Work is heating up. Help is definitely needed. There’s a shortage of skilled workers, so, just ignore those red flags and hire that candidate who seemed so affable, right? Most construction business owners have done this, only to find that the red flags were a real sign of a poor fit for the role. Avoid repeating hiring mistakes by tuning in to details.
Fill In The Blanks
Every time there is a role to fill, it pays to tune into all the details that lead to making a great hire, every time. After all, teams made of great hires are the ultimate secret sauce for a thriving business. At Contractor Labor Source, Terry Delaney points out that it is often failed attention to essential details during the pre-screening process, such as blanks left on the application form, or glossing over potential scheduling challenges, that ultimately leads to poor hiring decisions:
Leaving fields blank on an application could point to several things. The candidate might only be marginally interested in the position. They may not have the answers you are looking for (e.g. they have a lack of knowledge about the skillsets necessary for the job). They may have the answer but are unwilling to share it or are trying to hide something. Decide whether to remove them as a candidate based on their entire application and their resume/cover letter.
Contracting jobs are rarely 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Weather, customer requests, job completion deadlines and other factors regularly impact the flow of work. This often requires crews to work at odd hours to complete tasks. Employees with fixed or limited schedules can really throw a wrench into your scheduling.
Good hiring takes a great deal of effort, so Delaney advises contractors to avoid wasting time by carefully assessing the quality of applications during a thorough pre-screening process: “When evaluating applications and resumes it is just as important to cull out candidates as it is to find potential winners. The final step in prescreening is phone interviews and you don’t want to waste time on anyone that isn’t a potential employee.” Remember too: having a completed application in hand is not just a formality. Use an application that requires some thoughtfulness and “elbow grease” to complete:
This does not have to be extensive, but you want to know that your potential candidates are going to put forth some effort to apply to your job. Add some initial screening questions that are important to you when you consider candidates. Ask about relevant experience. Ask about why they are looking for a new position. Ask about why they are interested in your company. You can get a good feel for how a candidate might fit within your organization by asking a few simple questions up front.
Of course there is no such thing as “fool proof” hiring, but it is possible to choose solid hires more often than not, by carefully designing and implementing a well thought out and detailed hiring process–which starts with a thorough job description, distributed widely:
Your hiring process should involve multiple methods for evaluating potential candidates, including applications, interviews, assessments, and reference checks. One interview is not sufficient to find the right team member. The first step to your hiring process is to make a job posting for potential candidates to review. Be clear in your job description. Set clear expectations. State the role, the responsibilities involved, and the outcomes you expect. Once you have a clear job description, post to the appropriate job boards that will get in front of the largest pool of candidates. Your local market will determine the best place to post your jobs. Consider attending job fairs, posting at local establishments, and using online job boards.
Teamwork!
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