Hiring the right staff

"Finding people is hard, finding good people is impossible.’" A client who was feeling frustrated at not being able to find the right people for their small business said this to me recently.

Skilled labour shortages are being experienced across Australia and the world. Large companies and even countries are putting in financial incentives to attract skilled people. So how does a small business compete? People moving overseas are often driven by career opportunities and financial rewards where the proposition for a small business has to be different.

Being clear about you unique selling proposition or ‘’USP’’ is essential in getting the right staff. If you are able to find people who understand your USP, match your value set and get inspired by your style of leadership, they are going to be a better long term fit for your business.

One of the common mistakes small business owners make is abdicating their responsibility of hiring people entirely to other people or organisations. Recruitment firms or job search engines can be great to get an ad out and ‘’cull’’ the CVs but once the shortlist is created, you must get involved.

Being involved in recruiting can be a time consuming process but how much more time consuming is it if you hire the wrong person, train them and then they leave because they weren’t a fit for your business? Experts tell me that the rule of thumb is that it costs approximately 1.5 times the annual salary of the person who has left plus the salary of the new person while they are in training.

I recently had to hire someone in my business. I utilised a job search engine and also one of my networks to put an ad out through their database. The result was 17 CVs, three of them excellent. The person I hired wrote me a three page letter explaining her passion for coming and working with me. During the interview I determined she not only had the skills but her value set matched mine.

Some more tips on hiring:
1. Get clear on your needs. Create a position description of what you want the person to do.
2. Get involved in the interviewing process to form your first impressions.
3. Get a second opinion. This could be a recruitment specialist and someone else from your company.
4. Create a mentoring plan for the first three months.
5. Hire on character and train for skill.

If you have any suggestions on hiring staff, leave a comment below.

Shivani

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