Employee Hiring Tips for Small Businesses

Avoid Mistakes to Expedite Screening Process of Productive Employees

Mar 11, 2010
Clarice Cook

Employee Selection - graur razvan ionut

The organizing and recruiting process leading to employee selection is expensive. Making the wrong hiring assessment is even more costly

Most small businesses struggle to become established with one or two workers, usually the owner and a bookkeeper or office personnel. When the business starts to grow, it is imperative that potential employees be screened thoroughly and hired with great care.

Hiring Employees is Tedious and a Business Expense

Hiring the best employees has become a more difficult process in spite of more modern technology. For instance, a building contractor quickly hires a worker who has wonderful references. The worker starts with great enthusiasm. After a few days, he begins a ritual of always being late, taking too many long breaks, and turning out patchy work. Just one such employee can cut deeply into the company profit.

Time Management

With high unemployment, companies have a large market to pick from. Taking a little time to set up or find a good prepared application form on the Internet, or through the local Small Business Administration will save money and time later on. It is important to do a thorough employee screening to eliminate as many as possible before setting up the interviewing process.

The job application form should contain the obvious contact information, social security number, education, work history, if still employed and contact permission, reason for leaving the former company, and personal references with length of time known. Include a section to list eligibility to work in the U.S., any military service and other affiliations, legal and criminal histories.

Set up a time limit for the hiring process,when the applications start arriving. For better organization, wait until there are a competitive number of potential employees before starting the reviews.

Checking References

Make past employment and personal reference calls from the first pick of candidates. The questioning of former employers takes careful employee screening techniques and can be tricky. Answering some questions are illegal for past employers. Be polite and respectful and ask for the personnel department or manager.

Check the work history section of the application and ask if the potential employee worked for that company, when and length of time. Check to see if the information for reason for leaving is correct. That could be a yes or no answer without probing further, unless the former employer volunteers more information.

Ask the employer if he or she has any recommendations to offer. If the answer is no, that is all that is needed. Thank the employer for the time spent and go to the next reference. Personal references should not be relatives, but can be friends, the pastor, or former co worker. Questions should be a process of checking and done in the same manner as employment references. Pick the best applicants to call for the interview.

Interviewing Employees is Time Consuming and Background Checks are Expensive.

Taking great care in the hiring assessment process is recommended. Running employee background checks and doing drug test add to the cost factor.

The average job ad can net scores of job applicants, most of them desperate and trained well by unemployment agencies for the interview process. While it is good that prospective employees present themselves well, it leaves employers struggling to maintain control of interview sessions. Employers need to be able to read body language of others who are too well practiced.

Be ready with a prepared, standard list of questions to ask.
Have more than one interviewer in the room and compare notes later.
Never hire on the first round.
Take time for background checks, and drug tests.
Is the potential employee truly interested in the position, the company?

Watch body language. What the employee is saying may show contradiction in smiles, facial twitching, slumped shoulders, body leaning forward, hands entwined in front of the body or folded around the chest, foot bouncing on the floor, and averted eyes.

Is the candidate dressed properly for the position?
What is the overall appearance and demeanor?
Does the applicant answer in short, unclear sentences?
Are the answers too long and rambling without any real knowledge of the job position?

There will always be applicants that show themselves as being in the wrong place just because they need a job, any job. It is important that interviewers are trained to spot the obvious quickly and end the process as soon as possible.