Finding the Best Employees
One of the biggest challenges for small businesses with fifty employees or less is finding good employees. Doing so is both challenging and crucial to making and keeping your company viable.
One of the keys to finding employees is to have a very clear idea of what you are looking for and to be realistic about the quality of employees your small business can attract. Be careful about setting a deadline, especially one that is too aggressive or impractical. While being understaffed is an issue, poor and/or unsuccessful hires will not only add additional stress but can also be expensive mistakes.
Once you know what you need and want, the next task is finding the appropriate candidates. The first thing that often comes to mind is placing an ad, posting the opportunity online, or contacting an employment agency. In my fifty years of small business ownership, those methods have been the least productive in getting good employees. What is the alternative? Offer a cash incentive to existing employees for introducing friends, family, and associates as potential employees. Not only are they recommended by someone you know, but they also already have certain insights into your company.
Another effective method for finding good employees is to always keep your eyes open. Many years ago, my wife Judith met a nice young man working in the vegetable department at Safeway. She was impressed and told me she thought he would make a good salesperson. At the time, I worked for Lanier, and they offered a cash incentive for finding new hires. I went to Safeway, found Rodney, agreed with my wife, and he got the job. We got the incentive, and it goes way beyond that.
When I bought US Audio, I immediately hired him. He continued his success as a salesperson and eventually moved on to become the President of a furniture company in San Jose, California. This was just the beginning of finding many new employees by keeping my eyes and mind open. Sure, not every hire was a success; however, dozens went on to work with me for over ten years. Many others outgrew our small company and went on to bigger and better things, including business ownership.
I’ll share more on getting new employees and keeping them happy and engaged in my next blog!
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