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Find the Right People for Your Business

Lost that crucial employee to a competitor? When your business success rests on a small talent pool, the hiring stakes couldn’t be greater, says John Uprichard, president of FGP (Find Great People) International, a Greenville, South Carolina-based professional recruiting and staffing company. “It’s a huge decision, because it’s a fixed cost,” he says. “And you can’t afford to have a bad apple.”

Finding the perfect replacement, though, may be less costly and stressful than you might anticipate. Think creatively, recruiting experts stress, and don’t limit yourself to job ads alone. Here are a few more of their suggestions:

Tap Your Own Talent: Ask your employees for recommendations. Even better, provide a bonus of at least $100 if their referral lands a new hire. This approach is much cheaper than running a newspaper ad and might provide some valuable insight into employee satisfaction, says Mel Kleiman, president of Houston, Texas-based Humetrics, LLC, which helps companies develop systems for recruiting hourly employees. “If your present employees are willing to recommend someone to you, it means they think you are a good place to work.”

Spread the Net Wider: Make the time, despite your busy schedule, to attend your local chamber or professional groups. Spread the word there that you’re on a hiring binge. If you decide to run a newspaper ad, consider whether your ideal applicant would be more likely to search online or on the printed page. Expect a sizable hit to your wallet — an online newspaper ad can easily run $400 per month Uprichard says — as well as your schedule. One ad might reap several hundred responses, but likely only a handful will fit your criteria — if you have the patience to sift through them all. Also consider free or low-cost online options, suggests Kleiman, such as craigslist.org or snagajob.com, which targets hourly positions.

Consider a Test Drive: Not ready to commit? Try working with a temporary agency, Uprichard says. Let the agency sift through all of those resumes. You gain a bird’s-eye view of your applicant’s skills before investing in benefits. If business continues to boom, you already have a trained employee to step into the breach.

Make that Interview Count: If the job starts at 6:30 am, schedule the interview for 6:30 am, Kleiman suggests. If applicants aren’t timely then, they never will be. Want to determine if your potential hire can follow directions? Ask them to complete an application form with detailed instructions. And prepare your list of ideal skills, adds Uprichard, before the first applicant walks in. Hire someone who is hungry to learn and, above all, excites you. “If they don’t excite you, then they won’t excite your customers,” Uprichard says.

And never abandon your search for that next great employee. Kleiman suggests passing out business cards to talented individuals who cross your path. “Once you figure out what you are looking for [in an employee], keep looking for it,” he says. “The problem is most of us start to look for our next employee after the last one quits.”

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