Fiorenze on HR management

Consider a continuous process. Most businesses begin to think about hiring when they are under the gun. An employee leaves, sales are tanking, or some other crisis prompts a frazzled executive to conclude “we need someone immediately.” While some hiring will always be targeted to fill an immediate and unforeseen opening, the best hiring is part of a well-conceived plan, where your business needs are anticipated and available talent is actively recruited to meet a longer term goal, and not a quick fix for an organizational problem.

Toward that end, create a hiring team to evaluate personnel needs (now and in the future) and to create a database of potential hires. Continuously evaluate and enhance your work environment and benefits to assist you in attracting the right talent over the long haul, as opposed to creating a hodgepodge of benefits thought up on the spot to entice a single sought-after applicant.

Start with the basics. When you are hiring for a specific position, start by defining the operational objectives to be fulfilled through the position. The particular job duties should reflect these objectives and the intangible attributes you seek should enhance the job duties.

Is your third shift “lead person” really a surrogate supervisor? If so, leadership and conflict resolution skills are likely just as important as knowledge of your KBA sheetfed press. There is no substitute for effective interviewing. There are many interviewing techniques—and they can all work. The key is finding the techniques that suit you and other interviewing managers.

Know what you’re asking in an interview and why. The job interview should not be a random or haphazard event. It is part of the formal process of employee selection, which not only impacts your business operationally, but has potentially serious legal implications, as well. Your goal is twofold.