Shaun Thomson: How small businesses can avoid a bad first hire

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London Evening Standard - Business Connections

Hiring for the first worker is an exciting milestone for any start-up, but unfortunately for many the new worker can actually end up being more a hindrance than help.

Bad hires can easily happen if proceses aren't in place, and the impact for a startup can be catastrophic - on finances and morale - after all, startup founders are notoriously impatient, so for them there is nothing more frustrating than feeling they have wasted some of their valuable time!

If you want to avoid going through the ordeal of a bad hire, then ensure you follow these tips:

• Make sure you're ready - the Government is trying to encourage startups to recruit by offering a cut of up to £2,000 in their National Insurance, but this doesn't mean that the first hire should be fast-tracked! Make sure that the business is absolutely ready before starting the hiring process and that you are clear on what the role will be, and how it will save you time and add value to the company. New recruits require lots of time and training in the first couple of months, don't expect them to hit the ground running.
  
• Ignore your 'instincts' - as much as your gut may have served you well to date, when it comes to hiring they can't always be trusted. People often say what they think you want to hear in interviews, which means that it is very hard to distinguish between people who 'say' they can do a job, and those that actually 'will'.
  
• Follow structured, hiring process - start your new recruitment as you mean to go on and take time to find the right person. Advertise the vacancy on specialist sites, interviews a number of applicants and ask them to evidence their strengths and successes. Short-list your favourites and consider psychometric testing to help you distinguish between the ones that don't just talk the talk, but can actually walk the walk - these tests will also give you insight into what questions you should be asking in your final interview before the offer is made.

Shaun Thomson is cheif executive of Sandler Training in the UK.

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