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HIRE GOOD PEOPLE
Nobody intentionally hires a bad employee. But what defines a “good employee” for you and your business? Is it someone who just does their job and doesn’t cause problems? Or is it an employee that is a good team player, gives more than is asked for and does not need constant supervision? If your answer to any of this second set of questions is “yes,” then it may be worthwhile to invest a bit more time and effort into the hiring process. You can uncover details about some of these traits by asking potential employees about hypothetical scenarios which involve decision making, teamwork and ambition.
Questions such as:
1. (For a truck driver candidate) If our company needed you to fill in for one of the feed mixers, how would you feel about doing this? What questions would you ask to understand their job?
2. (For an inside salesperson) If a customer asked you to honor a sale price for an item, which had gone off sale one-and-a-half weeks ago, and I (as manager) was not in the office, what would you do?
3. (For a millworker) Let’s say you discover a situation where you feel the firm could save some money — how would you handle it? What if the change you propose changed the nature of your job or that of your fellow workers?
Questions such as these might elicit a thoughtful response about how the prospective employee would talk to their supervisor, or their adaptability to change.
We would also suggest taking a hard look at the experiences a potential employee has had, and asking them about how they demonstrated some of these traits in their job.
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