Your Failsafe Strategy to Avoid Poor Hires
You may be considering hiring a remote Salesforce developer, or perhaps a developer to work in-house. Whichever is your preference, you will need to ensure that they have the skills and aptitude to become the recruit your business needs. If you don’t, the costs of a poor hire will soon mount.
According to research by CareerBuilder, the average cost of a bad hire is around $15,000 – and a staggering two-thirds of employees say that they soon realized a new job was a poor fit for them. Half of these left within six months.
Can you afford this kind of employee attrition when you’re hiring for Salesforce developers? We don’t think so. Which is why we’ve put together these seven tips to evaluate your candidates effectively.
1. Review Resumes Diligently
Begin reviewing resumes as soon as they begin to arrive. Consider each regarding your job description:
- Does the resume highlight the skills that you have included as ‘must-haves’?
- Do the candidate’s qualifications similarly match your needs?
- Does the resume indicate a flow of progression in career?
- Are any employment gaps adequately explained?
Look for spelling and grammar errors – this could be a sign of a lack of attention to detail. You can eliminate any candidates who don’t match your requirements in these areas.
2. Review Application Forms
Compare application forms with their corresponding resumes. If there are forms with incomplete answers, or answers that don’t match with what the candidate has said in their resume, you can eliminate these, too.
3. Screen Candidates by Phone
This is your first opportunity to speak with the candidate, and one which is likely to tell you a lot. You should ask low-level questions that help to confirm the candidate’s knowledge of Salesforce development. Listen for hesitation and correctness of information. This is another chance for you to eliminate candidates who don’t hit the grade required.
4. Conduct a Technical Test
Often, the hiring manager will not have expertise or experience as a Salesforce developer. However, you must ascertain the candidate’s skills across their claimed technical expertise. The best way to do this is by technical screening. There are many online resources to help you do this. (Feel free to contact us for our advice on this.)
If any candidates have managed to slip under the radar of your screening thus far, this will ensure you capture them to be rejected.
5. Interview Effectively
By the time you wish to invite candidates to interview, you should only have a handful remaining. They should all have the technical expertise you require. While part of your interview should help to further corroborate a candidate’s skillset, it will now be mostly aimed at identifying personality fit.
Design your interviews with a scoring system that ensures you judge all candidates consistently. Never rely on your first impressions or intuition.
Compose a series of questions that help to identify behavioral patterns, ambition, and desire to learn. As the candidate answers, watch for body language, listen for confidence and sincerity, and make notes:
- Do they display the character traits and soft skills you desire?
- Do they ask questions that confirm their enthusiasm for the role and for working with your company?
Immediately after the interview, review the candidate’s performance. Your memory will be fresh, and you will make a more meaningful assessment.
6. Considering Making an Offer? Discuss Concerns First
You may have concerns about the candidate, but are still inclined to make an offer. Before you do, call the candidate to discuss your concerns. This will help you allay or confirm any recruitment fears you have. It also demonstrates the importance of the hire and helps to set expectations for the future.
7. Never Neglect Background Checks
One of the biggest mistakes that potential employers make when they get to this stage is to rely solely on all the information that they have garnered during the hiring process.
Before you make an offer, always check the candidate’s background and references. Contact references by phone (always look up the switchboard number, never rely on the number the candidate has given).
Remember, a previous employer is only obliged to confirm that the candidate was employed by them.
If you receive a less than glowing report, it could be a sign that a previous employer (and the candidate) is hiding something.
The Hard Work Pays Off When Hiring Salesforce Developers
Salesforce developers are highly skilled, and can boost the performance of your business and each of its parts by ensuring your Salesforce CRM works for you, not against you.
While the above hiring tips will increase the amount of work needed to hire your next Salesforce developer – and, yes, it is a lot of work – the outcome will be a successful hire. Whether hiring remotely or in-house.
Of course, you could make your hiring job easier. Contact Gravity IT Resources. We’ve done all the heavy lifting for you, and you can be assured of receiving only high-quality candidates who pass all the tests and requirements for your role – whatever type of hire you wish to make for your Salesforce team.
