Submitted by: Nancy Lowell, Business Coach, AdviCoach

Just recently I was asked what advice I would offer to someone getting ready to start hiring. This is a great question for anyone at any point in their business development to ask. It is never too late to start hiring the right people and getting them into the right jobs!

No matter where you find yourself when hiring someone, whether this is your first hire or your 101st, you need to be sure you are hiring a person who fits the job, not fashioning a job to fit the person. The first step in this process is to define the roles and responsibilities of the job. This will inform the skills and qualities of the person you’ll want to start with (for pre-screening purposes). Next you want to ask good, open-ended questions. Try this link for some examples.

Next, you’ll want to review your core values and/or mission statement (you have one, right?) and make sure you are asking questions that will elicit information about the applicants that will tell you whether their character fits your organization. Although you should not look for people who are just like you, you do need to find people who will be good representatives of you and what your company stands for.

As your business grows, you need to plan ahead and create the structure you will need when your sales double—or even triple. Right now, you and your staff of three or four may be each filling numerous jobs, but as the workload increases and you need to add to your staff, you will need to be prepared.  You’ll know the skills and qualities you’re looking for, and that means you’ll hire the person who is the best fit—rather than trying to retrofit the job to the person.

Now here is my million-dollar tip: never hire anyone if you have an impulse to save them!!! This never, ever works out; you are not helping anyone, including the person you want to help, and this kind of situation has the potential to end very badly. Almost everyone I know has done this, and all of them have regretted it. If you are getting ready to hire and would like some support and guidance, contact me. I can help you determine if your current employees are in the right jobs and work with you to put an effective staffing plan in place.

For more information or contact, visit www.advicoach.com/nlowell or call 215-888-1993.