Building your ‘A’ team is one of the most important jobs you have as a business owner or manager. Get it right and you are well on your way to a profitable business. Get it wrong, and you’ll waste a lot of time and money on recruiting and training new people, adding unnecessary stress and overwhelm to everyone else on your team.
There’s no doubt that attracting and choosing the right employees can make or break your business. And it’s never been more difficult than in our current post-pandemic economy.
Keep reading to discover how to attract the best possible candidates, and how to handle the application process so that you don’t get hit with costly lawsuits. Trust me: this one’s a must-read for anyone responsible for hiring new team members.
Understand The Dynamics
Anytime you add a new employee to your team, the dynamic changes. New employees need to learn how to fit in, and everyone else on the team needs to learn how to work with them, too.
Ideally, each person on your ‘A’ team adds a key component and skill set that makes the team stronger and more powerful. Make a bad choice with a new hire, and employee morale takes a nosedive when the rest of the team must carry the load, balls get dropped and opportunities are lost.
Before you advertise your open position, consider what your ideal candidate needs to possess in order to perform the job to your standards. Consider the following:
- Skills and abilities
- Knowledge
- Experience and exposures
- Motivation, attitudes, and values
- Credentials and achievements
Once you understand the dynamics you need, you can better write your ad to attract only the people that meet your requirements.
Make sure you’re only adding superheroes to your ‘A’ team!
Attract Better Candidates
When trying to find new employees, go to your team first. After all, they know the job better than anyone! It’s much better to take a chance on someone who is known versus a complete stranger – provided the employee making the recommendation is one of your best and brightest. So encourage your employees to recommend family members or friends they know would be a good match.
Many of my clients even offer a referral reward for employees who recruit for them. I recommend giving the employee half of the award – generally $100 to $150 – once the new hire has been with the company 90 days and then the other half after they’ve been there for 6 months.
Next, when you are ready to advertise your open position, write a captivating ad with your ideal employee in mind.
To attract the best candidates, get creative! There’s a lot of competition for the best people – so keep it real, be different and stand out.
First, write an attention-grabbing and detailed title like, “Licensed Electrician – New, Air-Conditioned Trucks, Team Environment, Competitive Wages, Benefits and Bonus Plan.”
Include a brief overview with the top 2-3 things a candidate would be most excited about such as, “Would you like to earn above average pay while providing residential customers with top-of-the-line products and services? We offer that plus a generous benefit package and paid time off.”
Include information about the company such as, “XYZ has been in business for 18 years and between us, we have more than 100 years of electrical experience and we are committed to be the best in the industry.”
Clearly outline the position. For example, write, “we are looking for a full-time, licensed electrician with experience servicing commercial and residential properties. Depending on experience and initiative, our electricians have unlimited earning potential and a 5-day workweek.”
Clearly outline all your benefits, such as medical, dental, life insurance, 401(k) and paid vacation.
Clearly state your location. You might want to write something like, “candidates must live within commuting distance to (insert your town & state). (Insert your location) is home to a thriving community with world-class healthcare facilities, very affordable housing, shopping, and some of the best schools in the nation.”
Next up, you want to add a section called ‘Why You Should Apply.’ This is your space to write about your great team environment, the great pay opportunity, your prime family location and your excellent benefits.
I like to sign off with something like, “Interested? Send your resume to bestelectricianever@gmail.com.”
And finally, always include non-discrimination language: “XYZ company provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.”
And if you have more than 1 location, add “In addition to federal law requirements, XYZ Company complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities.”
Better Employment Applications
Interviewing prospective employees and using employment applications are important tools that most employers use in the selection process. The objective is to determine whether an applicant is suitable for an available position. The interview and the application provide you an opportunity to obtain in-depth information about a job applicant’s skills, work history, employment background and references.
Believe it or not, employment applications can be a landmine for employers – and a windfall for attorneys and the government. They can and will be used against you in a court of law, so please read (and re-read!) this section carefully.
You need to bullet-proof your employment application so that it only asks for legal information. You must also gather the candidate’s signature regarding their legal responsibilities should they get the job.
Even though you might just be innocently curious about certain things regarding a candidate, this is a playground for attorneys and the government. You can’t ask discriminatory questions in interviews or on the application – not even in casual conversation while trying to build rapport with the applicant and getting them to relax. Employers who aren’t up-to-date on what is allowed and not allowed can – and do – make many mistakes.
Given that the cost to defend yourself against a claim of employment discrimination can be several hundred thousand dollars, you must be sure you train every interviewer (manager, supervisor, or team member) on how to conduct themselves during interviews to avoid any costly mistakes.
Basically, federal and state laws, regulations and guidance is that as an employer, you should avoid asking questions that reveal information that cannot legally be considered in making a hiring decision anyway. This includes promotion decisions for current employees – not just prospective new hires.
Let’s address some of the biggest mistakes you should avoid in your application:
- Including any disability or medical-related questions on the application or during an interview. This violates guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and possibly the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and similar state laws. If an employer asks these types of questions, the EEOC or a court may presume prohibited information was a factor in your decision not to hire.
- Not including an at-will disclaimer. This disclaimer will play an important role in court if you are ever challenged with a claim of guaranteed employment or breach of contract if the employee is terminated. Using language in interviews or during the job offer such as “we look forward to a long & meaningful relationship with you” is a gold mine for attorneys!
