ON HIRING DURING THE RECESSION || 3 Tips To Avoid the 'Entrepreneur Trap'
If you are a small business entrepreneur like me, then you have likely fallen into the entrepreneur trap when it comes to making hiring decisions.
You go with your gut - and decide if you ‘like’ the potential new hire within the first few seconds or minutes of meeting them. Why? Because we pay attention to their energy, posture, likability in the room, and make snap judgments based on that because we want to get started! We want to have the person hit the ground running! Entrepreneurs are very much the ‘go, go, go’ type of people.
In some cases, we get lucky, in other cases, which is in most cases, it’s going to hurt you both in terms of time and funds invested in this new hire. Why? Because some people just interview really well; so if you are making your decision based on a few rounds of interviews to test out how well they can answer questions in person, you may be in for an HR nightmare down the road.
You’ll find yourself asking…why didn’t we see these flaws and quirks before?
To avoid jumping onto such obvious train wrecks, there are a few tips I have learned to help you get to know your potential candidate before bringing them on board. It’s still not perfect, because there are still characteristics that surface after a few weeks (if you are lucky) or a few months (if you’re not so lucky they will have passed the probationary period).
TIP 1: SEE HOW THEY PERFORM UNDER PRESSURE
During your in-person interview, you are essentially confirming that the person is who they say they are by running through their resume and expanding on areas of interest. You may also ask other questions like where they want to go with their career or questions regarding their core values to build a foundational understanding of who this person is.
Prolong your hiring process so you have time to test for hard and soft skills
Another important thing is to leave 20 minutes or so for an in-person exercise to see how they perform under pressure. For example, when we interviewed for a social media coordinator, we gave them 10 minutes to write social media copy for 3 posts from a brand of their choice.
if they are actively engaged on a social media platform and are regular users, they shouldn’t have any issues identifying a brand they like, and if they are content creators who can work under pressure, they will feel the pressure but will complete the task within the allotted time.
TIP 2: GIVE THEM A TAKE HOME ASSIGNMENT
So, the in-person interview or online meeting interview went well - now what?
Prepare a take-home assignment and send it to the candidates who make it to the next step in your interview process within 24 hours of the in-person interview. This helps to set the tone for the pace you want them to work at - behavioral expectations always come from the top.
Test for the right skills
Give them anywhere between 24 - 48 hours to complete the assignment and use this opportunity to test for the hard skills. For example, if they are a graphic designer, ask them to pick a brand they like and create a new logo. If they are a content creator, have them create content!
This process helps you figure out whether they have the hard skills to complete a task relevant to the role, how efficient they are with their time, and if they have a strategic mindset that provides room for growth within the company.
TIP 3: TEST OUT THEIR WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TEAM
So they have submitted their take-home assignment to test for their skills on a deeper level and they have submitted it to you on time and you are satisfied with the candidate clearing the second hurdle…now is the final stage of the test that really matters - how well do they work with the team?
Bring this candidate on board as a paid contractor for a project where they have to collaborate with other members of the team, ranging from you at the top, to managers in the middle and other junior/intermediate roles they are likely to be working with every day IF they get the job. If you are hiring a photographer or content creator, have them spend a day with your marketing coordinator to take photos for a client - nothing beats small talk to really learn about a person.
I have integrated this step into the interview process for a few reasons:
The new hire will likely work more closely day-to-day with the team and not The Founder, so what the team thinks of the potential hire is more important. If the new hire appears great to the Founder but is toxic in a team environment, they can’t stay.
You quickly find out quirks such as the ability to understand written instructions (emails, texts, etc.) and verbal discussions/cues. We all say soft skills are important, but we don’t spend enough time testing for them.
You will see whether they can deliver. If they say they will check in with you every 3 days do they actually do it? Can they make tight deadlines (everyone says they can until they are asked to do so)? Can they create engaging social content?
Note the important word here is that they are ‘PAID’ - if you are bringing them on for an actual project where they are expected to contribute, pay them fairly for their time. By doing this, if the work they provide and the value they add to the team makes the project a runaway success, you avoid potential legal issues as well, because fair value was exchanged in return for their contribution to the project (and hopefully you have a clause that your company owns the intellectual property produced by the Paid Contractor - seek legal help if you are unsure!)
We hope these 3 tips will help you avoid the entrepreneurial hiring trap of simply going with your gut. Don’t base your hiring decisions on luck, because your highest cost is likely going to be your people, and making the wrong hire will cost you dearly in the short and long term.
