No matter what industry you're in or how tumultuous the market is, hiring the right people for your business is crucial for its success. The right fit needs to have the experience and expertise to perform tasks properly, but more importantly, their personality and values should align with those of the company. Hiring the wrong person to fill a position can cost your business time and revenue.
Many factors need to be considered during the hiring process to ensure that you choose the right people to fill available positions within your organization. Here, seven professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss the best ways to ensure you're hiring the right people for your business, even in today’s tight labor market.
Young Entrepreneur Council members share strategies for how to hire the right people for your company.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Ask Personal Questions
In the initial interview, since I've already seen their resume and know they have the experience and skill set our firm is looking for, I like to find out the answers to more personal questions like what their favorite quote is, what they loved about their previous jobs, what books they may be reading or how they feel about working alone or in a group. I use the DiSC assessment to understand how a person likes to work, whether it's in a group setting or alone at first to digest information. I also use the Gallup StrengthsFinder to understand a candidate's top strengths. This helps me put the right people in the right seats. - Givelle Lamano, Lamano Law Office
2. Double Down On The Screening Process
Hiring the right people for your business is crucial, whether the market is chaotic or not. One way to ensure you’re hiring the right people right now is by doubling down on the screening and interview process to ensure you close any gaps that may not have been as big when the market wasn’t so turbulent. Not fine-tuning lackluster screening processes or not coming to the interview table prepared isn’t an option when hiring in today’s market. But having the most optimized processes in place that focus on a person’s skills, initiative, personality, contributions, vision, goals, etc. will be what helps you land the best hire in the current climate. - Emily Stallings, Casely, Inc.
3. Consult A DEI Company
Consult a DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) company to audit your hiring practices. In 2021, we started working with Bakau Consulting. One of their actions was to audit our entire hiring process and provide feedback on changes we could make to make it a more inclusive process and attract a more diverse talent pool. The changes we've made have been incredible and have resulted in a much more qualified and diverse candidate pool for our most recent job openings. - Kelsey Raymond, Influence & Co.
4. Focus On More Situational Questions
While screening and interviewing, don't focus too much on the candidate's past. Focus more on their culture and problem-solving abilities. Thorough screening is important, but there's a difference between understanding the candidate's capabilities and spending too much time focusing on their past job's day-to-day duties and particular skill set. This approach can distract you from assessing the big picture of how the candidate will fit into your team, especially if the interview is for a more senior position. Instead, we try to focus on situational interviews to discover how the candidate solves problems that would occur as a part of their future role. Their reactions to our questions also help us understand if the candidate is a good cultural fit for our team and the culture we are building. - Daria Gonzalez, Wunderdogs
5. Interview Based On Values
Once you’ve identified your company values and baked them into the culture of your team, the next step includes hiring for values. Before a candidate makes it to the interview process, there needs to be a system to weed out applicants who aren’t a culture fit. Once applicants make it to the interview process, there should be standardized questions asked to all candidates that speak to the company’s values. Finally, a scorecard must be created to standardize the leadership team's responses to minimize bias when hiring. Overall, hiring for values can lead to better staff retention. - Libby Rothschild, Dietitian Boss
6. Maintain A Longer Hiring Process
Do not stray from your longer hiring process. We have three interviews and a "homework" activity that all candidates must complete to join our QuickBooks consulting team. Even when I think I have the perfect employee, I do not bypass any steps in the process because I want them to want the position too. - Marjorie Adams, Fourlane
7. Conduct Various Screenings, Tests And Assessments
We start by assessing a candidate's resume to ensure they would fill an open position and are a good fit for our organization. We then do a phone screening and ask basic questions to make sure they want to work for us long term. Next, we do an IQ test and either an HR or accounting assessment to make sure they are intelligent and technically capable. Lastly, we do a personality/behavioral assessment to maintain a consistent culture of kind, caring and flexible people who value work-life balance and happy clients. - Jennifer A Barnes, Optima Office, Inc
