Welcome back to the Building A clear Authentic Brand Podcast. I'm your host, Amy Dardis. And in today's episode, we are diving into what the hiring process looks like from start to finish, the principles you need to know and the phases along the way in order to end up making a consistent, confident, and successful hiring decision. So let's start with breaking down the principles and then we'll walk through the phases. But before that, even at the core, hiring has one job. Like the whole process is built to accomplish this one goal, which is you need to reveal the truth about a person before you make the offer. Like this whole process has to result in you hiring the right person for your company and for this specific role. And we need this process to reveal the real person, like the person who's going to show up 90 days from now, not the person who shows up on interview day. Like there is a difference in how we curate this experience, how we structure it, it 100% impacts who you see through this process. So the process really is working to reveal the capacity to excel in the role, the character of the person, and whether or not they're going to thrive in your company, and evidence that proves both of these things. And so we actually dive into this in the previous episode that we just walked through, which I believe is episode 37. So check that out and we'll dive deeper there. But for this one, we're gonna move along and we're gonna get into the principles. So principles of hiring. Treat your hiring process like you would your sales process. So when you do a sales process, you always start with who is your ICP? So who is your ideal customer profile? You know, you understand like who are they, where are they spending time, what do they care about, what are their problems? Like you dive into the person that you're talking to, the problems that are there, the solutions you solve, and then you build everything accordingly. You know, have your ICP, you build your marketing messaging, you have your sales process, you know, maybe you have your pitch call, maybe you have your follow-up call, proposal review, you have your invoice, deal signing, then you have your onboarding, ramping up process, all to ensure this client success. We're gonna use these same principles for the entire hiring process. And you're gonna see what I mean when we get into that. So we are also making sure that we are very intentional and strategic in how we curate this whole experience so that we make sure we meet our six objectives of the hiring process, which is making sure that we're seeing who the real person is. We're making sure that that person has the capacity to excel in the role. We're making sure that that person has the character to thrive within the organization. We're making sure we are setting very clear expectations about what we expect from our people, how we operate, and the non-negotiables so that they know exactly what they're getting themselves into. We're making a pitch for our company, like we're telling them why we're different, what we offer, we're setting ourselves apart within the competition. We're helping them make an informed decision that is not just based on 401k and PTO and competitive salary. And we are making a confident decision because we've established all of this information, we have clear criteria, and we're making a decision based on evidence throughout this process. I also dive into this in an earlier episode as well, the six objectives of an interview. And so I'll link those related episodes in the show notes as well. So, third principle is we are always looking for evidence. Does this person have a track record that proves what they're saying? And we're finding this out through what are they saying? What are the words that they're using? What's their body language? What are the specific real life examples that they are providing that reveal how they acted? And are we seeing consistency in patterns based on the questions we ask, based on the examples that they see? We're looking at it through that lens. And then fourth principle is we always make objective decisions based on defined criteria and a scorecard that measures the evidence provided within their answers. So let's get into the phases of the hiring process. So first, we're always gonna start with clarity in criteria. So in marketing, you would do this by defining your ICP, which in that case is your ideal customer profile. We are gonna change this to defining it our ideal candidate profile, still an ICP. And in order to do that, we first need a brand profile. So we're defining our brand criteria that we talk about in character. So we're looking at like what's our purpose and mission, what are our values, what are unique differentiators, what are the traits of the people who thrive here, what are our non-negotiables, and what's our work style? So we have to have that clearly defined as an organization. Then we're gonna break that down into the specific role that we're hiring for. So are we hiring for a salesperson? Are we hiring for a developer? Are we hiring for an ops? Are we hiring for a customer success manager? Like what's the specific role? And then we're looking at what are the requirements of the job. And because those are the requirements, then what are the actual skills and abilities we need someone to have that would make them good at that job? And then what are the red flags that would signal that this person wouldn't be a good fit for this role? So we're gonna define that in the clarity and criteria phase. Next, we're gonna move into the marketing phase, and we're gonna market like we mean it and use messaging that attracts. And so we're using messaging in our careers page on our website, in our company profiles on LinkedIn, indeed, or other job posting sites you use. And then definitely into the way we write