Seven common mistakes that business owners make with their people
As a business owner, you are accustomed to using
professionals; you go to a lawyer for legal counsel and an accountant
for financial advice.
But where do you go to get professional guidance about leading
your employees? If you're like many business owners, you handle
those issues on your own, based on your years of experience.
Effective as you may be at managing your human resources, you can
always learn and improve your skills. In the spirit of professional
development and enlightenment, we welcome you to read and learn
from what we believe to be the seven most common mistakes that owners
of small to medium businesses make with their people. They:
- Make ill-fated hiring decisions
- Maintain single-handed control of all authority and decisions
- Fail to manage employee performance
- Neglect to comply with legislation
- Disregard the need for training and development
- Ignore the competition (for employees)
- Underestimate the power of creating a positive organizational
culture
Today, we will explore what is probably the most common and costly
mistake:
Most business owners are decisive people who use objectivity, systems
and processes to get results. It is no surprise then, that these
same business owners are uncomfortable when it comes to hiring people.
Recruitment is an activity that can seem imprecise and inconclusive.
It appears to require decisions based more on ambiguity than facts.
The worst hiring decisions are made on a whim when the vacancy
needed to be filled "yesterday." On those occasions, candidates
were interviewed hastily and a low-ball offer was made to someone
who seemed good enough. (You know what they say about "good
enough"... it never is.) Rather than use a selection process,
many owners hire people through gut feel, assumptions, untested
referrals or personal relationships. But, hiring doesn't have to
be this way.
Ideally, recruitment is a systematic process that has a structure
within which you gather specific information and make an informed
decision. As with any business activity, planning and careful execution
are the keys to success.
Evaluate your own hiring process against this checklist of activities:
- Select a panel or committee that will oversee the recruitment
process. Who will be active in which parts of the process? How
will decisions be made? The best hiring decisions are made by
a committee, not a sole individual.
- Define the job in writing, including duties and responsibilities,
skill requirements, success qualities, salary range and other
compensation or "perks" (car, bonus, benefits, etc.),
reporting relationships, location and any other relevant information.
- Decide on source(s) for finding candidates (internet, agencies,
newspaper ads, internal postings, associations, referrals, etc.),
keeping in mind your timing and budget needs.
- Write ads / postings to attract candidates to your firm / the
role. Remember that you are selling the position to candidates
in the hopes that the best will apply.
- Develop interview questions based on the duties, responsibilities,
skill requirements and success qualities that you have identified.
Make sure that the questions are legal, relevant, clear and open
ended.
- Review resumes based on your needs and select 10 to 20 candidates.
Call the first round of candidates, weeding out those who don't
seem suitable after a brief telephone screening.
- If you are using personality / skill tests, you can have those
completed now or later in the process.
- Interview 6 to 12 candidates once; bring back 3 to 5 for a second
interview. If you are not familiar with today's interviewing techniques,
get the advice of a professional or read books and articles to
hone your skills. Candidates are very interview savvy these days.
Don't find yourself unprepared and outclassed.
- Select a final candidate based on their skills, qualities and
fit with the role and your organization.
- Present a written offer to the final candidate, ensuring that
the document complies with legislation, protects your rights and
recognizes your obligations as an employer.
You can include topics such as salary, start date, reporting relationships,
salary review date, benefit and vacation entitlements, location
and others. Allow your employment lawyer or HR professional to
review the letter.
- Once the offer has been accepted, call or write to the other
interviewed candidates to let them know they were not selected.
(This is an important but often overlooked step that can eventually
erode your reputation as an employer of choice.)
Keep in touch with the new employee in the days/weeks before s/he
actually begins employment. The relationship should be nurtured
early.
- Prepare the workspace, order business cards and make any other
necessary accommodations to welcome the new employee.
Post an announcement about the new employee a couple of days before
s/he begins, telling your other employees a little about his/her
background and welcoming him/her to the company.
If you are already carrying out the above steps, congratulations!
If you, like many small to medium business owners, are falling
short of the ideal, it's never too late to change. Whether you get
professional help or do it yourself, the implementation of a more
structured and systematic hiring process will result in less hiring
errors, increased productivity of new people, better team harmony,
fewer terminations and a more professional reputation as a preferred
employer in your business community.
In other words, you will realize the benefits of better hiring
decisions on your bottom line!
"The employer generally gets the employees
he deserves."
– J. Paul Getty
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