How To Hire Humans

Employees are paid to fulfil a function within your business. In order to fulfil this function they must have a level of experience, certain qualifications, require a wage that makes economic sense to the company and be permitted to work in the UK.

If these were the only factors to consider during procurement it would be a much simpler task, but human beings are not expendable products. Each individual you hire will palpably change something about your business, but while people can be the source of creativity, innovation, humour and passion they can also exude aggression, selfishness, deceitfulness and unpredictability.

It is therefore essential to consider more than just the facts and figures when interviewing candidates. It is not a widely held belief, but personality traits are just as important as skills when it comes to bringing someone new into the business. In light of this, here are the top questions you should be asking yourself when interviewing a prospective employee.

“Are they nice?”

It may seem a rather simplistic or perhaps even a childish thing to ask oneself, but a genuinely nice individual is an asset to any company. This is not about social pleasantries, charity work or company loyalty but core values, manners and respectability. Do you think this person would tell you if you had dropped your purse? Would they give a seat to a vulnerable person on a train? Do they truly care about the welfare of other people?

This is not a difficult thing to spot during an interview either. It’s actually immensely difficult to keep up the fa?ade of decency if you don’t genuinely mean it.

“Are they capable of improving?”

Many companies make the mistake of hiring employees who are instantly competent but unable to grow or build upon their skills. Stagnancy spreads – do you really want a bored, unambitious employee to bring down the drive of the rest of the team? Inexperienced yet passionate candidates may require a little more time and patience in the short-term, but in the long-term they can push the company to new heights.

“Would I go to the pub with them after work?”

Chemistry builds productivity. You spend a great deal of time with the people you work with – perhaps even more than your family on an average weekday – so it’s important to be able to have a rapport with them. We’ve all worked in a hostile environment at some point in our careers and have seen how gossiping distracts everyone from getting on with their jobs, so it’s immensely important to have a well-balanced mesh of personalities in the workplace.

Of course, when colleagues are all friends there is the possibility of there being more chat than work, but that’s only if you fail to ask yourself the above two questions first.

“Will they represent company culture?”

Company culture is a huge drive for staff, and staff simultaneously shape company culture. It’s essential for everyone who works for you to be on the same page in terms of goals, aspirations, direction and drive. Someone who is vocally adverse to company culture can prove to be a huge problem for the rest of the team and the success of the company as a whole, so consider this question especially carefully.

If you would like to find a candidate that’s the perfect fit for your company, contact our consultants today.