By Key Business Advisors

By Liz Cronin
Key Business Advisors Recruitment Specialist

Hiring people who will be top performers as soon as they join your business is crucial to your business success, so it is worth spending as much time and effort as necessary to do it right the first time. However, many business owners and managers who have a lot on their plate find recruitment to be overwhelming and time consuming, and may rush into filling a role, which can result in a poor hire and major headaches down the track.

Staff turnover comes at a huge expense, so recruitment is something that needs to be done right. Take note of the following tips to ensure you recruit the best staff who will contribute to the growth of your business:

1.  Develop a recruitment plan.
Define job roles and position descriptions, including Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Result Areas (KRAs) that outline what the role aims to accomplish. Doing so will help ensure that both you and the candidates have a clear understanding of the position, and that you can measure the performance of the person you end up hiring.

2.  Interview candidates, rather than sell the role to them.
Promoting the business to a potential candidate before conducting an interview is a common mistake that business owners and managers make. They then try to fit the candidate into the business, instead of finding someone who actually fits the role. Be sure to prepare an interview plan in which you ask plenty of open-ended questions that aim to assess candidates’ behaviour and skills.

3.  Conduct behavioural interviews.
Ask questions that are designed to probe whether or not the candidates have the skills, behaviours and attitude that you have defined in the position description. Instead of asking them what they will do, find out how they handled a situation in the past and test them on the skills required for the role. Ask every candidate the same questions to ensure that you can make a fair and legal comparison of all the applicants you are interviewing.

4.  Follow the proper recruitment process and conduct reference checks.
Gain further insight into the top candidates by talking to their previous or current managers, peers and customers.

5.  Never hire the best of a bad bunch.
Attracting the best of the best can take more time and effort than you initially thought it would, but it pays to do it right. Hire the candidate whose skills and attitude are aligned with the goals and needs of your business, even if it takes you three rounds of sourcing and interviewing candidates. It is still better to find the right fit and not just settle for the best of a bad bunch.

If you require further information or help on recruiting the best staff for your business, please call us on 1300 4 ADVICE or email

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