Unlocking Efficiency: How to Find the Perfect Candidates Every Time

Do you find yourself saying “I don’t need more candidates, I need more of the right candidates”? We encounter many driver recruiters feeling frustrated as they sift through a mountain of... well, you know.

One of the simplest changes you can make to solve this problem is to change how and when you’re using qualification questions. If they don’t meet your minimum qualifications, they’re not worth any of your time. We see the qualifications on your website, your job ad and even your application - but then you’re still wasting time on people that make it through your filters!

A 2 minute waste of time is one thing when you look at application that you immediately reject; it’s 10 times worse when you love everything you hear or see from a candidate only to find out they’re missing a crucial qualification or lacking certain skills. You invested time, energy and maybe some money on an MVR or PSP.

What Are Standardized Qualification Questions?

Your minimum qualifications are set by your company, insurance provider and government regulations - they are non-negotiables that we call standardized qualification questions (SQQs).

SQQs offer a consistent, objective, and efficient method for assessing applicants. They provide you with a fair basis for making informed hiring decisions. Best of all, you’ll be able to process more candidates and spend less money doing so by focusing on the right people.

SQQs are questions that you will ask all candidates to answer during the application process. The three most common we see are:

1. What type CDL do you hold?
2. How many years of experience do you have?
3. Where do you live (so we know how long their commute will be)?

Through the A-Suite Recruit platform, these essential questions will integrate from your company's careers page or candidate landing page. If a candidate fails to provide the required responses, they'll automatically be sorted into a reject category, saving you valuable time and energy. No need to engage with them until your candidate pool needs a refresh.

Why Does Your Boss Care?

Qualifications are set to either comply with federal regulations or ensure you’re not hiring your next accident. In addition, you’ll be able to process more candidates each month so they won’t need to hire more people. This is one step to reducing your cost per hire and ensuring you only bring in the best of the best.

Benefits of Using Standardized Qualification Questions

Three ways that implementing SQQs will drastically improve your recruiting process.

1. You Waste Less Time on the Phone

SQQs ensure you only spend your time on candidates who meet your qualifications. You’ll eliminate phone calls trying to figure out if a candidate is worthwhile.

2. You Waste Less Money on MVRs, PSPs and Background Checks

A common issue we see is the information is asked in the wrong order. We routinely suggest changing the order of which candidate information is collected.

3. You Focus on the Right People

We know recruiters need to see the world through rose colored glasses but you need to hear this - stop looking at every candidate! Yes, there was that one farmer who didn’t have enough work experience you gave him a shot and he’s now your best driver. Put those people in a maybe pile that you look at when things are slow - by looking at everyone, you’re missing easy fits.

How Do Standard Qualification Questions Work?

Here’s our step by step guide for how to implement SQQs into your company’s recruitment process.

1. Identify Key Qualifications: Determine the essential qualifications and skills required for the job. You already have minimum qualifications but think about job specific requirements as well.
2. Develop Standardized Questions: Create clear, concise, and relevant questions aligned with job requirements, avoiding discriminatory language.
3. Incorporate into the Recruitment Process: Integrate standardized questions into the initial form capture so you’re always looking at candidates with the same details (as noted before, A-Suite Recruit makes this easy in your Candidate Landing Page or Careers Page).
4. Establish a Scoring System: Develop a scoring or evaluation system based on predetermined criteria to objectively compare candidates.

The Fastest Way to Get Standardized Qualification Questions Implemented

You can get to work implementing SQQs into your company today, but you might run into some roadblocks. What are the right questions to ask? How do I track the data? How do I automate this so I don’t create more work for myself than before?

A-Suite Recruit’s Qual Questions feature solves these problems.

A-Suite provides a user-friendly platform for creating and managing questions tailored to specific questions for each of your jobs - that means you can have different qualifications for different jobs. You can easily embed these questions into the first step of your online application so you don’t need to lift a finger once it’s set. On the back end, you start your day with the people who are the best fits for you.

Why Does Your Boss Care?

A-Suite’s Qual Questions can be set up in under an hour, but it will save you a dozen hours per week. The investment pays for itself the first hour you get back on the driver who wanted you to be his therapist.

If you’re ready to cut your cost per hire and save yourself some heartbreak on poor fit candidates, click the link below.