Right Hire Makes All The Difference
You need help! Your company is growing, and you need more people. But finding the right workers can be a challenge. Since much of a small company’s success depends on the quality of the people they hire, this is a critically important task.
Of course, you must first make the commitment to hire. If you’re growing rapidly and money is flowing in fast, that decision is easy. But typically, you must determine whether you’ll make more money than it will cost to bring in additional help. Sometimes, you cannot afford to do without extra help — your current employees will be stretched so thin you’ll begin to lose them.
Over the years I’ve developed ways to increase the chance of success when hiring:
Draw up a clear job description. It’s impossible to recruit the right person if you don’t know what job you want them to do. Before you begin, write down all the tasks you need done. Think about the attributes, skills and experience needed. Be realistic. It’s not likely that you’ll find a terrific salesperson, techie and bookkeeper in a single person.
Give yourself time. When possible, start the candidate-hunting process as early as possible. The more time you have, the less you’ll feel pressured to hire an unqualified candidate just to fill a position. It’s better to leave a job open than to hire the wrong person.
Make your “help wanted” ad appealing. Include language that shows how the job is particularly interesting or different. The job may seem mundane, but even labeling it “Assistant to Marketing VP” makes it stand out from the 30 other administrative assistant listings.
Cast a wide net. List your job in many locations, including newspaper classifieds and several online job boards. Be sure to send your job description to your personal and professional network of acquaintances. Many of the best prospects are found through people you know.
During interviews, don’t do all the talking. It’s appropriate to explain the job, and in many cases, to try and sell the job to the candidate, but most of the time the candidate should be talking. Have a few questions prepared in advance; it’s not fair to just say, “Tell me about yourself.” Ask what about the job appealed to them, what particular skills they have, and what they didn’t like about their last job.
Ask questions that give you a sense of the applicant as a person, but be careful not to ask questions that are illegal. You can’t, for instance, ask whether a candidate is planning on having a child. But it’s perfectly acceptable to ask about hobbies, interests, where they grew up, what their long-term goals are.
Don’t discriminate. It’s not only illegal, but you’ll eliminate some terrific employees.
Check references. Even if you have no reason to doubt the honesty of an applicant, you can learn a lot by checking references. Use the reference check as a way to learn how to work more effectively with your new employee. Some of the questions I’ve asked: What kind of training would you suggest to make the applicant an even better employee? What job duties required you giving more direction than others? What duties did the candidate particularly enjoy or do well?
Most importantly, hire for attitude, not just for skills. It’s tempting to choose a candidate who’s done the same work before. Resist the temptation. Choose the person who can grow, learn, and contribute to your company’s health and growth.
Rhonda Abrams is the author of “Six-Week Start-Up” and “What Business Should I Start?”
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