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The importance of hiring the right employees


hiring the right employees

Hiring great employees is one of the most challenging issues facing an entrepreneur. It has always amazed me how quickly one great or bad employee can change the dynamics of an organization. Most owners don’t fully understand the cost of hiring the wrong person.

I have a friend who’s hiring process involves approximately 16 hours of interaction with their final candidates before they are hired. This includes a whole day of shadowing key employees. This may seem extreme compared to the typical two 1 hour interviews most of us do. In the end they hire very good employees.

Some points to consider:

  1. Hire and promote first on integrity. Dee Hock (Former CEO of VISA Credit Card) has stated that skills can be learned, integrity is built in to people.

  2. Involve key employees in the hiring process. If you have built a strong culture, your key employees will let you know if the candidate will fit in.

  3. Don’t use money as a motivator. If you hire somebody based on a better salary, they will easily leave you for a better salary. Money motivates neither the best people, nor the best in people.

  4. Observe how the candidate interacts with peers. I have another friend that would invite final candidates to a group event, like bowling, and watch how they got along with their peers. Are they overly competitive or willing to help peers do better?

  5. Right Seat on the Bus. Jim Collins (Author or coauthor of Good to Great, Built to Last, How the Mighty Fall & Great Choice) has discussed in his books the issue of good people in the wrong jobs. Be sure you understand the skills required for the position. I once took a great person who was an okay developer and made him an outstanding salesperson.

  6. Don’t hire based on experience. We all fall into this trap; a candidate has done this before so they should be perfect. Again skills can be learned. Dee Hock’s hierarchy

    • Integrity

    • Motivation

    • Capacity

    • Understanding

    • Knowledge

    • Experience

You must understand the costs of making a bad hire. The time invested in the search, training and lost productivity. The effect it has on the productivity and performance of the people they interact with, and the overall hit it has on the culture of the company. I had to replace the controller of a 30-person company and was amazed at how much better the culture became. One person can have that affect.

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