As small companies scale it becomes critical to hire good people – and very difficult in a traditional interview situation for a time-strapped entrepreneur to assess whether the person being interviewed is, in fact, the rare being they want to hire. And hiring mistakes for a small organisation are costly.
A group of entrepreneurs suggested these ideas:
1. Quick test: Leave a number connected to an answer phone. Get them to call back and leave a message with their name, number and reason for application. Their energy, ambition and ability to articulate will all be immediately apparent. An easy way to a short-list of candidates.
2. Structured interview: Have a set list of critical questions. Rate each applicant immediately after the interview against questions out of 10. After all the interviews add up scores and use this as an objective way to test your overall perception of performance.
3. Conduct “stay” interviews: It is more cost-effective to retain excellent staff than have to source new ones. These are regular interviews with key existing staff where you ask “Why are you still here?”
I’m sure there are many other ideas – but I quite liked these and thought I’d share them…
Green Sky Thinking 