Edmonton Business Coach | Why Group Interviews Are A Great Business Idea
One thing is certain in business, says Edmonton business coach Trevor Samons. Once you have hired your first employee in your small business, you will have an ongoing need to find new people. Whether the existing staff leave, or you are growing, it’s important to know how to find the best people in the most time efficient manner.
Many small business owners think they’ll have their first staff member forever. They may be the best employee, and are the most dedicated, says Trevor, but that doesn’t mean life won’t happen to them. People start families, have spouses who take jobs in other cities, get injured, retire and the list goes on. Typically, when a small business owner needs to find staff, whether it’s their first hire, or they’re growing, they wait until they have a need to start looking.
Increase How Many Applicants You Get
This seems to make a lot of sense, admits Edmonton business coach. But the problem is, when you’re ready to hire someone, the need is already there. To start advertising, wait for resumes to come in, and then read through the resumes, all before you even see the first candidates for the interview takes so much time, as well as money! And if there are two things a new small business owner doesn’t have, its time and money!
However, there is a better way to find staff, and a way that helps you find the highest quality people in an efficient manner as well! Edmonton business coach teaches the group interview business hack to all of their clients so they won’t have the disadvantage of not having their business growth stalled due to lack of people. Step number one, is to always have your help wanted ad running.
Look For Staff Before You Need Them
Entrepreneurs may wonder why this is efficient, especially when they should have their ad running, even when they are not hiring for that position anymore. However, when entrepreneurs hear that they need to meet about a hundred candidates before finding the right one for their business, group interviews start to make sense. If you think about it, you need to find the right person who not only has the skills you require, says Edmonton business coach Samons.
You also have to find someone who is willing to work the hours you need, for the wage you are paying. And they also should align with your company values, and who accept working for a small company. Advertising a position for a couple weeks, taking significant time selecting the best half a dozen resumes out of 20, and then hope that one of those six you shortlisted will work perfectly is a difficult proposition.
Edmonton Business Coach | Stop Reading Resumes
Not only that, but at least 40 per cent of applicants lie in some way on their resume, which makes the shortlisting process futile in the end anyway. Therefore, it’s not only saving a business owner time, doing the group interview hack. But you will be able to find better quality people as well. Once you have your ad running, all you have to do is invite every single candidate to a weekly group interview. Edmonton business coach recommends holding your group interview at the same date and time every week, then inviting each candidate to about three dates, so they have an option.
Make the email invitation personal, no autofill robots should be used. You want to make each candidate feel as though you are inviting them personally, and are excited to meet them, because you should be! You can skip the arduous task of reading resumes. You can do that if and when they show up for one of the group interviews. Many employers often get an immediate sense of who will fit in with the company, and who won’t from the very beginning.
They Should Make a Good Impression
Are candidates dressed well, on time and attentive during the interview? Edmonton business coach recommends that late applicants should simply not be allowed to participate. If they are willing to be late to the interview, that doesn’t bode well for if they are willing to be late to work. During the interview, Edmonton business coach recommends going over the position, remind all applicants what they are there for and then discuss the company’s mission, vision and values. This will help you choose applicants that align with what you are doing in your small business.
After that, in a group interview, stop talking and invite candidates to ask questions. They should have at least one – what are they interested in, what do they want to know about the job or company? If they don’t ask a question, that’s another strike against them. They don’t seem terribly invested at that point. Finally, when all questions have been asked, the last step in the group interview is to ask each of the applicants why they want to work for your company. They should – if they’ve been paying attention – say something about aligning with the mission, vision or values of the company.
Pay Attention to What They Say
Most applicants will say how they are excited to work for the company, how qualified they are, or how they fit in. It will be very easy to spot the right people. If they ask a question, and answer yours correctly, says Edmonton business coach, that’s when you read their resume after the interview is over and see if they are qualified. If there is anyone you wanted to bring in for a second interview, call them. If no one stood out, that’s no problem – remember, you have more applicants coming next week. If someone does stand out, have them come in and job shadow in the business for half a day as the second interview.
You can get a good sense of what a person is like when they come in for longer than an interview, find out if they fit in and enjoy the atmosphere. After going through this process, if they are a good fit for the team, they should be hired. But if they’re not the right fit, no worries, because you will have more applicants arriving that week. Keeping this routine will ensure that whether an entrepreneur needs someone right away or not, they can find high quality employees without dedicating dozens of hours (that they don’t have) to the process. Contact Edmonton business coach, Trevor Samons today if you would like more help with your business!