Hiring good employees has been and will continue to be an integral factor behind successful businesses.
You must have done the difficult part of starting up a business.
No doubt, you are proud of your achievement, and rightly so.
Many desire and dream of owning a business, but just a few realize this dream.
However, there is another essential thing to consider.
This is; how to hire good employees for your business or establishment.
You see, employees are to businesses what tires are to a moving vehicle.
Just as the tires help the vehicle move and propel it to its destination, employees also help drive a business forward.
However, a driver would tell you that tires are as necessary as the fuel in the vehicle’s tank.
If you were to buy bad tires, there is only an extent to which it can get you before it gets damaged and stops you.
On the other hand, a vehicle standing on four good tires will withstand even the most difficult circumstances and still stay solid.
The analogy is simple.
You can pump money and other resources into your business just as fuel is pumped into a car.
However, without the right tires or employees to get you to your destination, your fuel or resources in vain.
Little wonder then that the subject of hiring good employees is an exciting one and one every business owner should seriously give attention to.
Before we proceed to dissect the nitty-gritty of hiring good employees, let us have background knowledge on who employees are.
How to Hire Good Employees – Who are Employees?
Employees are individuals, or sometimes groups of persons, hired or recruited by another individual or a business entity to fill in a position or job role in the organization.
Usually, what determines if someone is an employee is the wages or salaries such a person receives.
Often, the process used to get there is a recruitment exercise.
Recruitment in this sense is the process where an employer or the business owner seeks to find qualified personnel for a vacant position.
This would result in several applicants filling for this role.
The employer then or recruitment team will review all applications and assess the applicants.
After careful screening and assessment, the person deemed to be most qualified is then hired for the job.
This is usually accompanied by a signed contract to finalize working conditions and arrangements.
At this point, the recruit is called an employee of the organization.
Depending on the scope of work and organization, the employee might either be expected to work full-time or part-time.
The bottom line is that the recruit is hired to perform a specified task that will attract certain compensations or remunerations.
Benefits of Hiring Good Employees for your Business
When it comes to staff recruitment, you as a business owner cannot settle for anyone or take the process lightly.
The type of employees you have will significantly determine how your business will fare in the long run.
Hence, we cannot stress the importance of having good employees.
Here are just a few of the many benefits of hiring good employees:
Greater Work Efficiency
When you have good employees working for you, one of the areas that you will get notable improvements is work efficiency.
Good employees generally have a good work ethic and are always committed to work.
Therefore, you can be sure that they would not slack but will be at the top of their game.
Increased Productivity
With excellent efficiency comes increased productivity.
Productivity in the workplace is a measure of how efficiently your employees’ input yields excellent output.
If you have poor employees, you might find that a lot is invested in them and their work, but no notable results.
The opposite is the case with good employees.
Their efforts are not wasted but directed accurately and come with excellent results.
Reduced Expenditure on Employee Turnover
Due to poor decisions in recruitment, many businesses spend a large percentage of the profits they make to replace employees.
This is because they usually find out that those they hired are not a good fit for their organization.
Fortunately, you can avoid these unnecessary expenses eating deep into your purse if you focus on hiring good employees.
Good Interpersonal Relationship
Conflicts and rifts in the office environment can be a source of a big headache for a business owner.
The cause of this can be traced to personality flaws in some of the employees.
However, if you hire good employees, you reduce constant disagreements and conflict in the office place.
Good employees contribute positively to a good work culture because they are at peace with one another.
Less headache and more positivity for you as the employer, don’t you agree?
Increased Customer Retention
Your employees are the ones tasked with the responsibility of handling customer complaints and providing almost all the needed services to the customers.
Given this, wouldn’t you want the team handling the most important people in your business (customers) to be the best?
Customers are easily attracted to good customer service, and only good employees can provide this.
No wonder we find many people sometimes admit that they keep patronizing a business because of how they are treated.
In a nutshell, if you want to retain customers and not lose them constantly, it’s essential to hire good employees.
Increased Sales and Profit
In the last point, emphasis was on how good employees can help your business better retain customers.
Well, when you can cut out the loss of customers and have good customer retention, it is only natural that your sales too would proportionately increase.
That is a result of consistent patronage for your business.
In a similar vein, good employees are more devoted to work than bad employees.
Overall, they offer you a better chance at making more profit.
More Referrals and Business Growth
One thing with good employees is that aside from the fact that they treat customers well and refer others to your business, they are also proud ambassadors of your brand.
Even when they are not paid for bringing in new customers in commission, they do this willingly and joyfully.
The reason is obvious; they love their job, and they are ambitious.
Hence, that drive for success spurs them on, and it affects your business too positively.
Less Stress for Managers and Supervisors
Employing poor employees can put a heavy load of responsibility on the management.
This is because those in management positions would need to invest so much time and energy in training those employees to become better employees.
