If you’ve owned a business for more than a few minutes, you’ve had employees that cause problems, upset customers, and make trouble no matter where they go or what they do. They’re a real liability until you can let them go.
Your business is only as good as your worst employee. Customers might not remember when they received good service, but they’ll remember the time something went wrong. When you’ve got an employee who causes the problems through neglect, deceit, or other wrong-doing, you’ve got a risk on your hands.
Hiring doesn’t have to be a gamble. Tighten up your process to find the best people. You’ll lower your risk and increase your business at the same time.
FINDING APPLICANTS FOR THE JOB
Open up application process. Look around for the best talent. Only hiring people based on family and friend recommendations can cause more problems than it’s worth. Place notices in multiple areas: the newspaper, online job boards, social media, and your own website to get the largest number of applicants possible.
Be specific about the job requirements. Some people will apply for a job they know they aren’t qualified for, no matter how much information you give them. But you can make sure the majority of applicants have potential by letting them know details about the job itself.
Pre-screen applicants. Think of the basic requirements you want in an employee. Education, job experience, accreditation are all things you can use in the hiring process.
Consider adding aptitude tests. If you need someone who can type at a certain speed or understands certain concepts, you might want to consider adding a testing portion to your hiring process. This will help you weed out the people who exaggerated their skills.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT PEOPLE
Once you whittle your list of potential new employees down to a manageable list, you’ll need to interview them and get a feel for who they are and their personality. Once you decide on someone you want to hire, now it’s time to put them under the microscope.
Do a background check. Check for a history of violence, fraud, or other criminal activity. It’s up to you to decide what prior bad acts disqualify a candidate, based on your business.
Require a pre-employment drug test. This isn’t foolproof, but you should be able to eliminate the people who use regularly.
Check their references. It’s one thing to ask for references, it’s another thing to actually call and check them.
Check their employment history. Former employers aren’t allowed to give you much information, but you can sometimes tell if an employee was remembered in a good way or a bad way just from the tone of a supervisor’s voice.
The tighter and more thorough your hiring process is, the more likely you’ll be to find an honest, hardworking, and friendly employee who isn’t a liability to your company. It may take more time to find the right people, but in the end, it will have been worth the effort.
Hiring the right employees is just one of the things that you can do to protect your business. You also need to make sure that you have the right commercial insurance policies in place. One of our insurance professionals will gladly review your current policies with you and make you aware of any potential risks or coverage gaps. Contact us, today.
Image courtesy of Flickr user Kathryn Decker.