Finding the right new hire for your company can feel like a daunting task, especially when your business is expanding and you need to quickly bring in quality talent. With everything you have to think about, the social compatibility aspect of your new hire is easy to overlook. But your new employee will have to fit in with your current employees every day, and the last thing you want is conflict and drama in a previously smooth-running team. Screen for social compatibility during the hiring process, and the unity of your crew will remain intact.
Seek Diversity
It might at first feel counter-intuitive, but a diverse group of people often work together better. In fact, as many as 85% of American workers feel that diversity in the workplace is a good thing. Without it, a feeling of hostility can quickly arise and compromise your team's ability to work together. Encouraging diversity in race, ethnicity, and orientation also brings in more diverse and quality talent, which fosters creativity and innovation in a group.
Give Current Employees a Role in the Hiring Process
The final say will always be yours, but including some of your best and most trusted employees in the hiring process can give you insight on the social compatibility of applicants that you might not otherwise have. Let those trusted employees sit in on the final interviews you conduct with the most qualified candidates, and seriously consider their feedback. An applicant may have everything you want in a new hire, but if they won't fit in with your team, then they just aren't the right hire.
Check Out Their Social Media
Many employers already do this, but it is important enough to be worth repeating. An applicant's Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and Pinterest profiles -- even the blogs that they follow and the content they like -- can give you a fairly accurate portrayal of their interests, talents, and character. If their social media is private, that may not necessarily be a bad thing. Request permission to view their social media; if they have nothing to hide, they'll let you look. And remember, if they are known employees of yours, their social media could reflect on your business, so keep that in mind as you peruse your candidates' digital lives.
A Science-Based Approach to Hiring
The old method of sifting through applications and conducting dozens of pointless interviews has become obsolete with the technology that is at our fingertips. At Nextaff, we use a science-based approach we call X-FACTOR. This method takes more than just credentials and work history into account; in fact, screening for social compatibility is a key part of the X-FACTOR hiring process. Download our free whitepaper on 'Perfecting the Perfect Hire' to learn more about how we can streamline the hiring process so that you can have your pick of the best talent in your industry.
