I only made it where I am today because of the people I surrounded myself with.
I have not always known what exactly I wanted to achieve, but I have known that I did not have all the right skills and expertise, says Lara Morgan, entrepreneur and co-founder of Company Shortcuts, a firm that provides frameworks and templates to help boost business growth.
Recruitment and recruiting the right people have always been very important to me. I expect hard work and I set high standards and expectations for those with whom I work. Employing the right and wrong person can make or break a company.
In the early days, we interviewed far too many people, We soon developed a simple ’marks-out-of-10’ system to whittle down candidates and, even then, did phone interviews to reduce the list yet further. In later years, we sometimes employed a recruitment agency to ensure that the best candidates were put forward, but different roles required different tactics.
A good CV will be modern in layout and have a personalised presentation (preferably with a handwritten covering letter). Blanket CVs are obvious and show little care or dedication to getting the role. Does the CV show ambition? Also look for loyalty – how long has the person been in previous roles?
You need to look at the vacancy you are looking to fill and then the skill set you require as well as
the behaviours and characteristics that will fit in with your company culture.
Another thing to bear in mind is to take recommendations from your existing or previous staff. If you trust them, you will trust their opinionsM any of my staff have been and still are friends or family of current or past employees.
For me, recruiting the right people was a sixth sense, a gut feeling, and every time, I’ve gone against that feeling, I made a mistake. So if your gut is telling you this person is right, then go for it. If you don’t you might just regret it.
Top tips for recruiting:
- Employ the best you can. They can only help you and your company get better.
- Trust your team. You can’t do everything yourself, however much you would like to.
- Go with you gut – it’s right more often than not.
- Make clear from the outset what the expectations of the role are and what the style of the company is that they are joining – not everyone likes a madhouse.
