Are you about to hire someone new for your organization? Maybe it’s way past time you brought new blood on board? Well, before you do, you need to ask yourself one question: what kind of hire would be right for you?
It’s a lot harder to answer that question than you may first realize. Hiring someone new for your team might be an intimidating subject for you, but as a small business, you’re in for a world of firsts! They need to fit in, and what if you make a mistake?
After all, being a good boss is all about knowing what you want for your workforce. And right now, you want a new hire to fit in just right. You need someone to help man the stations and ensure you’ve got enough manpower in all departments, and you want someone who’s going to take to the craft like a duck to water. However, this is all easier said than done! 
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Know What Kind of Person You Need
What hire are you looking for right now? Come up with a skills and talents criteria right now, before you do anything else. What gap do you need filling? What role is up for grabs? And most of all, is there anyone already within your organization that’s perfect for the position? If not, you can then look outwards. Try not to outsource your need to hire here – you’ll want to be as face to face with an interviewee as possible!
After all, you know what you want, even if you don’t have the ‘expertise’ to spot a good hire straight away. Take your time, establish a rapport with anyone who comes through the interview room door, and never be afraid to hit the job market a second or third time to find someone who’s truly suitable for the job. Hiring on the spot is all well and good in theory, but there’s a strong chance you’ll waste a lot of money if you’re not careful.
So, put out the job advert yourself; make sure you include the skills and experience you want, of course, but make sure you make the company culture and expectations clear as well. And it never hurts to pop a salary down at the end either – it’ll attract many more prospects!
Focus on Their Individuality
You want to hire someone who’s right for the job, but you’ve also got a group idea in mind. You’ve got an idea of the right candidate in your head, of course, but subscribing to this mentality can be a bad idea. You might miss out on the best candidate you’ve ever interviewed if you’re too preoccupied with fitting the mould you’ve created yourself, despite not being the expert in the position you need filling!
In just talking to a candidate, you can get a good feel for the kind of person they are. Combine that with what’s written on their CV, and you’ve got an experienced cocktail that might be perfect for your company. But you’ll never find this out if you don’t give people the chance they deserve. Indeed, when you’re running such a small business or a relatively new startup, whenever someone sends an application in, it’s a good idea to give them the time of day.
Throw out the rigid ideas of what you think you need. You’ve created a guideline for the position, yes, but that guideline should only ever do just that – guide. It’s not a rulebook, and it’s something you can angle to your own advantage. Don’t stick to it when you’d simply prefer not to, and never be afraid to take a risk, even if it’s unmitigated.
What Do They Want Out of the Workplace?
When you’re interviewing someone you think is the right candidate for the job, you’ve got to inquire after their own feelings about the workplace. Are they someone in it for the wrong reasons, in your opinion? Of course, the main reason we go to work is to earn money, but do they have any thoughts beyond that?
This line of questioning is useful for bringing someone on board who has the drive to make it big. Sure, you don’t want them to just use you as a steppingstone, but you need to know they’ve got ambition as well. You want them to find things like teamwork days fresh, and the use of employee recognition software to be exciting, so you’ve got to delve deep here.
To continue this, make your questions a little more specific. How did they fit into their old team? What initiatives did they come up with for social bonding, if any? And how do they think they’ll get on here, with your company values present in front of them? You’re not trying to pry here, and they may not expand on their answers as much as you’d like, but if they’ve got an answer, you’ve got something to evaluate.
Give Them a Trial
Finally, and this is a good point to always keep in mind: if you’re not sure about a candidate, or you can’t decide between two or three of them, give them all a trial. See what they can do when they’re in the workplace and see how they get on with the tasks they’ll be assigned if they get the job full time. And as we mentioned earlier, if you’ve got a potential risky hire on your hands, this is how they can prove themselves to you.
A trial is a simple and easy way to watch someone on the go – it’s one of the best ways to test out their workplace mettle, and whether they’re just talking a good game in the interview room. This trial needs to have select stages to it as well; the introduction, the usual workday, and what they might do when a crisis hits. You can come up with creative ways to assess these three things, and you can even just play a ‘what if’ game to quickly collect their answers.
How Well Do They Mesh with Your Team?
A little offshoot for the above tip: always check on how the team forms around this potential new member. To do this, be sure to ask around the office during the trial. What do other team members think of them? Did they spot and/or notice anything about the way the candidates work? Do they believe you’ve found someone that’s perfect for the job?
Make sure you take advice like this into account; you’re unlikely to be the person that works with the new hire day in and day out. The people on your office floor will be, however, and their opinion should count towards your final decision. Have private chats with the employees in associated departments – be sure to include all levels of staff here, and not just anyone in a managerial position!
Are You Ready to Hire Someone New?
It takes time to come to this position, and it’s an incredibly privileged one to be in! So, when you’re there, you need to be careful. You’ve got a lot to evaluate here, so take your time. Keep tips like those above in mind, and make sure you’re always ready to head back to the drawing board. As we mentioned, there’s a huge chance you could waste a lot of money in bringing in the wrong hire, and that could halt your growth in its tracks.
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