Not only that, poor employees often neglect their duties or make a lot of mistakes.
This might be either because they are not good, skilled enough, or do not focus on work.
Whichever the case, you would agree that having good employees to trust certain responsibilities would greatly relieve you of stress and pressure.
How to Hire Good Employees – Qualities of Good Employees
There are few mistakes you’ll make as a business owner while running a business and get away with it.
Employing bad employees is not one of them.
You should be actively involved in selecting employees for your organization to make sure you employ the good ones.
Therefore, who are good employees, or how do you identify one?
A good employee is a staff of your company that fits in and aligns with the organization’s goals, mission, and vision.
They possess the right qualities and attributes that are essential to achieving success.
Such an employee is not a bad example or influence for the colleagues, but rather a role model for the other employees.
What qualities are present in good employees?
If you know how to hire good employees, you should also know how to identify them when you see them.
However, certain qualities characterize good employees and should serve as a clear signal that you are getting the best fit for your firm.
There are many of them.
Nonetheless, we will focus on the most important ones that every good employee should have.
Professionalism
One of the essential qualities of good employees is top-level professionalism.
A person can display professionalism in how and how they execute their duties and how they treat others.
A professional employee would be calm at all times and also treat others with dignity.
Such employees are not unnecessarily loud or lousy, and they are also not rude to both co-workers and customers.
Hard Worker / Strong Work Ethic
Good employees are equally not lazy or try to avoid work and run away from their responsibilities.
Instead, they are known for their hard work and dedication to their duties and roles in the company.
Without a doubt, these are the kind of employees you would love to have in your organization.
A Good Communicator
Another quality of good employees is that they have excellent communication skills.
This is important because most times, these employees represent your brand in interacting with your customers, both active and prospective ones.
Therefore, you will want them to have good written and oral communication skills to be a valuable asset to the organization.
Ambitious
Good employees are not satisfied with mediocrity or less but always want to get the best life has to offer.
When you have such ambitious employees, it drives them for personal growth and makes them passionate about the work.
When faced with challenges, they do not run away but face them squarely because their ambition drives them.
Honesty/Integrity
Honesty is an essential quality to look for when recruiting employees to ensure you get the good ones.
You definitely would not want to have employees that are not truthful because it can jeopardize your relationship with customers.
Additionally, dishonest employees can also cause harm to the company by involving themselves in criminal activities.
Leadership Skills
No doubt, you want to adopt employee engagement and development in your organization.
You cannot do this effectively if your employees are only comfortable being told what to do and not having leadership traits.
The goal of every business owner is to have leaders at various levels of the organization.
Hence, when recruiting, you should also look out for those who have good leadership skills.
Willingness to Help Others
Good employees do not have a “me first, or me alone” attitude.
They do not think they are better than their colleagues or even their superiors and act as an island of knowledge.
On the other hand, they are always willing to help others.
Should they have skills and talents that others lack, they do not keep them to themselves.
Instead, they go out of their way to share this with others.
This is because they understand that real growth isn’t just about an individual but a collaboration.
Eagerness to Learn
A good employee is also not satisfied with what they know, be it in their field or other fields.
They are always very curious, asking questions, and willing to learn and relearn.
That means good employees are always ready to move to another department where they are needed and fit in seamlessly.
Fast Learners
Not only are good employees open to learning, but they should also be able to learn at a high-speed rate.
There could be adjustments in the business model and system many times, and you’ll need your employees to get up to speed in no time.
Also, you might have new products, services, or features, and you having employees who are slow learners will not help.
How about occasions when you might need to move employees from a department to another?
All these are achievable only if you have fast learners as employees.
Have Good Interpersonal Relationship
As much as your employees’ skills, talents, and abilities are essential, their personality is also important.
You don’t want to hire employees that threaten the peace and mental health of your other employees.
Those kinds of employees are wrong.
Good employees, on the other hand, have outstanding personalities.
They are approachable, nice, calm, and friendly.
Their colleagues love to work with them.
This is because they bring an atmosphere of peace and tranquility to the office environment.
Other Qualities to Look out for
As noted earlier, one can look out for so many qualities in your recruitment process to ensure you hire good employees.
The ten (10) mentioned above are just a few of the most important ones.
Other qualities that characterize a good employee are:
- Good employees are intelligent.
- They are dependable.
- Good Employees work on improving themselves and their skills constantly.
- They are also very innovative.
- Additionally, they do not melt under pressure but how to handle it well.
- They are always willing to volunteer.
- Personal accountability is also another excellent trait of good employees
- They are great thinkers, thinking outside the box.
- Also, they pay close attention to details.
- They welcome feedback and constructive criticism.
There you go, an extra ten desirable qualities to look out for when hiring, to get good employees.
Now, let’s get down to business.
How to Hire Good Employees – Where and How to find them
When it comes to recruiting employees, you cannot be short of options.