our job description, how we write that alone can help us stand out in a competitive hiring market. Most people write their job descriptions exactly the same. They are so boring, so stale, so generic, and it's just like, you know, roles, requirements, benefits, experience, you know, and it's just a bullet point list. Well, let's put a little life in there. Let's let's write it the way we would write a sales message that we would want to capture the attention of our ideal client. Therefore, let's write a message or a job posting that we want to attract the attention of our ideal candidate that says, Hey, look, we have something to offer you that's worth your time, that's worth your skills, that's worth your investment, that's worth you leaving what you know, taking a risk, coming to work for us. And here's why, here's why we stand out, here's why you should choose us, here's the impact you're gonna have, here's the contribution you're gonna make. I mean, let's just breathe some life into these job descriptions, and that alone would just put you far and above what everybody else is doing. So we're gonna mark it like we mean it, and then we're going to move into the next phase, which is the filter phase. So we are filtering like the candidate applications, we're reading resumes, we're doing screening calls, we are looking for responsiveness, communication, and confirmation. So as we look at a resume, one, we have to know what we're looking for so we know what stands out. This is getting harder and harder to do nowadays because of AI. And I have never been a big believer in the resume anyway, because I think a resume is not a good indicator of what somebody is capable of or has the ability to do. So I am looking more for how did they write their resume? What else did they include? What was in a cover letter or an email? How fast do they respond? If I call them for a screening call and we do a quick few questions over the phone, what's the energy in their voice? How fast do they call me back or how do they answer the phone? If I send a calendar invite to schedule a screening call, are they confirming the attendance? Are they sending anything else? I mean, it's more what they're doing and the energy and the effort that they're putting into it that I'm looking for because actions always speak louder than words. So people are willing to put in extra effort up front, especially when they want you to consider them. That speaks volumes. And it's amazing how people will kind of just not put in any effort in these things, or you'll send an invite and they won't respond, or they take a long time to get back to you. Those are all signals, those are all red flags, that's all evidence that we're looking for. So we're gonna do our filter phase. I recommend doing a screening call. Like, don't waste your time scheduling a full interview with someone. Like, either give them a phone call, like you know, traditional like phone, no face-to-face contact, or schedule a quick screening, like 15, 20 minute screening interview over Zoom or Team. So you can see their face. I mean, that'll tell you so much is like what's in their background, how do they show up on this call, or you could even ask them to actually upload like a video introduction because again, we read so much into body language and visual cues and tone and voice that we're just not ever going to see in a resume or in an email. So we're filtering for quality, we're not gonna waste our time on anyone who's not not qualified, who's not as interested in investing time into us as we are into them. And then we're gonna go and we're gonna schedule the first interview. And so the first interview is very much focused on the capacity component. So we're looking at do they have the capacity to excel in this role? What are their skills, abilities, talents, strengths, background, experience, qualifications? I mean, this is more on the traditional hiring topics structure. I would say this is what 95% of interviews consist of. But we're asking our questions differently because we know what we're looking for based on our candidate profile. Like, what are the skills required to do this job well? And what does that look like? How would that show up in a person? How would that show up in a person's life? If someone is very process-driven and organized, you know, we're asking questions about like, tell me about times you've improved processes, tell me about systems you run, as well as tell me about systems you run in your real life. Like, what's your grocery shopping system, what's your meal planning system, what's your workout routine system? Those are all indicators of evidence that they process information this way, they value information this way, and so it shows up in multiple different areas. If they pass the capacity test, if you leave that interview thinking, I believe based on the questions I ask, based on the evidence they provided, based on the quality of their answers using a scoring rubric, we I feel confident that this person has the ability, the potential, and the bandwidth to excel in this role. That is object of interview number one. And you have all of the supporting documentation to be able to confidently say, I believe this person has the capacity to excel, not be competent, not just do the job, not just show up, but actually excel in this role. If you're confident about that, if you genuinely enjoyed the interview and the time that you spent with them, you are going to move them on and schedule them for a second interview. This is so important. I talk about this in other episodes too, that we always do two interviews. Always, always, always. Because we don't enter into long-term committed relationships with people we only met one time and we don't base that off of a first impression. So just even for the sake of having a second impression, we will