In the last two weeks, I had six conversations with our current and prospective clients who discussed their challenges when hiring an IT consultant.

There was one clear theme. They all "interviewed" the submitted contractor candidates for technical skills, focusing on the technical nuts and bolts. But five of the six had poor experiences with the performance after the consultant was onboarded on the project.

Does this sound like you? You've screened candidates for technical, business and interpersonal skills. But are you done? There are many other steps you should be considering, including:

1. Do you check how many layers of vendors are there between you (the client) and the actual individual who will be performing services for you?

I feel the number should be one or two. I've heard some of my clients voice that the number should only be one, to which I disagree. No one vendor has access to all consultant resources, and they frequently work with subcontractors with certain niche skill sets.

These vendors have invested time and resources into building a realtionship with, and screening from a large pool of subcontractors. So if you think the layer number should be only one, you may be missing out on a larger talent pool available through the vendor's subcontractor network.

2. Do you only conduct phone interviews?

We've heard stories of "bait and switch," i.e. a client interviews a candidate on the phone, hires the candidate, but a different candidate shows up on the first day.

I understand there are issues interviewing candidates who are located on the opposite side of the country. In my experience, video interviews using free technology like Skype has proven beneficial. You may use Skype video and telephone simulataneously (disable Skype audio, or putting your PC speakers down) to improve the interview experience.

There are also other pay solutions available for video interviews. Which one you use is less important than using one.

3. Do you give an online technical test?

Again, I have heard stories of "bait and switch" here. One candidate takes the online test, and a different candidate shows on the first day. Considering the scenario again that the candidate may be located on the opposite side of the country, what are you supposed to do?

I personally like interviewing candidates and asking them questions for which there are no online tests. I talk to them about my project, and I explain to them one particular issue I may be having.

I look for their thought process and mastery of the overall subject. I give them points even if the answer to the problem is incorrect, as long as they show their mastery of the subject matter.

Why? I feel anyone can Google any question and find the correct answer. What I am looking for is not the correct syntax for a line of code, but their ability to understand a problem, and then their thought process on their approach to solving the problem

4. Have you shown them your code?

There have been some projects where my needs were to screen candidates for the "syntax." In this case, I did a screen share with the candidates — and showed them our code. And then I let them control my PC.

I was looking to see how quickly they can grasp the code. Then I asked them for suggestions on improving the code. I felt this process assessed their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

5. What is their family situation?

Does the candidate's spouse work? What I have learned is that most of us are not single and have attachments to some people in our lives. I've also noticed that when you remove people from these attachments, and the distance is large, there is turnover. So this is something I am always curious about.

Another area that is sometimes overlooked is planned time off. Imagine hiring a consultant who has a wedding planned right when you have your major rollout planned.

6. How do you check references?

I think 7 out of 10 candidates only give references of people who will give them good reviews. So if you want to ask a reference "how they were at their previous job" expect an answer of "great."

I still see a value of reference checks, but getting accurate references can sometimes be difficult. Sometimes insisting on this has resulted in me losing some good candidates, where my competition hired that resource before I could finish reference checks.

If I have a need to check references, and I absolutely can't do without it, I look at employers/projects where a candidate may have worked. I do my independent investigation on the candidate, calling people from my personal network, rather than relying on a reference provided by a candidate.

7. Do you pay fair market value?

If the vendor tells you a bill rate of $100/hour but is paying the assigned personnel $25/hour, you can bet that you will not have that candidate working at your site for too long. The candidate will soon find another opportunity that pays him/her a fair market value.

Most consultants are fairly well educated about their market value, but sometimes circumstances lead them to accept your assignment, only to see them leave within a couple of months. So I like to see in my contracts that the assigned personnel is getting paid a fair market value, which could vary between 40 percent to 80 percent of the bill rate.

I wouldn't impose on vendors a number like 80 percent, but different vendors have different costs. But sometimes I do ask them about their costs, and what percent of bill rate goes to the assigned personnel. My vendors work hard, and they deserve to make a living. As long as I get a fair rate, I just want them not to abuse the assigned personnel.

8. Do you identify your organization honestly?

Is your company a Tier-1 player, Tier-2 player, etc.? Hire a consultant at the same level as you.

Lets say you are Google or Apple, then you can afford to hire a Tier-1 consultant. But if you are not and want longevity in assigned personnel, get realistic about your expectations.

You can hire mediocre people, put them in a good environment with excellent processes, and still receive "superior" work. So invest in your process, culture and environment and hire personnel that are a good fit. In many circumstances, superstars are not a good fit in various environments.

9. Do you hire friends or family?

Don't. They are hard to fire. I don't think I need to comment more on this subject

10. Do you ask takeaway questions?

Give interviewed candidate a "takeaway question," and ask them to email you back with a response. Don't propose a deadline, and see how soon they respond. This provides a chance to look at the quality of their written and their analytical skills further.

I am sure there are many other ideas out there, to improve this process further. Do you have one?