The right stuff

What to look for when hiring an employee

By Megan Dunn

Hiring employees is one of the most important processes a business will undertake during their operations.

Your employees are your most valuable asset, the recipe for any thriving company that assist in creating an inclusive positive team culture. It is absolutely crucial to have the right people standing in your corner, however often times the process is under planned and rushed leading to some damaging consequences. Independent research carried out by Robert Half from Talent solutions found that the real cost of a hiring mistake is high for both company and existing employees. Hiring the wrong person for the job can significantly impact an organisation. The top three consequences of a bad hire according to New Zealand employers are increased stress on colleagues (46 percent), increased workloads for existing team members ( 43 percent) and increased stress on managers (37 percent). Other cited negative consequences include lost productivity (32 percent), higher recruitment costs (29 percent) and low staff morale (27 percent). The general rule is if you get the process right, there is a much higher chance of attracting and hiring the right talent for your company. However, no method is entirely full proof as realistically how well do you know the ins and outs of someone’s character and mentality from a few meetings and a couple of sheets of paper? The greatest hiring advice that very often gets swept under the rug and easily dismissed is to trust your gut. You’re innate instincts about people hold a lot more truth than many give credit for-if your sensing something isn’t quite right, listen to this as it’s a red flag. 8 | www.canterburytoday.co.nz Employment NZ has released some key ideas to help you attract the perfect fit for your role. How you attract the best applicants depends on the job, your budget, for say advertising or recruitment agencies, and how much time you have. Options include: • An existing employee, is there someone ready for a promotion or a new role? First advertise the role internally and find out

• Engaging a recruitment agency – this can be costly, but will reduce the amount of time you spend on the process. Agencies can help you clarify your needs, pay levels, experience needed and market availability

• Using Work and Income’s service (free), matching qualified people to jobs

• Targeted advertising in industry journals, magazines and websites

• Contacting a relevant Industry Training

Organisation (ITO)

• Developing a relationship with local education providers.eg providing work experience opportunities for students

• Developing relationships with local community groups

• Advertising or searching online websites, industry websites and social media

• Contacting potential applicants directly, making sure you don’t encourage an employee to break their legal obligations, e.g. notice period, restraint-of-trade.

The labour shortage we saw in 2021 is continuing into 2022, with recruiters finding it more and more difficult to find the right talent for their roles. The demand for talent remains extremely high and that isn’t expected to change, Seek country manager Rob Clark told Newshub in January. The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the job market significantly with, the low number of applications per job showing employees were more cautious about moving jobs during the pandemic. Releasing its December data, job website Seek said job ads were up 32 percent nationally year-on-year (and compared to 2019). The emphasis on finding the right talent is as important as ever in these unforeseen circumstances. Careers New Zealand has released the most relevant skills employers look for amongst their applicants, these include:

1. Positive attitude

Being calm and cheerful when things go wrong

2. Communication

You can listen and say information clearly when you speak or write

Being totally honest and transparent about the work culture at your organisation means you are going to attract likeminded individuals who are likely to mesh and understand the operations exceedingly well. ”

4. Self-management

You get to work on time every day

5. Willingness to learn

You want to learn new things to improve your skills

6. Thinking skills (problem solving and decision making)

You try and solve problems or can see where something won’t work

7. Resilience

You get an angry customer but you keep calm, keep working and laugh about it later.

Work culture is ‘a collection of attitudes, beliefs and behaviours’ that make up the regular atmosphere in a work environment. Healthy workplace cultures align employee behaviours and company policies with the overall goals of the company, while also considering the well-being of individuals. Being totally honest and transparent about the work culture at your organisation means you are going to attract likeminded individuals who are likely to mesh and understand the operations exceedingly well. It also means that the person you hire is more likely to stay within the company for a longer period of time. Let them know of the common rituals and general feeling of the place for greater success for both employer and employee. Finally, it is crucial to evaluate not only what a potential employee can offer you, but also in return, what you can offer them. In a labour shortage people have their pick and have the ability to weigh up and compare multiple organisations, so access how your role and organisation can benefit them and what it has to offer. Finding the right fit is crucial and will mean both the business and employee will grow successfully together. CT