schedule a second interview, even if they blew you away in the first interview, even if it was amazing, which honestly, you should only be scheduling a second interview if it was amazing. Like if it's anything less than 80% like B plus level interview, don't even schedule a second interview. So they blew you away. You had a wonderful time talking to them. You see potential, you see them lighting up, you see excellence, you see thriving, you see fresh ideas, all of these awesome signals. We're going to schedule the second interview. In the second interview, we are focusing on character. We are focusing on what are their values, what are their motivations, what drives them, what pushes them to show up when life gets hard. We are not repeating the first interview. We are not even asking the same questions. It's a completely different set of questions. We are looking for completely different things. It is a much deeper level conversation. This character interview is so important. And I would love to do it as the first interview, but the reason we have to do it at the second interview is because we're going to be asking questions and going deeper that we're not going to get real answers to unless we build connection, unless we build trust and rapport in the first interview. So the first interview establishes that, builds it to begin with. Then you invite them back, which immediately will lower their guard down a little bit because they'll have received a positive signal. They'll have heard things in the first interview that excite them and deepen that desire for them to want this job, to want to work with you. And then in the second interview, we're getting to know each other better. Everybody is more comfortable. There's more rapport, and we're diving into the things that really matter. So then after the second interview, that should be everything that you need. By the end of two interviews plus your initial screening, you should have all of the information you need to make a confident decision. After this, there's really only three things you can do. You can reject them. Like you can say, I'm like, no, I don't have a confident feeling about this based on, again, clear criteria because we're comparing evidence to criteria, and we use that based on mapping everything back, strategically asking our questions, and then using a scoring rubric. That way we can say, did I ask this question? Do I have this information? This is the information I need. This is the level of quality of information that they gave me. So you can look at your scorecard and you can be like, Yes, this is why I'm making this decision. Or, oh, I have four out of the five elements covered. I don't have the information I need to this fifth element. I need to go back and I need to get that information. So option number one is you reject them. Option number two is you follow up. You have another interaction. And there's all kinds of ways that we can have different interactions. It is not a third interview, it's a third connection point, it's a third touch point that we have to do differently than being in an interview setting. And there's all kinds of ideas behind that. That's coming in a future episode. I'm not gonna get into that here. However, if you are not sure, have another interaction. That is that's the takeaway here. Option number three is you have everything you need. They passed with flying colors, you have evidence, examples, specifics, patterns, consistency that supports everything that you heard. You have the scorecard that proves it, supports it, and you make an offer. You reach out to them, you say, Hey, look, we think that you would be a great fit for this organization, you would be a great fit for this role. We would like to offer you the position. You go through whatever negotiation process you need to, you do a verbal offer followed with a formal written offer, and then you plan your, you know, start dates and all the the details you need to go go through. And then you onboard, which I don't I don't even love the term onboarding because to me, onboarding, I think paperwork, like you know, you go through the W 2 and you go through any of the required like sexual harassment training, you know, you have to. Make sure you have like the payroll stuff set up. Like that's what I think of as onboarding. But then you have orientation. And this is orienting this candidate to your company. And this is a very important process. What you do here is key, and it is going to build the building blocks of their future success. So we have to bring them on board in a way that is very intentional. It is very strategic, very focused in the sense that it's like we're not just like throwing them into like on the job training or throwing them into sexual harassment training. You know, it's like we're actually we're scheduling their their day, their week, their training, their conversations very purposely in the sense that we can say, this is why we are doing this. We're making sure you understand our culture. We're making sure you understand the timeline and the map of where you're going and what that looks like. And really, I guess you think about it, it's like if you were to build a puzzle, I guess, let's go with that. You would have the, you know, you have the bag and it's all the pieces, right? And it's just kind of like a jumbled mess. And then you have to like build it. Well, you know what helps you build a puzzle is having a picture of what it looks like when it's done. Like that, that really just solves all your problems. And then, you know, you have some guidelines of, oh yeah, like let's do all the border pieces first. So we start with all the border pieces, and then let's separate by color patterns. So we put the dark pieces together and we put the the light-colored pieces together. And just those three things, right? Like, here's