Hiring is something that the green industry really struggles with. I’ve never quite figured out why this is such an issue, but I have an idea that it comes from faulty preparation and a lack of knowledge. What I mean by this is that it isn’t exactly clear where the best green industry employees are searching for jobs or how to make your position stand out.
1. Identify a Need
In order to hire someone new, you must be experiencing a lack. Whether or not it's a lack of bodies is a question that should be answered before you hire. It's important to identify exactly what you are missing and who, if anyone, can fill that void. Take the proper steps to completely understand your needs before taking on a new employee. This means going through the details of exactly why you need a new person on your team and who that person is. Two areas that need to be completely clear are
Core Values
This is the base of which every decision in the business is made, so if you don't have clear core values, you're already headed down a slippery slope.
Specific Position
Hiring someone before actually knowing what their responsibilities are is the biggest waste of your time as a business owner. Create a job description based upon what is lacking in the office and what skills will most likely be used in the position. Take time doing this. Speeding through these steps will just cause disorganization and likely a bad hire.
2. Solicit Applications
I have said and I’ll say again that hiring friends or family does create certain issues. With that being said, there are those instances where hiring people close to you does pay off. Just be thorough and fair with each and every application that you go through. Whether it be from your brother or a stranger, treat every application the same.
Now, asking or soliciting applications is definitely something I recommend. I would ask current employees, peers or fellow green industry business owners. When you hire this way, you are sort of skipping a step in theory. If you have someone you trust vouch for someone, it comes with an already established line of trust.
3. Interviews
In my opinion, interviews should almost always be different for each position you are hiring for. On the other hand, if you are hiring two account representatives, make your interview identical so that you can compare the two. Interviewing should be played out in threes.
1. Initial Interview:
2. In-person Interview:
3. Final Interview:
4. Assess Personality
This part really should be fun. Basically, you just want to get to know the person in order to figure out if they’ll be a good fit in your work culture. Before you even meet the person, social media and the internet make it pretty easy to get to know who they are. If they didn’t apply through LinkedIn, check their profile and make sure it lines up with their resume. Check to see if you have any connections to them through peers or professional contacts.
5. Make a Decision
Finally! The fun part! Well, maybe fun is the wrong word. The decision phase of hiring isn’t easy, but if you’ve done all the steps up until this point, you will be able to make the right decision with confidence. This decision should be discussed with the management team and you should not be an island in this. Talk about the person with your team and don’t keep them in the dark. On top of discussing it in-house, we at HindSite like to ask ourselves a few questions right before making the final decision. These questions are as such:
Do they meet the basic qualifications?
What did you learn from their references?
Do they have career goals that fit with the position?
Were they punctual in all interviews?
Will they fit in with the work culture?
For a full guide to hiring in the green industry, download our latest ebook How to Hire the Best Employees for your Green Industry Business!
