5 Under-the-Surface Hiring Mistakes That Will Erode Your Company Culture and Growth
There was a great column recently written by A.J. Mirabedini, the CEO of GKIC, a small-business marketing training company.
A.J. offers the wisdom of experience, revealing several hiring mistakes he made in his previous company. Until one day, when he hired an ex-Marine who showed him how his hiring practices were hurting his business.
Click to improve your hiring practices
If you’re the type of person who is always learning (as anyone who wants to be successful long term should be), this is a great opportunity to benefit from mistakes someone else has already made, so you can avoid the cost and trouble of making them.
Here are five poor hiring practices A.J. credits his Marine for revealing to him:
1. Hiring people you like, not the ones who are best for the job
The best person for the job is not likely someone you already know. Does it take a little more effort to find that person? Perhaps, but is your business’ maximum growth and efficiency worth a little extra time? And, if you use the right system, it doesn’t have to take as long as you think it will.
2. Trusting but not verifying
Do you call references? Do you check previous employment history (and college degrees, if it matters)? Don’t just believe people. Verify.
3. Expecting your other leaders to be like you
In marriage, they say opposites attract. This isn’t an accident. If you marry someone who’s just like you, you’ll have relational blind spots. What you don’t know will hurt you. When hiring – especially hiring managers and leaders – look for people who aren’t like you. Look for people who have the strengths the job requires.
4. Not firing people when you know you should
We shouldn’t be too quick to part ways. But sometimes, you know a person isn’t the right fit. But because you don’t want to go through the hassle of hiring and you really need the work to get done, you put it off.
5. Making wrong assumptions
Does everyone on your staff believe in and understand what customer service looks like? Do all your employees know why you have the policies and procedures you have? Is your company manual enough to define your culture? Assuming things like this guarantees they won’t happen the way you want them to. When you hire – have a training process that ensures they buy in to your system and culture.
Better Hiring Practices
Businesses need to be way more selective in who and how they hire. Hiring friends of your other workers isn’t going to get you the talent you really need – especially for leadership positions.
Also, take the time to improve your onboarding and training processes.
As A.J. says near the end of his column, when you ensure the success of your team, you will ensure your own success.
Hiring the best people is about more than just filling a position. A new employee will either build up or chip away at your company values and culture. They will either take initiative and own their results, or they’ll blame others for their failures.
Yes, skills matter too. But these are the real reasons a company grows or struggles.
Are you making any of these mistakes in your hiring practices?
Take corrective action now, while you still can.
Fixing Mistake #1 isn’t as hard as you might think. PainLess Hire’s innovative approach to finding and hiring your new top performers takes most of the work off your plate.
It doesn’t have to take very long. In fact, our process has proven to be 2-4 weeks faster than a traditional recruiter (and more effective at finding top talent).
Also, to address Mistake #2 and help you verify what your candidates claim, PainLess Hire handles all the reference and employment checks on your chosen candidate.
Get a hiring quote today and start looking for your new top performers.
Hiring well is tough to do by yourself. There are hundreds of job boards you could post jobs on. Which ones? Where do you start? If you want to hire the best talent available, contact PainLess Hire and tell us about the positions you want to fill.