Apartment Trends Magazine Nov / Dec 2017 | Page 17

MANAGEMENT MARY GWYN, APARTMENT DYNAMICS Speed Hiring! Finding the Right People Fast! A tweet from GraceHill said that our industry is slow to hire. It reminded me of why I try to be passionate about hiring. When you have a vacant or about-to-be-vacant position, nothing is really more important. If you’re a “man down," you can’t get your work done as well, working to see the other person’s job is done . Everyone else has to work harder too and you are torn between time to recruit, interview, vet and hire, and time to do what’s not being done by the “missing person.” That doesn’t even consider the impact of the learning curve on co-workers’ time and keeping results up. The best solution: rehire fast! Here are 8 Tips to Speed Hiring: 1. Post ads before the ink dries on your outgoing employee’s notice! Post the position on any site you think will draw qualified industry professionals. 2. Call your “Employment Pool.” Think of people who have “WOWed” you, or who have sent you a resume in the past. 3. Network! I was excited to get 2 great referrals from a business friend I messaged on LinkedIn! Call your network and let them know what you’re looking for, and contact everyone they suggest. 4. Call any resume that meets your criteria FAST! In fact, set an alarm so your email dings every time a resume comes in! A lot of you know, a good maintenance resume has a shelf life of about 15 minutes. Whatever the role, set up interviews fast. Don’t “save up” the resumes and call everyone at once. Talk to candidates before their resume’s hit their “expiration date!” 5. Give everyone who interviews an application, and get it back before they leave the interview. That way, if they make it to the next step you won’t waste time trying to track them down, get the applica- tion filled in. You’ll already have references and more to keep the ball rolling. 6. Make your offer fast! Keep a draft offer letter handy that you can edit and get in your candidate’s hands fast. Make sure it includes all your benefits, and if possible, the dollar value your benefits add to the offer. If there is a bonus program, education benefits, PTO, vacation schedule, holidays, apartment discounts, vendor-partner- ships that give discounts, any other “perks,” name them in the letter. 7. 8. Check references as soon as you can. Call, stalk, email, and get them checked. If you have trouble reaching one, enlist the candidate to help you. Sometimes they can “guilt” a reference to respond. Whatever you do, don’t skip this step! Start any additional processes immediately. Credit, criminal, drug screenings – all these take time. We typically schedule the drug screening with the candidate when he or she accepts the offer. www.aamdhq.org FLAGS BY SUSAN WWW.FLAGSBYSUSAN.COM ORDER ONLINE TODAY! • Custom Flags • Affordable Flagpoles for Apartments • No Helium Balloons • Banners / Signs • Quality U.S., State and Country Flags (303) 317-3612 Keeping the World Safe from Lawyers, one Trip Hazard at a time! LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 2003 AFTER TRIP HAZARDS EXIST: In s idewalks, driveways, curbs, pool decking, around tree roots, drainage areas… “Increase Tenant Satisfaction & SAVE up to 80% of project costs by SIDEWALK SHAVING, NOT REPLACING.” CONCRETE REPAIR EXPERTS General Concrete • Crack Repair / Caulking • Protective Coatings 303.287.1959 • AtlasConcreteSolutions.com NOV/DEC 2017 • TRENDS | 15