Agency Recruitment and Selection: Go With Your Gut

Hiring should be natural. The right person comes around and seems like the perfect fit. It just so happens you have a position open for them and the prospect is poised for long term growth within the company. Let’s face it, it’s never that easy. 

Small business owners depend heavily on finding and keeping the right talent, and making sure that their team is at full strength: happy as individuals, but strong, highly productive and synergistic as a team. I’ll be the first to admit that my initial impression of a prospect’s talent overshadows the importance of compatibility and like-mindedness. Even when it seems right, I try to remind myself to slow the process down and keep the long-term success of the business in mind. Below, I’ve listed a few important (and pretty simple) tips for hiring, fostering the right culture, and preventing a clash that can divide a company.

Show you’re interested, but don’t jump to make an offer
This is a tough one. You want the company and the candidate to have the same dedication and timing, but that’s easier said than done. If you don’t come out and show your interest in a prospect, you give competitors the opportunity to swoop in and make an offer, and even worse, you risk leaving the candidate feeling that someone else wants them more and isn’t afraid to show it. On the other hand, if it becomes a game of cat and mouse and you’re finding it difficult to come to terms, chances are you’ve set yourself up for that type of relationship for the extent of the employment.

Recognize differences in opinions and attitudes (and take them seriously)
Adults only stray so far away from their morals and methodologies. A variety of personal tastes, traditions and cultures can enrich your business, but a lack of understanding and similar values and goals can become a struggle.

Self-confidence is good, self-focus is bad
There’s a fine line between self-confidence and selfish tunnel vision. It’s easy to confuse the two at times, but it’s a difference that can be crucial to the future. When your employee is in a pinch, will you pick them up and not expect anything in return? When the business is in a pinch, will the employee take a hit (within reason) to keep the business afloat without expecting something in return or holding a grudge? If you can answer yes to both, you have a good start.

Break the mold, but not too much at once
Don’t hire for comfort. Be the owner that takes a risk on someone that surprises you or grows on you as you get to know them. Be nontraditional, but be smart. Too much change in a short period of time, whether it’s culture, management, or structure can lead to chaos.

Go with your gut
Hire the right person for the job, even when they aren’t the obvious choice. The person that you can trust to battle through a recession with you, well, that’s extremely valuable and doesn’t come around often. And, if for whatever reason it isn’t the right time, don’t throw out the resume.