Do you find it difficult to attract the right kind of employees?
The fact is most businesses don’t do enough to attract the right people. In a market like this, when potential employees can have their pick of multiple job offers – you need to do even more.
Hiring and nurturing talent is fundamental to growth, positive results, and, ultimately, business success. As the legendary Zig Ziglar put it, “You don’t build a business – you build people – and then people build your business”.
First, a framework. I always recommend that business owners with hiring problems read the book Hire Tough, Manage Easy by Mel Kleiman because it speaks to the fundamental principle involved:
If you make the right hiring decisions in the first place, everything else becomes a whole lot easier.
This means that recruitment is arguably one of the most important things you can do to support the long-term success of your enterprise. So, give it your full attention. I always like to say that hiring is a lot like fishing — the more fish on deck, the more choosy you can be!
Here are four simple steps to making it happen…
1. Write an Outstanding Job Description
The best way to catch a lot of fish (especially the right kind of fish!) is by using the best bait possible. Most job descriptions are anaemic and weak. Make yours stand out! Write your job descriptions in “what’s in it for the applicant” language; be specific about the personality characteristics and qualifications needed; include the hours and earnings potential. I have several sample job descriptions available, so pop me an email and request them! I’ll be happy to send them on over.
2. Generate Leads
Don’t just post your ad on a Jobs Board and hope the right person comes walking through your door. Be proactive! Here are seven great ways to find quality candidates…
- Look within your organisation first; who can be promoted?
- Call past high-quality team members and ask them, “Is there anything I can do to get you back?”
- Post a sign on your door/window.
- Post an ad in local newspapers.
- Advertise in trade magazines and publications — this is a wonderful way to get highly targeted applications.
- Create a recruiting incentive program and announce it to their team. Give team members a bonus if they bring in a high-quality candidate.
- Go to networking events and remember that every conversation is a potential interview.
The point is to recognise how important hiring is to your organisation and to be completely engaged in the process of finding the right fit.
3. Implement a Pre-Interview Screening Process
Too many business owners waste unnecessary time interviewing candidates who are not truly qualified. Fortunately, you can eliminate a lot of “dead weight” quickly, just by implementing a simple screening process.
There are two strategies I recommend before you get to actual, in-person interviews…
- Voice Mail Screening. Set up a special voicemail box for screening purposes. In your job description ad, have candidates call the number and leave a message BEFORE they even submit a resume. Listen to the responses. Ask the applicants whose messages impress you most to send a resume and complete a psychometric profile, for example, a DISC assessment.
- E-Screening. In your ad, ask candidates to reply via email and include some specific questions that they should answer, in addition to submitting their resumes. You’ll find that a surprising percentage of applicants won’t even follow this simple instruction — which is a fast way to weed them out. Make a shortlist of promising applicants and ask them to complete a psychometric profile.
Depending on the number of applicants and the nature of the job, you might even add another layer of screening: a live phone interview before you get to the final step, an in-person interview.
4. Bring Them in for a Test Drive
Now that you’ve narrowed the field of applicants down substantially, you’re ready to invest some quality time in them. Bring them in for a 4-8 hour on-site interview. Get a feel for their personalities. Have them complete an on-the-job task or two. Introduce them to the rest of your team. Compare their completed psychometric profiles to the characteristics needed for the job. Create a series of interview questions that you use uniformly for all the applicants who reach this stage and have them focus on actual past experience as opposed to theoretical future possibilities. Then make an offer to the candidate who impressed you most!
Complete this four-step process next time you have an opening in your business! If you do it right, you will dramatically improve the quality of the applicants you consider – which, in turn, will ensure you hire great people who can take your business to the next level.
And if you need help implementing any of the above steps, don’t hesitate to reach out to me for a quick chat. You can book a complimentary 15-minute call with me at TimeWithShane.com.
