Last week we spoke with Jeff Lem of qdata for his tips on employee hiring. Today, I’m excited to speak with one of Profit Magazine’s Hot 50 CEOs, Virginia Poly, who started Poly Placements in 2006 and has since grown her company to twenty employees, while maintaining her unique culture. Poly Placements Inc. is an innovative IT, Sales, and Finance Staffing company based out of Toronto. Poly was recently recognized by Profit Magazine as one of Canada’s top emerging growth companies, ranking #6 on its PROFIT HOT50 list . Virginia Poly was also named as one of Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs in PROFIT Magazine’s 11th annual W100.
Virginia is not only an entrepreneur, she also specializes in helping organizations hire future top performers, so I’m very interested in her perspective.
1) What’s the best advice you’ve ever received regarding employee selection? Why was it the best?
- Pick people who are motivated to do the job and fit your corporate culture.
- Of course, skills and experience are very important, but a candidate that’s not motivated to do the job is a bust. It’s the best advice because the most common mistake we all make is focusing too much on the technical skills of a potential hire and too little on motivation and cultural fit. If you can get this part of the equation right you will eliminate almost all of your hiring mistakes!
2) What are the most effective interview questions you’ve ever used … and what was the outcome from using them?
- By far the most effective interview question is: What accomplishment in your career are you most proud of? I spend over half of my interview on just this one question. The response to this question (coupled with a number of follow-up questions) will provide you with the best insight into a candidate’s technical skills, motivation level, leadership abilities, values and so much more.
- Consider asking follow-up questions such as: What was your actual involvement? Did you volunteer for this project or were you assigned to do this work? What was your title? What were some of the biggest challenges you faced and how did you resolve them? Who was the toughest person to influence? What were the results? What type of recognition did you receive? What did you learn from this event? Looking back, what would you do differently? Draw me an organization chart of the key team members you worked with throughout this project. Who was your biggest supporter?
- Tip: this is an interview question described in great detail by Lou Alder in his book : Hire with your Head. Every manager responsible for hiring should read it!
3) When it comes to small business hiring, what is the best time/money-saving hiring tip you know? Can you quantify your savings?
- Keep a running list of the 5 most talented people you know and commit to keeping in touch with them at least once a month.
- When it comes time for you to bring on a new person, you will already have a great flow of “A” players and you won’t be left scrambling to “fill a spot”. At our firm, it’s everyone’s job to keep a “great candidate list”. We talk about this list frequently – it’s part of our process. Although I’ve never tried to quantify our savings using this approach, I can say with confidence that it has resulted in some great hires!
4) What’s your best hiring advice for avoiding a mistake with job fit in the hiring process? Why?
- Make sure you take the time to define exactly what outcomes you would like to see from a particular role.
- Most job descriptions focus on activities or a list of things the person will be doing (such as cold calling or writing proposals). Instead, focus on what a person must get done (e.g. grow the territory from $3.5 million to $4 million by the end of the year). Quantify as much of the job as possible. This allows you to be crystal clear on what is needed in a job and will help make the best fit for the role.
5) Where (from what source) do you tend to find your best job candidates? Why is it the best source for you?
- Referrals are the best way to find great job candidates.
- People tend to associate with others who are like themselves. I ask all my top employees if they know of someone who might be a good fit for a current opening. It’s the best source because most employees and good friends will only refer you to someone that they know well and trust.
6) What question am I missing from this list, and what’s your answer to it?
- “What are your thoughts on the use of social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter) as a tool for finding qualified job candidates for small business?”
- Social media as a recruitment tool has been the hottest topic amongst recruiters for some time now. Almost all the Fortune 500 companies today have a Facebook presence. Small and mid-size businesses should also take advantage of this relatively cheap method of sourcing and attracting great candidates. It’s also a great way to promote your employment brand and it works because it humanizes your company and allows you to build a “virtual relationship” with your audience in a more direct way than most other recruitment mediums.
____________________________________________________________
[contentblock id=18]
