Building a winning team
Tips for switching from contract workers to full time help
Rebecca Fountain, Las Vegas
I have a small business I’m starting in Nevada called Slurry Recycle Solutions that specializes in the development of cost-effective and safe solutions for the construction industry. I’ve been using independent contractors and would like to hire a full-time staff because our business is growing. How should I approach the hiring process?
By Julie Freese, Fortune Small Business contributor
Dear Rebecca: Any manager who has hired the wrong employees knows the high cost of a bad decision. The first step to building the right team for your business is to assess what types of workers and skills you need to be successful.
Every expert we consulted agreed that rushing the hiring process is one of the biggest mistakes managers make. Whether your business succeeds or fails depends more on the quality of employees you hire and less on the product you’re selling or the service you’re providing, says Paul Gibson, vice president of human resources at Mattamy Homes.
Before you begin the hiring process, carry a notepad with you as your perform your daily tasks and record what you do, no matter how small or mundane, says Bill Bartmann of Bartmann Enterprises, an entrepreneur and business coach. This allows you to create a complete list of duties that need to be performed by a future employee and help you draft job descriptions.
Then gather the necessary paperwork (applications and tax documents), research background checks, and brainstorm about what type of work needs to be done and the skills required, says Jo Prabhu, CEO and president of 1800 Job Quest.
To cover your bases, hire a lawyer that specializes in employment law. The lawyer can help you draft a letter of employment outlining expectations as well as salary, which will protect you from potential lawsuits, says Gibson. A lawyer will also make sure that your hiring process is following both national and state laws. Also hire an independent contractor to set up your employee payroll.
Take time to find or create your company’s hiring “wow” factor, says Tom Darrow, principal of Talent Connections. You need to advertise your company and the positions you want to fill in a unique manner in order to stand out on the job boards. Mention unique incentives that will attract potential employees, like free lunches once a month or a casual dress code, he says.
Once you are ready to format and post job descriptions and conduct interviews, talk to the independent contractors you’ve worked with in the past. Ask them to write a description of the job they completed, says Prabhu. It will help you identify particular tasks and skills that need to be highlighted in the job description. Don’t forget to address your expectations in terms of computer skills, education and years of experience, she says.
Employee referrals are the best way to find new candidates, says Darrow. Post job listings on your company website and on any industry specific sites that will attract the right potential employees. Ask the contractors to sit in on interviews, says Gibson. They can help you identify whether or not that particular candidate is the right fit.
The interview process can be confusing – potential employees may tailor their resume or their answers to the position, not their skill set. “Resumes aren’t always authentic. You need to read between the lines,” says Praghu. Ask yourself if this person needs a job or wants a job. “The employer has to look for what an employer needs, not an employee.”
Since you’re creating a team of employees that need to work well together in order for your business to succeed, conduct a second group interview with potential employees you want to hire. This will allow you to see what the group dynamics are, says Gibson, and how they respond to each other.
Conduct background checks and check references. It is an important investment, so hire a professional to do it, says Gibson. Understand that checks take two to three days to process and will cost anywhere from $100 to $200 per employee, says Prabhu.
To determine that the salary that you are offering is fair, research your competitors, says Darrow. Ask the independent contractors you’ve been working with if they felt their pay was fair. And if you decide to reject an application, create and send a standardized regret letter, says Prabhu. This will send across a professional message and maintain your company’s integrity.
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Related links:
To fire or not to fire – the ethics of the layoff
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DiggDear Rebbeca,
Recently two hiring experts, Barry Deutsch and Brad Remillard, conducted a hiring study to see what worked well and what did not. These findings might help you in your hiring process.
Top 10 Hiring Mistakes
Inadequate job descriptions. The job descriptions that drove the hiring process focused solely on experience and skills rather than company expectations for the position.
Superficial interviewing. The hiring process did not put candidates under the magnifying glass, verify claims or check facts.
Inappropriate prerequisites used too early in the selection process. An over-emphasis on specific education, technical skills, and industry experience screened out qualified candidates.
Snap judgment. Hiring teams relied too heavily on first impressions to make final hiring decisions.
Historical bias. Hiring teams used only past performance to predict future results.
Performance bias. Hiring team failed to understand that interview behavior and job performance are two different things, which resulted in making an offer to the "best actor," not the best candidate.
Fishing in shallow waters. Structuring the search to attract only the bottom third aggressive candidates; not actively seeking out selective "sleeper" candidates.
Failure to probe for core success factors. Not looking for evidence of the five best predictors of long-term success — self-motivation, leadership, comparable past performance, job-specific problem solving and adaptability.
Ignoring top candidate’s needs. Not understanding what motivates top talent to take a job.
Desperation hiring. Not budgeting enough time for the search, resulting in shallow sourcing and superficial interviews.
Deutsch and Remillard, also noted these other pitfalls:
Ignoring cultural mismatches
Not physically preparing (reception, waiting area, greeting, etc.) for successful interviews
Failure to create compelling marketing campaigns to attract top talent to open positions
Passive sourcing (waiting for resumes to come in rather than actively pursuing sleeper and selective candidates)
Lack of preparation for interviews; no written questions
Failure to evaluate candidates against an objective definition of success
To find steps for successful hiring look at these Vistage articles on Building a Hiring System or download this free report on Hiring Best Practices.
Interesting article. One point is that your own company culture will be a factor on whom you attract as employees. Company ethics is a prime factor in hiring. Mattamy Homes sold a house with no electrical power and illegally (code) wired the furnace to a house next door. Unethical sale resulted… What kind of employees do you attract with this type of company policy???
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We ran into the exact same situation last year at Atlanta House Cleaning. The single most important decision you can make is who you into your company, especially full time employees. If you make the wrong choice, the stakes are high and you’ll lose financially and with service quality for your customers. We can’t stress enough, MAKE THEM EARN IT! The best approach is a trial period where they have to earn the right to make staff. Don’t just give it to them off the bat.