When you’re in charge of a small business, you likely wear many hats. One important job that might be under your purview is hiring new talent. Although that might seem simple at the outset, the hiring process can be both long and arduous – not to mention, it can be incredibly expensive. You have to create a job posting, sift through applications, hold multiple interviews, screen candidates, make an offer, negotiate a salary, and onboard your new employee. However, there are some tips you can use to make the hiring process more efficient. Keep reading to learn how to grow your small business and attract awesome new employees.
Tip #1: Create a compelling, thorough job description
A job description is often the first glimpse a candidate has at an organization. And, as you already know, first impressions matter – a lot! So, take the time to draft a job description with the following components.
- Basic job information: This should include the title, pay grade or range and the reporting relationship within the company. You should also include the number of hours required to do the job.
- Summary of job: In this section, you’ll list the overarching responsibilities and key tasks of the position.
- Qualifications: For the qualification section, you’ll need to list the required education, experience, licenses, or certificates necessary to do the job.
- Preferred qualifications: If you have a “wish list” for a candidate, this is where you’ll place additional preferences for certifications, knowledge, and skills.
- Job duties and tasks: Finally, you’ll need to list out the exact tasks a person in the position can expect to do most of the time. Avoid a never-ending list in this section. Try to keep these final bullet points fairly concise – or you might risk boring potential candidates and scaring them off.
Tip #2: Use an objective interview process
Although it’s tempting to use an informal, free-flowing interview process, that can lead to some serious issues. You might end up hiring someone based on their likeability rather than their skills, abilities, and certifications. It’s important to consider hiring someone by using set criteria.
Use situation-based questions that facilitate conversation rather than yes/no answers during an interview. Here are a few questions you may want to consider asking:
- Why are you interested in working for this company?
- Can you tell me about a time you had a conflict with a client or coworker? How did you solve the issue?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- What are you most proud of in your career so far?
Tip #3: Offer unique perks
Although you might not have catered lunches every day like the Googles and Facebooks of the world, you can still offer perks that bigger companies can’t. Besides giving employees full medical coverage, you might also want to consider adding some of the benefits below:
- Dog-friendly office
- Gym stipend
- Commuting stipend
- Tuition reimbursement
- Workshop trainings
- Happy hours
- Remote work opportunities
- Flexible working schedulesr
Tip #4: Screen final candidates
Although it would be nice if you could trust people at face value, that’s not always possible. Job candidates might lie or embellish their resume in order to get a leg up on the competition. To verify an applicant’s claims, it’s important to run a background check. Not sure how to conduct one? Luckily, you don’t need to know how to run a background check because all you need to do is find a reputable company that will do it on your behalf.
A background check is a final step for candidates in the final round. It’ll give you the peace-of-mind you need to make a sound hiring decision based on facts. www.denverpost.com reviewed the best background checks websites.
Conclusion: Growing your company, one hire at a time
Starting your own business can be scary, but by hiring awesome talent, you can enjoy serious growth. Making the right hire can contribute to higher team morale, bigger profits, and better relationships with the local community. Make sure that you take the time necessary to develop a watertight hiring process and evaluate your candidates using objective criteria. It’s also important to screen candidates to ensure their identity and claims check out. With these tips, you can run a successful business with a productive, engaged workforce.
