No wonder the words “criteria” and “critical” are related. Using the proper recruitment criteria and hiring the right team is critical to every company’s potential.

When the market for top-notch workers is scarce, smart employers recognize the importance of employee retention. Holding onto talent often requires higher pay scales, creative rewards, and other positive recognition methods. These methods help deter valuable current employees from feeling the need to pursue other job opportunities.

Employers often utilize the following criteria in recruiting and hiring new professionals: education, experience, seniority, and skills.

In standard hiring practices, these criteria favor applicants with considerable experience in the desired work field. However, if the current job market is thin, good employees are more prone to stay with their existing employers. This creates a shallow candidate pool for companies looking to hire. Thus, focusing heavily on an applicant’s experience is not possible. Examining the job seeker’s aptitude, behavior, and ability to perform well without the previously required expertise becomes more critical.

CRI recommends setting up standards for each job based on at least one of the following:

• The people currently successful in the position
• An aggregated industry database available to clients of CRI
• The job description itself

When these factors are used, the hiring decision relies more on the applicant’s aptitude and ability than on experience. This increases the number of potential applicants, yielding a higher turnout of successful professionals. Based on years of research, CRI has examples from a multitude of employers who have found that people selected based on these characteristics, rather than experience only, prosper in their positions.

Your organization is built on these decisions; we are here to get you the best insights into your candidates. Contact us to learn more!