Hiring can be lengthy and complicated, often taking 3 to 6 weeks. A misstep or poor decision can result in a bad hire, potentially costing around $15,000.
Recruiters and hiring managers are always seeking improvements to enhance their hiring strategy. This is where a hiring process flowchart becomes invaluable.
A hiring process flowchart ensures a systematic approach, helping to streamline the entire recruitment process. This blog discusses how to create an effective hiring recruitment flowchart in seven steps. Read on!
What is a hiring process flowchart?
A hiring process flowchart clearly and easily shows the steps in recruiting and hiring. It acts like a guide, showing every stageāfrom needing a new employee to bringing them on board.
This visual representation helps HR teams and managers stay organized and prevent missing critical steps.
What is a hiring process?
The hiring process refers to companies’ systematic strategy for screening, selecting, and onboarding new hires. This process guarantees the selection of suitable candidates who align with the organization’s goals and drive its growth.
How to create a hiring process flowchart in 7 steps?
Understanding the recruitment process provides a clear foundation for creating an HR hiring process flowchart.
Start by identifying each step involved, from defining the job requirements to onboarding the chosen candidate.Ā
- Determine ideal candidate
Finding the right candidate starts with clearly defining your staffing needs. What role will they fill, and what specific skills and experience are required?
The HR department should gather this information with the relevant department or manager. This involves identifying the tasks the new hire will handle, outlining key qualifications and experience, and noting any other essential details for the role.
For each new hire, determine which qualifications are must-haves and which are nice. A new candidate should fill a gap in your team’s skills, so it’s crucial to define that gap clearly.
Review your company’s organizational chart to see your team’s skills and strengths and determine how a new hire could complement or enhance the team’s capabilities.
It may also be helpful to create an ideal candidate profile to compare against when evaluating potential applicants.
- Create a detailed job description
Crafting a robust and clear job description that outlines the role’s responsibilities and duties is an important step in the hiring process.
An ideal job description should enlist the power skills required, responsibilities, expected compensation, etc.
Some of the must-haves in the job description include:
- Vacant position
- Company location
- Skills and communication
- Monthly salary, perks and benefits
- Working hours ( full-time, part-time, shifts)
- Preferred qualifications and experience
- Brief introduction about the job, duties, the company, and its mission
If you have specific goals for the new hire to achieve, include them in the job description. This will help qualified candidates understand what a company expects and how they can contribute to its success.
Confused about where to start? Check out our job description templates.
- Source candidates
Once the job description is completed, post it on various sites and portals to attract potential candidates.
Several ways to do this include:
- Posting on various job boards
- Advertising in traditional media
- Creating a career page on your company website
- Attending job fairs and campus recruitment events
- Publishing on social media channels, especially LinkedIn
- Screen and test applicants
Screening and assessing candidates are the most time-consuming yet crucial steps.
Start by reviewing candidates’ qualifications and experience, including education. Check how well they match the job requirements. Some companies may need to conduct background checks, including credit and criminal history.
A phone screening can confirm candidates’ availability and reveal extra qualifications. Then, hold face-to-face interviews, either in person or virtual, with the top candidates.
It’s always better to conduct a skills-based assessment to assess a candidate’s knowledge. Such tests eliminate the chances of unconscious bias and evaluate candidates based on their actual skills. Studies report that more than 55% of candidates admit to lying on their resumes.Ā
Check out Testlifyās skills assessment library. Create your own questions or select from the existing pool and evaluate your candidates better.
Be familiar with each candidateās application to ask relevant questions, including those about any skills gaps. Check for any power skills that are important to the job posting.
To ensure fairness, have a set of standard questions for all candidates. It’s helpful to take notes on their responses to compare candidates and make a final decision.
- Verify the candidate’s details
Ideally, once you’ve shortlisted top talents, verify their details, including work experience, performance, qualifications, etc. Cross-referencing offers an idea of how well the candidate might suit the company.
Review any employment gaps in their resumes and cross-check the reason. Check the social media handles of candidates, especially LinkedIn, to see how well the candidate fits into your company’s values.
Come up with thoughtful questions for references to help with your decision.
Below are the three things you must find out about a candidate:
- The nature of the reference’s working relationship with the candidate
- The reasons the candidate left their previous job
- The candidate’s strengths and weaknesses
- Job offer
Make a job offer to top candidates who meet your criteria. Negotiate terms of employment, salary, benefits, bonus, start day, and other relevant information. This will give the candidate a clear picture of what to expect.
