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).

Related Topics: Employee Relations, Leadership, Small Business    No Comments    

How to Sabotage a Hiring Interview

John Ingrisano

Does this sound familiar when you hire a new employee? The person you hire doesn’t resemble the person you thought you hired. At the same time, the new employee is often just as puzzled — because this sure as heck doesn’t seem like the job you promised. Everybody ends up wasting a great deal of time, effort and money.

Most of the time, the seed of this great misunderstanding is planted during the interviewing process (or lack thereof). Conducting a job interview may seem simple on the surface; however, it is a highly demanding process, one that requires a great deal of structure in order to achieve a number of complex objectives. There are a few ways to do it right…and a number of ways to do it wrong.

TAKE THE INTERVIEWING SELF-QUIZ

The following self-quiz highlights some of the most common mistakes made during a job interview. To find out how good you are as an interviewer, respond to each of the following statements by rating yourself on a scale of 1 to 10: Ten means “always,” or you agree strongly with the statement; 1 means “never,” or you disagree strongly.

1. I like to wing it in the interview and let the conversation take its own course. Some managers like an unstructured, casual approach. They feel it creates an informal, open atmosphere that encourages candor. Unfortunately, this is usually a sign of lack of preparation. The result, more often than not, is rambling confusion. While some subjects get beaten to death, other areas can be overlooked completely, as the meeting drifts aimlessly. (Rating: _______)A better way: Keep in mind that ad libbing is for amateurs. Take the time to prepare for an interview, if only by developing a discussion outline. Both you and the candidate will get more out of the meeting. Most of all, you’ll be sure to cover all important points. That way you ask all the questions you need answered…and the candidate gets all the information he or she requires.

2. I confess that I do like to dazzle job applicants a bit, impress them with my success and that of the company. This is usually rooted in the SBO’s justified pride in the company he or she has built. Unfortunately, it can come off as blowing your own horn or, worse, shallow arrogance. As a result, prospective employees may become cautious and defensive…not the best atmosphere in which to conduct a candid discussion. (Rating: ________)

A better way: Be friendly, but not boastful. Also, make sure that any background or bio information you share about yourself is for the specific purpose of gaining more information about the candidate.
3. I’ve been known to let the applicant run the interview. Some people are masters of the interview process. They know how to control the meeting, say what the interviewer wants to hear and make a good impression by focusing on what makes them look good, while sidestepping negative information. (Rating: ______)
A better way: Go in prepared, with your own agenda. Then, if the applicant begins to drift or becomes evasive, keep returning to the question and bird dog for complete answers.

4. I’ve been known to beg the question, help applicants find the “right” answer. For instance, you might ask: “There will be some evening work at first, but I’m sure you won’t have any problem with that, will you?” Astute applicants will quickly learn how to go with the flow and let you point them in the direction of the “right” answers. (Rating: _______)

A better way: You will get more accurate, honest responses if you ask open-ended questions. For example: “How do you feel about evening work several days a week?”
5. I sometimes fail to follow up and get more details on important questions. Most applicants expect to be questioned; in fact, they’ll probably enjoy talking about themselves. But they also may be concerned about talking too much. (Rating: _____)

A better way: Be willing to follow up, even if it involves using such stock statements as “tell me about that” or “why do you say that?”

6. I fail to take adequate notes. Some interviewers believe that taking notes discourages candor and puts the candidate on guard. Unfortunately, it also leaves the manager with no written documentation of what took place during the meeting. If you’re interviewing a significant number of people each month, it won’t be long before you have difficulty keeping all your information straight. (Rating: ________)

A better way: Applicants expect you to take notes during the interview. If you’re uncomfortable with this, jot down key phrases and ideas. Then make sure to go back as soon as the interview is over and make detailed notes.

