No Luck in Business? Make the Right Hire

March 15, 2016 Susan Iverson

No Luck in Business? Make the Right Hire

How to Hire Good Employees
Finding good candidates is like looking for a four-leaf clover – you have to hunt for them! Of all the decisions you’ll make as a business owner or manager, none are more important than deciding who you will hire. Everyone wants to hire right the first time, but many can be fooled by the performance of a potential toxic employee.

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When interviewing for a position, it is always wise to have a peer, mentor or supervisor present. The more people involved in the decision-making process, the more committed each individual will be to the success of the new hire. Ask strong interview questions!

Strong Interview Questions

Some of my favorite interview questions are:

When were you most satisfied in your previous job?
How can you grow outside of your comfort zone?
Define your success as a leader?
How long are you willing to fail and learn before you succeed?
Leaders make difficult decisions; share a time when you’ve done this?

Follow-Up Questions

As important as strong interview questions are, so are the follow-up questions. A lot of times, you will learn more from a follow-up question than the initial response. You can respond with – tell me more about that? Remember the 80/20 rule! Allow the applicant to talk 80 percent of the time and the interviewer should speak 20 percent.

Remember the 80/20 rule! Allow the applicant to talk 80% of the time and the interviewer should speak 20%.

Reference Checks

Another important hiring essential is to complete reference checks! It is important to be able to speak with someone that previously worked with the applicant. This will provide you insight on their ability to work with others, work quality, reliability and overall attitude. If their reference is a friend, which we see from time to time, you can ask: What do you value in this person and what is one thing you wish X was better at in your friendship?

Culture Check

Finally, it is important to ask if the candidate will be the right fit for not only the position, but also the organization. Will personalities mesh right, will unwritten rules be accepted, and can a strong working relationship be created? Ask yourself if the candidate has values that match the company, did they show enthusiasm for the position, do they possess a desire to learn, how well did they communicate, what is their stability like (we want someone who is stable to decrease turnover), and how trustworthy or responsible are they?

In conclusion, hiring is important but not an easy task. With our state unemployment rate at 3.9% as of December 2015 and our national unemployment rate at 4.9% as of January 2016, we can anticipate that finding great candidates may not come quickly. Slow down and invest the time needed to hire right. Be patient and find the right applicant, not the best applicant at the moment.

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Susan Iverson

Positive, passionate and always learning! Susan’s background in communication and leadership studies spurs her interest in human resources. A graduate of Kansas State University, Susan is currently pursuing an MBA in Human Resource Management.