Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing

Great Tips for Highly Effective Hiring Managers

Anita Campbell, Smallbiztrends.com

My former boss was fond of saying, “Hiring a new employee is a million dollar decision. Treat it that way.”

He was referring to a study that showed that a company invested a million dollars or more in the average employee in salary, benefits, training and perks. That number has always stuck with me and I use it as a touchstone to remind me NOT to shortcut the recruiting and hiring process. Too much is at stake.

With that in mind, I’ve pulled together seven hiring guidelines just for smaller firms:

Source candidates creatively.

The venerable Help Wanted ad and hiring a staffing firm are two tried and true methods of finding candidates. But consider other methods:

· Online job boards. Local-based job boards, if available, are often better for small firms than huge national job boards. If you can’t afford to pay relocation costs, you won’t want to be buried in resumes from candidates 1,000 miles away.

· Temporary to full time. Some small firms swear by bringing in temporary workers and then hiring them if they work out. This lets you “try before you buy.”

· Trusted referrals. Many small businesses get the best results via referrals from existing employees, friends, relatives, church members and neighbors. The downside is that the candidate’s skills may not be a perfect match – requiring more on-the-job training. However, the upside is that you get a known quantity and may get candidates who are a better match in terms of people skills, strong work ethic, shared values and other “soft skills” which can make all the difference to success on the job.

Have an interview plan.

You’ll learn more about interviewees if you structure your interviews in advance. For instance, an interview might break down this way: Spend a few minutes at the beginning to make the candidate comfortable and develop a rapport. Then discuss the company and the job. Then ask the candidate a series of probing questions. Here is a list of interview questions. Give the candidate an opportunity to ask you questions, too. Start the interview promptly — and no interruptions, so that you give your full attention to the interviewee.

Include the team in interviews.

There is a lot to be said for involving key team members in the interviewing process. For one thing, candidates may show a different side to them. Plus, employees in small workplaces typically spend a lot of time in close contact with co-workers, so it’s important that THEY get along. If employees have a voice in the hiring process, they will feel invested and try hard to make it work.

Sell the candidate on your company.

In today’s competitive hiring environments, you may have to “sell” the best candidates on coming to work for you. Problem is, as a small business you may not be able to match a large corporation’s salary and benefits. The good news is that employees often care as much or more about work conditions than about dollars: a friendly work environment; flexible working hours; work at home privileges; absence of office politics; or bigger job responsibilities and challenges. Don’t be matter of fact – highlight your advantages!

Put job offers in writing.

A job offer letter protects you from misunderstandings. It’s also a courtesy for the candidate. At a minimum an offer letter should cover: job title, compensation; start date; full or part time status; eligibility for company benefits; a statement that employment is “at will”; and any prerequisites to employment, such as a background check. Don’t throw in the kitchen sink – instead, refer to your employee handbook for catch-all terms. Create a form offer letter and have it reviewed by your attorney in advance (offer letters have legal ramifications). Check out this sample offer letter to get started.

Conduct background checks.

I wish that you could just size people up and everything would be OK. But in reality, one bad employee – say, a convicted embezzler – could destroy everything you’ve worked for.

Have candidates fill out and sign a formal job application giving you the authority to conduct a background check. Then hire a professional background checking service. You can find them in the yellow pages or search engines. At a minimum you should check criminal records, driving records, academic records, employment history, military records, and verification of social security number. Some also will check references. For more, read: Small Business Owner’s Background Check Guide.

Have a training plan for new hires.

Ever heard a horror story about a first-day employee being showed the coffee machine and bathrooms, plopped down at a desk, and then promptly ignored? What a terrible way to treat a million-dollar investment.

Here’s a training plan anyone can do: start by setting aside face time with the new employee regularly throughout the first week. For instance, you might have the employee shadow you (or another employee) side by side for a few days, while you explain and demonstrate tasks. Smile and solicit questions in a patient way to develop trust. Be lavish with praise and sparing with criticism. This will build up the new hire’s confidence. Then gradually cut the umbilical cord a bit more each day as the new hire shows that he or she is catching on.

A single hiring mistake can set your company back more so than in a large corporation. If you have 4 employees in your company and one of them is a bad hire, that’s 25% of your workforce that’s underperforming! But, on the other hand, taking the time to hire right can propel your business to grow and prosper because one great employee can accomplish wonders.

Anita Campbell is a former corporate executive who “did some time” as a V.P. of Human Resources. Currently she is a writer, speaker and radio talk show host who closely follows issues and trends in the small business market at her site, Small Business Trends (www.smallbiztrends.com).

           

Posted on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 at 2:58 pm and is filed under Employee Relations, Leadership, Small Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.