Secrets To Hiring The Right People – And Keeping Them

When you’re looking to fill a position within your organization, hiring the right person is vital to ensuring your business’s smooth operation and boosting your other employees’ morale. There’s nothing worse for you or your company than hiring someone and later discovering that their personality or skills aren’t a good fit. The new hire leaves on bad terms, or existing employees become unsatisfied and choose to move on, or you’re faced with the unpleasant task of firing the person you just hired.

The ability to hire the right person for the job is not something most managers can easily do. It’s a process that’s learned and, for some, can take years to perfect. Not only is the hiring process complicated and time-consuming, but it can mean the difference between the smooth operation of your company or having a wrench thrown in the gears. You can take specific steps to ensure the person you choose is the right fit; to better avoid falling into the habit of hiring and firing.

What’s First?

The hiring process is an art that can’t be rushed, and therefore it shouldn’t happen on a whim. The more time and energy you put into the hiring process, the more likely you will find someone that will fit well and stay for the long haul. One of the most important things you can do is have someone dedicated to the hiring process if it’s possible. This is why HR specialists and recruiters are an essential part of a growing company’s operations. However, if this isn’t possible, then it’s time to put a plan to help with hiring when you need it.
The first step in the plan is to set a budget. It will cost time and money to find a qualified person for an open position within your organization. You’ll need to determine precisely how much you’re willing to spend before you place that job listing. This cost goes beyond just the employee’s salary.

What You’ll Need To Consider When Hiring

1. Employee cost. You’ll have to spend the time and energy reviewing resumes, conducting interviews, and eventually making the decision. It’ll help to figure out how many hours you are willing to dedicate to this project. There needs to be enough time to research and review all the information to allow for the best choice. 
2. Advertising expenses. With most business operations moving online, there are plenty of opportunities for you to advertise the open positions you have and attract candidates. You can job boards, social media, email newsletters, and others. A good rule of thumb is to plan on spending a portion of the incoming 
3. Additional expenses. There are a few other expenses that you might not know about. There’s time and cost to go into training and assessments, both for the new employee and for the trainer.

The Second Step To Hiring The Right People

The second step in formulating your plan is to set a timeline. There needs to be a set amount of time that you’re willing to spend searching and waiting for the right employees. Try to limit your search to a few weeks, if your needs aren’t urgent. Giving yourself enough time will ensure that the best candidates around have a chance to see your listing. To figure out how much time you should allow, consider the following:

1. Determine if the position is an immediate need.
2. How much work will remain undone each day that your position goes unfilled?

Figuring out these two points will help you balance the need for your placement (or replacement) with the willingness to speed through the process.

The Third Step

The third step in formulating your hiring plan is to put together a committee. Instead of taking on all the pressure, responsibility, and stress, or putting that on one person, decide to have several people work on different hiring processes. This is incredibly valuable when you have a large number of applicants. It’s far too easy to get stuck at any step of the process and lose perspective when you have a large stack of resumes to review. By having a team (or a committee) will balance the entire process for your organization.

The Fourth Step In Your Hiring Plan

The fourth step in creating your hiring plan is to know the law. There are certain things that you can do and ask during the interview process. It’s essential to understand the law and follow it closely. Suppose you have a legal team or a legal specialist you can count on. In that case, it’s a good idea to have them review all aspects of your hiring process, from the actual job listings and descriptions, the evaluation sheets, your job applications, and any other written material you might have. You might also want to consider letting this team review the interview questions before you schedule your first interview.

Step Five

The fifth step in creating your hiring plan is to have a backup plan. Although you have everything in place, your first stack of resumes and candidates might not give you the right person. So, have a plan that will help ensure that you aren’t pressured into hiring the wrong person because of time constraints. Here are some things you can do to help with your backup plan:

1. Allow your existing employees to handle the workload for a brief moment. You might discover that you have someone on your team that’s the right person for the job.
2. Ask your managers to take on the job that needs to be filled, or take it yourself. Another tactic you could implement is to split the work among the team.
3. If possible, try to delay the work that the new employee would be responsible for until the right candidate can be found.
4. Use a temp or recruiting agency to hire a temporary contract replacement. This will help you keep things running smoothly until a permanent employee can be found.

Added Work- Added Compensation

If your backup plan is going to involve shifting the work to your existing employees or managers, even if it’s temporary, it’s important that you appropriately compensate those employees for the added work they’re taking on. Remember, this tactic isn’t meant to be permanent, and you don’t want to leave your existing employees overloaded for long periods.

What’s Next?

Now that you have a plan for hiring your new employee, the next step is to understand the position you’re hiring for. Especially if it’s a position that you won’t be directly managing. Many components go into creating a position within your company. Understanding these and helping candidates understand these will help you bring in the right person to make a real difference in your company.

To gain this understanding, there are two more steps you can take.
The next step you can take is actually to research the job description. A detailed description is a must for all positions you’d be hiring for. Your description should explain exactly what actions and activities would be expected of that employee. This takes care of the expectations before the hiring process and after- Making it clear for everyone involved.

Things to consider when hiring

• Create a chain of command list so that the employee (or prospective employee) understands who they’ll be reporting to and who they might be managing.
• Decide on and clarify the benefits and compensation for the position. This ensures that all candidates are aware of what they’re getting by coming to your company.
• Make it clear the number of hours that are expected to work and whether they’ll be compensated hourly or on a salary.
• Make it clear what the educational and experience requirements are. If you value experience more than formal education, make it known. This can be done by stating the “equivalent experience.” i.e., “5 years of experience or equivalent experience.” 

Once you understand what the job you’re hiring for entails, the last step is to interview the co-workers that the new employee will be working with (especially if the job requires a great deal of teamwork). This will help you know what personalities the new employee will be working with daily and what personality type will blend well with the existing team.

The Missing Piece of the Puzzle

With any hire, this person should be an asset to your organization. The new employee will have to be the missing puzzle for the team. Bringing in an employee (no matter how experienced or capable they are) that causes a lot of friction within your company could lead to that new employee leaving or your other employees growing frustrated and leaving themselves. By following these steps, anytime you need to hire, you can ensure that you’re creating a team that will work well together for the long haul.