How Do You Hire the Right People?

Hiring the right people saves you time, money, and energy. The process starts with you and your recruitment efforts. Don’t rush into hiring a candidate because you need the job filled because it won’t benefit you in the long run if you are not hiring a suitable candidate. To be sure that you get it right, there are several steps you need to take.

The first step you need to take in the hiring process is posting an accurate and clear job description. To attract the right people, you need to advertise to the right people. Include descriptors that will draw in the type of person that will fit the job and its culture. The second step is to ensure you craft appropriate interview questions that will give you insight into the kind of employee the candidate would be. Ask open ended questions that will gauge how they will perform various tasks of the job and how they will troubleshoot to solve problems they may face. Then once you are sure of your decision, be sure to allocate the proper resources for training the new hire. Investing time and energy into training will help the employee develop the skills that they need to be successful and will increase the likelihood of retention. This will save money by preventing you from starting the hiring process over again, and it will save you time later on by preparing the employee for their various responsibilities, thus decreasing the likelihood of errors.

Now that the importance of hiring the right people has been established, it is also worth talking about what to do when you have hired the wrong person. Sometimes a person looks great on paper and gives all the right answers during the interview, but then they don’t perform once hired. If this happens to you, it is crucial that you document each incident as it occurs and discuss with the employee the effect their actions have on the company. They may need extra training to reach their full potential, or they may need the opportunity to find a job elsewhere. Either way, it is necessary to address their behaviors and discuss how they can improve their performance.

-Meghan Slaughter