You're ready to expand your business and you look forward to the increased revenue this will generate. Or maybe you've had a key employee resign and you need to hire a replacement quickly. Before jumping right in, make sure you establish your job requirements and that you're ready to hire the right person for your business. Hiring, no matter how quickly or effectively performed, does you no good if the employees hired can't perform the job to your requirements or don't stay for long.
Good employees are the scarcest commodity in business; not customers or technology or capital. It's people. Companies simply can't hire great people fast enough. This shortage of qualified candidates is their biggest obstacle to growth; solving it is their biggest strategic priority.
If you want to grow your business, you have to keep hiring to expand your customer base. The real challenge isn't finding people, it's finding the right people and turning them into productive employees - rapidly.
There are a few short-term strategies you can use to help you to get through the times while hiring a replacement, but there is also the hazards of hiring just about anyone that walks through the door to get the job filled. Take the time necessary to hire the right person for the job. The actual cost of turnover is much greater than most employers realize. The first line of defense should always be to make every effort to retain your current employee, assuming he/she was performing their duties at an acceptable level.
Incorporate these steps in your hiring process:
- Let your remaining employees know of the job opening. Referrals from current employees usually are better candidates than those prospects responding to your job opening.
- If the position is above entry level, look at your current employees and determine if one of them would be a good applicant for promotion. It's much easier to fill entry-level jobs. Be sure to use some type of general IQ or aptitude test. There is no way to sit and talk with an applicant and know whether they can perform the functions you require or even have the common sense for the unusual tasks or situations encountered while on the job.
- Punctuality is a key indicator of how an employee will act once hired. If an applicant is late for an appointment, remove them from your list of candidates unless they have an incredibly good reason.
- Appropriate attire should always be worn to an interview .
- Listen carefully as the applicant explains why they left their previous job(s) . Someone that continually has problems with supervisors and/or co-workers will probably have the same conflicts with your company.
- Don't hire an obvious problem no matter how desperately you need help. Always hire someone you find likable. You don't need to become best friends, but you must be able to work with them in your environment.
- Prepare a short test that applicants must take to show their ability to perform with your customers, clients, existing employees and the technicalities of the job.
- Always ask for applicant refferences and make sure you call each one.
- Establish a probation period that will enable you to quickly replace new hires that don't meet specific requirements.
Not only is turnover intimidating, it also has a huge monetary impact on the organization. On average, a lost worker can easily cost a company 150% of the employee's base salary. Turnover in many specialized and management roles can be even more costly. So the question is, have you created an environment for your employees to thrive and be promoted? How many employees are still with your company after six months and after one year? The only way to improve your hiring process is by tracking your employees and revising your procedures.
You must develop a hiring process that is as specific as your process to develop new products and enter new markets. To successfully grow your business, you must continually review and revise your hiring practices and ensure you are performing adequate performance reviews on a regular basis.
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More About Gail Metcalf: Gail Metcalf built and sold two businesses with base and supervisory level employees. No part of the article content can be modified, and a link must be provided to: Small
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