Hiring Great Employees For Your Small Business Easier Than You Think With Programs Like These

The Exton, Pennsylvania-based WorkplaceDynamics specializes in workplace improvement and employee engagement research. The company provides annual employee engagement surveys along with additional products and services to help people work better together. As a small firm with 70 employees, the company faced its own workplace problem with the hiring process. "Anytime a position is left open, our employees have to pick up the slack, and the strain is felt by all," says WorkplaceDynamics president Dan Kessler. The company needed to find a way to decrease the time required to bring on new hires.

WorkplaceDynamics found the solution with an automated, cloud-based reference-checking solution called SkillSurvey. This program isn't the "call the old boss to verify a potential hire's claims" type of reference-checking, but rather the system uses scientifically-created surveys based on job position requirements. The solution may be compared to ubiquitous psychology surveys so many businesses incorporate into their hiring process. The surveys that SkillSurvey collects however, are not self-completed; a potential hire's former colleagues provide the answers.

A candidate's references are invited to complete these surveys. The data collected is then applied to talent analytics. According to Kessler, the process is quick. The company can find the perfect hire within a few days. "This fast turn-around means that we are filling positions at a faster pace than our competitors, and we are filling these positions with carefully vetted individuals," says Kessler.

The SkillSurvey solution has added value to WorkplaceDynamics' process of checking references. "While reference checking used to be something we did out of obligation, it is now an integral step in our recruiting process." Kessler says that the company is better able to understand a potential employee's strengths and weaknesses with the data collected through former workers and managers. With this information, WorkplaceDynamics is making more informed hiring decisions. "The combination of quantitative and qualitative data has allowed us to get off to a running start with new hires based on the feedback we receive."

This article was written by Gillian Burdett of Examiner.com for CBS Small Business Pulse.