The best practice hiring process

Learn about what a good hiring process looks like and the stages and outcomes of each step.

This article will give an overview of the best practice hiring process and what each stage is about. Before starting our learning journey, we would like you to check your current understanding of the hiring process.

 The Full course “Hiring for Executives” is produced in collaboration with Estonian Business School and is available on Coursera platform. You can register here. 

Self-check quiz

What should be the best starting point for a good hiring process?

1. You begin by sourcing on LinkedIn or other employment databases.
2. The job ad has been published.
3. Stakeholders have analysed the position and agreed on what the hire has to achieve and who they are looking for.
4. HR has prepared a job specification.

Watch the video below to understand how our instructor Tõnis Arro explains the best practices in the hiring process.

Let’s review the terminology used in the video. 

1. Position analysis (position map, vacancy description, role description). 

A position map, also known as a "role description", is the input and starting point of the hiring process. The position map is an agreement by all stakeholders and hiring managers regarding what they are looking for.  

Outcome: Role description and requirements agreed upon with all hiring managers.  

2. Sourcing.   

With sourcing, you’re looking to build a long list of contacts - a list of people who could conceivably qualify for the role (based on research done in the previous point - defining a role). No matter if they are actively searching for new opportunities or not.  

Outcome: Long list of potential candidates.  

3. Screening.   

Just because someone is on your long list doesn’t necessarily mean they are the right choice. You can’t know though until you’ve talked with the candidate and used the screening interview to qualify and better understand who is suitable and ready to move on with the hiring process.  

Outcome: List of candidates that you are going to interview.   

4. Interviewing.  

With interviewing, the goal is to understand if the candidate's knowledge, skills, and behaviours match a particular role and company/team. For best results, use behavioural interviewing techniques with pre-determined questions based on the role-specific requirements and competencies.   

Outcome: knowledge necessary to select people to shortlist.  

5. Executive Interviewing of the finalists.   

This step may be the same as step 4, depending on whether this role is being filled by an external consultant or from within. The approach to interviewing should remain consistent regardless, however, of who is carrying out the interviews.   

Outcome: All the necessary information is collected/agreed upon by the hiring managers to choose 1 or 2 persons to continue with.  

6. Reference Checks.   

Reference checks are used as an additional data point when making the hiring decision. It’s an opportunity to ask specific questions about the candidate and their previous experiences from the people who have worked with them before.  

Outcome: All data and information about the candidate are confirmed. You have carried out a reference check by asking for facts, not opinions.  

7. Making the executive hiring decision.   

For the best results, use supporting data (evaluation results, reference checks) when making the decision. It’s best to have all the evaluated results in one easily accessible and viewable place and use the gathered data to make a decision.  

Outcome: The hiring decision is made.  

8. Making the employment offer.  

Outcome: The selected candidate has received an offer.  

9. Onboarding. 

Hiring is complete only after successful onboarding. This means that the new employee fully understands their new role and what is expected of them, has a clear action plan, and is integrated into the team.  

Outcome: The selected candidate works in full capacity.  

By now, you should understand the stages of the best practice hiring process, as well as, the impact of the successful hiring process. Take the test below to test what you have learned. 

Self-check quiz

What would you consider as not an actual result of a successful hiring process?

1. Improved team performance.
2. The best candidate is selected for the role.
3. After 12 months, the hiring manager says they would hire the same person again for this role.
4. All the candidates you were in contact with are informed that the process has ended.