Welcome to my series of weekly blogs to help answer some queries you may have in relation to hiring, managing and developing your team.

The first 3 will be focused on Recruitment.

So… you want to grow your team but you a little nervous or scared of finding the right person. Sound familiar. One of the main reasons I believe most employers are put off Recruitment is the negative experiences they have had with hiring the wrong person or don’t know where to start. Not only is this an expensive exercise to get wrong, when a bad hire happens, it is normally a gut wrenching feeling where the employer/hirer can be left feeling angry, taken advantage of, manipulated and betrayed as they have to clean up the mess normally left behind.

With over 15 years executive HR / Recruitment experience, I can personally relate to this. Although I am pretty proud of my track record of Recruitment…..I can assure you, I have also had a few bad recruits over my time that I am still trying to get over the disappointment of. After all, we are dealing with People and while there are numerous tools and things to assist make the right decision, it is likely that you will make at least a few errors over your recruitment calls. The key thing is….. that you move on, don’t let it put you off growing your business and learn from it.

When you invite someone into your organisation, you expect that they will be grateful and want to do their very best however below are 10 lessons I have learnt along the way:

1- Take away the assumption that everyone should love the business in the same way you might right from the get go. This is particularly relevant for small business owners (no one will love your business as much as you do). Be realistic in what you are expecting.

2- See people 3 times, preferably in 3 different places and if at all possible – introduce them to 3 people within your organisations to get 3 different opinions (for small business think about potentially involving your accountant and/or trusted advisor). A recruitment agent may offer 1 time, place and opinion. When people say to me that they don’t have time to see them more than once….my normal response is, then when will you have time to go through the entire recruitment process again? Remember that candidates are interviewing you in the same way you are of them.

3- Be clear on what you are recruiting for – not just what they will be responsible for but what will be the key elements of success for this role be in say 6 months when you look back to judge whether the hire has been successful? Cover this initially at final interview stage so they know in advance exactly what your view of a successful hire is and can keep that front of mind.

4- Once you are clear, consider sharing key attributes with any existing staff, your database, your key partners and/or social media (ie linkedin) to get feelers out. After all, they are people who know you and your business and maybe able to recommend good fits. It will also ensure that you are running any future opportunities past existing staff first (if you have them). Once you have done that, consider SEEK or other advertising options. Using a Recruitment agent may be useful for at least your first recruit and/or if you don’t have time to do it properly to help establish a process for you.

5-  3 big questions to assess – Can they do the job? Will they love the job (and what will make them love it)? and How will I/we work with them (what dynamic will they bring to the team)?

6-  Define your non-negotiables and ask what theirs are?

7-  Always trust your gut. If it is saying no……not matter how desperately you may need to fill the role….DO NOT GO AHEAD.

8-  Google about the person you are interviewing. You will be surprised what you may find out about a person.

9-  REFERENCE CHECK. REFERENCE CHECK. REFERENCE CHECK. Conduct 3 reference checks wherever possible. Given the importance of this point, I will cover my next blog on this. I cant tell you how many people don’t conduct them and find out all kinds of things afterwards.

10-  Consider using psychological assessments (like DISC) to compliment your recruitment process. They provide valuable insight into people in addition to providing some great questions to delve further into at interview stage. They should also provide valuable input into management and development of the individual if they are successful. If you would like more information on assessments, please do not hesitate to discuss with me and I would be more than happy to assist.

I hope you found the above tips useful. Please do not hesitate to share or let me know if there are particular topics you would like covered and I will be more than happy to try and include.

PS I still have a few spots left in my last 1 Day Leadership and Success Program for 2014 on Monday 24 November, 2014 in Adelaide. Please let me know if of any interest and I will be more than happy to lock you in.

Have a wonderful day!

Best Wishes

PK