In my last post we discussed how getting feedback from your employees can help you address problems that might be affecting your employees’ performance. Although this is very sound advice this is actually what you do to make the best with what you have. If you are still in the hiring process though you are better off since you can prevent getting undesirable employees rather than have to deal with them. This post will also be applicable for you if you already have employees but want to add to your workforce without repeating the mistakes that lead you to hiring problematic employees. Note that the tips I will be giving will not always be applicable and should not be your sole resource for hiring employees. Always evaluate employees on a case-by-case scenario.
1.List down your minimum criteria and stick to it – Do not be sweet-talked by an employee to hiring him/her if he/she doesn’t meet the minimum requirements. If you already have a list re-evaluate your list to see if they are too restrictive or too lax. You wouldn’t want to weed out good talent because of a strict criteria but you also don’t want to just get anybody. Try to come up with a more holistic list that considers everything from the skills to attitude and personality.
2.Don’t hurry – Take your time choosing among the applicants. If you aonly have one or two positions to fill this is even more important because you want to get the best. This means taking the time to process all applications before making a decisions. If you come across an exceptional person though try to find out whether that person is “in danger” of being snapped up by another company, in which case get ready to ask the person to give you a chance by waiting for about a week for a formal offer.
to be continued…
Originally posted on March 13, 2008 @ 3:51 pm