HR interview questions on hiring and staffing are pretty common for any senior level role, a part of your KRA’s is to interview and select new team members.
The methods of recruitment and staffing include the different means by which businesses find employees. There is no doubt that recruitment takes place through various times in a company’s life. Even though it happens most intensively when a new business starts or at a time when any existing business undertakes expansion, there are instances when it may happen in between also. Extensive planning is required and hence, one should have a nose for talent.
Often, professional agencies are not able to do the needful. While a methodological procedure is not bad, sometimes intuitiveness works best when it comes to hiring people. One should hire the best people available from inside or outside. You should not be afraid of selecting strong people and assembling talented staff. However, one should remember that a dedicated staffing strategy is crucial so that you are able to understand how to bring on board your future colleagues. The employees are the biggest asset of a company and can give your business a competitive edge.
Explain your hiring process.
The HR interviewer through this interview question on hiring and staffing, would like to know the kind of procedures or strategies you implement to hire new people. This is a tricky question because while they expect the regular protocol of recruitment, they also want to test your ability to analyze people on their face value. When answering this HR interview question, you can say that prior to commencing the actual recruitment and hiring, you try to identify the employee needs.
This can include a lot of aspects like the types of employees you want to hire, and what you can afford. So the first thing you try to work out is the employee budget, benefits packages, and experienced vs. inexperienced employees pay-scale. State that the initial process of hiring calls for a pragmatic assessment of business needs along with the kind of employees you would be able to attract.
Post this, you can say that you decide the recruitment channel — it could be that you outsource your hiring process or prefer doing it yourself via newspaper ads or even online. Next comes vetting and selecting staff where you review resumes, conduct interviews, meet with job candidates, etc. Then, you compare the qualities and abilities of vetted staff as compared to what your company needs, or your expectations. Finally, you shortlist and hire individuals.
Describe a time you had to make a hiring decision from among several well-qualified applicants. How did you make your final decision?
Through this interview question on hiring and staffing, the HR interviewer would be interested in seeing how you make the hiring decision — especially if you have to choose between a bunch of similarly talented or well-qualified people.
In this reference, to demonstrate your ability in hiring and staffing, you can say that you go by instinct along with reviewing their professional qualifications. Often, there is a natural ebb and flow of staffing levels — so you go back a step to see if their movements offer an added edge. You like to have a clear view and analyze your workforce to identify potential movements well in advance. You would want to consider reviewing their skills, experience and resources required and most importantly — if they can help achieve your business goals. You’d also like to see if they have an out of the box or innovative approach, and can help boost productivity in more ways than one.
