It doesn’t matter whether you have a new start-up business or an established one. One of the core assets of any company are the employees. It is they who enable you to develop, innovate and sell your products and services. Hiring the right people for the right job is not easy and often done more to fill the positions than to find the right fit.
“At most companies, people spend 2% of their time recruiting, and 75% managing their recruiting mistakes.” ~ Richard Fairbank
The unfortunate thing about the hiring process is that some businesses don’t get it right. That means they can end up employing the wrong people. And that’s not good news for your productivity and revenue . Here are some fundamental tips on how to hire the right people for the job.
Here is what you need to know:
Make your requirements clear
It all starts at the job advertisement stage. When you tell people of your intention to hire new staff, it’s important you make yourself clear. For instance, let’s say that you want to hire a computer repair engineer. You should state that you want someone with previous experience in the role if you don’t wish to spend time training them in the work.
However when hiring for a start-up or a innovative company you might want to go deeper in setting expectations right as there might be many other touch points that drive the right talent to your org. Rework your job description to get to as much information about the position as possible in a concise way. Add more info on your website where prospective candidates can read and learn more about your company before applying.
Attitude and culture fit are THE determining factor
Hire for attitude and hire for a culture fit. Not easy either way, but you would never regret it if you get those people on-board who love what they do and with the team around them.
Some ways to get this going right would be to inform candidates on your expectations for the perfect candidate as someone who is in consonance with the values of your organization. Point them to some examples on your website or articles which clearly defines the organization’s culture and vision. When you search for people with the passion and those that align with your vision, you have struck gold, or better still the diamonds that will make your company shine!
Many hiring managers and HR personnel stand confused on how to define culture appropriately. This article here on The Ladders might help.
The infographic below also has some good info.
Consider background checks before you hire
It’s no secret that, in some roles, the person you hire will have to deal with money or sensitive information. The last thing you want to do is get someone unethical or reputation damaging to your organization. You need to hire trustworthy people in your business. One way of minimizing that risk is to do a credit check on them. The InfoTrack AFSA, for instance, is one service where you could also check if a person was bankrupt in the past. It’s a good idea to do such checks even if you’re hiring for a senior role, or one where the person is responsible for managing finance.
Shortlist as many people as possible
It’s likely that you will receive a raft of applications from people once you advertise for a job. And it’s a fact that some of those applicants aren’t a good fit for the position. You will doubtless shortlist people that sound perfect on paper. But how will you know if any of them are just as good for the job in real life?
One thing you need to do is shortlist as many applicants as you can. That way, you have a vast pool of candidates to choose from when making your final decision. You should never choose the “best of a bad bunch” from a small pool of say five or ten people.
If you don’t find the right candidate for the job, you’ll need to keep advertising. Hiring someone that’s only “OK” just won’t do. It’s a waste of your time and money if they don’t get on in their new role. That’s because they’ll resign, and you’ll have to start the whole process again!
I hope these tips will help you find the perfect person for the next job you advertise!
Here’s an infographic on job and culture fit by cubiks.com:
