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Getting The Right Employee/s

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stclare

Free Member
Mar 7, 2011
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Hi, I am a small business owner who used to employ 12 people but downsized due to terrible problems with my previous employees a few years ago. This has made me very afraid of employing anyone else. Fortunately I have been able keep my customers happy, however my customer base and work is quickly expanding again and unless I want to let them down I will need to venture into employment.

I am hoping to avoid the pitfalls I fell into before, such as being to friendly and therefor not being seen as a boss but a mate and would gladly take any advice on finding the right employee and how best to do this.

Our work is specialized and contains a lot of travel and over night stays. I need to be confident the person will respect my property, the customer and the job that needs to be done.

I am seriously toying with the idea of trying sub contractors in case its to much and just having to say no to some of my customers, it feels a bit like failure having to stunt the company's growth because I'm afraid of getting this wrong.
 
You need to have a job description and person specification so you can identify the ideal person to do the job. This is the basis for your recruitment. You should then interview asking job related questions. If you structure your recruitment process in the right way you should get the right staff in place. Of course you need to continue to monitor their performance to ensure they are doing the job correctly then deal with any problems appropriately.
 
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It does sound as if a major part of the problem was poor management. Hiring new staff (no matter how good) without addressing that will eventually lead to the same problems arising. Have you taken steps to improve your management skills?
 
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Ensuring a professional recruitment process and as Sandra has said above will help set the scene and help you find the right person. Also, having policies and procedures in place and perhaps a staff handbook to ensure everything is set out clearly from the beginning (and protecting your assets).
 
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This is an issue that I've seen a number of business owners face, but you have the advantage of having experienced some of the pitfalls previously, so you know they are to be avoided.

As some have said, having policies and procedures in place is a good start, but is not in itself the solution. You must create the policies and then stick to them. Monitor performance and keep records. Yes, this seems like a hassle when there's a small number of employees and you're busy, but it will help you resolve any future issues much more quickly.

The biggest issue I've seen is that recruitment can be split into Attitude, Behaviours and Capability and in my experience most business owners spend 90% of their recruitment effort finding the candidate with the best capability. However 90% of issues happen around attitudes and behaviours. So when you are scoping the role and the person, include what attitudes and behaviours you need in a candidate and how you will assess these.

And finally, accept that the PERFECT candidate probably doesn't exist and that you probably won't find a candidate who, on appointment, cares as much for your business as you do. However, find the right candidate and they will grow to love your business almost as much as you do and will be a real asset.
 
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You have to accept that you will always get people who do not meet expectations no matter how good your recruitment procedures are. When I started my business over twenty years ago, a owner of a small firm in a similar sector as mine, told me that "you get one good one out of every four". That might appear extreme, but it really can be as high as that especially for some of the higher status jobs in the private sector where people enter them with starry eyes and find out a few months or years later that more is expected of them than they first thought.
 
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There will be always some good apples and bad apples in any organisation, if you feel hiring a contractor opposed to a permanent employee is the way out, then go for it!
 
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stclare said:
Hi, I am a small business owner who used to employ 12 people but downsized due to terrible problems with my previous employees a few years ago. This has made me very afraid of employing anyone else. Fortunately I have been able keep my customers happy, however my customer base and work is quickly expanding again and unless I want to let them down I will need to venture into employment.

I am hoping to avoid the pitfalls I fell into before, such as being to friendly and therefor not being seen as a boss but a mate and would gladly take any advice on finding the right employee and how best to do this.

Our work is specialized and contains a lot of travel and over night stays. I need to be confident the person will respect my property, the customer and the job that needs to be done.

I am seriously toying with the idea of trying sub contractors in case its to much and just having to say no to some of my customers, it feels a bit like failure having to stunt the company's growth because I'm afraid of getting this wrong.
Click to expand...

I skipped the other comments because I didn't want to cloud my own opinion on this one,

I feel your pain, I was in a similar situation about five years ago. frankly if I may be blunt, this is a problem that comes from inside of you now, there are many talented employees available to hire at any given time but.. without correct leadership there will almost certainly always be problems. Our job is simply to guide them on the company mission.

I have a friend over in New Zealand that was going through this kind of thing a few months back, he would often call me and ask my opinion.

I would suggest you this: Search your network of personal friends... perhaps you already know of one who will tell you bluntly "how it is" .. tap into these kind of relationships and use them as a filter for your own behaviour, run your ideas past these people & tap into their own experiences and knowledge. it goes without saying that you should try to engage a friend who actually has employees / business experience.

Alternatively, if you feel that you really can't avoid these problems from happening again, perhaps try subcontracting a "manager" of sorts & levying their contract on the performance & behaviour of their team.

Also be careful with "any old" recruiter, One thing I always recommend with recruitment consultants is to try and stick to one or two that know your industry and your business very well, if you have a good personal relationship with them, they're far more likely to want your future business & will be vetting candidates a little harder than the ones who know you're a "one off" and want that bonus.
 
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