“My best resource walks out the from door at five o’clock everyday.” This statement made on a national television show by Jim Goodnight, president of one of the most successful companies in America, SAS. This software company is no different from a roofing company, a hot dog vendor the street, or a law firm. People are the key to building any successful business or company.
At John Beane / Staff Development Services, we match the right people to the right job but this is just one step. Our consulting services help you deal successfully with all the steps involved with finding good people. These steps include:
Attracting quality candidates
Conducting successful interviews
Matching the right person to the right job
Orienting the new hire into your firm
Supporting the new employee with the proper training
Retaining the good employee
In our articles, we are going to give you brief insights and tips we hope you utilize to build or to improve your firm.
The first step to finding the right people for your firm is to get quality candidates through your front door. This may sound simple but is harder than most people think. Different recruiting methods include search firms or temp agencies, employee referrals, and internet job websites. All of these are effective methods and only you can determine which is best for your firm.
In fact, what is effective for one company may not be successful for another. Even a change in times can effect which is the most effective. Revenues from the help wanted category ads plummeted $5.7 billion in 2001 with the online recruiting market continually increasing. And certain methods work best for certain jobs. There are pros and cons with all the methods and key points to remember when using and of them.
Search firms are utilized most often when recruiting attorneys or higher-level management. Search firms have resources that enable them to target the largest field of specialized candidates. This is an advantage but they can be very expensive and it is imperative that you find one that is in tune with the direction and needs of your firm.
When using a search firm a contract should be negotiated that enables you to retrieve at least partial reimbursement if the recommended candidate does not work out.
“I have worked with firms that have paid up to $30,000 to find an employee. Then when the employee didn’t work out and was gone in six months there was no reimbursement to the firm at all.
Use of a temp agency is definitely an easy way to find employees. A phone call and you have someone at the desk. This may sound as if it is also an inexpensive way to find new employees. But consider this. A temp agency charges you $17 an hour for a lower level employee. Let’s assume they are charging $7 an hour more than what you pay. Usually you would try the person for three months. You would pay $3,360 more than you would have if you had hired them directly. Temp firms usually have a fee if you hire the person away from them. Let’s assume that figure is $3,000, you have now paid over $6,000 to get a low level employee.
Employee referral programs (ERP’s) are one of the most cost-effective methods available to find qualified candidates. Existing employees have a vested interest in attracting the best and brightest candidates.
They are rewarded by knowing they have made a significant contribution and by receiving some kind of bonus. It is a win-win
situation for everyone involved.
According to a 1999 survey by the Society of Human Resource Management employee referrals resulted in the most hires for all staffing categories except managers and semi-skilled workers.
However, all of you who use the John Beane Hiring Report know that someone who seems to be an ideal candidate does not always have the level of character tendencies needed to match the demands of the job.
Example: Mary has a good friend who everyone adores. She is conscientious and has a strong work ethic. Mary recommends her friend for a case manager position that has come open in the firm for which she works.
The friend gets the job and everyone immediately likes this outgoing and hard working person who is willing to help anybody at anytime. But soon it is discovered that she does not possess the level of detail orientation that a case manager must have and she fails to succeed in this position. This scenario now becomes a losing situation for everyone involved – Mary, her friend and the firm.
As stated earlier Internet job boards are becoming one of the most popular recruiting methods. When using them, care needs to be taken since they can be viewed from anywhere in the world. A geographical boundary must be set in the ad or you could be inundated with resumes from all over the world.
Classified ads can be a relatively inexpensive way to recruit. As a general rule the more targeted and exclusive the publication, the higher the cost for placement of an ad.
The ad must be designed to catch the reader’s eye and communicate the right kind of information to sell the reader on either applying for the job or seeking further information. If either one of these things is not achieved the ad is worthless.
You must choose the best recruiting method or methods for your firm to attract quality candidates. This is the first step in building a successful firm one
employee at a time.
A Tip From John Beane
We can clone your best workers very easily. Instead of using a test tube here at John Beane/Staff Development Services we use the Simmons hiring survey. All you have to do is identify your top performers and then administer the survey to them. We will then use them as a model when we look at new people who will be performing in that same job. Or, if you hire someone we recommend and they become a top performer let us know so we can look for more people like them. If you like everything about someone, but would like him or her to have more or less of a particular tendency tell us and we can look for that level in the future. The more information we possess about the people you test and how they do in the future the better our results will be.
