Finding the right person to hire can be difficult. It is important to understand who you are looking for before you get started. Some ideas on how to put together your criteria can be found in Hiring.
Once you understand the type of person you want to hire, it is important to determine where you will find that individual. As with most services, you have the choice of hiring a professional, hiring a contractor or doing it yourself.
In the world of hiring, professionals who help others find the right candidates are called Recruiters. A good recruiter has a database of people that are both potential candidates as well as people they can network with to find the right person.
Recruiters
Recruiter fees are paid in a variety of ways and range from “contingency search” which means the search firm only receives compensation when you hire their candidate to “fully retained” where the search firm receives portions of their fees at set times. Contingency search may sound like a good idea to many small businesses, but in fact it creates a great deal more work for the business owner. A contingency firm has to play the odds at all times and will run up to 5 times the number of searches needed to meet their expenses as they may only fill one in five searches. Often these firms “throw resumes at the wall and see what sticks”.
A popular option with many search firms is “performance retainers”. This is a way to manage the recruiter relationship so you work together as a team and get the most out of the search. By paying a portion of the fee up front, you are guaranteed the recruiter’s attention and because the remainder of the fee is due at the completion of the search, they are motivated to get it done quickly. Generally a performance-retained search allows all parties to do what they do best and stay focused on the outcome.
Leasing Employees
Another option when hiring is to “lease” employees. These employees, whether they are temporary workers or contractors, are actually employees of the leasing company rather than your own. The leasing company handles payroll and payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, social security, etc. and charges you a fee above what you would pay the individual if they worked directly for you. Often you can arrange interviews with the candidates before they are placed and can work closely with the leasing company to manage the people. Be sure to understand the process if you would like to hire the person at a later date. There are often buy-out clauses in the agreement with the leasing company.
Do-It-Yourself Recruiting
The third option is to handle the recruiting yourself. Gone are the days of placing ads in the local paper and getting enough resumes. Instead, today’s workers are spread across multiple medias and can be more difficult to track down.
As with anything, networking is always a smart way to find candidates. Be sure to apprise your vendors and service providers of the type of person you need as well as your current staff. The biggest online source for candidates is LinkedIn. Searching LinkedIn for individuals in your area with the right skills gives you access to a group of people you might not have seen before and couldn’t reach otherwise. When you identify someone you would like to talk to, LinkedIn tells you down the right side how you are connected. You can also choose to connect to the person.
Job boards are another way to find candidates. You can pay to post a position or to search the database or both. The top two job boards – Monster and Career Builder – can be very pricey to use but those that are specific to your industry or your area may be more cost-effective. Information on writing an effective job posting can be found at Medina Works.
Check with local schools for career placement programs. Medina County is uniquely situated in an area with a number of colleges, universities and technical schools that can help you find graduates or even interns who can get the work done.