Education

Hiring the ‘Right’ People

November 5, 2004 | By: deaneparkes

In the book ‘From Good to Great’ J Collins makes an interesting statement: ‘People are ‘not’ your greatest asset…..the ‘right’ people are’.

So if having the right people is the key to creating a successful business how do you go about finding them?

Before we get into finding the right people perhaps you should begin by accessing your current people. There are 2 questions that can uncover whether you feel you have the right people.

1. If I knew what I knew now would I hire them again?
2. If they came and said they were leaving would I be happy and relieved?

If you have people on staff that you would never hire again or you would jump for joy if they quit then perhaps you need to make some immediate changes? I realize letting people go is an uncomfortable act for most of us however once it is done you will realize it was for the better. In most cases the person knows they have been the wrong fit and it is also good for them.

There are entire books about how to hire so I am going to cover a few ideas to get you thinking.

First off you need to consider the talents you are looking for in the new hire. You should have a clear idea of the job the person will be doing and how they will fit into your current mix of staff. Start with a piece of paper and list the qualities, skills and talents the new person should have. Having clarity will help you sort through the many people who will apply.

You can take many approaches during the hiring process, the following is a simple way I found to uncover useful information about the ‘whole’ person.

Split a blank piece of paper in 3 sections. Write at the top of each section, BE, DO, and HAVE.

BE: – This is the area where you determine the person’s ‘Be-ing’. Do you like them? Are they outgoing [especially if they will work with customers], how are they dressed, do they communicate well, do they give eye contact, etc. In the end you want to work with people you like if possible HOWEVER this is not enough of a reason to hire anyone.

DO – This is the area you would determine if the can ‘do’ the job. Depending on the job you would ask questions directed toward the job you would be hiring them to do. Can they work the hours? Can the lift heavy objects? What is their experience in selling to the public? Can they determine a discount? Do they know what a margin is? Have they ever built a display? Are they good at organization? etc

You can also use this are to test their skill level. If they will be doing data entry ask them to type out some data and check for accuracy and speed, if they will work the till see how they count back change, if they will be a category manager see if they understand pricing and inventory turns.

Sure this sounds obvious however a lot of frustration after we hire people is they do not meet our expectations in the basic ‘Do-ing’ of the job.

HAVE – This part of the interview is based on basic human nature. 90% of a person’s behavior is based on their habits. Changing a person’s habits is no easy task so you want to make sure you get a good idea of what the person has done in the past. How people act in the past is often a good indication of how the will act in the future.

You want to ask them about their past work experiences, how was their attendance record? How well did they get along with their fellow staff? What were some of their successes in the past? What do they find difficult doing? What do they enjoy about a job?

Most of these are pretty basic however a few questions may help you find a diamond in the rough. Often we have openings for entry-level positions and generally 2 types of people apply, young low to no experience people, and older people looking for a secondary income. In these cases you want to see what kind of activities they have participated in. Have they done charity work for their church? Have they been involved in school committees? Have they mastered a musical instrument, martial art or other skill that requires a lot of discipline?  Do they enjoy writing? Are they artistic? Have they been captain of a sports team? Have they raised a family? [Anyone knows if you can survive raising kids you can handle pretty much anything life throws at you].

The key is what they HAVE done they will do again.

As a manager you want to look for talent. A strong company is a group of individuals each with a unique set of skills and talents when combined create a very high level of performance.