Archive for Employers
3 Steps to Writing a Good Job Description
One big mistake many hiring managers make, and number 12 on our list of Hiring Mistakes, is to not really know what they want (hard and soft skills). To help you from falling victim to this potentially expensive mistake, we have put together the following strategy for you to follow the next time you need to hire a new employee.
»» 3 Steps to Writing a Good Job Description
Not Paying a Competitive Wage (Too High or Too Low)
It is tricky business to set a proper starting salary for a position. Pay too much and you will hurt the company. Pay too little and you risk losing key employees to better paying firms. When setting a wage, it is important to look at the following four factors:
1. Prevailing wages in your market: This is by far the most important criteria in setting a wage. In 1970 an accounting clerk made around $6.00/hour. In 1990 the same clerk probably made around $9.00/hour. The 1990 clerk wasn’t necessarily 50% better, but inflation and economic conditions had caused the wage to be 50% higher.
»» Not Paying a Competitive Wage (Too High or Too Low)
Mislabeling “Sub-Contractors” Who Are Actually Employees
»» Mislabeling “Sub-Contractors” Who Are Actually Employees
Hiring Too Many Relatives of Employees
Recently Harry Wilson, a seasoned executive, was helping a company with a major expansion. Things were going along well until the company owner reconciled with his estranged son, Sam, and decided to bring the son into the business. The father had much remorse over the estrangement and to make things up to Sam, he was promoted to a top level position.
»» Hiring Too Many Relatives of Employees
3 Keys to Hiring Relatives
At some point in your career you will run into the question of whether you should hire a relative or not. We know it is tempting to hire relatives for key positions, but this can be a tricky situation. On the one hand they are family and you trust them. You feel that your family has your best interest in mind and a vested interest in your company. But on the other hand most experts warn that combining work and family relationships almost always causes the personal relationship to suffer.
17 Common Hiring Mistakes: Part 7
Keeping Staff That Do Not Excel During Their Probationary Period
Often, we hold back some salary during the probationary phase with a promise of an automatic raise after the probationary period is over. From long experience with employees, I can unequivocally say that if you are not totally delighted to give the employee the raise, you need to terminate them. There is no gray area here. Either they performed admirably or they didn’t. If they didn’t perform well during the first 90 days, THEY WILL NEVER GET ANY BETTER.
»» 17 Common Hiring Mistakes: Part 7
17 Common Hiring Mistakes: Part 5
Not Testing for Skills, IQ or Personality
There are a number of good tests on the market to evaluate your hires. Tests are one tool that allow you to probe deeper into the candidate’s personality and skills and really know what you are “buying” when you hire.
»» 17 Common Hiring Mistakes: Part 5
17 Common Hiring Mistakes: Part 4
4. Not Conducting enough interviews
A few years back I was looking to hire someone to create a new division for our company. The person needed a rather eclectic background that was hard to find. I interviewed a candidate and it became clear after two interviews that she was not the person for the job. I went back to the drawing board and found another candidate that looked great on paper. He had the skills experience I needed.
»» 17 Common Hiring Mistakes: Part 4
17 Common Hiring Mistakes: Part 3
3. Not Checking The Candidate’s Background For Criminal Activity
Companies have varing policies on hiring an employee with a criminal background. But no one likes to be surprised in this area. Besides revealing past criminal activity, DUI’s and other alcohol related offenses can expose potential alcoholism.
»» 17 Common Hiring Mistakes: Part 3
17 Common Hiring Mistakes: Part 2
2. Not drug screening
I once hired a personable young man as a CAD designer. One day our customer asked to have him relocate to their site, once he passed a drug test. That’s when we learned that he was secretly a heroin addict! To say we were shocked is an understatement!! This young man had keys to our building for months.
»» 17 Common Hiring Mistakes: Part 2