Hiring Masterclass: The Top 3 Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

The Swiss hiring marketplace is known for being highly challenging yet rewarding when finding new talent. This is due to the workforce’s specialised nature and the search’s international scope.

Recruitment has evolved over the past decade, and we have observed the hiring process in every aspect. With the advancement of AI-based technologies, there is a widespread belief that hiring will become more efficient. It is expected that hirers will be able to type in a few skills and receive a list of suitable candidates ready to start working quickly.

However, previous generation technologies such as job boards, CV repositories, and LinkedIn (ahem) were also supposed to end the recruitment agency sector, but it appears it will take decades to reach that point, if ever. Instead, it is more likely that the next platform will match candidate skills to projects, like websites like Fiverr, exponentially increasing the freelance market.

Concerningly, for Switzerland, according to an AmCham/Deloitte study (link in comments), by 2029 in Switzerland there will be 670,000 more jobs than workers available – a staggering statistic considering that there are only 8.6 million inhabitants and that only 67% of the available workforce choose to work.

Having avoided the inflation storms of 2022-24, will the Swiss economic rate limiter be a lack of people? Immigration remains a political hot potato, so extending the right of foreign nationals from outside the EU to work freely in Switzerland will be a non-starter.

Focus, therefore, turns to process improvement and applying quick fixes that can give your business a true edge in a highly competitive field. Here are our Top 3 Hiring Pitfalls and how you can avoid them:

Pitfall 1: ***Paint By Numbers***

Everyone likes the path of least resistance, whether a start-up, SME or corporate behemoth. This is notoriously seen when companies dip into their SharePoint library, post a generic, out-of-date role profile full of jargon and internal acronyms, and then wonder why their applicant pool fails to attract suitable candidates who will move the performance needle.

In addition to taking just 20 minutes to draft a role profile that will resonate with the target audience (something that AI can do…), Hiring Managers should try to think deeper to find the essence of the problem they are ultimately trying to solve.

Think about it this way: If sales targets aren’t being consistently met, rather than trying to find another pure-play Sales Rep in a market where hiring like-for-like from a competitor is challenging without the attributes of a super-charismatic Sales Director and an unrealistic bump in base pay, a more imaginative play might be to hire a Sales Excellence Manager with experience in implementing the latest SaaS B2B products and to upskill the current Sales Team.

The Solution

To gain a natural edge over 90% of the competition, you can follow these steps:

Before you create a new position within your organisation, start by identifying the specific problems that your team is experiencing. These problems should be built into the new position, focusing on tangible deliverables.

Next, determine the core skills that are required for the role. It’s essential to focus on learning agility, as this is often more important than the number of years of experience, especially in fast-moving tech. Everything else should be considered a “nice to have.”

When creating the position, it’s essential to be practical and realistic. For inspiration, look at similar roles in the external hiring market.

Create a role profile that showcases your company’s journey, mission, and 3—5-year plan. Highlight how this position will help the company achieve its specific goals.

Finally, share your role profile through relevant channels and welcome a broad range of skills and experiences. This process will help to evolve your expectations.

 Bonus Tip: Using this methodology, you might discover that there is no need to hire and that the solution already lies within.

Pitfall 2: ***Tunnel Vision***

The recruitment process has evolved significantly, becoming increasingly data-driven, complex and lengthy. Unfortunately, recruitment remains an emotional game where the heart can overrule the head, inevitably leading to heartache. Like Tinder, fixating on a single match based on initial impressions can cloud judgement and overlook potential red flags.

For instance, the Global Medical Director with the right blend of rare diseases and extensive pharma launch experience looks perfect. However, would she relocate internationally without international schooling support for three exam-age children who don’t speak the local language? Would she forsake significant options equity with a business sale on the short-medium term horizon and a lack of career opportunities for her husband?  

This fixation on a single individual can delay the hiring process, resulting in missed candidate opportunities, dissatisfaction among other applicants and severe damage to the company’s employer brand.

The Solution:

Companies must invest resources to address this challenge effectively in conducting a broader and deeper search for potential candidates.

Businesses can mitigate the risks associated with focusing solely on one candidate by broadening the candidate pool and upskilling hiring teams to detect red flags early in the process.

Detecting potential issues early allows for a more comprehensive evaluation of candidates and increases the likelihood of finding the right fit for the role.

By adopting a more inclusive and thorough approach to candidate selection, companies can enhance their recruitment strategies, attract top talent effectively, and ensure a smoother hiring process for both candidates and organisations.

Bonus Tip: Introduce a mandatory two-candidate end-stage interview process to mitigate risk.

Pitfall 3: ***Interview Overload***

Across all types of businesses, convoluted interview processes can pose significant challenges, leading to delays, inefficiencies, and candidate dissatisfaction. These elaborate procedures often involve multiple stages, numerous interviewers, and a lack of structure, ultimately hindering the hiring process.

Think of the growing start-up where the entire company must assess everyone for “cultural fit”, the SME where every interviewer asks the candidate the same questions or the global corporate which insists that every interviewee must formally be interviewed by anyone whom they might bump into at the coffee machine, just in case they feel snubbed.

The Solution:

To address this issue effectively, it is essential to streamline the interview process and focus on critical decision-makers influencing the hiring outcome.

Utilising a competency-based interview framework can provide clarity and consistency in evaluations, ensuring that candidates are assessed based on relevant skills and attributes and eliminating question repetition.

Implementing hiring Service Level Agreements (SLAs) can enforce efficiency among interviewers, setting clear expectations for speed and professionalism throughout the selection process.

By simplifying and refining the interview process, businesses can enhance the candidate experience, expedite decision-making, boost employer brand, and more efficiently secure top talent.

Bonus Tip: By incorporating the solutions above, senior leaders gain confidence in the process, and thus, you can avoid the dreaded “CEO just wants to meet everyone” stage (think making it almost to the end of Snakes & Ladders and going back to the start). Plus, teams become empowered to make broader non-hiring decisions more effectively.

Thanks for reading.

What pitfalls have you seen? Are there more important issues to be addressed?

Add any thoughts to the comments, and I will happily discuss them in the following article.

For Start-Ups and SMEs ready to scale, Hire Collider is your Strategic Talent Partner, redefining recruitment with our innovative approach. Our Talent Excellence model elevates your hiring process, from crafting compelling employer brand stories to connecting you with top-tier talent globally. Gain a competitive edge to outcompete industry giants and thrive in your market.