7. I tend to take too many notes. Inexperienced managers, especially, may go overboard when it comes to taking notes. If you write down every word, this will make the candidate uneasy. At the very least, he or she will begin talking slowly and waiting while you record answers. All spontaneity will be lost as the conversation gradually comes to a standstill. Worst of all, the candidate’s answers will become clipped and formal — accurate, perhaps, but far from insightful. (Rating; ______)

A better way: As with all things, moderation is the key. Take notes. However, don’t let it become the focal point of the interview.

8. I generally form an opinion of the applicant during the first minute or two of the appointment. Whether it’s love at first sight or an instant sense that this person is all wrong, such first-impression conclusions will skew your ability to be objective and effective during the rest of the interview. Regardless, you should remain open minded. (Rating: _____)

A better way: Allow yourself to make NO judgment whatsoever about the candidate or his or her qualifications until after the meeting is over and you’ve had an opportunity to review your notes.

HOW DID YOU DO? Go over your answers and circle those with the highest ranking. These are the areas on which you need to focus and work to improve.

Recommendation: Practice your interviewing skills with another manager or a friend. Or you may wish to record an interview (but be sure to get the candidate’s permission first). Then review how you conducted the interview and look for ways to improve.

Business journalist and marketing strategist, John R. Ingrisano is known as the “Voice of the Freestyle Entrepreneur.” For nearly three decades, he has been writing and talking about the joys and terrors of being a business owner. His website masthead at www.TheFreestyleEntrepreneur.com says it all: “Survival skills for those of us crazy enough to work for ourselves.” He can be reached at john@thefreestyleentrepreneur.com or by phone at (920) 559-3722.

Related Topics: Employee Relations, Leadership, Small Business    No Comments    

Fire with Finesse

Matt Alderton

When an employee just isn’t working out, it’s time to cut your losses and part ways. Before you sign your next pink slip, however, consider these tips for saying goodbye in a way that’s more helpful than hurtful.

Twenty years ago, Joe Healey fired an employee. Her name was Trish, and she was a good employee turned bad. Once a high performer, she was overconfident and disruptive in her final days. When Healey finally let her go, she was shocked.

Six months later, when he ran into Trish unexpectedly, Healey was frightened. More than 6 feet tall, she was a big woman and with a flick of her wrist could easily have made Healey sorry that he ever let her go. But when she approached her former boss, Trish wasn’t angry. She was appreciative.

“She said, ‘Joe, I didn’t think you’d fire me,’” Healy recalls. “‘I never took your warnings seriously. For six months I blamed you and the company, and then I finally realized it was me and my attitude. You gave me the kick in the behind that I needed, and I’m sorry that things ended the way they did.”

Small business owners are far too often terrified to fire problem employees. Their team is their family, after all, and a wound to their family tree is a wound to their pride. What they fail to realize, however, is that a rotten branch is a bruise on their bottom line; if it’s cut with care, there’s no reason to fear the pruning.

“As a small business, you just don’t have the volume or the margins to keep on dead wood,” says Healy, a small business consultant and speaker, and author of Radical Trust: How Today’s Great Leaders Convert People to Partners. “You don’t have time in small business to be warm and fuzzy.”

A Necessary Evil

It’s never easy to fire an employee. It’s called firing, after all, because it burns. And yet for every manager, dismissing employees is a requisite reality; it’s part of the job description. Like it or not, when you own your own business, pink slips come with the territory.

“A lot of small businesses get in trouble and they lose money because they won’t suck it up and say, ‘I’m sorry, you’re just not fitting in here,’” says management consultant Richard S. Deems, author of How to Fire Your Friends: A Win-Win Approach to Effective Termination.

Business owners rely on their employees to produce, as well as to contribute to their company’s growth, culture and wellbeing. To that end, employment is a contractual relationship, and when it’s broken, that working relationship must be laid to rest. The trick, experts insist, is recognizing the difference between a break and a fracture.

There are two things that warrant termination, according to Healey, and simple mistakes aren’t one of them. Ongoing performance issues, however, are. “You’ve got to make clear to employees what performance you expect,” he says. “And if performance falls below a certain level, employees should know that you can’t keep employing them.”

