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Hiring The Right Person Starts With Your Team

Posted by Tory Hotaling | Thu, Oct 18, 2012 @ 10:00 AM

ReferralsFor many businesses finding and hiring the right person to fill a position within your organization can be a real challenge. It can be time consuming and costly if it’s not done correctly. However, having a solid, hard-working team is the first step to success. 

As the Vice President of Consumer Relations for CrossCheck, Inc., I know that having a good team in place is important, yet having a good team requires some ongoing effort.  As a manager in charge of a team of over 30 individuals, here are some of my tips on hiring and building a strong team:

Referrals: In my 22 years in the business I have found the best way to build a team is to encourage your top people to do the work for you... in other words, ask your top people for referrals. There are several reasons why this works. Your current staff members understand what it takes to do the job and the type of work ethic you require. They will have a good idea of the earning potential of the position and what will be expected. They thrive in the culture you have set up and can best communicate that culture to others they know. Put a referral program in place for your employees and reward them for recommendations. You can set up the program to be connected to tenure and production which will provide a vested interest for the employee to help their recruit succeed. They will help train and motivate their recruit along the way. Plus, it’s a great way to say thank you! Chances are, with a referral program in place, your employees will do a lot of your recruiting for you.

Interview and ask the right questions: Make sure you go into the interview prepared and have very specific questions ready to ask. I also like to encourage some casual conversation to try and get to know the person in the 45 minutes or so we are chatting. This is your opportunity to make a decision if this person has the skill set to contribute and be productive. Will this person fit in with the current team? Can they handle the pressure and stress that might come with the job? Will they be that team player you are looking for? Will they be punctual and come to work every day? What kind of work ethic do they have? The interview process is where you will weed out those “just looking” from those who might help your business and be productive. In order to not waste too much time interviewing you need to have specific needs, wants and wishes already in mind while you are reviewing your candidates.

Social Media: The best thing about social media sites including Facebook are that they are Social. They are about conversations and connections so they can be a useful tool for recruiting. Use Social Media to get the message out there that you are searching for team players who have a strong work ethic and who are looking for an opportunity to grow.

Hiring that “right” person is our most challenging task. The wrong person can and will create unnecessary drama within your group and that will waste a lot of people’s time. Finding that diamond in the rough can be difficult, but if you are persistent you will be successful. With these tips you may not find all superstars, but you will find some good, hardworking people who will help you make up a solid and productive team!

Do you have hiring tips to share?  We'd love to hear from you.

 

Written by Tory Hotaling