Who Should You Hire as a Small Business Owner?
From an entrepreneurial perspective, when I hired my first employee, I was actually creating potential for my business. Qualified people are sometimes in short-supply. However once you find the right person who has the skills and personal characteristics that give your business the best chance for success, it's just as important to keep that employee loyal and committed to the organization.
Entrepreneurs in the first year or two of business, among other other things, need business operations to run as efficiently as possible. Losing a key asset such as a highly qualified employee during the initial stages of start-up can impact the entire operation.
Sustaining an individual's employment who has the skills that fit your business needs, should be considered a valued asset. When you find someone with the experience and ingenuity to help drive the business toward success, you better hold onto them.
With the business still in its maturity and growth stage, the consequences of hiring the wrong person stresses the importance of having an effective hiring process. I use a more traditional interview and I keep it simple.
Prior to advertising the job on the Internet or in the newspaper, I'll write out a few questions so when resumes and phone calls start coming in, I have a screening process that asks those questions and uses their repsonse to determine which applicants are qualified and those I can eliminate.
When interviewing potential candidates, I look at personal characteristics and having the skills required to do the job. I'll look at their behavior and non-verbal communication as well to get an idea of how confident they are, but I also try to determine if they're simply trying to sweet talk their way into a job that they have no idea how to do. It might show ambition on their part, but for me, it makes it kills any credibility they may have had.
Although some organizations use a more comprehensive hiring strategy through the use of various tests and screening procedures; even going as far as to hire someone using methods that consider applicants on the basis of cultural diversity are not methods I use, or would ever consider using in my hiring procedure.
I simply screen job applicants to determine if they are qualified to do the job, regardless of race or ethnicity, if they're qualified, I will hire them. That's not to say that I don't evaluate the impression I had of an applicant. Character is important and I take that into consideration in my final decision.
Before hiring someone, I do conduct a simple non-invasive background check to identify their citizenship, age, and to verify their references. Despite what most company’s require, I believe post 9/11 background checks have become extremely aggressive. Company’s that check into things like credit history, simple misdemeanor convictions or requiring drug testing in order to be considered for the position, in my opinion have forgotten the meaning of Constitution that's supposed to protect the freedoms we all live for in this country.
My hiring practices may work against the grain and defy current trends, but I hire people based on their attitude and abilities, not their personal finances or bad credit. Everyone makes mistakes. I rely on my own judge of character and experience to evaluate a job candidate based on their character rather than on a past mistake they made, or even what they do behind closed doors. In my opinion, it’s unconstitutional and goes against everything the Bill of Rights stands for.
Following the review of their background information, I schedule a first day of work for the employee so thet can be trained and orientated on our policies and procedures. We work in a physically demanding job with landscaping and construction typed duties. Performing job tasks and responsibilities require skills and physical capabilities. The first day of training will prove if they can perform the job. If not, depending upon the situation, chances are they will be asked not to come in the following day.
