Bad hires will make a bad business - it really is as simple as that. Think of your employees as the many parts within a working machine. If these parts are terrible, they ruin the entire machine. It's like a car with a dodgy engine and brakes - it isn't going to be able to drive very well!
The difference is, you don't have any control over the parts in a machine, but you do control who you bring into your business. Keeping that thought in mind, you have to do everything you can to avoid bad hires. By making good hiring decisions, you will save money and improve productivity. So, here are three things you should do when searching for new workers to separate the best from the worst:
Ask For References
Employer references are so crucial in the hiring process. Effectively, they tell you how well a candidate has performed in their previous roles. It is one of the simplest ways of uncovering someone that won't be good for your business. Instantly, if they have a long employment history - but provides no references - that's a red flag. It could mean that they know their previous employers won't give them a good recommendation, and you have to wonder why that's the case. Ideally, the best employees will have plenty of references, all giving them glowing reviews and praise.
Carry Out Background Checks
Checking someone's background may seem like an invasion of privacy, but it's a common tactic in the hiring process. In essence, you are figuring out if someone is who they say they are. Are they being upfront on their application, or have they missed out on important information? The most common example of where this helps is when someone has a criminal record. They leave it off their profile, but a background check finds out that they have a very long history of theft and embezzlement. Two crimes that you don't really want to associate with your business. A simple check clears the air, preventing a disastrous hire.
Run Medical Checks
While many jobs don't require significant physical fitness or stamina, other jobs are essential. Something a lot of business owners forget to do is test the health of a candidate before hiring them. While this is something that you will want to make sure is in compliance with your state and local rules, running pre-employment medical checks is an excellent way of seeing how physically fit and healthy someone is.
It will identify any potential barriers that might make them unfit for the job. Much depends on the type of work they will be doing, but this is still very useful for you and the candidate. You may uncover a potential health problem that could be aggravated by the work. In running this check, you have stopped them from doing something that could make them seriously ill. At the same time, you've also prevented yourself from hiring a person that isn't fit for the job.
Naturally, these things should be included alongside the other, more obvious, elements of a hiring strategy. Interviews and applications are both great ways of filtering out candidates and figuring out who is worthy of your consideration. When you have a shortlist, then you can apply the three tips above to further ensure everyone is up to scratch.