Next to performance, perhaps the most fundamental justification for termination is what Healey calls trust issues; if you lie, cheat, steal, bully or disrespect—your customers, your associates or your manager—that constitutes broken trust. “A person operating without trust can disrupt the organization, can create negative conflict, and can stifle and slow the business down,” he says.

If your employees lack either performance or trust, it’s time to have a chat.

Softening the Blow

Firing someone isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be hard. Experts insist that communication can make termination more palatable for both employer and employee alike.

“What I have found is that high-performing leaders are much better than most people in candor,” Healey says. “That’s candor on both sides of the equation; it’s easy to be candid about great performance, but it’s hard to be candid about poor performance. What I find, though, is that great managers are loyal enough to their people that as soon as possible, they convey to them performance problems. And because of that, they end up having to fire fewer people because problem employees are more likely to turn around.”

In other words, if you address performance problems before they become irreparable, you may be lucky enough to avoid saying, “You’re fired,” altogether. “You know what the biggest problem in firing is?” Healey asks. “It’s one word: surprise. If you remove surprise, then you remove emotion, anger and bitterness.”

Ruth King, author of The Ugly Truth About Managing People, echoes the power of communication. At her company, Ribbon, an Atlanta-based Internet broadcasting company, new employees are put on a 90-day plan. They sit down with their managers and set 30-, 60- and 90-day goals and meet periodically in order to assess their progress toward meeting them. Within those 90 days, it’s clear to both employer and employee whether things are working out.

“Having clear expectations, and putting them in writing, is absolutely critical,” King says. “Most small business owners don’t take the time to do that. We’re running around like chickens with our heads cut off, saying, ‘Go do this,’ and we expect our employees to read our minds and to do exactly what we would do without giving them a clear understanding of what exactly we want.”

Doing the Deed

If you don’t set expectations for your employees, it’s hard to justify terminating them when they fail to meet them. On the other hand, if you’re clear about your standards, and about the consequences for skirting them, then firing an underperformer is both reasonable and expected.

When the time comes, however, it must be handled with great care in order to protect your reputation and prevent litigation. To help things go as smoothly as possible, consider these expert tips for saying farewell:

• Start with warnings. At Ribbon, King gives underperforming employees a verbal warning and a written warning before finally letting them go. “The verbal warning is signed by the employee, as are the written warning and the [dismissal],” she says. “We always have somebody there in addition to the person and the person’s boss, because if the person refuses to sign the piece of paper, there’s a witness.”
• Remember, timing is everything. According to Deems, many attorneys recommend firing employees on Friday afternoons. He disagrees, though. “If you terminate somebody at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, that person will be on the phone with coworkers that evening and the rest of the weekend, and come Monday morning you’ll have a very disgruntled workplace. So do it early in the day and early in the week so you can control the situation.”
• Do some good. Deems recommends saving face among your employees by providing fired individuals with outplacement assistance. If you lend a helping hand to the fired employee in order to help him or her find a new job, by offering to be a reference or even by connecting them with a career coach, you’ll do a wealth of good for your company’s reputation in trying times. “Do everything you can to show that you care about your employees,” Deems says.
• End on a positive note. No matter how strained your relationship has gotten with an underperforming employee; try to make your goodbye a thoughtful one. “Give them feedback and encouragement about where their strengths are,” Healey says. “I believe when you fire someone, the last thing you should talk to them about is the strengths you saw in them and how you believe they’ll still be successful elsewhere in a sincere way.”
• Hire better next time. When you replace a fired employee, learn from your mistakes. In other words, don’t be in a hurry to fill the fresh gap in your team; it’s better to hire correctly, not quickly.

Matt Alderton is a Chicago-based freelance writer and editor. He specializes in small business and is an editor for Nielsen’s Small Business Resource Center, where this article originally was published. You can reach him online via his Web site, www.sliversandscribbles.com.

Related Topics: Employee Relations, Leadership, Small Business    No Comments