. Resume screening helps to assess if candidates comply with the criteria needed for the job. If you require 5+ years of work experience, a recent college graduate without this experience can be easily ruled out.
U.S. grocery chain Trader Joe’s looks for applicants who express a certain sentiment. As one store manager put it, “People who express their love for Trader Joe’s in the application are the ones that really catch our eye. They put a couple of sentences about why they wanna work here. They’ve shopped with us for years, or they grew up on Trader Joe’s. That’s a big one.”
CV reviewing in large companies can be time-consuming for HR. Software is an efficient and cost-effective way to manage this challenge. Options range from resume screening tools built into an ATS to resume screeners that use artificial intelligence to predict the quality of hire.
Be careful not to overuse this kind of technology, though. You need to ensure that it is regularly reviewed for bias. You can also consider implementing a “blind review” policy by removing all personal characteristics from resumes, such as name, age, and gender. This aims to counter implicit bias.
Phone screening/chatbot
After the resume screening, a phone (or video) screening interview is next. This helps align expectations between the candidate and employer. The recruiter can ask candidates any questions they have following the screening of resumes. The recruiter can go through a checklist that may include topics like pay expectations, full-time or part-time hours, flexible working options, starting date, and other potential deal-breakers. Since this is a fairly standard procedure, having a chatbot ask these questions is also an option.
As mentioned above, technology now enables us to do these screenings in an automated way. Chatbots ask candidates questions and make the interview interactive. An example is a large engineering company that implemented a chatbot intended to optimize the recruitment process and keep candidates engaged. The data showed that after implementing the chatbot, completion rates went up from 74% to 96%.
Pre-selection or pre-employment assessments
Pre-selection is a powerful screening method that helps eliminate potential mismatches. The SHRM State of the Workplace report (mentioned earlier) showed that 35% of HR departments rely on pre-employment tests/assessments to identify qualified candidates.
Dedicated pre-selection tools provide assessments that can include cognitive testing, a job simulation, or other tests that help to predict the quality of the new hire. Sometimes, resume screening is included in these tools.
A job simulation provides a realistic job preview. This shows both the most enjoyable and interesting aspects of a role but also the challenging elements, resulting in authentic insight for the candidate. This helps align expectations between employer and employee and leads to hires who are a stronger fit. Pre-selection tools are another aspect of the increasing role of AI technology in the recruitment landscape.
These pre-selection tests are often used for high-volume recruiting (roles with large numbers of applicants), for example, assessing a customer service rep on their active listening skills. These screening tools eliminate the obvious misfits so the most suitable candidates remain.
Be aware that not all pre-selection tools and screenings are fully accurate, so choose your vendor with care. We’ll cover other types of assessments below in stage 4.
3. Interview
The third step in the candidate selection process funnel is the most visible one, the job interview. Its purpose is to assess how well-suited candidates are for the role and gain insight into their verbal fluency and sociability.
A job interview involves the candidate being asked questions by the direct manager or the recruiter (or both). It provides the structure for posing job-related questions to the candidate and presents the opportunity to sell the job to them.
Interviews may take place virtually or in person. Many companies conduct a first-stage interview remotely for more efficient time management. Some of them then choose to do the final interview on-site to promote a stronger personal connection and allow the candidate to experience the workplace culture and environment.
Informing candidates upfront about how the interview process works can make it more productive. American software company Salesforce has an “Understanding the Interview Process” page on its website that explains who candidates will meet with and provides resources to help them prepare.
Types of interviews
There are two main types of interviews: structured and unstructured. In a structured interview, a standardized set of questions is prepared in advance and posed to all interviewees. This provides the interviewer with a uniform method of recording information and standardizing the rating of each applicant’s qualifications.
An unstructured interview does not adhere to a pre-determined list of questions. The questioning works more like a conversation, and the interviewer can improvise according to what comes up during the discussion.
In academic literature, the structured interview has proven to be almost twice as reliable as the unstructured interview (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). The structured interview enables the interviewer to accurately compare candidates and to make the best decision based on data.
Other interview types include candidates being interviewed by peers or a panel. These dialogues aim to gain insights into a candidate’s personality, behavior, and approachability among team members, or with those they will be supporting in a job.
Evaluating interviews
A common interviewing technique is the STAR method which is a systematic way to retrieve information from the candidate. STAR is an acronym for:
- Situation: Have the candidate describe a particular situation they were in.
- Task: What goal was the candidate working towards?
- Action: Have the candidate describe in detail which actions they took to make the best of the situation and complete their task.
- Result: Have the candidate describe the outcome of the action and ask what the candidate learned.
