Hire Big People to Grow Your Business

Image: Newscom

I don’t mean you should hire giants.

Advertising great David Ogilvy said, “If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.“

Some random thoughts on getting – and keeping – exceptional people for your small business:

Don’t be afraid to break the rules. It is often said that you should hire for the position, not the person.  But in today’s economy, you may find people who are over-qualified for the position for which they are applying.  Why not grab that great person and expand the job duties to fit their skills?  For example, if you are seeking an administrative assistant, and you interview someone who used to be a manager in your field,  hire that person and create a job to fit.  Sure this will cost you more, but if you want to soar, you have to work with eagles.

Hire for personality and intelligence; train for specific job duties. You can train for job duties, but you can’t train for intelligence or personality.  For example, if you interview someone who is dour and unsmiling and not communicating well, even if the person has all the technical expertise in the world, this person is not going to learn to be smiling and friendly and outgoing.  Won’t happen.  Watch how the recruit interacts with other employees; ask your current employees if they like this person.  Then listen to their answers.  One of the big reasons for getting rid of employees is their inability to get along with others, including customers.

Look for the person who is doing more than expected. Ask detailed questions about what the person did on his/her last job. Did this person just do the job, or were they committed to doing extra?  The person who says, “I give 150% to any job” is a valuable asset to your business.

Ask the “Four Questions” to learn about applicants. Recruiter John Rose (quoted in an article in Inc.), talks about the four questions to ask.  Basically, there are only two questions  – “What did you like about your current/last job?” and “What do you want to do?” You just keep asking them until you get revealing answers.  Learning as much as possible about applicants gives you more complete information on which to make a decision.

There is no way to be sure you are hiring “big” people.  But you can get closer by thinking creatively and digging deeper.