Ready to Hire Employees? Here’s How to Do It Better
Some employers are out of practice when it comes to hiring employees. Maybe it’s been a couple of years since you’ve had enough business to justify adding staff–so if you’re a little rusty, check out these quick tips for sorting through the applications, resumes and interviews and getting the best new employee possible.
- Revisit your needs: What do you really need help with? Where are the gaps in your current production or service offerings and how can you best fill them? Perhaps you need to hire three people, not one, as you planned. Or even better, a thorough needs audit may reveal you only need one new staffer, not two.
- Revisit the position you’re hiring for: Has it changed since you last filled it? For example, the employee who’s currently fulfilling the role may have taken on more duties through the recession. If so, adjust the job description and tighten up your requirements before you place any ads.
- Consider the new ways of recruiting job candidates: You might not have heard that not many job seekers use the newspaper’s classified ads anymore, but it’s true. Online job boards, social media sites, Craigslist and local news sites are probably your best bets for placing ads.
- But you might not need to advertise at all: word of mouth can be the most effective method to get new employees through the door. When you and your staff spread the word that you’re hiring, you’re more likely to have people you know apply for the job: customers, friends, family members and friends of friends will start coming through the door. These are likely going to be people already familiar with your company and its products or services. They may have a good feeling for the company culture and require less time to get up to speed.
- Hire for attitude, train for skill: Making sure a new employee fits your culture and has a passion for what you’re all doing there is vital to long-term success. Skills are important, but a positive, cooperative employee beats a grumpy, difficult genius any day of the week!
Hiring? The best pre-employment screening process includes employee background checks, employee credit checks, and criminal background checks. You’ll know you’re hiring safe when you screen employees before offering a position.
Tags: company culture, Hiring Employees
