The IT Staffing Process: How to Find, Hire, and Train IT Professionals

IT staffing is done by attracting desirable candidates, evaluating their skills, choosing the right people to interview, and conducting the interview process. Once a job is offered and the candidate accepts, the onboarding process can begin. 

Working with a staffing company streamlines this process and outsources the heavy lifting to experienced professionals who not only know the IT industry well but also have a wide network from which to pull qualified candidates.

Who is Involved in the Process?

When conducting these processes, all pertinent members of the organization are involved, including hiring managers, supervisors, and owners as well as the recruiter(s) from the staffing company assigned to the project. Everyone works together to achieve the goal of finding the right placement.

The key steps in the IT staffing process when working with a staffing company include the following.

Establish Criteria for Selecting IT Staff

Also known as workforce planning, this step is the first in the staffing process. It is when the staffing company evaluates the requirements of the job and plans out the recruitment strategy for locating and hiring the right talent for the job. Criteria that are considered at this stage include qualifications, education, skills, and experience needed. An example of a more specific requirement would be how many years of experience the business wants candidates to have in their field in order to be considered. Recruiters may help guide employers when setting these requirements to maximize success.

Recruitment and Selection

During this stage of the IT hiring process, recruiters will begin sourcing and searching for prospective candidates using their network. IT staffing firms have a variety of different processes through which they source potential employees for companies, but much of their job relies on experience in the industry, time in the staffing business, and a number of business relationships that can help find the right people for projects or employment opportunities. 

During the selection process, staffing professionals will begin narrowing down their choices to the best possible fit. Things considered during this step may be how well the candidate meets the company’s criteria, how well they might fit into the company culture, and whether their personal desires for employment align with what is being offered. Employers will make their selections from the staffing company’s list of candidates to interview.

Placement and Introduction

In this step, which occurs after vetting, evaluation, and interviewing to ensure the right fit, the staffing agency will begin hiring and placing people who have been offered and accepted the role. Then, the candidate and their new employer meet and begin the process of learning about the job, the organization, and the expectations. This is known as onboarding, a process that can be completed either through the staffing agency or through the business directly depending on the company’s preferences. After onboarding, the employee is trained and begins their work. Again, this process can either be managed through the recruitment firm or by the employer directly.