GREAT COMPANIES MUST ATTRACT GREAT PEOPLE

I have told everyone who would listen that the best business book BY FAR that I have ever read is Good to Great by Jim Collins. This book is must-reading for any owner or manager who has aspirations to lead his or her company to greatness.

RULE #1: To be a great company you must have the RIGHT PEOPLE ON THE BUS and in the RIGHT SEAT ON THE BUS, meaning that you not only must hire the right people, but the right people must be in the right job.

RULE #2: If you have a person or people in your company that you have given up on; that is, people who don’t fit or are not achieving acceptable levels of performance…go ahead and terminate them. You’re doing them no favors if you rob them of months or years they could be productive for another organization.

BILL LEE’S 20 BEST HIRING RIGHT TIPS

1. Look on the applicant’s resume or application for clues as to common ground you can find with the candidate and use them to put the applicant at ease ASAP.

2. When setting up appointments -- especially if effective telephone skills influence the job’s success -- call the candidate yourself. Don’t delegate so much of the hiring process that your hiring instincts deteriorate over time.

3. Ask yourself: How would you feel if this particular candidate worked for one of your competitors?

4. If you have interest in pursuing the candidate, make it a point to meet his or her spouse. This is especially critical for members of your management team.

5. It’s extremely revealing to drive by where the candidate lives to see what kind of house he or she lives in and how well the property is maintained.

6. Have the courage to hire Mr. or Ms. Perfect even when you don’t have an opening. Never stop looking for good people. Sales managers, for example, should get to know each vendor salesperson who calls on their firm.

7. Have the courage to terminate an employee who you have given up on even if you don’t yet have a replacement.

8. Learn the steps the applicant has taken in the past five years to become more professional, i.e., training programs attended, books read, etc.

9. Recruit where your competitors don’t -- your health club, country club, church, service club, etc., are examples. Your own employees, customers and vendors are other sources to find good people outside your own personal network.

10. In interviews, listen far more than you talk by asking good probing open-ended interview questions. Prepare your list of interview questions in advance of the interview so you’re not thinking of what you’re going to ask next while a candidate is still answering your last question.

11. Get past awkward periods of silence by saying something like, “I know that’s a tough question, please feel free to take your time in answering.”

12. Learn HOW the candidate performs tasks rather than strictly WHAT the candidate has accomplished.

13. Volunteer to the candidate every negative you can think of that pertains to the job you’re interviewing to fill. Get the negatives on the table so you can deal with them NOW rather than AFTER the candidate is hired.

14. Bobby Knight, the successful basketball coach, says he decides which players to recruit by watching them play basketball. Create several positions for summer interns so you can observe how well they work.

15. The higher level the position you’re interviewing to fill, the more important this interview question is: What specific business goals have you set for the coming year? If the candidate isn’t a goal-setter, the candidate will be operating with a severe handicap.

16. Don’t fall for the professional interviewer trap. There are people who interview well, but are not solid performers, and candidates who interview horribly, but are excellent performers.

17. Concentrate your interview questions on what the candidate has actually done. Place less emphasis on speculation about how the candidate plans to perform in the future.

18. Don’t be afraid to rehire former employees -- there should be far less guesswork as to exactly what talent and chemistry you are hiring.

19. Don’t evaluate resumes -- talk to real live people. This is the only way to find the best people for your organization. Nine of ten resumes are overstate the candidate’s credentials, anyway.

20. Don’t be guilty of wishful thinking and don’t hire the best of the bunch. If the first or second bunch of candidates don’t produce the RIGHT candidate, get yourself a new bunch.

Bill Lee is author of 30 Ways Managers Shoot Themselves in the Foot ($21.95) plus $6 S&H for the first book and $1 for each additional book. See Shopping Cart at http://www.BillLeeOnLine.com

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