2 GET REFERRALS FROM
LIKE MINDED PEOPLE
Successful companies realize that their current
best employees are the type of employees they
should be hiring. Start by asking these employees to refer someone they know for the job.
This might go against some owner – manager
thought processes but stop worrying about the fact they
may be friends and start looking at it from the perspective of
a great hire. Good people only want to work with good people.
They are not going to refer anyone less amazing than themselves as they know they have to work with them. When
we ask staff why they stay at an organization they often say it
because of the people who work there and that they have a
“best friend” at the office. Relationships happen regardless
if they know each other beforehand and in this case they
might refer another star employee.
PS…if they find you a good employee…pay them a referral
fee. A $50 Starbucks card will go a long way.
3 CHECK REFERENCES
Do you know that only 32% of businesses do reference
checks? Some think it is a waste of time as they feel that a
candidate won’t give a bad reference but that is not always
the case. I have called hundreds of references over the years
and I will tell you that I personally have encountered interesting feedback when asking questions of former employers. The
first thing you must ensure is that the candidate is giving
you former supervisors and if not that is a red flag already.
If they won’t give you one for a particular job they had ask
them why. Don’t hesitate to ask the candidate for more or
different references. Asking the right questions once you
have the reference is key.nRemember you are trying to find
out about attitude not skills so choose questions that tailor
those answers.
Example: Can you tell me about a time when they turned a
bad situation around with a customer? How would you say
their attitude was towards dealing with customers all day
and especially when it came to a difficult situation? Can you
describe their attitude and performance during their work
with your organization?
Would you rehire them again? (favorite question)
4 DO A WORKING INTERVIEW
A working interview is really that…a continuation of the
interview process. It gives both the employer and candidate
a bit of time to evaluate if it is a good fit for both of them. It is
a time for the candidate to show what they can do. If they are
not from the industry it may be to shadow the top Optician and
interject where they can and feel comfortable. The other
good thing about a working interview is it gives you a chance
to see how the new employee gels with the other staff.
Culture and fit are as important as attitude.
Tip: Plan the working day interview schedule and have
someone with the new employee all day
5 PERFORM A PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT
Personality plays a significant role in attitude type and how
that affects a particular job type. Certain personalities are
more suited to certain roles in an office especially the front
customer facing roles. The results are always subjective to
the type of information requested from the candidate but
they often enlighten the employer as to a direction of strengths
and weaknesses as well as predicted behaviors. There are
clearly people who show favorably in roles that are people
oriented so even uncovering these facts alone is helpful in
the decision process.
Option: Optimizehire.com is an online assessment company
actually started by an eye care professional who has a specific
assessment for an eye care practice. (US based)
Option: Hiringsmart.com a widely used assessment for all
business types
Final thoughts….the cost of hiring someone with the wrong
attitude is far greater than taking the time to hire the right
person with the right attitude. Right?
Trudi Charest is the Co-Founder of 4ECPs. 4ECPs is a
business resource company for eye care professionals.
www.4ecps.com or [email protected].
Optical Prism | March 2016 35