The STAR method works well to see if the candidate has the key competencies necessary for the job. If the role calls for dealing with various types of shareholders, an example question could be: “Describe a situation in which you had to manage multiple shareholders.”
Using an interview evaluation form makes the evaluation of candidates at this stage of the selection process more consistent and fair. Also, implementing interview guides will help the interviewers conduct productive interviews.
4. Assessment
While screening and pre-employment assessments can roughly weed out the least suitable candidates, a full assessment is usually more accurate.
Commonly used assessments are a General Mental Ability (GMA) test (also known as an IQ test) and a Five-Factor Model of Personality test. Higher IQ is associated with faster learning and higher top performance. While these assessments can be a part of your pre-selection process, many organizations choose to conduct them in later stages of the hiring process.
Multinational technology corporation IBM has designed “scientifically validated assessments to be engaging, fair, and relevant to each role.” With these assessments, IBM recruiters can measure skills and abilities that may not be revealed during interviews. This provides candidates with the opportunity to showcase all that they have to offer.
When it comes to conducting personality questionnaires, research shows that conscientiousness is the strongest noncognitive predictor of job performance. More conscientious candidates perform better in their jobs. Candidates who score high in conscientiousness are often described as hard-working, dutiful, achievement-oriented, and detail-oriented.
Other assessments include work sample tests, integrity tests, and job knowledge tests. The scientific literature shows that assessments in the form of work sample tests are among the best predictors of job performance.
It is good practice to have candidates do a case study or solve a real problem during their interview. This makes it possible to compare the quality of a candidate’s work with the other applicants, as well as against the expected or ideal performance. What’s more, a practical assignment also gives applicants an idea of what they’d be doing in the role.
Work sample tests can bring the most value in roles where practical skills, problem-solving abilities, and job-specific tasks are critical to performance. For example, you can give candidates for a software developer role a coding task or ask them to debug a piece of code to demonstrate their programming and problem-solving skills.
Assessments should be reasonable in scope and accurately reflect the job’s requirements without imposing undue burden on candidates.
5. References and background check
By this point, you have reduced the long list of applicants down to one to three candidates. Reference checking is the essential next step in the candidate selection process.
Ask the candidate to provide references. Reference checks confirm the accuracy of what a candidate has told you and your impressions of them. If, during the interview, you have doubts about a certain competency or skill, the reference check is an excellent way to gather more information from a different perspective.
A background check is commonly used for government departments and other jobs that involve access to highly confidential information, such as healthcare roles. It can also be a prerequisite before applying and taking part in the pre-selection.
An example is a confirmation of good conduct or criminal record checks for teaching positions and other roles that involve a high responsibility for others. These investigations help eliminate people who may abuse their duty of care over vulnerable people. However, unless absolutely necessary, you should conduct background checks later in the selection process.
Requirements and practices for background checks vary by country. In the U.S., employers typically use private companies to conduct background checks. Background checks in hiring are subject to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and they need to fulfill the requirements of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Selecting an FCRA-compliant provider to conduct the background checks on your behalf ensures it is done correctly and consistently.
6. Decision
The next selection process step is deciding on a candidate with the greatest potential for the organization. Pre-defined criteria by which every candidate is rated during the selection process will reveal the best candidate.
Usually, the hiring manager makes the final decision. It may also involve input from other managers and colleagues. Sometimes, the optimal choice is someone less qualified at the moment but who is committed to growing and staying with the organization for a long time.
7. Job offer & contract
Once the decision is made, the selection process has one last phase. The chosen candidate still needs to accept the offer. At this point, you should have gleaned enough information from the various screenings and job interviews to have some confidence that the candidate is likely to accept the job.
The offer is then made to the candidate. You can send an offer letter outlining the main job details and employment conditions. If they accept the offer, you can proceed to issue a formal employment contract. Once that is signed by all parties are the selection process steps complete.
Metrics used in the selection process
Tracking certain recruiting metrics helps you evaluate the outcomes of the candidate selection process. The following benchmarks are commonly used as indicators of an effective selection process:
- Application completion rate: This metric shows what percentage of candidates that complete and submit an application form after accessing it. A low completion rate may mean the application form is cumbersome or has technical glitches.
- Time to fill: This measures the time it takes to hire a candidate from the moment of approving a job requisition until the candidate accepts your offer. A lengthy time to fill metric indicates a prolonged and inefficient selection process.
- 90-day and 1-year attrition: Attrition within the first three months signals a weakness in the selection process steps. The estimations of the cost of a bad hire differ between sources but are estimated to be between 50% to 200% of their annual salary. It is recommended to treat every case of 90-day attrition as a critical HR incident and analyze it closely for what went wrong. Then, you can prevent it from happening again through better communication, selection, onboarding, and management. A high first-year attrition rate can also be attributed to an inadequate selection process.
