1. Network - tap into your sphere of influence. Facebook, Linked-In, Active Rain, and other social networking outlets are easy to use, free and will likely help you find the best candidate. I interviewed a woman from a competing brokerage last month who I met on Active Rain. Personally, I dislike the cattle call of resumes received from Monster.com and the time it takes to dig through those.
2. Determine an appropriate place for an interview. Your office is best as the atmosphere, energy and culture will be evident to the candidate. Another true story... I interviewed someone a few weeks ago at a Starbucks and the broker/owner from their office walked in. Your office will avoid this discomfort and ensure mutual confidentiality. At Real Living we love to show off our culture, energy and differences through our office environments.
3. Interview - ask the right questions. The questions you ask during an interview are subliminally setting the expectations for the candidate. Through your questions you are telling them what you expect and learning how they will want to be managed.
4. Check references. This is tedious but necessary. You'll be surprised what you will learn from these. I used to assume all references would be good and therefore not call all of them. Big mistake. I've called references before who have, through their answers, turned me another direction. Ask references pointed questions and get specific examples of the employees past accomplishments. Make sure they include individually they've reported to in the past.
5. Monitor - follow up with your employee regularly during the first few weeks of employment. Make sure they are completing tasks, motivated and remain a good fit. I personally use regular weekly meetings to monitor performance, enable the employee to ask questions/learn. During this meeting, I take notes and send a follow-up e-mail reiterating the meeting and include expectations and "to-do's" for the following week.
6. 90 Days - Typically at the end of the employees first 90 days you'll have an accurate view of their ability to perform. Communicate to the candidate up-front that their first 90 days is a probationary period and set specific goals for them to accomplish before the conclusion of that period. If they are not a fit, move on. Life is too short and business moves too fast to spend time and resources on the wrong person.
Your franchise should be able to provide you a complete hiring and recruiting package. What have you done to effectively hire that others should follow?
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