- Not including a nondiscrimination statement. Employers should inform applicants that the company is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring based on federally-protected classifications such as race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, disability, veteran status, age or genetic information. And if state or local laws require it, also include any additionally protected classifications such as sexual orientation, marital status, etc.
- Asking for a birthdate. This is blatantly illegal and there is nothing you could do to defend yourself on this one. If your concern is that they must be 18 to work at your company as dictated by your workers compensation insurance carrier, age 21 to be covered by your auto insurance (only if they drive for you) or because you want to assure you follow all of the child labor laws, then a legal way to ask the question is “Are you over 18 years old (or 21 if that is required to drive for you)?” If they are under 18 and you want to employ them, then you need to learn what is and isn’t allowed when it comes to working hours and the type of work they are allowed to do.
- Requesting graduation dates in the education section. Asking applicants for graduation dates may lead to a finding of discriminatory intent based on age under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) or state law—particularly if the employee’s graduation date has no bearing on the qualifications for the position. Of course it’s appropriate to ask questions regarding the education and experience of the applicant, especially when it’s relevant to a job qualification – just not the date of graduation.
- Asking about arrests and convictions, without appropriate disclaimers. Several states and local jurisdictions have adopted “ban the box,” which prohibits employers from asking about criminal histories on employment applications.
- Note that EEOC doesn’t prohibit asking about criminal history. However, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, prohibits employers from treating people with similar criminal records differently because of their race, national origin, or another Title VII-protected characteristic such as color, sex and religion. So, if you decide not to ever hire anyone with a DUI in the past 7 years, then you can’t make an exception for someone just because you liked everything else about them — unless you are willing to risk a lawsuit or charge from someone with the same history who wasn’t quite as likeable.
- According to the EEOC, you shouldn’t ask about arrests at all. Just because an individual was arrested doesn’t prove they were engaged in criminal conduct.
- Asking for a photograph. Guidance from the EEOC prohibits employers from asking applicants for photographs – for obvious reasons. I have seen quite a few resumes with pictures, especially in the beauty and skin care industry, but that is a choice of the resume writer, so that’s different from the potential employer asking for it. If you need a photo for an identification badge, you can get it when the new hire joins the company.
- Asking about marital or family status. Asking questions about an applicant’s marital status, the number of kids he or she has, the ages of his or her children or dependents, or provisions for childcare could be construed as sex discrimination.
- Asking about citizenship. The antidiscrimination provision of the Immigration Reform and Control Act prohibits employers from discriminating against an applicant because he or she is not a U.S. citizen. However, you may ask if an applicant is legally qualified to work in the United States.
Finally, many small businesses don’t understand the risks of accepting unsolicited applications.
Do not accept applications unless you have an immediate need. Once you accept an application, you have an obligation to store it and then refer to it if you have an opening in a reasonable period of time.
The best thing to do is accept applications for a specific position and put it in writing that you only accept them at that time, for that position, and that they will be retained for XX number of days. I generally use 60 days in case someone I hire doesn’t work out and I want to go to my #2 choice if it was a close call.
When you do accept unsolicited applications, then a candidate can come back quite some time later and claim that they applied for a position last year and you didn’t consider them when the job came open again — simply because you were discriminating against them for a legally protected reason.
How To Process & Screen Applications
You’ve gotten lots of applications for your job posting: now what?
So, now that you’ve advertised your position in the right way and gotten a batch of hopeful applications, now what?
I like to use something I call the A-B-C method.
As you look over the resumes/applications, set aside any that clearly don’t meet any or most of your experience and education requirements. This is your ‘C’ pile.
Look through the remaining applications and separate them into 2 groups, asking yourself the following questions:
- Do they meet the experience and education requirements?
- Have they been working in a similar job, doing the type of work they will be doing for you?
- If they filled out your application and you included a question about their criminal history, what did they report?
- In some cases, either because it’s been a long time ago or it isn’t related to getting your job done – it really doesn’t matter. If you use that information you could lose a claim of adverse impact discrimination because some races and sex tend to have higher rates of incarceration.
- And in some states and cities across the U.S. there are now “ban-the-box” laws to keep people with a criminal past to not get kicked out of the running without an opportunity to at least explain what happened.
- How long did they work for each company and how often did they change jobs?
- I’m always cautious about people who jump around a lot after very brief periods of time with an employer (say, only a few months or less than a year). In today’s world, it’s not uncommon for employees to move around every 2-3 years. But anything more frequent than that is something you should ask about if you interview them.
- Why did they leave each company? Frequent “layoffs” after short durations at the company is another red flag.
Set aside any that have a few of the requirements but you don’t think are the best match for the job and put them in a “B” (Meets Some Requirements) pile. You might decide to look through them again later. Write notes on a separate piece of paper so that you remember why you put them in the B folder in the 1st place.
Label the last group as “A” (Meets Most / All Requirements).
Now that you have a much smaller group to go through, you can review them in much more detail. Look for a solid work history, direct experience, relevant technical expertise, certifications/licenses, and education.
I know it can all sound easier said than done (and we haven’t even gotten to interviewing!). Hiring is an incredibly complex process, and you have to get it right, everytime.
Don’t worry – I’m here to help. Whether you need training to learn how to hire better, or you’d just like to hand over the entire process, reach out! Please email Info@QuantumAscendance.com or call (903) 245-2199 to book a free consultation.