Posted By: jbaloun / |
Knowing how to run staffing business means knowing how to help your clients hire the best employees. So theoretically, the people who run staffing businesses should know how to hire great employees, ourselves. But sometimes we can get caughtjust like our clientshiring the wrong person, which can be a disruptive and expensive mistake. More often than not, its not because the person doesnt have suitable expertise, but because, well, he or she doesnt fit in or simply isnt a strong performer. Or maybe we did all the proper interviewing and vetting, but we were just looking for the wrong person.
Before hiring, we should ask OURSELVES a few simple questions and be prepared to walk away if the answers arent to our liking.
Question #1: Do I know exactly who Im looking for?
Seems simple, but so often we go on fishing expeditions, knowing we need someone, but not being clear about who that someone is. If you dont know who you want to hire, the odds of hiring the wrong person seem pretty high.
Question #2: Does the candidate have a history of success?
Its easy to get blinded by a candidates skills or length of service. But if he doesnt have a history of success, theres no particular reason to believe he can achieve it in the position you (or your client) hire him for. Well go even further and say verifiable successeven in an unrelated fieldcan be a more valuable predictor of success in a candidates new position than a resume full of closely related experience. You don;t need someone who knows how to run a staffing business; you need someone who can be successful at whaver she tries to do.
Question #3: Is the candidate a 10 in the most important areas.
Even if a candidate has all the bases covered with regard to the skills and experience required to do the job, if she isnt extremely proficient in the most important areas, shes not likely to be highly successful. Two 5s dont equal a 10.
Question #4: Are you leaning toward hiring a candidate because he really wants the job, or because hes really good at it?
Desires great. But if you think desire will trump capability, you may turn out to be sadly mistaken. Dont hire unless you have good reason to believe the candidate will excel.
Question #5: Can the candidate do the job better than you can?
Ideally, the answer is yes. This seems like a no-brainer, but it takes a secure manager to hire someone smarter (or better looking) than herself. Its the secure managers who achieve the greatest success.
So there you have it: the secrets to avoiding less-than-stellar hires. Don’t you think you shoud share this with your cleints?