As a business owner, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to hire the right people for your team. We've all been there—we desperately need someone to fill a role, and the pressure of being understaffed starts to take its toll on you and your team. It's tempting to hire someone quickly just to alleviate that stress, but as I've learned through many, many painful “experiences,” hiring slowly is essential for long-term success.
I wrote previously about the 5 Hiring Mistakes We’ve Made. When I think about a lot of these, many of them have this overarching theme: we have generally rushed into hiring people more often than we should. When we rush to fill a role, we can easily talk ourselves into hiring someone who may not be the best fit for the position or the culture of our organization. And let's be real, hiring the wrong person can lead to a world of hurt - from low morale to poor performance to the dreaded termination conversation. Uggghhh!
So, what's a small business owner to do?
Simply put, it’s time to prioritize the hiring process. In the grand scheme of business procedures, your hiring processes might seem like a small cog in the machine. But really, they’re more like a metal detector—the entry point to your whole organization that can either allow risky suspects in, or prevent them from ever having the opportunity to wreak havoc in the first place. This means it’s essential to know what you will allow to “pass-through” and what types of things will “set off the alarm” for your organization.
Analyze your hiring process. Is it objective?
At Whirks, we call this objectifying your hiring process, which simply means having a clear and consistent process for evaluating candidates. Knowing your benchmarks for entry, preparing value-based questions, and utilizing an interview scorecard with any team members conducting interviews are just a few of the ways we have worked to objectify our hiring processes. They help us remove any biases and emotions from the decision-making process and make it more objective and reliable overall. This approach ensures that you are hiring the best person for the job, not just the first person who comes along.
When in doubt... wait.
My advice is this: don’t make the same mistakes we’ve made in the past. Take your time when hiring. Don't rush to fill a role just because you're feeling overwhelmed. Instead, prioritize your hiring process and ensure you find the right person for the job. It may take longer but will ultimately pay off in the long run.
Hiring slowly is essential for long-term success. It's important to prioritize your hiring process and find the right person for the job, even if it takes longer than you'd like. Objectifying your hiring process and removing any biases or emotions from the decision-making process will help you make the best hiring decisions. At the end of the day, taking your time to find the right candidate is worth it and will ultimately benefit your business.
If you’re interested in learning more about the first steps towards objectifying your hiring process, check out our webinar about incorporating your values throughout your whole organization or download our Hiring Whirkbook to fortify your processes. Our HR team is eager to help our clients with this process, so if you feel ready but want a little guidance along the way, check out our HR page to see how we can help you get focused on your hiring.