- Candidate experience: How do candidates rate their experience in this selection process? If it is an agreeable experience for them, your process is on the right track. In addition, they will have a positive outlook on the organization whether they are hired or not. Satisfied candidates won’t be deterred from applying again in the future and will advocate for your business and employer brand.
- Selection process funnel effectiveness: Because selection goes through a funnel with multiple steps, knowing the effectiveness of the funnel helps. You don’t want 50% of your 100 applicants to pass through to the interview stage, otherwise, you’ll be interviewing too many people. Yield ratio is a recruiting metric that indicates the percentage of candidates that move from one stage of the recruitment process to the next.
- Offer acceptance rate: The offer acceptance rate is the percentage of job offers that candidates accept out of the total number of offers your organization extends. It indicates the attractiveness of the job offers and the overall effectiveness of the recruitment process in aligning with candidates’ expectations and needs.
- Quality of hire: This metric measures how well a new hire is performing after a year in their job. This is usually rated by their manager in the annual performance appraisal. If the quality of hire is consistently good, it suggests that the employee selection process works.
For more information regarding the candidate selection process or recruiting metrics, check our Sourcing & Recruitment Certificate Program.
How to improve the recruitment and selection process: Best practices
We’ve explained the different stages of the selection process, but other dynamics are always in play behind the scenes.
Here are some best practices to consider as you try to create more effective methods of selection:
Build a solid job intake process
A clear understanding of a role is the key to finding the right candidate for it. This starts with a function profile based on the job description, i.e., what type of work experience, educational background, and skill proficiencies are needed. Open communication between hiring managers and recruiters will provide the insight needed to effectively kick off the selection process.
In many cases, recruiters should dig deeper than what is on a job intake form. Speaking directly with hiring managers helps clarify the job requirements. Recruiters who practice active listening will glean valuable details on what personality types and soft skills suit the role and will balance out a team.
Strengthen hiring manager-recruiter relationships
A strong partnership between hiring managers and recruiters helps the selection process flow more smoothly and improves the candidate experience. Emphasize that recruiters should build a good rapport with hiring managers, keep them informed, and ask for their input. This will allow the candidates who are the closest fit to make it to the end.
Working side-by-side with recruiters means hiring managers’ needs are more clearly understood. This, in turn, builds trust that recruiters are doing their best to fill positions sufficiently.
Standardize the selection process
Every organization will have its own approach to the selection process for hiring, but it should always be standardized. By following the same structure for each job opening, the process remains consistent. This leads to more reliable outcomes and a satisfying hiring experience for candidates.
A standardized selection process will include:
- Reliable or automated screening methods
- Structured interview formats
- Use of interview guides
- Consistently applied assessments
- Established criteria and scorecards for evaluating candidates
- Thorough documentation and checklists.
Train hiring managers/decision-makers
Ensure that whoever is doing the hiring is equipped to carry out their role in the selection process. This includes explaining the steps in the process and preparing them with interview checklists.
It may also be necessary to train decision-makers in how to conduct structured interviews, as well as unconscious bias awareness and interpreting body language.
Use a data-driven approach
Utilizing data throughout the selection process enables you to combat bias and speculation. Information gathered from resumes, assessments, and interview scorecards can be the basis for moving candidates through the selection funnel. Although hiring decisions shouldn’t be made only on data, it can help get the most qualified applicants to the interview stage.
Moreover, analyzing this data can reveal bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the selection process, allowing for continuous improvement.
Continuously evaluate and improve the process
Your employee selection process will evolve as the needs and circumstances of the organization change. You should also update it regularly to match your hiring standards and business goals.
As we’ve just mentioned, using data helps you identify which parts of the process need attention. Gather feedback from candidates and hiring managers to ensure the process remains effective.
Implementing these improvements not only optimizes the selection process but also enhances candidate experience and strengthens overall recruitment outcomes.
A final word
Employees are the cornerstone of any organization’s long-term viability. This makes high-quality talent acquisition one of HR’s most crucial functions., as bad hiring decisions cost companies time and money.
A strategic and thorough recruitment and selection process ensures the placement of the best employees who can contribute to swift organizational success and competitive advantage.
FAQ
The seven steps in the selection process are commonly referred to as application, screening and preselection, interview, assessment, reference and background check, decision, and job offer and contract.
The first step in the selection process is application. This starts once a job is advertised and it involves gathering applications from interested candidates.
The final step in the selection process is the job offer and contract phase. This is when a candidate is confirmed as the person who will fill the position.
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