When a job vacancy announcement is made, you can be sure that many people will submit applications for this.
However, your interest is in separating the wheat from the weeds.
You cannot just hire any candidate that comes your way.
You must be deliberate with the selection process and ensure you get the good ones to employ.
So, how can you find the candidates who are the best fit for your organization and turn out to be good employees?
Well, we know some places/ways you can find them:
Ask for Referrals
When hiring good employees, one thing that has always worked and never fails is asking for referrals.
The good thing about getting employees through referrals is that you can vouch for their experience and qualifications to suit the role.
You can ask for referrals from other people who run businesses you know who might know one or two great individuals you can work with.
Additionally, one thing about good people is that they usually interact with like minds.
Therefore, when recruiting for a particular position, why not try getting suggestions from the good employees you already have on board.
They can recommend other individuals with similar qualifications and personality traits as them.
Before you know it, you have a work environment filled with like-minded employees who are the best.
Speak to Universities or other Higher Institutions of Learning
Your interest is in getting the best employees to work with you, isn’t it?
Where best then to catch these than from their institutions of learning.
Some companies enter a partnership program with universities and other higher institutions to get the best talents after they graduate.
This has helped such companies to recruit intelligent individuals that align with their goals and objectives.
You can also do the same.
Remember that there are many businesses out there interested in the best of the best.
Chances are these fresh graduates would be in high demand as soon as they are out of school.
It would serve you best to be right there and get them quickly before someone else does.
Look Within your Organization
Imagine a situation whereby you need to recruit a new manager or team leader for your company.
You might first consider the idea of getting words out there on the vacant position and welcoming applications.
However, have you also given thought to the idea of looking internally for such positions?
There are lots of benefits that come with this.
For one thing, you already know the staff that works with you and understand their strengths/weaknesses.
More importantly, you also know their personalities and can ascertain if they are good employees.
This is safer and wiser than spending time and money recruiting someone entirely new, hoping they’ll be a good fit.
If your organization pays close attention to employee development and engagement, hiring internally shouldn’t be a problem.
Try Networking
Networking is another strategy you can deploy in finding suitable employees for your business.
When you network more, you meet many fellow entrepreneurs and even professionals in your industry.
From there, you can get one or two recommendations on who to hire for that particular role that has been troubling you.
Who knows? You might even find the employees you so desire in your network.
Check on Social Media
Some outstanding employees to hire can be found on social media platforms.
A lot of recruiters have equally used this to great success.
You can put your job vacancy announcement on several social media platforms and invite applications.
Not only that, there are other platforms like LinkedIn that are designed more for professionals.
People post their job portfolios and exhibit their skills and knowledge on such platforms.
That is also a great place to search and find your next great employee.
Use other Job Posting Sites
Another place where job applicants or candidates go for the best opportunities is job posting sites.
You can also utilize this.
Examples of those websites are LinkedIn, Indeed, Grab Job, Jobberman e.t.c.
The good employees are lurking around there looking for the best opportunities to showcase their skills and grow.
Make sure you are also there to pick them up.
Re-Visit Past Applications/Applicants
Every organization must keep an updated database of candidates who apply for a vacant position with them.
Sometimes, you might not be able to give them an offer at the point in time, but they will come in handy later.
From the pool of resumes you have inside your HR shelf, the good employee you are looking to hire might just be lying there.
As an added advantage, many of these past applicants might have even done their findings of your organization the first time.
So, they are more familiar with the scope of work and sometimes even the work culture.
It is easier to get these integrated and orientated than it is with fresh applicants.
Attend Seminars and Workshops
Attending seminars, workshops, and meetups within your industry is also another effective way to find good employees to hire.
During such events, you can quickly meet professionals in different fields who are knowledgeable, talented, and motivated in their chosen career path.
From there, it is easy to find suitable candidates to work for you and hire good employees.
How to Hire Good Employees – 10 Key Steps to Follow
It’s safe to say that at this point, you have come to see the importance of hiring good employees in your organization.
Additionally, you’ve also identified what qualifies one as a good employee and where to find them.
The following line of action is carrying out the hiring process itself.
So, what steps do you take to hire good employees?
Identify the Job Description and Scope of Work
The first thing you need to do is identify what roles and responsibilities you need the new employee to fill in the first place.
This step is crucial and is the first step for excellent reasons.
Only when you have the specific duties you need an employee can you identify the right fit.
If you are to get good employees, you cannot and should not skip this step.
Create a Checklist of What to Look out for in Your New Employees
The next step would be to define what qualities, qualifications, and talents you are seeking in the next employee you hire.
This step is also essential because it helps to guide and direct the recruitment process.
It also makes your selection process an easy and unbiased one.
This is because you also have your requirements clearly in mind and written down.
If you need help with what qualities to look for in good employees, refer to the subheading addressing that above, where we discussed 20 qualities of a good employee.
