Screening thoughtfully to make a successful hire. Part II of ”Finding the right talent to help you grow your company”.

Successful Screening gets you closer to finding the best candidate.

One you have the applications you work this process by reviewing all the resumes and removing the applicants that are absolutely not qualified.  This might remove 25-40% of your application submissions. Next you sort out the top 10-15 candidates and send them  pre- interview questions to give them the opportunity to prove to you that they are the right person for the  job.  You will find that close to 40% will not meet your needs. 

Of the other 50% you may establish that most of them stretched their resumes or were not clear on the job description and opt out of the interviewing process.   As you narrow down the selection process, you may have to go back to the drawing board to your second-tier candidates who have most but not all the skills you were looking for but were not ruled out. 

You might find that two or three of them keep knocking on your door (email, phone etc.).  They are establishing the fact that they want the job and are following though. Nothing replaces the importance of a face to face (zoom call) interview.   You interview them for attitude, skills and job description fit.  You are closing in on the people who want to work for you, and who understand your budget requirements.  You ask for references.

You may want to test their skills.  Do they know how to write a letter, use excel, and other software or hardware you use.  Are they trainable? Do they have strong communication skills, on the phone, in person, on the internet?  What are their motivations.  Can they work with you for more than six months or a year, so you have employment continuity? Do they have a good attitude?

Be reasonable in your hiring requirements. Do you  really need them to have advanced training. A degree?  Many of my best hires did not have degrees from four-year colleges, but they turned into great long-term key managers.  You need to have an open mind.

What does your stomach tell you about the candidate.   Can this candidate succeed?  Are they a good fit?  Listening to your gut is a helpful tool.  Give them a  couple of problems to solve, see how they think.  Have a short-written test to see if they can formulate a letter or an email.  Check their excel skills.  Confirm their computer software skills.  Depending on the job, Cana, Squarespace, CRM software, PowerPoint  etc.   Just having touched the software once or twice will not work for you.  If you are on the fence don’t hire them.

Keeping staff is critical to your business success and your future succession planning.

Constant turnover will kill your company – the cost of constantly training new employees can break you.  The cost of training staff that stays with you, on the other hand, is a great investment in them and your company.

Long-term employees are your institutional memory. Using computers to look things up is great, but having solved problems more than once means that they can do the job over and over again successfully, without needing a supervisor to weigh in. Computers are helpful, but they lack personality and even with AI can’t solve all your day today operational problems.

It’s the personal touch that will separate your company from others and encourage clients and vendors to do business with you.  If possible, clients want to talk to the same person over and repeatedly and build a long-term relationship.

Everyone wants to work for a successful company.   It’s your job to be enthusiastic about your company and sell your  positive working environment and your long-term success.   Most candidates don’t want to keep looking for a job.  They want stability.  If you have had a lot of employee turnover find out why and fix the problem.  If you are the problem, improve your approach to improve the way you manage employees.

It’s your job to build a workplace environment that makes your company a great place to work.  This takes time, desire, money, and planning.  

Caring about staff goes a long way. Great companies have a plan to keep their employees by caring about them.

They focus on:

·         Competitive salaries,

·         Competitive time off and benefits

·         Recognition

·         Safety

·         Shared vision

·         Goal alignment

·         Upward mobility

·         Desire to stay in place and have certainty.

·         Excellent supervisors

You may only have a couple of these items in place right now, but once in place, they will help your company be a great place to work and make it easier to recruit.

Final Thoughts

Every company’s success is built on long-term employees.  Once you hire them it’s critical to keep them happy. Don’t stretch the span of control over ten employees for a team or department head.  Ensure regular one-on-one communication between managers and their employees to track progress. A thoughtful, coordinated company structure avoids confusion and complications by communicating clearly.

Innovation is good, if it is paced so your team has time to learn and adapt while you innovate. Constant innovation can be exhausting and distract from your mission. You need systems to train your employees and key managers, so everyone makes similar decisions and has the same ethical approach to your business.

Not every employee is designed to be a great leader.  You need a balance on your team between leaders and followers. Don’t take either of them for granted.

Summary

Unfortunately, the hiring process is complicated.  Taking time to hire the best folks you can afford will help you meet company goals.

There are many kinds of people in the marketplace.  Don’t just hire people that look or act like you.  Mix it up.  Think positive attitude, innovation, experience, drive, and follow through. Your success hinges upon  hiring the best people with a great attitude to successfully implement your company vision and your dreams.

References:

The Ultimate Guide To Recruiting Agents for Your Team or Brokerage 1 Jul 2021

talentlyft.com

LinkedIn Recruiting: 7 Expert Ways to Find Top Talent - Lever 11 May 2023

lever.co

Sourcing strategy in recruitment - Useful tips! 20 Dec 2022

jobylon.com

This is what really happens when you submit an online job application 30 Jun 2021

theladders.com

Clifford A. Hockley, CPM, CCIM, MBA

Cliff is a Certified Property Manager® (CPM) and a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). Cliff joined Bluestone and Hockley Real Estate Services 1986 and successfully merged that company with Criteria Properties in 2021.

He has extensive experience representing property owners in the sale and purchase of warehouse, office, and retail properties, as well as mobile home parks and residential properties. Cliff’s clients include financial institutions, government agencies, private investors and nonprofit organizations. He is a Senior Advisor for SVN | Bluestone.

Cliff holds an MBA from Willamette University and a BS in Political Science from Claremont McKenna College. He is a frequent contributor to industry newsletters and served as adjunct professor at Portland State University, where he taught real estate-related topics. Cliff is the author of two books, 21 Fables and Successful Real Estate Investing; Invest Wisely Avoid Costly Mistakes and Make Money, books that helps investors navigate the rough shoals of real estate ownership. He is the managing member of a real estate consulting practice, Cliff Hockley Consulting, LLC., designed to help investors and commercial brokerage owners successfully navigate their businesses.  He can be reached at 503-267-1909 , Cliffhockley@gmail.com or Cliff.Hockley@SVN.com.