Are you getting ready to hire your first employee? Or maybe you have employees already, but have never had any formal training in recruiting, interviewing and hiring staff. Either way, these 9 steps will help you increase your chances of hiring the right person.
- Be very clear about what the business needs. Take some time to think about what your business needs today, and in the near future. It’s tempting to hire a warm body to take care of specific tasks that need to be done right now, but that doesn’t serve anyone in the long run. Write out a clear description of what is needed from this role. Notice I emphasized that you should pay attention to what ‘the business’ needs. Be careful about hiring people because they’re your friends or are a quick fix. This will only lead to headaches in the future if they don’t meet business needs.
- Know the market value. Do a little research to find out what the average pay is for the position you are hiring. It’s OK to offer a range around that average, based on experience. Remember – of you get cheap on the hire, you will get cheap work.
- Write a good ad. Good ads help people to self-qualify themselves for the job. Use language that will help weed out people who are not a good fit, and attract people who are aligned with you. A well written ad should yield a few, qualified responses, vs. a ton of non-qualified people. Wouldn’t you rather screen 10 good candidates than 100 not-so-good ones?
- Ask meaningful interview questions. Each question you ask should be intentional and provide information that you need to determine whether or not the person is a good fit for the job, and the business. This goes back to being very clear about what the business needs, both from a skills perspective, and a cultural perspective.
- Go beyond the technical skills. Most of the “bad hires” I see are a result of people stopping at the technical skills in the interview process. Go beyond that to find out whether the person’s attitude, personal attributes and values are aligned with those of your organization.
- Set expectations early on. You can begin setting clear expectations for the right person, right from the beginning of the recruiting process. Don’t sugarcoat the job, or ask for a super hero in the ad. When you do bring in candidates for an interview, make sure they understand the drawbacks of the job as well as the good things. Just as you don’t want any surprises from them, they don’t want any from you.
- Do the right screening. If this person is going to have access to financial records, passwords or other sensitive information, or work in your home office, consider making a background check a requirement for hire. Background checks start at $35 and are well worth the investment to have peace of mind. You may also consider a drug screen, or random screening during employment, if you think the position warrants it.
- Schedule regular check in’s. It is not uncommon to start someone on a 30-day or 90-day trial period. If you choose this route, document the expectations for the person as well as specific metrics you plan to quantify. That will give you something to measure at the end of their trial period.
- Get some management training. Most people leave bosses, not companies. Brush up on your leadership, communication and management skills. Your new employee will thank you for it.
