When crafting the job description, avoid using a straight bullet list with simple position duties and responsibilities, Coco recommends. Instead, provide those potential employees with a "day in the life" description. This type of job listing could be written in narrative form, or it could include a video of an employee explaining what a typical day for that position would be like.

"We know that strong interpersonal skills are required for most jobs," Coco says. "You probably don't need to include that in the job description. What you should put out there for the job candidates to digest is a peek into the actual job. It's really important for them to get an understanding of what they would do for an organization."

During the interview process, Coco suggests using behavioral-based interviewing. Rather than asking a job candidate about past responsibilities, ask that job candidate how he or she has previously handled a specific situation, stating what steps were taken and what was the final outcome. Coco says this approach gives the interviewer a clearer idea of that job candidate's potential.

Paying attention to nonverbal cues is also crucial during the interview, Coco adds. Some interviewers have a tendency to dominate the conversation, which is often unappealing to the interviewee. While it's important for the interviewee to understand the company, it's also necessary to make sure that person is engaged in the discussion.

"If you're the employer and you spend 90 percent of the time talking about how great of a company you are, but you don't understand anything about that person, you're going to be very disadvantaged to hiring them," Coco says. "People want to talk about how they fit. They want to ask questions; they want to feel they're engaged and that they're at an organization where their engagement is important."

If the interviewee starts to lean back or starts to open his or her mouth, those are strong indications that the engagement is lopsided, Coco says.  

References are also a common part of the hiring process; however, Coco believes this step isn't as important as some seem to think. Most potential job candidates know to offer references who would give high remarks, and any reference phone call likely won't provide a wealth of information.

"If anybody gives you a bad reference, shame on them," Coco says. "This is their opportunity to give you their three favorite people from their past employment history."

Checking references is also unimportant, Coco says, because much of the information an interviewer would hope to gain cannot be discussed. In fact, the only information that can be addressed is confirming employment history. Job performance reviews are subjective, and discussing that type of information opens possible litigation.

"Calling references is a check box in the hiring process," Coco says. "If you do a great job during the interview, you're going to come out knowing whether that person is capable of doing the job."

Once the job candidate is hired, HR's job doesn't stop there. Relationships should be built from day one, which will help HR better understand the new employee's role and how that translates to future hires.

"You want to have experiences with new hires outside of whatever employee relations or benefits questions arise," Coco says. "You want to foster a relationship with them, especially for folks that are managers and above and will require future hires. This will help you better understand their skill sets, which is important for succession planning and overall talent management."