Hiring the right employees is one of the most important tasks you’ll face when growing your small business. The people behind your business play a vital role in its success.
The trouble is, hiring new employees can take a lot of time and effort. And if you make a bad hire, it can have a major impact on your business.
So, it’s essential that you follow the right processes and are very careful when hiring new staff because your employees really can make or break your SME.
To help you out, here are four quick tips and steps for hiring the right people.
1. Have a Clear Idea Of Your Ideal Candidate
Start by having a very clear idea of the exact person you’re looking for. Know what skills they need to have, what personality traits would work well for your business, and why they would want to work for your business.
The more detailed you are in knowing exactly who you’re looking for, the easier it will be to decide on your perfect candidate.
2. Write a Detailed Job Description
The quality of your job description will affect the quality of the job applications you receive. So, make sure to include all the details job applicants will need to know.
Be clear about the experience, background, and skills you’re looking for in the new hire. Also outline what the hiring process will look like, provide background on your business, and go into detail about what responsibilities the role will cover.
3. Use a Form to Filter Applicants
Using an online form as part of the application process is a great way to filter job applicants for a screening interview.
Ask a few questions in the form that go into the applicant’s background, skills, and desire to work for your business. This can help you screen candidates a lot more efficiently.
4. Perform Interviews and Assignments
Once you’ve narrowed down your candidates, it’s time to start the interview process. Start this with a short screening interview where you can quickly decide which candidates are best suited for the role.
Once you have a select few candidates, you can perform longer interviews to get to know them better. It’s always a good idea to also include a short assignment at this stage, to help you understand the job-related skills of the candidate. The assignment should be directly related to the kind of tasks the employee would perform on a regular day.
There’s a lot that goes into hiring the right employees for your SME. Make sure you take your time doing this and don’t rush the process, no matter how desperately you need the new employee. Finding the right person is so much more important than just trying to fill a role quickly.
Once you do make the right hire, you’ll also want to focus on retaining them. This will help you gain more value from each employee, and it will cut down the number of times you have to go through the hiring process.
