Cultural Fit is crucial because while candidates can excel in various technical tests and have the best cognitive abilities, being a poor cultural fit can ruin the entire equation. Moreover, the result of poor culture fit due to turnover can cost an organization between 50-60% of the person’s annual salary.
Hiring the right candidates is an uphill task.
Sample these facts:
76% of hiring decision-makers say attracting quality candidates is their #1 challenge and 88% agree that an informed candidate is a quality candidate.
Employers stated that the top three benefits of hiring an informed candidate are: Better employee retention, more productive employees, and more engaged employees
Putting these two together, it is obvious that when you find the right talent, it is eventually going to reflect in better RoI for your business.
However, the hunt for talent for your offshore engineering team is challenging. Even though there’s no shortage of talented professionals out there, they may not be the best choice or the apt fit for the firm.
Based on our experience of hiring thousands of professionals for our clients’ offshore development teams, here are a few tips to help you hire the best professionals:
Define Job Description Clearly
Do you want developers who are well-versed in certain technologies?
Do you need data analysts who are experienced in Big Data?
Are you taking the IoT route and want professionals who have up-to-date knowledge about the same?
Do you want a developer or an all-rounder who can also do testing?
Irrespective of the role, you need to make sure that the job description is defined clearly. The list should be all-encompassing and in the order of priorities. This will make sure that you hire a team of professionals who bring more values to the table for your business.
This takes us to the next point.
Describe the Role and Your Expectations
After you have described the job, move to the next step i.e. elaborating what the role is all about and what are your expectations from the candidates. This can be in terms of their qualifications, their knowledge in a specific industry, the total experience they have, personality traits, educational background, and so on. This will help you narrow down your search and find the crème-de-la-crème talent. You can also come up with unique job titles to attract potential candidates.
Review Applications Carefully
There may be a thin line of difference between some of the candidates that apply to be a part of your offshore development team. This is the reason why you need to follow a structured process to review each application thoroughly. For this purpose, have a list of qualities you seek in the candidates. You need to figure out what you can and can’t do without when it comes to hiring them. And that’s it. Match your expectations with some of the key parameters in the applications to shortlist the resumes. You can also review the applications to come up with some crucial questions to ask the potential candidates during the interview.
Rely on Pre-Employment Technical Tests Specifically Created for the Role
Let’s face it. Anyone can use readymade resume templates or directly lift the content from the Internet and create an impressive job application. This is where pre-employment technical tests come to your rescue. Specifically tailored for each job role, these tests can help you shortlist and hire more suitable candidates. These tests also help you reduce the time you would otherwise waste in interviewing non-suitable candidates. Ensure that you select the right pre-employment test platform and have the right tests in place for your job roles.
Check the Candidates for Analytical and Cognitive Skills
Just like technical acumen, cognitive and analytical skills are also essential in a candidate for your offshore engineering team. These are the skills that test their ability to process and apply their knowledge, reasoning, and evaluation of situations and decision-making. For instance, you can ask the potential candidates to draw inferences from hypothetical situations, offer them a case study, and ask them to evaluate it or make them brainstorm and come up with unique solutions on the spot.
Check Cultural Fit
The next point on the list is to take your time and make sure that the candidate fits in your company’s culture.
Cultural fit, in essence, refers to the core values and the collective behavior at any organization. When the candidates don’t fit in these aspects, then they will not be aligned perfectly with your business goals. They will always have a set of ethics that will be in contrast with those of the firm, leading to several issues down the line.
Ensuring cultural compatibility with the offshore team also means that they will be self-motivated and able to work independently with minimum supervision. This translates to a win-win situation.
Check Background and References
No hiring process is complete without background and reference checks. In fact, references are used for screening by as many as 8 out of 10 recruiters. Both these methods will come in handy when you want to screen the potential candidates for senior positions. From verifying their digital footprints to the credentials and the documents submitted, you can also talk to the candidates’ former colleagues and managers to know about their work experience and skills.
Search Your End for the Perfect offshore Team with Braves Tech
Do all these steps seem like a tedious process or too much work? Let us help you out.
Choose an offshore management partner like Braves Tech. We’ve been in this industry for several years now and can help you with hiring the best teams to work for you. Call us to learn more!