1. Determine what you need
Before you do anything else, narrow down exactly what you need your HR specialist to do and what specific qualities you’re looking for.
Getting clear on your company’s current status is one way to determine your needs. Ask yourself:
- Are we looking to grow quickly? If yes, you’ll need someone who can develop a strategic plan outlining your future direction, create a vision, build an HR strategy, and make your current processes scalable.
- Do we need someone to manage smaller (but important) daily tasks? Then you need a highly detail-oriented person who feels comfortable in the weeds of it all.
- Are our current employees on the verge of burnout? This might mean you need to hire more talent and make designing an effective, reliable hiring process your current HR priority.
- Is keeping your company compliant with local and national laws a pressing matter? Then look for someone who has experience with employment laws and regulations.
The list goes on, but it’s essential to outline these requirements from the get-go so they can guide you throughout your recruitment process.
2. Craft a clear job description
Next, it’s time to work on your HR manager’s job description. A clear job description attracts the right type of applicant and helps manage expectations. Here are some key items to include in your description:
- Company description: Let your company culture shine through! Tell applicants about the growth opportunities you offer and give them a feel for what they can expect from you.
- Job title: For example, HR Specialist.
- Role objective: Be as clear and concise as possible. Here’s where your needs and expectations from the previous steps can really come in handy.
- Skills and qualifications: This should include soft and hard skills. For example, be a team player, proficient with an array of HR technology tools, and results-driven.
- Benefits. Your job description is a great way for candidates to get a feel for your company, so outline the benefits you offer — like a remote work stipend or a professional development budget to cover expenses for courses and HR conferences.
3. Promote your position in the right channels
In addition to increasing your job posting’s visibility, this step is about attracting the right type of candidates. For example, asking for referrals and tapping into your social networks, like LinkedIn or Slack communities for HR/People Ops, might yield better results than posting your job description on sites like Glassdoor or Indeed.
4. Interview candidates
Your candidate will be gauging your company just as much as the reverse. So run-of-the-mill “what are your strengths and weaknesses” questions will tell applicants you’re not putting as much effort into recruitment as they are.
Instead, try asking more interesting and relevant questions during interviews, like:
- What would an ideal onboarding process look like, in your opinion?
- Can you describe your hiring approach and how it helps attract quality talent?
- How can we stay compliant with local and national laws?
- What actions would you take to foster an excellent company culture?
- What are some human resources trends that will shake things up this coming year?
- What’s one thing that excites you about working with us in particular?
5. Communicate with employees
If this is your company’s first HR hire, communicate to current employees why you’re setting up human resources management and what it’ll bring to the company.
Some of your employees might have reservations and questions about your new HR hire and the direction the company’s taking, so take your time to answer their concerns candidly.
“Not hiring an HR manager is something I see a lot in startups that have hit their stride and are starting to grow. They think: ‘Why have an HR manager? We’ve never needed one before, and that feels too corporate…’
Once [your company grows] though, an HR manager becomes indispensable not just to help manage hiring and mediate disputes, but as someone who can begin to shape culture for new hires.” — Dragos Badea, CEO of Yarooms
Follow-up best practices for hiring an HR manager
Prepare your onboarding steps & get ready to welcome your new hire
You’re not only welcoming a new employee — if this is your first HR hire, you’re also creating a new structure within your company! Make sure you have a productive and efficient onboarding process planned, so the transition is smooth for everybody.
Make HR managers’ work easier with Leapsome
Leapsome is the only platform that closes the loop between performance management, employee engagement, and learning.
Once you’ve hired and onboarded your new HR person, set them up for success by ensuring they’re not overburdened with manual processes.
Leapsome accomplishes this by providing an all-in-one solution for people enablement, including everything from onboarding surveys to engagement surveys, learning paths, and career progression frameworks.
💪 Reduce manual processes and attract the best talent
Leapsome supports your HR team by offering engagement, motivation, and compensation tools that help build a healthy work culture and increase employee satisfaction.
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