When you own a small business, finding the right people to hire can be difficult, especially if you don’t have your own human resources department to handle the heavy lifting. And with the ongoing challenges related to the competitive job market, the process can definitely feel overwhelming.
That’s when you need someone like Talley Flora on your side.
Flora is the founder and CEO of Minneapolis-based Red Seat, a recruiting and hiring resource for companies that don’t have a dedicated human resources professional on staff. Since founding the company in 1999, she’s helped countless organizations find their perfect hires through Red Seat’s Retained Search and Fractional Recruiting services.
“The companies we work with generally don’t hire frequently and they don’t have access to the tools that we do,” Flora said. “Plus, they often don’t have the proper framework to handle the application and interview process and may not understand the rules and regulations around hiring. We help get those processes in place so they can make a good hire.”
And Flora’s strategies are working extremely well – last year, Red Seat filled 100 percent of the positions they worked on. However, over the past few years, she’s noticed a new trend.
“Years ago, people would get hired and even if they felt there were issues with the position, they’d stick it out and try to make it work,” she said. “Now, if it’s not a fit, they just quit and move on to the job next door. It’s been jaw dropping, really.”
But that being said, there are still plenty of great candidates out there. It’s just a matter of putting in the legwork on the front end and knowing where to turn when you need help. If you’re thinking about bringing on new team members and you’re hoping to keep them around for the long haul, here are a few of Flora’s suggestions:
- Create a detailed, accurate job description: These days, it’s easy to copy and paste a generic job description into an online form, stick it on a job board and wait for the responses to start rolling in. Unfortunately, that’s probably not going to get you the caliber of candidates you’re looking for. Instead of going that route, Flora recommends getting all the people involved in the hiring process together to flesh out the details of the position, the tasks this person will be responsible for and the type of experience you’d like your ideal candidate to have. This will help make sure everyone is on the same page.
- Do your research: Once you’ve nailed down your job description, it’s time to do a little homework. Let’s say that based on the conversation you had with your team, you’ve all agreed you need to hire an office administrator. Armed with that knowledge, visit a few job boards and check out posts from other companies who are also seeking office administrators. Do the roles and responsibilities they’re listing line up with yours? Or are they completely different? How does your proposed salary match up with theirs? Through your research, you may discover that you’re not looking for an office administrator at all – you might really be looking for a bookkeeper. And those are actually two very different jobs with very different responsibilities and pay grades. “We spend a lot of time defining all the possible job title options and where the compensation falls for each of them,” Flora said. “This way, whatever option we choose aligns with what other companies are doing.” Additionally, when many people do job searches, they’re typing in specific keywords and by mislabeling the position you’re posting for (or giving it a cute name because you think it’ll be more fun), you could be missing out on a potentially great hire.
- Designate a team member to oversee the interview process: Once the job is posted, make sure that you have a point person to review resumes, respond to questions and schedule interviews. This person should understand the importance of getting back to candidates quickly and have a plan for bringing them in to meet with the team at a time when most of them are in the office. “Ideally, you should be getting in touch with people within 24 hours of receiving their resume and bringing them in within a couple of days for an in-person interview,” Flora said. “If you wait too long, either the person will have found another job or their attention span is such that they just don’t show up.”
- Get your ducks in a row: Before bringing candidates in, there are a few things you should have squared away so the interview and hiring process goes smoothly. What types of questions are you allowed to ask – and which ones are off limits? Has an attorney reviewed your employment application and your offer letter? Who will be handling drug screening and background checks? Having the answers to these questions ahead of time can prevent a lot of frustration and ensure you’re not putting yourself at risk from a legal standpoint.
- Make sure the candidate knows exactly what the role entails: There’s nothing more frustrating than hiring someone only to have her quit after a few weeks because she “didn’t understand what the job was all about.” Not only is it a waste of everyone’s time, but it can have negative financial impacts as well. Ideally, a well-written job description will help narrow your applicant pool and give you more time to spend with your chosen candidates, but it’s important to make good use of that time. Bring together as many members of your team as possible to speak with your candidates so you can give them a well-rounded picture of what the work environment is like. If schedules permit, Flora strongly encourages having candidates do some job shadowing, even if it’s only for a few hours. “Sometimes, after doing the shadowing, a candidate realizes the job isn’t for him, and that’s OK because at least you know up front,” she said. “But other times, they get really fired up about the job, which is awesome too. And if they’re someone who has multiple offers, it can make you more competitive and give you a better shot at landing them.”
- Be flexible: If there’s one thing we learned during the pandemic, it’s that people can be extremely productive doing their jobs from home – and they want to work for employers that will provide that type of flexibility. “It’s a lot more difficult to find people who want to be 100 percent in the office again,” Flora said. “The companies we work with that are offering remote work or a hybrid model are the ones that are having the most success in hiring and retaining people.”
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help from an expert: With so many moving parts in the recruiting and hiring process and rules and regulations constantly changing, working with someone like Flora can make all the difference in the world. Whether you’re looking for comprehensive recruiting services, in need of help managing peak hiring periods or are interested in training or consulting for your team, Flora is more than happy to provide guidance and information to business owners who are seeking to expand their teams. “I firmly believe that when you help people, it comes back around,” she said. “You get what you give.”
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