Robert Frost
How hard do you work? If you are a business owner and your answer is “too hard!”, then perhaps you are under-utilizing your resources.
Often, your success is not based on how hard you work, but rather on how well you hire.
Hiring and firing help has to rank as one of the most distasteful duties of a business owner. However, there is nothing more important to the success of your business than your employees, and if you’re only willing to pay bananas, you’ll probably get monkeys. The financial cost (ie the paycheque) of a potential employee should not be your primary concern when hiring—the mistakes made by a poorly-chosen employee will cost you infinitely more to fix than the difference between bargain-basement and fair pay for good work. Unless you are hiring a low-paid, temporary employee for heavy lifting, you need to review your hiring practices, and your training practices, if you ever expect to grow your business.
To start, search the internet for tips on hiring in your industry. You don’t have to re-invent the wheel—instead, learn from the wisdom of those who have hired before you.
Think about what you need done to maximize the success of your business. What are the key characteristics that you need in an employee? Remember, you’re not looking for a clone of yourself; in fact, it may be better to find someone whose character complements rather than imitates yours. If you are a procrastinator, then you need a go-getter. If you’re constantly late, perhaps you need a gate-keeper to set limits.
When you hire, ask your prospective employees about themselves, about their strengths and weaknesses. Ask them what they know about your company. Have they done any research on your company, or about your industry? Are they looking for a paycheque, a career, or a temporary assignment until something better comes along?
If you intend to be successful in your business, you need to build a team of people who understand that their well-being is intimately connected to the well-being of the company. You need people who respect what you do and what you have done. Hire people who you like, but, more importantly, hire people whom you can see yourself respecting. If you don’t respect them, how can you trust their judgement?
I remember my worst interview ever. He was at least 75 pounds overweight, wearing a shirt that was at least three sizes too small and had at least one button missing in the vicinity of his navel (I couldn’t help looking, it was like a train wreck). I knew I was in for entertainment when he started talking about alien invaders from another planet—he was applying for a job as a bookkeeper. Then he told me his previous employer was the Federal government—but he didn’t tell me why he was no longer employed there. Before he put on his tin foil hat, I politely suggested that this position was not for him and led him out of my office and out the front door. Whew!
So look for quality, be prepared to pay for quality, and match the person and personality to the job and career path. Think about your needs in a new hire. Not only will you save time and money, but you may strike gold.
Sid Karmazyn, Chartered Accountant
905.771.3813
skca@idirect.com