3 Keys to Hiring Effective Employees
In
nearly any business, choosing who to
hire is a critical decision…
The
right employees directly influence the success of your company, from CEOs and
important decision-makers to even attentive janitors that promote well-being by
keeping your property clean and providing positive interaction.
And
the bad employees, well, to put it bluntly, they’re the dead weight that sinks
your ship.
But
even considering how vital hiring good employees is, many businesses still get
it wrong. Before signing on your next employee, consider these 3 keys for a
more successful hire.
Know What You Want
Some
managers enter hiring with the mindset that they’ll see who walks in the door
and figure it out from there. However, there’s a much better way…
Take
the time to identify exactly what it is you need from your new employee down to
the last detail and include them in your job posting:
●
Necessary skills - the bare minimum skills that cannot be
learned on the job.
●
Job responsibilities - every type of task the employee will do
●
Time and hours availability - when the employee will work
Being
specific about the necessary skills, job responsibilities, and time
availability will help weed out candidates that don’t meet your needs.
But
understanding what you want doesn’t stop there - you’ll also want to think
about the ideal personality for the position. In addition, consult with other
employees for additional input about what type of hire would help them best in
their work.
Hire People, Not Skills
As
mentioned above, some jobs have skills that are absolutely mandatory - a
customer service representative may need to speak Spanish to be able to
communicate with clients, and you would hope that your new graphic designer is
proficient in PhotoShop.
That
being said, placing too much importance on a vast array of skills past the
basics can be a mistake, for this reason…
Finding the right person is almost always
harder than finding the right skills.
The
right person will have the openness, adaptability, and intelligence to learn
much of their job on the fly. And they’ll be happy doing so. They thrive by
learning and overcoming challenges, and have no ceiling as to what they can
achieve in your organization.
Do Your Research BEFORE the Interview
If you’ve
structured your hiring campaign correctly, you’ll have access to a candidate’s
application and/or resume before an interview is given.
And
that’s the right way because doing your research on applicants actually saves you a ton of time from wasted interviews
with people you know you won’t hire.
In
addition to a standard background check, you’ll also want to contact references
and former employers (if possible) to ask about the person’s work performance
and discover any sticking points that would exclude them from working for you.
Ask the Right Questions
The
web is littered with long lists of interview questions that even
remotely-qualified applicants are prepared to answer. To get a better sense of
who the person is, ditch the standards and use more open, free form questions.
Here
are a few interview question ideas that force deeper thought and introspection:
●
What did you learn during your time at ABC Industries?
●
Describe your ideal co-worker.
●
How do you deal with stress?
●
Given no money constraints, where would you want to live?
After
conducting interviews, there’s only one more question to ask and only you can
answer it…
Is this person right for the job?
And if the answer is no, keep searching until you find one that is.