Some of the most important decisions that you will ever have to make in relation to your business is deciding who to hire.
These individuals are going to have a tremendous impact on your company for however long they work for you, and it’s important to ensure that the impact is a positive one.
Unfortunately, this selection process is generally not an easy one.
1. Are New Employees Necessary?
The first thing that you need to consider is if a new employee is even necessary.
Can what this person would do instead be completed through an automated process? If so, it’s going to, in most cases, make more financial sense to do that instead of hire someone, especially when you take into account additional costs beyond the salary such as taxes, vacation time, worker’s compensation and health insurance.
2. Can the Candidate Be a Leader?
As best as you can, determine if the candidate has personality traits such as confidence and patience as these are essential for somebody who may be put in a leadership role such as being placed in charge of a specific project or situation.
3. Is Group Work a Strength?
Of course, this does not apply if no group work will be necessary for this prospective employee. But, if it will, especially if it will be extensive, consider if he or she will be able to work well within a group.
4. Are His or Her Communication Skills Top-Notch?
This is loosely connected with having leadership qualities and being able to work within a group, but it’s important that communication is a strength regardless of how those skills relate to group work and leadership.
This person should work well with others outside of group work as well as work with supervisors.
5. Is the Prospective Employee Motivated?
During the interview process, determine if the person being considered comes across as someone who is generally happy and appears to be interested in and does not shirk from taking on challenges and changes. Adjusting to changes, both in the work environment and otherwise, is an important skill too.
It should be noted that it’s important to discern what part of what you’re seeing is the prospective employee being motivated to get the job and what will be motivation to do the job at the highest level possible. Also take into account that those who come across as introverted can be quite motivated.
Also consider if this person is well-suited to performing at a high level during unchallenging situations as the majority of the time that he or she will be working will be in more mundane situations when it’s generally more difficult to be self-motivated.
6. Will the Applicant Improve Your Company?
This is the bottom line. Is this person going to improve your business, or will he or she worsen it? Decisions such as these are what will determine much of the success of your company.
One of the best ways to ensure that you make the right decision is to consider a considerable number of people. Don’t take this decision lightly. The time spent analyzing more applicants is generally time well spent.
When looking through applications and interviewing candidates, do your best to imagine this person in the position that is being applied for.
7. What Do Others Have to Say About Your Prospective Employee?
So much can be learned by contacting an applicant’s references such as fact checking information provided in the application materials and how that person fit in at previous places of employment.
Also consider contacting somebody else who knows your applicant well, especially if you have a connection with someone who is not listed as a professional reference. This is ideally an opinion that you trust, and you will most likely also receive more straightforward feedback from this person than references who were selected by the applicant with you talking with them in mind.
8. Use Pre-Employment Testing
To help you save time and increase accuracy, consider using pre-employment assessments such as those provided by Berke Assessment. These services help show aspects of the applicant’s personality, style and potential that are not always discernible during the application and interview process.
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