Growing your business is much easier with the right people in the rights systems. This is also one of the hardest things to do as a business owner.
Most landscape businesses start small. If it isn’t just the owner, the employees are probably family, friends, or previous workmates. The owner probably knew them before there was an open position to fill.
Hiring becomes much harder as your business starts to scale. You no longer have the luxury of hiring people you’ve known for years. Instead, you have to post the job and start taking applications.
But how do you know which people are the right fit? There’s no surefire way, but a few things can help you narrow down the field.
Create an accurate, detailed, and career-focused job advertisement.
Make sure that the job description contains all parts of the job. People want to know exactly what they’re responsible for – and what a future at the company looks like.
Screen applicants. Send pre-interview questions by email.
Getting some of the basic questions out of the way lets you schedule fewer interviews, which costs time and money. You can also ask questions that help some candidates decide not to apply.
For example, if the job requires occasional nights and weekends, ask them, in writing, if they are generally available during these times. A person with young children at home may decide to look elsewhere, and you don’t need to schedule an interview to find out that they can’t meet a specific requirement.
Be selective about who you interview.
You’ve reviewed basic information and experience. You’ve evaluated email responses and asked the tough questions. Now it’s time to interview.
Before you invite the 15 people who meet the requirements, take another really good look. Are there three or four that really stand out? Do yourself a favor and just interview them. Because they’ve all been screened and you can assume they have the needed skills, you can interview for fit. After all, skills can be taught. And a bad hire can ruin your company culture.
Once you’ve hired a great employee, you want to make sure that they stick around. A bad onboarding process leads to a bad retention rate.
In this week’s webinar, Mark talked about his hiring practices and discussed effective retention strategies. It’s not one to miss – especially if you’re gearing up to start the season.
You can download the webinar here or sign up to attend the next one!
Watch the Webinar!
