3 Most Important Criteria When Hiring
Hey everyone, my name is Miranda, and I am the proud owner of Miranda’s House Cleaning Service right here in Norfolk Nebraska. And today I would like to talk about the three most important criteria when hiring because bringing someone into your business is perhaps one of the most important decisions you are going to make. Every employee is a reflection of your company.
This is very aggravating in the brave new world of social media as people’s professional and personal lives continue to blur. I mean there is no place to “hide” an employee anymore. What I mean is places like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter search can reveal a lot of information about an individual.
And now most professionals before meetings will do just that. I mean searching online for information about the person they are about to meet. Sometimes they do it just to put a name to a face, but more often than not they get much more information - hobbies, entertainment likes and dislikes, work and personal associates, political and religious affiliations and so on.
And while you cannot discriminate against people for their age, race, religion or sexual preference, you need to be discerning when it comes to their behavior and how they represent themselves and then make the decision whether it’s appropriate from your business.
The point is, every person in your organization represents your organization, and information about that individual can usually be easily acquired.
So, what is a prospective employee to do? I mean first and foremost; businesses should establish and enforce strict guidelines about what their employees communicate about their professional lives over social media. You can’t and never should control their personal lives, but how they represent themselves and, in turn, your business is certainly a concern. While you are looking for the most qualified person available, you don’t want someone who will misrepresent your organization and its values.
The point here is, hiring the right person is more important than ever. Here are the three main reasons for making a hiring decision.
Capabilities: Of course, any possible employee must have ability and qualifications to do the job you are hiring that person to do. Being nice or helping a friend of a friend will do you no good in this department. This should go beyond the college degrees. What hand-on, actual experience does this person have? What has this person been educated and trained to do? And since every business is different, you need to consider the learning curve that is.
Value- You also need to look at what value the individual brings to the business. There are two ways of doing this. First, what is the salary or investment you are willing to make into this person? Are you getting the most expertise for your dollars? Bringing someone into the company at a fair salary is crucial. If you are trying to get someone on the cheap just because he or she is looking for a job, that person will end up leaving soon as a better offer comes along. Paying people what they are worth.
Also, look at their future in your business and network. Do they have expertise in other areas where your business is looking to grow? Do they have an impressive network of individuals and contact you can tap into in the future? All of these factors play into the value equation and go well beyond the current pay.
Cultural Fit: Finally, there needs to be a cultural fit. This has become even more important these days. A very disruptive employee can cause tremendous damage both to morale inside the organization and to customer relationships. The culture you establish will dictate who will fit in and thrive. If you allow your employees to wear jeans and t-shirts to the office and one guy shows up in a suit and tie every day, he could and might cause friction. If you foster teamwork and collaboration and your candidate is more of a lone wolf who likes to work on his own, there could be friction.
People spend a lot of hard hours in their work environment. If that environment is threatening or uncomfortable, you will lose good employees. You can find out a lot about a person through the interview process and through their social media accounts.
Hiring the right people is one of the most important decisions an organization makes, especially small businesses. Use every tool at your disposal to make sure the person you are bringing in truly will be an asset and not a liability.
