In my programming group we have every potential hire pass a resume screen then a basic tech interview (do you know what % means in Perl?). Then they come in for lunch/interview with all interested programmers. This interview lasts a couple of hours. Then we all count, "1, 2, 3" and on 3 we all put thumbs out and then discuss. One thumb down is a no, there is no point discussing it. Anyone with a thumb sideways is probably a no. We happily hire on all thumbs up. It is rare for people to disagree.

Since I arrived we've hired 2 programmers. Both have worked out very well. (Usually we are not looking for anyone. Making a hire when we want one usually takes a couple of months.)

I'm not sure how much the procedure will change the next time we want to hire. But it worked for a small company.

Cheers,
Ben