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The individuals you bring on board are pivotal to your business’s success. As a CEO or business owner, it’s often unfeasible to interact with every client or customer personally. Hence, making the right hiring choices becomes critical. Your recruits should embody values that align with yours and display a work ethic that propels the business onward. Their skill sets should not only harmonize with those of your existing
Why Hiring Is So Important
Drawing from my experience in managing and owning businesses, I can attest to the significant impact that a poor hiring decision can have. Your employees are the face of your business; their actions directly reflect your brand during their work hours. Hence, it is crucial that they attend to your clients or customers with the same level of care and professionalism that you, as a business owner, would provide.
A bad hire can cost a company a significant amount of money. A 2022 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that the average cost of a bad hire was $17,000, but it could be much higher, depending on the role and the company. The cost includes the time and money spent recruiting and onboarding the employee, the lost productivity of the employee and their
Hiring an underqualified employee may necessitate further investment in training. If the individual still doesn’t meet expectations, terminating their employment and initiating a fresh hiring process can be costly. These financial implications are just one side of the story. The ripple effects of such missteps can also dishearten your existing
Finding the Right Talent
Being comfortable in a digital workplace is imperative in most workplaces these days. You need someone who has experience working with technology, and someone who can adapt to changes in technology. Fortunately, there are not too many Luddites left in the workplace, as the Boomer Generation – who spent much of their working lives in the workplace before it was digitized – retires in droves. Generation X and Millennials make up most of the workforce these days, and both generations tend to be familiar with modern hybrid workplace technology.
The people you hire are what makes your business successful. As a CEO or business owner, you’re normally not able to deal with every client or customer, so when it comes to hiring you need to get it right.Click To TweetMost individuals from Generation X have already advanced significantly in their careers, reducing their active
Having witnessed profound technological shifts in the workplace, Gen X is adept at adapting to new technologies. Their work experience spans both pre-digital and digital eras, equipping them with the versatility to operate even in technology-deficient situations. However, it’s important to note that this generation often juggles considerable personal responsibilities, such as caring for their children and aging parents.
Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, now make up the lion’s share of the workforce, accounting for about half of all workers. Their familiarity with the latest technologies enables them to adapt seamlessly to modern workplace systems. To attract and retain this talent, business leaders must reshape their organizations. This transformation also caters to the incoming Generation Z, a demographic that has never experienced a world or workplace devoid of the internet and technology.
Companies should focus on the following techniques:
- Technology: Development is not exclusively for coders anymore. Empowering employees to create their own business applications, via platforms like Office 365 and PowerApps, can streamline business processes.
- Customer Service: Companies should explore and integrate alternate or virtual reality technologies for workers who interact directly with the public, thereby enhancing the value offered to customers or clients.
- Device Management: As more employees employ smartphones and tablets for work, these devices should be managed in a manner similar to company laptops and desktops to boost efficiency.
- Digitize: Investigate emerging technologies that can make your workplace unique, utilizing AI, machine learning, virtual assistants, and more to streamline processes and preempt problems.
Sophie Pallott – a digital marketing manager – says this about hiring:
“Throughout my career, I’ve observed that employees who resonate with their company’s ethos and align well with its culture tend to enjoy enhanced job satisfaction and contribute more significantly to the organization. Even the most qualified candidate may not yield the expected outcomes if they don’t connect with your company’s needs and values. Such disconnect can potentially affect their performance and overall morale.”
While it’s not advisable to merely hire carbon copies of existing personnel, she emphasizes the importance of finding individuals who seamlessly integrate into a company’s existing culture.
Effective On-Boarding
Securing the right individuals for critical roles requires effective onboarding to facilitate their smooth integration into the company. This process involves verifying the authenticity of the new hires, which traditionally entails considerable paperwork. However, this is an area ripe for digitization, an advancement likely to be embraced by newcomers.
The conventional process, at least in the US, involves filling out several forms such as I-9, W-2, and more. This paperwork can now be significantly reduced, thanks to online forms that can expedite the process, freeing up time for substantive training. Moreover, as the data provided by new employees often contains sensitive information, prioritizing its security is essential.
A range of systems are available to streamline the process and secure employee data. The US ESIGN Act of 2000 legalized most electronic signatures, including those on employee contracts and the majority of government forms. Pioneers like Wolters Kluwer, established in the mid-1990s, spearheaded the movement for the legal acceptance of electronic signatures. The company offers eSign and eVaulting cloud services, facilitating the signing of official documents by new hires and safeguarding employee data.
Promoting a Growth Mindset
Arguably, fostering the right mindset is crucial for new hires. Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck introduced a theory on employee mindsets. One perspective views basic attributes like talent and intelligence as “fixed,” suggesting that employees’ contributions are restricted to these inherent qualities.
In contrast, a “growth” mindset emphasizes continual improvement rather than predetermined limitations. It values hard work, dedication, and personal development. By adopting this growth mindset during the onboarding process, new hires can become more motivated, resilient, and productive, embodying the traits desirable in all employees.
A Revolutionary Approach to Recruiting and Selecting People with Both Tremendous Skills and Superb Attitude