In case the candidates are hesitant to accept the job offer, inquire about the reason behind it and remind them why your company can help them grow professionally.
If the candidate accepts the position, the onboarding process should provide them with the tools and information needed for their role and introduce them to their team.
For an on-site role, you could give the new employee a tour of the office. For remote work, consider providing a digital tutorial on how to use the team’s project management system.
- Onboarding
The last step of any talent acquisition process is onboarding the new hire. Onboarding is crucial as it creates the new hire’s first impression of the company.
Studies show that employees with good onboarding experience are 2.6 times more likely to stay in the company.
Make the new hires feel welcome and provide any documentation or equipment necessary beforehand. Introduce them to their manager and team members, pair them up with a work buddy, set up an official email, etc.
Check out 30 creative welcome messages for your new employees.
The onboarding process doesn’t end on the first dayāit extends over the first few months of a new hire’s employment. During this time, recruiters and HR should regularly check in with new employees to address any questions or concerns they may have.
Types of hiring process flowcharts
There are mainly four types of flowchart hiring process, namely:
- Linear hiring process flowchart
A linear hiring process flowchart organizes the hiring process step by step, starting with the first part of the recruitment workflow and ending with the last.
Pro: This type of flowchart is great for keeping things organized and knowing exactly what stage you’re at and what comes next.
Con: The downside is that it doesn’t account for steps that might need to be repeated or workflows that circle back during the hiring process.
- Department-specific flowchart
A department-specific flowchart (also called a swimlane flowchart) shows the workflows of multiple departments side by side.
It’s useful for visualizing how the same process happens in different departments and how they interact.
Pro: It offers more clarity by showing how tasks flow across teams.
Con: The flowchart can get complicated quickly if too many departments are involved.
- Parallel hiring process flowchart
A parallel hiring process flowchart breaks tasks into smaller ones to speed up the hiring process. It shows multiple tasks happening simultaneously and handled by different people.
For example, while HR reviews resumes, a department manager might prepare interview questions or tasks for candidates to complete.
Pro: It allows tasks to be done simultaneously, speeding up the overall process.
Con: It can be challenging to coordinate multiple tasks happening at once.
- Collaborative hiring process flowchart
A collaborative flowchart involves multiple team members in the hiring process to assist hiring managers. This can improve the candidate experience, reduce bias, and strengthen employer branding.
Pro: It brings diverse perspectives, creating a fairer and more engaging hiring process.
Con: It can sometimes lead to confusion about who is responsible for each task.
Hiring process flowchart example
Create a hiring process flowchart using the one below as an example. Modify the flowchart based on your company’s hiring workflow. Either expand or simplify each step or add details like the time required or the individuals responsible for each step, etc.
Once created, use arrows to indicate the flow from one step to the next.
There are dedicated software tools like SmartDraw, EdrawMax , Venngage, etc. that help create flowcharts.
If you want free options, you can make it in Google Sheets Excel or PowerPoint.
5 Best practices for using a hiring process flowchart
A great hiring process flowchart should align with the company’s priorities and hiring strategy. The top 5 tips for using a process flowchart include:
Break each stage and keep it simple: Break down the key stages of the hiring journey into small steps. This makes the flowchart visually appealing and simple without complication.
Develop a structured process with a detailed explanation: Visually list all the essential steps in the process flowchart. Provide a clear explanation and define responsibilities for each one. Include an estimated time it should take to complete the entire process.
Set clear expectations: Define department responsibilities to prevent bottlenecks, delays, or negative experiences for anyone involved in the process.
Check compatibility: Check if your flowchart is compatible with the recruitment software you are using and create a department-specific flowchart.
Customize the flowchart: Include any feedback from the hiring or HR team on the recruitment process and refine the flowchart to suit your specific needs.
Kickstart your hiring process
Tracking each stage of the hiring process can be challenging, but a hiring process flowchart provides a clear roadmap to guide you.
Follow all the steps outlined in this blog, but remember, even with the most detailed flowchart, relying solely on resumes and cover letters can still lead to a bad hire.
It’s crucial to conduct thorough assessments to ensure your candidate has the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the role. Try Testlify’s 1700+ extensive test library to make the right hire.