Create a Vacancy Announcement
Once you’ve decided what you are looking for in your next employee, you can now create an announcement for the vacant position.
The form you use to create this announcement largely depends on the strategy you’ve decided to run the recruitment exercise.
If you are planning to put it on social media (which you should), it is best to have your graphics team design for that.
You can also write content around this to be shared on the platforms you’ve chosen for this purpose.
Post/Share the Vacancy Announcement on Relevant Platforms
This is where you utilize the different ways/platforms where you can find good employees to hire.
You can share this with your inner circle so that you can get referrals from your present employees.
Also, it can be shared on the appropriate social media platforms, as noted earlier.
If your strategy also involves media platforms, you would also want to put it out there.
This is the process where you get the word out there that you are hiring for the particular role.
While doing this, though, you must include a clear job description and the requirements for the job on it.
Create a System to Collect Applications
It is not just enough to post a vacancy announcement.
You must ensure that you create a system to collect all the applications from interested candidates in one pool.
This could be in the form of including a link in the job vacancy announcement that takes them to your website to apply.
It might also be sending their applications and resume to your email address, which is clearly stated.
Some companies also use forms to register the interest of candidates in their job posts.
You can decide which one works for you.
The bottom line remains to ensure you don’t lose valuable employees to an inadequate system or lack of it.
Review Applications and Resume
Of course, you must set a timeframe for receiving applications.
Once the window closes, it’s time to review the ones you’ve gotten.
Take your time to do this, as this is where you sift the potentially good employees from the poor ones.
Remember, you already have a checklist for what qualifications and skills you are looking for.
Therefore, this process shouldn’t be that difficult.
Simply run each application and resume against what you have on the checklist.
Afterward, decide which candidates are most suited for the role advertised.
This process will help you prune down applications to the barest minimum and increase your chances of getting the good employees you desire.
Schedule Assessments and Interviews
Some organizations might decide to set assessments for the job applicants, targeted at testing knowledge and intelligence or problem-solving skills.
Others might want to move straight to a face-to-face interview session after receiving applications and CVs.
Whichever one you want to do is a decision you and your HR team will have to make.
However, the interview stage is a significant one and shouldn’t be traded for anything else.
This is where you get to know whether or not the person is the right fit and will make a good employee.
Ensure you have a plethora of relevant interview questions to achieve this.
Here are some interview questions that many top businesses have used to hire good employees, to give you an idea of what questions you should ask.
Note that interview questions are many, but these are the ones that can help you ascertain a good employee.
- Why do you feel you are the best fit for this position?
- What is your most outstanding professional achievement?
- Tell us about a time you demonstrated leadership skills in your last job?
- Why did you leave your last place of employment?
- What is your take on teamwork? Would you say you work better alone or in a team?
- What would you say is the most critical quality of a good employee?
- Tell us what you are passionate about?
- How do you prefer to be managed as an employee?
- What do you do when a management decision doesn’t go down well with you?
- Tell us what your strengths and weaknesses are?
These questions can give you great insight into your job applicants’ type of job and guide you in hiring good employees.
Request the Input of Former Employers and References
Sometimes, it is easy to overlook this part during recruitment.
However, it is essential, especially if you want to hire the best employees.
Ask for feedback from the former organization(s) your prospective employee has worked for.
They have worked with them and therefore understand their personality and abilities better.
You can also use the references provided on the applicant’s resume to get much-needed information about who you are dealing with.
Cover this stage before making your final decision.
Discuss Salary Expectations
This is usually a part of the interview process where you ask the applicant for their salary expectations.
Note that before this time, you already decided on the salary offer for this role based on the structure of your organization.
Be sure you are on the same page with your new staff on this, and let them be clear on what you are offering to pay for the job.
Of course, it won’t be out of place to bend a little for exceptional candidates with a proven history of getting the job done.
After all, the interest is in hiring good employees.
Present an Offer and Make it Official
After scrutiny, have you concluded that the candidate is a right fit for the job and will make a good employee?
If yes, then it is time to make them an offer officially.
You will need to provide an employment letter for the new employee, which is most time probationary.
Giving a probation period protects you and the business in that you have ample time to assess them properly.
If they do not meet expectations, it would not be too late to let them go.
However, it shouldn’t come to that if you carefully followed these recommendations on hiring good employees.
Our Final Thoughts on How to Hire Good Employees
Without mincing words, but rather with clarity and conviction, we state it boldly that you can never go wrong doing all you can to ensure that you hire good employees.
Going by the analogy, we used at the onset, employees are like the wheels that drive your business to the expected destination.
It could be that you have invested so much in infrastructure, systems, and other resources, but success eludes you.
Why not focus on the most important assets you have, which are your employees.
Make recruiting good employees an integral part of your structure today, as it should be, and watch it do wonders for your business.
