End of Year Hiring
Not rushing decisions, but moving quickly enough to have decisions to make!
It’s common for us to set goals around annual milestones, but hiring before the end of the year is one this I hear often, but have learned in practice takes a lot of careful management to get it done. This “people business” is more fickle than many as we step into holiday madness, but if we put guidelines and structure in place - we’ll get it done and start the new year with a fully staffed team!
Not convinced about the urgency? Here are a few realities that might drive it home:
Time and memory lags: If we spill into the new year, it’s likely that we’ll have a 1.5 week gap in the middle of an interview process
Can you remember conversations you had 1.5 week ago with enough clarity to bet your business on? Honestly, I might be able to now, but definitely not expecting to after there’s a few glasses of eggnog in between ;)
Most schools are out from Dec. 18th - Jan. 2nd (or Dec. 22nd - January 7th)
Employed parents (ie - many of the qualified folks between 25-45 years old) are likely stretched with caregiving, holiday and current work loads making focused interviewing hard to prioritize
There are only ~26 more days (as of 11/14) to make a hire (assuming no personal vacations for the hiring team or candiates). That’s really tight when taking scheduling, feedback and decision making into account for a full slate of candidates
“We seem to only ever work with clients who are in a rush”
This was from my team last week when I was discussing EOY urgency. They reminded me that this is basically all that we do - and that we’re uniquely poised to share what’s worked for us this year to help others meet their deadlines too.
I’m writing this article like a guide, to help build this process out for success. Each step needs to be applied uniquely within your own organizations
Getting Started: Let’s understand what we’re working with:
Use a calendar to see what days are even available (ie - not vacations for hiring team, or company holidays)
Identify what still needs to be done
Backwards map it from ideally Dec. 18th and set and align the full team (and candidates) on the timeline and plan
Next up, let’s assign roles and responsibilities to the team:
ASSIGN A PROJECT MANAGER
This is the number one factor that will indicate likelihood of success in making a great hire before 2024 arrives.
This doesn’t need to be someone with a PM title, or even the hiring manager. Instead, someone who is just focused on guiding the logistics of the process and ensuring that enough data will be known to make a decision.
For example: waiting 48 hours for feedback from someone after they interview a candidate vs. 1 hour if someone has it in their calendar to ping and get it is the difference between doubling the process timeline or hitting EOY goals
((psst… this is a great place to tap the Hustle Hunters team and I in!))
Assign applications to someone
Getting a lot of applicants feels like a win - but also ends up being a major blocker when faced with a daunting number that nobody has the capacity to sift through. Don’t miss out on your most eager and proactive candidates!
Start sourcing early
often takes a couple of touch points to get to folks
Have a shared feedback sheet for putting notes after an interview so there are no delays in getting reporting and activating next round logistics
My brain loves building these out to help teams get signaling on the right things, and anchoring around metrics - LMK if I can quickly make one for your role!
Scheduling multiple rounds at a time
penciling in, pending mutual decision to move forwards is a great tactic here (also helps candidates realize that you recognize it’s a 2 way street, and that you aren’t just assuming that they’ll want to progress)
We’ve done this for years now, and put together some of what we know will go wrong. Let this video be your guide so that you wont’ be surprised but instead ready for these potential hiccups:
PS - Do you prefer to watch videos like this where you can focus on my really passionate face while learning? Well you’re in luck! Most of this content exists in videos as Parts 1-5 of the EOY Hiring Video Series (link here, Find them in “EOY Stories”)
Lastly - I want to address the distinction between “rushing a decision” and “moving fast”. We should never rush a decision, especially when it’s high stakes (tbh - when isn’t it anymore). But if we don’t intentionally accelerate the pace and focus of the logistics and supporting functions of the process - we likely won’t be able to choose the best fit for us anyway as either the best candidates won’t be interested/available any more.
Hiring teams make decisions about candidates.
Project Managers ensure that the candidates the hiring team might want will also still want them at the end of the day.
When I reflect on the biggest value that my team and I bring in support of high stakes hiring processes with our startup and small business partners - this project management with the team’s needs at it’s heart ends up being the biggest difference between success and failure.
So stop reading and go assign a PM to own your process and you’ll be set to enter 2024 with a great team!