How to Make Sure You’re Hiring the Right People
Hiring the right people can help your business professionally and socially. Bad employees waste time and money of the business. It can be frustrating to hire people, train them, and then they quit a few weeks later. So, skip the drama and look at our tips to hire employees to fit your needs!
Fit In With Company Culture
When you are talking to a potential employee, look beyond their skills. This isn’t saying skills aren’t important, because they are, but personality matters too. If your workplace is all about teamwork, the people you hire should like working in teams! So if the person you hire is more of an independent worker, they will not excel in your workplace. To figure out their personality, ask questions about problems that may occur. A good question is, “Tell me about a time you felt stuck on a project. How did you deal with that problem?” This will reveal how they think about problems and more effective than asking, “How do you feel about working in teams?” As they will be less likely to lie.
Ask Employees Their Opinions
Two brains are better than one right? Current employees want more people capable to help work at your business. They may also bring up topics and questions you never thought of asking. They will know certain skills and personalities that will best help in the work you do. Also, you want to make sure you hire someone the rest of your employees will get along with. Nothing is worse than strife in the workplace. Having some input from the people around you will help you achieve the hire of your dreams. Remember, you do have the last say. You can ask for opinions, but your feelings are still the most important in the decision.
Consistency and Checklists
If you change your questions in every interview, you will not be able to see the answers that lead to good employees. It may get boring to ask the same questions for 10 candidates, but it is worth it in the end when you compare them. If you change your questions constantly, you may leave out important topics. The best way to work around this is to have a base of questions. These questions will never change. Then you can in throw a few more fun questions in there. This way you have the variety to fight off the monotony of interviewing, but still, make sure the important questions aren’t being missed.
Ask The Right Questions
This seems obvious, but seriously, make sure you are asking provoking questions. Take the time to think of thought-provoking questions, that are not yes and no answers. You want the candidate to talk, so you can see their personality. If you only ask things like, “Do you like working in teams?” or “Would you say you are a hard worker?” you take away the candidates ability to show you instead of telling you. If you would like to know these things, ask better questions. A good question is, “If you were assigned a project due in two days, how would you tackle the project?” This will show their work ethic and their team working skills. Take a few minutes and check your questions. Change what isn’t working and your new employee will better fit your needs.
Check References and Background
They are there for more than a formality. Talk to old employers and they will be honest about how your candidate worked in a similar environment. They will reveal traits and habits that your potential employee will not tell you. If they say nothing, but positive comments, then yay! You have a great interview to look forward too. If not, then that interview time will go to someone more in line with your interest. You can save yourself a lot of time and money. A set of skills is important, but will not tell you everything. That’s why it is so essential to check references and background. There is only so much you can ask in a half hour. Don’t skip the references next time and you will be glad you made that call!
Next time you have an interview, keep this in mind. It isn’t easy trying to hire a new person. Use these tips and we are sure that you will have better luck hiring employees in the future! For more hiring tips, look our tips on hiring millennials and how LinkedIn can help you too!
