In the age of low unemployment and competitive wages, open interviews are a great tool. Whether you are replacing one employee or staffing a brand new location, offering open interviews can be an effective way to get more applicants within a limited time. In addition, bringing people in during dedicated times allows you to see how they may get along with your current staff members and current company culture. However, hosting a successful hiring event takes preparation.
Before scheduling a hiring event, consider the following:
Timing
Choosing the right dates and times for open interviews is crucial. It will play into how many people show up and who shows up. If you host an open interview before 10 AM- 12 PM on a Wednesday during October, you may get older applicants to show up, but you won’t get school-aged applicants to show up. Offering a variety of dates and times for open interviews to reflect the different shifts available is important to increase the number of people you get to show up.
In addition, be mindful that 17% of people hold a second job. Meaning that their time to interview after a different job may be limited. Hosting longer sessions and advertising in advance is important to these people.
Location
Choosing your franchise’s location to host the interview is a great way to show off your culture. However, if you are hosting interviews at your location, you will need to consider how it will affect your customers. Plus, if you are hiring for multiple locations, choose the one in the middle so you are not pushing away candidates who may have to make a longer drive.
Materials & Technology
As much as those coming in for interviews need to impress you, they also want to be wooed. Giving them materials that show the employee perks and benefits, job descriptions for each position open, and even a sample schedule, can show them what working for you will be like. Another item to ensure you have on hand is either printed applicants to fill out or tablet devices available for online applications. Plus, see how Taco Bell has launched ‘hiring parties’ to get people engaged and attract applicants.
While applicants are waiting for their turn to interview, we suggest having them take the Sprockets survey. It’s a quick survey that determines if they will be a good fit for your business.
Personnel
Ensuring you have enough staff allocated for business operations and greeting applicants is important. You’ll likely need an extra 1-2 people, plus the hiring manager. These employees will answer greet people, answer questions, and fill the down time when waiting for their interview. Choosing your best staff members for this shines a positive light on what people they would be surrounded by. Plus, it’s important to ask your current staff what they think about the top applicants. If they can’t see themselves working with someone, it would likely cause more problems than choosing a different applicant.
Learn how Sprockets’ Applicant Matching System can help streamline your hiring process, help you hire reliable people, and reduce employee turnover. Sign up for an account today.