the picture, start with the border peach, then color code, and then we're gonna go for it. Those basic criteria, guidelines, set you up for success. We need to give our new employees that same amount of intentional guidance on this is a picture of what success looks like. This is how we define success. This is how you know you're succeeding, this is how you know you're doing well, this is what we care about. We're gonna paint the picture of our company. And then here are the guidelines and principles we want you to follow. Like, here's how often we're gonna check in, here's what we're gonna cover, these are the people you need to know. This is how our business works as a whole. I mean, there's so much into this orientation topic that again, diving into in for future episodes for sure, but just to make the point, have an orientation process. Don't skip this. And what this whole process goes back to is every single point along the way is the building blocks of your retention. Like everything in retention comes back to your hiring process. If you don't get this process right, you will always have retention issues. Now, when it comes to retention, there's no such thing as 100% retention because of life and people. Like people get married, people get sick, people have kids, people have emotional stuff, relational stuff. Like we're dealing with people. We're not looking for 100% retention, but we are looking for avoidable mishires, and there is so much we can do in this process to change that outcome, to make sure that the people we bring on board are 100% aligned and we define alignment based on character, based on capacity, based on understanding what success looks like and that contribution. We use our messaging throughout this process to attract, to qualify. We use the questions we ask to like filter down and reveal decisions. We use our interview process to set expectations, to communicate, to scare them away, to let them know this is exactly what you're getting into. So that way, by the time you make an offer and they accept an offer, they know this is the company I want to work for because of this, because we share these values, because I'm gonna thrive in this work style, because I also don't like any of those non-negotiable. That is not me. I that stuff upsets me. It makes me mad. These are the traits of myself that I, you know, I value. And I'm gonna work with people who also share these same winning traits. And that's awesome. That's exciting. That makes going to work every day fun. That makes working around people that share these same values, it builds trust, it builds safety, it builds a bond. And we're very intentional about creating that. And then we're putting them into roles that they're naturally, uniquely designed to thrive in. It matches with the way that they work, it matches with the way that they operate. And then we're making sure that they're doing work that they care about, that they feel like they're contributing, they're growing, they're being challenged, they're feeling valued, they're feeling appreciated, they're excited about the work, and they feel like what they're doing is making an impact. It means that the time that they spend working for you, the work that they're doing, the people they're around, the customers that they're serving, the clients that they're working with, it's meaningful, it's purposeful. They're enjoying their life and who they're becoming while they're a part of your organization. And you, as in an organization, are positively contributing to their life. And because of their contribution to your organization, it's changing how your team works, it's changing how you serve customers, it's changing your reputation, and that's all for the good. That is the beauty of starting with the hiring process. And then once we get past the hiring process, we're gonna have different retention issues. We're gonna have different things that we have to worry about. Most retention issues today actually have to do with misalignment. And misalignment starts with the hiring process. So that's why I harp so much on this hiring processing because if you don't get this right, nothing you do to solve the other problems is ever gonna matter if you keep bringing the wrong people on board. And you're always gonna bring the wrong people on board if you don't define who the right people are and who the wrong people are. So always goes back to clarity. Always. So this like clarity, alignment, accountability stuff. That's the framework we work off of. And alignment starts with hiring, and your hiring starts with a process, and your process needs to be intentional, purposeful, strategic, the same way you would put that same effort into your marketing process. So I know I get real, real heated, real fired up about this because it's like, oh, it's people, it's it's talent, it's purpose, it's our life. Let's not waste it. Like, let's do work that we enjoy with people we want to be around. You know, like let's not hate going to work and dread what we have to do because misalignment exists, because we have control over that. As employers, we have control over that. As employees, we have control over that, whether we're gonna stay with a company that we're misaligned with or not. And getting rid of alignment, whether it's through someone quitting or getting rid of misalignment, whether it's through someone getting fired or someone quitting, is always good for both parties. I know it doesn't feel like that in the short term, but it is good. Like it is important to find alignment. The employee needs alignment and the business needs alignment. That's the only way that we can succeed. So that is all I have for you today. You're gonna always check out more about what we do and how we help build these custom processes at Clearauthenticbrands.com. I will see you next time.