Webmarked Business Resources

One of the biggest issues facing a growing business is recruitment. The best solution I have found is to get everyone within the company to get involved in the process. Even if you consider the cost of engaging a recruitment agency, the costs associated can be high when compared to incentivizing members of staff to find suitable candidates for the positions opened.

In order for this to work effectively there must already be a good culture within the company. If your staff think that working in the company is great then of course they will be eager to bring people they like onboard. That may sound like a recipe for disaster, but in reality they will think carefully about who they bring in, as the last thing they want in a great atmosphere is to be held responsible for a bad hiring decision and therefore let their colleagues down.

To give you an instance, remember as a teenager being part of a gang (not the ones who shoot each other) but the clics in secondary (high school)? That is basically what you are looking for; good gang members to recruit other great gang members.

Some entrepreneurs make the mistake of assuming they have no one in their current circle that they would like to recruit, but the reality is that they have contacts who have a network who have lots of contacts and the likelihood is that somewhere in that network are good people looking for the opportunity of getting on board a growing business so don’t be afraid to use the network, unashamedly.

Watch out though that you don’t just hire people who think you are great and are afraid to tell you that you are wrong. It is easy to build an entourage of sycophants patting you on the back, ask any pop-star. However in a growing business you need responsible people and unless you have a HR person making hiring decisions, each department head, or director should be responsible for hiring their own staff members to reduce the potential for mistakes.

The problem with interviews is that people can have good credentials and pass with flying colours. The issue is later on when they have to fit in. I am not saying that you should not use this method, but the percentages rise much higher for success if the person that is hired comes recommended from someone you know and not with just a piece of paper that says they are recommended.

Definitely a 3 month trial period.

After 2 months make sure that you find out from everyone how the person is fitting in. It is no good being brilliant but a loner if the requirement is to be part of a team building a business. Watch out for rude behavior, bad timekeeping, obsession with status (are they building organizational charts instead of teams?), time wasting on internet or personal phone calls. At the end of the 3 month period if they don’t fit in, get rid of them. They are likely to lower morale and reduce the momentum going forward. You need them to fit in not comply with your wishes.

How to dismiss someone.

When you have to dismiss someone it is definitely better that they leave on good terms. The last thing a small company need is enemies. Failure to do the job properly and misconduct are the main two reasons for dismissal. The former is always subject to some form of appraisal and this should be an open and fair process that is understood by everyone. The latter requires a verbal warning, a written warning and finally dismissal.

The hardest dismissal is the one where the person has been trying their best but still underperforms. While it is easy to be sympathetic to problems the person may have, it is equally important that you understand the responsibility towards the remaining staff. Try to help them in anyway possible, for instance with temporay assistance to allow time off for family issues, but ultimately if there is a requirement to part ways it must still be done appropriately, even if it is temporary.

Part on good terms

A good severance package and avoid personal criticisms. Even if lawyers are threatened, if you have followed your procedures that are fair and in accordance with the employment contract you should have nothing to fear.

To be sure it is best to have 2 meetings when firing someone. The first to outline the reasons why decisions have been made and to offer a good severance package. The second to finalise the package and part ways.

The reason for two meetings is to provide time for reflection by the person to consider their position. The decision has been made and the person being dismissed should know the reasons why and also that the decision is final. The second to complete the process.

There are possible benefits of helping to find alternative positions for those who have been dismissed and it might be worth consideration. This way to you build up a network of contacts within your industry.

And to finish, the network is where you got your first employees…