Hiring a new employee is one of the biggest investments a company can make, yet surprisingly it is often given little time and attention. A bad hiring decision can cost a company thousands of dollars, time, and momentum.

Companies can choose to backfill open positions, and running the risk of repeating previous mistakes, or they can use the hiring opportunity to create a clear hiring strategy – assess the role, department, and company needs to improve the overall health and direction of an organization.

To ensure hiring success and determine the right type of candidate for a role, staffing objective, and recruitment process a company must first put together the right hiring strategy. According to The Boss Group, here are six tips to boosting your strategic hiring process:

1. Define the role

Defining the role is essential to recruiting and screening talent. The objectives and goals outlined in the job description will allow you to evaluate talent effectively and to clearly communicate what the job expectations are.

2. Know the department

Make sure you have a clear idea of the department, their primary business objectives, the work culture, the performance expectations, etc., so you can effectively evaluate talent for placement within these boundaries.

3. Determine timeframe

You need to determine when the new hire should be on board and their ideal start date to ensure you have the right amount of time to recruit, evaluate and hire. The length of this process will affect your recruiting options and how much money you will need to accomplish your goals.

4. Develop a budget plan

Speaking of money, in most cases, it is important to determine what the outreach strategy is going to be within your budget parameters – related costs and anticipated ROI. Determine where and how you will get the most out of every dollar spent.

5. Assess your hiring options

When reviewing the role requirements look internally first. A current team member can provide much value to an organization since they already know the company. This could also save the company time because existing team members can get acclimated faster.

6. Collaborate across departments

Hiring talent is not a one-person job. Resources across the organization can help throughout the hiring process:

• Internal staff:Enlist the help of your team to create the position description, research recruitment options, write and design advertising, screen and interview prospects, etc.
• Training and development: Collaborate with the training and development team to come up with a schedule that works.
• Human resources:Educate your human resources team on your hiring needs and what you expect from candidates. If they have a clear understanding of the position they can manage the hiring process effectively and help find the right candidate.

Hiring takes a lot of preparation and the process from the time a position opens to the time it is filled will be expensive, but the cost of a bad hire can be considerably more.