How to Recruit and Keep Good Team Members

Hiring the right staff is not an easy task. It is made more difficult and even more crucial when one considers the potential problems that may arise if that person does not work out and has to be sacked.

Building a strong team, capable of achieving, is an aspect of business leadership that regrettably is absent in most Small to Medium Businesses (SME’s). It takes quiet some time for people starting out in business to fully realize the value and importance of this aspect of their business development.

If you look around at very successful businesses you will notice how they all rely on team effort. Any business that does not, is one doomed to mediocrity, frustration and under-achievement.

There is a widespread reluctance to hire people “because the business cannot afford it” A good employee should be worth about two to three times their cost to the business

Most Small-to-medium sized businesses do not have a formal recruitment/hiring system, which leaves them vulnerable to all of the classic hiring pitfalls. The most common process for hiring a new employee is:

1. 1. Advertise or use a recruitment company to advertise the position.
   2. Examine a number of resumes and choose those that look most appropriate.
   3. Interview those candidates and asses their suitability to the position.
   4. Make a selection and offer the candidate the position.

Statistics show that using an approach like this, results in over 50 percent of hires not working out and leaving the business within 12-18 months. This abysmal statistic can be substantially improved by following a system that is designed to be properly selective and to remove the subjectivity and emotion from the process.

So what are the main pitfalls?

1. 1. Inadequate or no detailed job specification
   2. No personality profiling of the position
   3. No key performance indicators (KPI”s) for the position

Some other factors that frustrate the process include:

1. 1. Great deal of time wasted interviewing unsuitable or poorly qualified candidates.
   2. Candidates not showing up for interviews.
   3. Resumes that are not a truthful representation of the candidates experience or abilities.
   4. Candidates not accepting an offer and second choice candidate has found alternative employment.

Hiring successfully begins with the company having a well thought out organizational structure with all positions clearly identified and key responsibilities documented. This in turn requires clarity within the business on strategic and operational objectives.

The next step is to thoroughly define the position in terms of duties and responsibilities, the position goals and objectives, skills and key competencies required, and reporting and liaison expectations.

No position description is complete without KPI’s. Ideally these should be directly measurable but this is not always practical. The question to ask is “what things in the business will tell that this position is being correctly fulfilled”. The answer to that is the KPI’s.

Once hired, the new employee needs to be inducted properly. This means not only training them in their job, but more importantly getting them to understand, and subscribe to the company culture. Most frustrated business owners will not place much importance on this, but it is crucial, not only to the new employee, but to the whole organization.

Keeping good people happy and motivated is ultimately a challenge of leadership. It requires that the business provide its employees with sufficient fulfillment in their work, environment and prospects such that they feel little or no dissatisfaction. In order to achieve this, the business has to periodically take stock of its employee’s aggregate disposition, aspirations and frustrations and act accordingly.

One of the biggest causes of staff turnover is perceived indifference and lack of recognition. Regular praise and expression of appreciation goes a long, long way to making people feel fulfilled in their work.

The human resources aspect of running a business is ultimately the key to long term return and growth. Business owners that get this right invariably end up working less hours and making bigger profits. This aspect is a key focus of the business coach and one that yields tremendous results when done correctly.