Hiring the right people may be the single most important—and expensive—decision a business makes. A great
employee or contractor can improve productivity, strengthen customer relationships, and make everyone around them better. A poor hire consumes management time, damages morale, and costs far more than their salary or fee.
Of course, there’s no foolproof hiring system, but these 12 practices can dramatically improve your odds of success.
- Know What You Really Need. Before posting a job, define the problem you need solved. Separate essential skills from things that would merely be nice to have. Hiring becomes much easier when you know what success actually looks like.
- Hire for Results, Not Résumés. An impressive résumé tells you where someone has been—not necessarily what they can do for you. Ask candidates to describe specific accomplishments and their personal contribution to those results.
- Look Beyond Experience. Experience matters, but curiosity, judgment, adaptability, and initiative can matter more. Someone who has performed the same job for ten years isn’t automatically better than someone who learns quickly and embraces change. And look outside your industry for the skill set you need. If someone has talent and skills, they can learn about the industry. After all, whomever you’re hiring is going to have a learning curve.
- Write Better Job Descriptions. Generic advertisements attract generic applicants. Explain what the person will be expected to accomplish, the challenges they’ll face, and what makes your organization different. Give strong candidates a reason to want the job.
- Ask Behavioral Questions. Instead of asking, “Are you good with difficult customers?” ask, “Tell me about the most difficult customer you ever handled. What happened?” Past behavior often provides better information than hypothetical answers.
- Test Before You Hire. Whenever practical, give finalists a realistic assignment. Writers can write. Designers can design. Salespeople can prepare a pitch. Contractors can explain how they’d approach a project. A small test may reveal more than an hour-long interview. Then, as a show of respect, pay them for their time. Otherwise, your candidate will feel you’re just looking for some free advice, engendering ill will before you even start.
- Check References—Seriously. Don’t treat references as a formality. Ask former supervisors about reliability, strengths, weaknesses, communication, and whether they’d enthusiastically hire the person again. Pay attention to hesitation as well as words.
- Interview for Culture Contribution. Don’t simply hire people who “fit in.” That can produce an organization filled with people who think alike. Look for someone who can work effectively within your culture while bringing new perspectives, experiences, and ideas.
- Watch How Candidates Communicate. The interview begins before the interview. Did they follow instructions? Arrive prepared? Respond professionally? Ask intelligent questions? Were they dressed appropriately for the interview and for the job they’d be doing? Would you be comfortable having this person talk directly with your clientele? How candidates handle the hiring process can foreshadow how they’ll handle customers, coworkers, and assignments.
- Don’t Hire Out of Desperation. An empty chair creates pressure, but filling it with the wrong person usually creates a bigger problem. Temporary help, freelancers, overtime, or delayed projects may be less costly than rushing into a bad hire.
- Make Expectations Measurable. Before someone starts, determine what success should look like after 30, 60, and 90 days. Employees and contractors perform better when expectations, responsibilities, deadlines, authority, and measurements are clear.
- Keep Recruiting When You Aren’t Hiring. The worst time to begin looking for talented people is when you desperately need one. Build relationships continuously. Stay connected with former employees, vendors, industry colleagues, freelancers, customers, and promising people you meet.
Here’s the bottom line: Great hiring isn’t about finding someone who can merely do the job. It’s about finding people who make your overall organization stronger. Slow down, ask better questions, verify what you’re told, and focus on demonstrated ability and character.
Because the goal shouldn’t be simply to fill a position. The goal should be to wonder six months later how you ever operated without that person.
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