Team Building: Hiring the Best People for Your Company Team

I spend a lot of time thinking about hiring decisions, and I spend an even bigger chunk of my time involved in the hiring process. Hiring the right person for your team is crucial, and the time investment it takes to find that person pays off. Sometimes we are so desperate to fill a position that we will take the first person we find, but the problem is that sometimes we hire that person despite misgivings we may have had but ignored, and then those alerts turn out to be true.

A bad hire can cause a lot of damage. Sometimes others must pick up the person’s slack, but other times the harm can be much more severe, like affecting your company’s growth or undermining your policies. For this reason, hiring for your team is one of the most important places in which you can choose to spend your time.

On the other hand, when you find those great fits for your company – people who are engaged, committed superstars, who take your organization to places you never thought possible – then that time investment will be worth it. Great people are what makes a company great, which makes hiring great people crucial.

You Will Make Mistakes

No matter how great your hiring process is, you will make mistakes, as not every hire you make will be the right fit for your company. I recommend improving your process as much as possible to decrease the odds of making the wrong decision. Two great resources are the books Topgrading: The Proven Hiring and Promoting Method That Turbocharges Company Performance by Bradford D. Smart (public library ) and Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead by Laszlo Bock (public library ) - these resources can help you create an excellent hiring process. You can also refer to my blogs on hiring: 5 Benefits of Hiring Freelancers to Help You Out and Hiring the Best Talent for Your Growing Company .

Don’t be afraid to hire people to worry about making mistakes; we all make them, and the most important thing is to learn and improve for next time. Sometimes, when we are building our companies, we’re not even sure of what we need, and it’s only after trial and error that we figure out who the best person is for the role.

Take as Long as You Need

When hiring, take your time. Don’t rush into making a decision just because you are desperate for help. I think most of my bad hiring decisions came from rushing into what I was doing. Make sure you cover all your bases and sleep on the decision at least one night before making a final choice.

Having said that, you must decide at some point, so try not to take longer than necessary because you might lose the candidate you have been interviewing.

If You Fail, Try Again

And finally, keep trying. If you find out you made a wrong hiring decision, correct it as soon as possible, learn from the experience, and try again. Creating a great team is a matter of patience and perseverance. Keep learning and improving!