Building a Business Team

Whether you're involved in the hiring process from the start or pay someone else to find the best qualified candidate, the objective is simple: each employee has to help the bottom line. "The only reason you ever hire is to make a profit from that person," says Bill Dueease, a business coach and owner of Aspen Business Group. "That person has to create results."

Dueease recently shared his tips for hiring during the workshop How to Find, Hire & Keep Good People, sponsored by Florida Gulf Coast University's Small Business Development Center. "The responsibility or success of any hiree fully lies with the employer," he says.

"The goal is to find a great fit," agrees Charlotte Mack King, owner of Resource Innovations Inc., a Fort Myers-based human resource consulting firm. "It's the biggest challenge sometimes. There's an immediate need, a stress to fill it quickly."

You first need to determine if you'll do the hiring in-house or if you want to out-source to an employment service. Recruitment companies will screen applicants, whittling down a larger list to one more workable for your company.

"Employers hire me because I'm that third party that's very neutral," says Mack King. "I delve into areas they don't have time to do." While her company specializes in career transition and out-placement work, she says there's been an increasing demand for recruitment services, too.

"We do all the preliminary steps and bring them good, qualified candidates," explains Byron Cleeland, area representative for Olsten Staffing, another area human resources firm. "Many companies realize they can't do it at that depth."

Getting What You Want

Determining what qualities you want in an employee and what he or she will be doing is crucial. Mack King suggests that you develop a comprehensive job description to clarify your expectations.

Dueease says 80 percent of the legwork should be done before the interview, making a determination "what you want them to do based on the results you want."

Small start-up companies may not be able to recruit nationally because of expense or time constraints. But you can still find good employees simply by "knowing the community," Mack King says. "Network with resources, use various recruitment methods."

Those can include advertising on the Internet, in local print and broadcast media, even by word of mouth -- asking friends and neighbors for prospects. Look to the local chamber of commerce and be visible in the community, Mack King advises.

Marie Snow, director of recruitment for the Collier County school district's human resources department, says her school system employs a number of strategies in finding qualified workers. In addition to advertising administrative jobs in national educational journals and visiting college campuses to lure graduating teachers, the district also participates in as many as 20 out-of-state educational fairs. "We advertise depending on the type of employees we need," Snow says. "We're always looking for ways of getting more and more quality people."

Non-instructional positions are generally promoted through county and regional recruitment fairs. Snow says the district also gets a number of calls to the school system's job hotline as well as walk-ins. Despite the recruitment efforts, Snow says the district has had difficulty filling some vacancies for positions such as bus drivers and cafeteria workers.

Even the government is involved in helping local businesses find employees. The recently-opened Community Career and Service Center, a "one-stop" center in Fort Myers that combines several federal agencies, offers incentives to employers who hire someone within the Welfare-to-Work program. "It's open to anybody that walks in the door," says Joe Paterno, executive director of the Southwest Florida Workforce Development Board, which is housed within the center. "We're starting to see an influx of businesses visiting and contacting us," he says. "We're hoping it really takes off."

Your Checklist

If doing the hiring in-house, Mack King suggests you have a basic understanding of equal opportunity laws. You must also abide by the Americans with Disabilities Act if employing 15 or more workers. She also suggests compiling interview questions for both a telephone prescreening and a face-to-face interview.

And don't forget to check references and backgrounds, warns Cleeland and Mack King. You will need to insure that the candidate's educational information is correct and all necessary licenses and certifications are current. "Nationally, 75 percent (of references) are embellished or made up," Mack King says. "It (checking references) saves heartache and extra training."

Cleeland says you may want to test the candidate's skills and conduct an in-depth interview to see if the potential employee will be a good fit for your company.

Mack King also believes in an in-depth interview "to truly uncover skills and talents," no matter how small your business. "Some interviews are too casual," she says, adding that a lengthier discussion "draws out true behaviors and the skills that person brings."

Dueease disagrees, saying he has a 20-minute limit for screening potential employees. He generally lets them ask the questions, and he once rejected an applicant after just a few minutes of listening to a barrage of questions about benefits and work hours. "The interview is without a doubt the most difficult and most complicated process any business owner will ever go through," he says. "Both sides have multiple goals which are contradictory. The interviewee is trying to determine if this is a job they want and then convince them they're the person for the job ... The interviewer has to determine if this is the right person for job. Both are selling while investigating at the same time. It can't be done."

What You Can Offer

As a small business owner, you may not be able to offer employees the salary or benefits package of a larger company. But there may be many advantages for employees who choose your company. And you need to emphasize them during the hiring process, says Mack King, a small employer herself. Pluses like offering a flexible work schedule, an opportunity for growth as the company grows and the chance to wear multiple hats could entice many.

And once you've found that right person, Dueease says you must offer the employee an incentive to work and ultimately to stay. "I've created a process where they all had an interest in the business," he says.

Retaining employees means keeping the lines of communication open, reassuring them they're needed and doing the job well, Cleeland says. He subscribes to Dueease's business practice of sharing profits -- it not only gives employees ownership in the company, it also entices them to stay. "More and more companies are starting to share the bottom line, whether it's a mom-and-pop business